Hello Dina, tell us a little bit about yourself.
There is one phrase I always use to introduce myself, it describes me precisely: “My name is Dina and I tell animate stories about inanimate objects”. I’m a person with little paper cities, sugar cubes, moon from polymer clay, doll’s miniatures, broken cups, handmade Rube Goldberg machine, repainted puzzles, wire trees, cardboard dragons and spilled coffee. And with photo camera. That’s quite essentially me.

I received a humanitarian education (Publishing and Editing at Far Eastern University of Humanities) and after graduation I have been working as an editor in a local publishing house. But soon I realized what one thing that makes me truly happy is still life photography. So I left my editorship and became a freelance photographer. Since then, I did not regret a single second of this decision.

Oddly enough, my education was useful to me as a photographer: both in the technical part (the basics of image processing and prepress) and in the creative part (inspirational courses literature, aesthetics and cultural studies). I think it’s my dream to do book illustrations is a kind of desire to combine these two specialties together.

Are you formally taught or self taught? And what has been the best source of information along this journey (workshop, online forums, classroom, mentor, etc)?
I haven’t been studied in any photography school (mostly because the wasn’t such a thing in my city), so my education as a photographer consists of books about classical still life art: Problem and Development of the Still Life. The Life of Things written by Boris Vipper is my favourite one) and online articles about  technical details (I can’t thank enough all these photographers who were generous with their knowledge).
One of the most valuable sources of information was (and still is) fstoppers.com, especially if you read about food photography and manage to adapt this information to your own needs.

You have an amazing ability to create powerful still life images that capture personal experiments, domestic dreams, among the order and the chaos. Why did you choose this trend?
Inanimate things are extremely interesting to me. Every object contains a folded story inside itself. Smoking pipe and magnifying glass would make you think about Sherlock Holmes, a fallen apple would tell a story about Snow White (or, maybe, Isaak Newton). A potion with “Drink me” note would bring you to Wonderland. And it’s not only iconic items! A keepsake from your grandmother, a birthday present from your best friend, a shell you’ve found at your first journey to the sea. All of them are precious. And all of them can create stories.

Besides that, in every single thing there is a sense of human presence, something invisible but clear. So it’s possible to actually shoot a portrait, but not a portrait of real person — a portrait of character you have in mind. They say a good portrait reveals the nature of the portrayed one. Though I don’t  want to take a picture about particular Jane Doe, but I do want — about adventurer, dreamer or just a coffee lover. Any adventurer, dreamer or coffee lover regardless of their names, age and occupation. I think, still life is perfect for it.

What gives you ideas and inspires you to create such amazing imagery?
Pretty much everything. No, seriously! There are so many interesting things around! Steam above coffee cup, sharpened pencil, spilled paint — each of them have a large amount of narrative opportunities. I think it’s really fascinating: all these connections between things, their small transformations, their secret life and even simple comparisons in a “what does it look like” game help us understand how everything is set up. How does our mind work to find these connections? How does the world build them? You may imagine yourself as an explorer, like David Livingstone, in a world of inanimate objects.

So, I just sit down with my sketchbook, felt pens and a cup of tea and start to think: about what the next picture could be? I can choose an abstract topic (e.g. sea, astronomy, travel, sweets), and find suitable objects to this story. Or, on the contrary, I can select an object (e.g. recently bought cups, magnifying glass or shell) and come up with a little adventure for it. Take a coffee cup for example. It may belong to the astronomer and reflect the stars or lunar eclipse. Or a steam from a hot coffee can rise above it, and in this cloud kites or blimps might fly.

Can you briefly explain the story and editing behind your two favourite photos from Arcangel Collection?
First one Balancing coffee I made before I’ve learned a trick with a sheet of transparent plastic. I suspended a pile of cups from strings and, sadly, this construction didn’t last very long. I will never ever ever do that again! Gravity surely is a harsh mistress.

But then I came up with much safer way to create “balancing” images. Weekend donuts are not levitating, the whole composition lies horizontally and photo is taken from above. I took a sheet of transparent plastic and set it a short distance from the colored background. This was the main trick: all the shadows that show the volume of the objects will remain in place, but the shadows falling on the background will disappear — this way, all the objects will look like they’re levitating. I felt just like Harry from Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality: “I CAN DO MAGIC! FEAR ME, LAWS OF PHYSICS, I’M COMING TO VIOLATE YOU!” But, of course, it was more like “I’m going to play along with you, thank you for your cooperation”

 

 

What type of gear do you shoot with?
For now it’s Nikon D800, two speedlights (both Nikon SB-910), a couple of softboxes and a large diffuser.

Do you shoot at home or professional studio?
I organised a cozy photo workplace at home. There’s no need in studio when one half of your clients live in a different country and never have seen you in real life, and other half need you to came there they are (like restaurant or an ice cream factory, for example). If I need to photograph something I can’t shoot at home, I would just rent a local photo studio for a couple of hours.

How important is Photoshop in your final images?
If it’s easier for me to make changes during the shooting, I’ll make them during the shooting. If I know that something will be more simple to correct in Photoshop, I’ll do it that way. It’s still more fun for me,though, to work with real things on the set, then with an image in post-production.

The hardest part of your work? and the best?
Making sketches is the best part! It’s all about planning, making lists and doodling, if you come to think of it. The hardest part is to clean the mess after two hours of shooting coffee splashes (or worse, paint). Sure, there are some difficult tasks, but I prefer to regard them not as hard, but as tricky.

What do you think of the stock photography industry at the moment?
I really glad it’s so diverse. The genre I work with is not the most popular, but there pictures still can find their place and their buyers. It’s quite reassuring.

Click here to explore Dina’s  amazing portfolio of work…