A good—quality photograph is a work of art based on deep thought. High-quality illustrations of publications and numerous exhibitions have proved this thesis many times. The experience of the master, the quality of equipment, knowledge of modern technologies are important here.
The richness of the Old Believer tradition is also reflected in the photographic art. A striking example is a special project of the official website of the Metropolis “Old Believers in photographs”. In two years of work here, we managed to collect 3,000 photos telling the site’s guests: the Old Believers are alive, they are ready to share with new generations the light of faith, which they carefully preserve for centuries.
The author of the special project “Old Believers in Photographs” Alexander Govorov is a graduate of the Faculty of Journalism of Moscow State University. He became interested in photography back in 2005, but it was his fundamental education that prompted him to “take up the camera” thoroughly. Most of the news illustrations belong to his lens rpsc.ru In 2019, the exhibition “Faces of the Old Believers”, organized with his direct participation, was shown in a number of Russian cities. But the site gives the greatest scope for creativity photo.rpsc.ru , supported by the Presidential Grants Fund. The best gets here, and the best not only from the point of view of beauty, but also from the point of view of depth and accuracy of expression of thought.
“They sent us to study photography… to the Tretyakov Gallery,” Alexander recalls the advice of MSU teachers. — Select the angle, build the composition. The learning process is a continuous business. I don’t stop learning by watching my colleagues work. And not necessarily those who work with the theme of Old Believers. I try to analyze everything, applying the findings and discoveries of someone on the topic that is close to me.”
The process of the appearance of photo frames is complex and lengthy. An artistic look is not enough. High-quality equipment, planning of their work, creative thought and subsequent processing of the material are important:
“When I go to shoot, I figure out what I’m going to shoot. Sometimes I even make a plan. Of course, this plan often changes in the course of work. Each specific event has its own atmosphere, it is important to catch it. I select only a part of the many pictures. And then from this part there is another part of the “most-most”, which goes to processing: color correction, cropping, and so on.”
In the plans photo.rpsc.ru — combine on a photo site the best pictures about the Old Believers by different authors who already cooperate with rpsc.ru and photo.rpsc.ru . Photos are history: moments, events. But, remaining in the centuries, this story will always be alive. In addition to simply fixing the event, the photographer has a super task — to convey the inner state of the soul: sorrow, joy, prayer, faith — to inspire a person, to tell him that, despite the trials, life goes on. And here the Old Believers have something to tell.
Website “Old Believers in photos” (visit) →
