Russia is a land of many contrasts. I grew up with the idea that they were on the other side of the cold war. My vision of Russia was different, biased if you will. I imagined Russia as a gloomy, oppressed country but I found the Russians to be are very energetic, they are proud of whom they are and are always looking for ways to flourish, even with the difficulties life has put upon them. Also, people have the same issues, good and bad, that people, all around the world, have.
For my photographs I focused on the day to day. I wanted to capture what people do every day; the way they live, what they see, what places do they visit and so on. Everywhere I went I tried to show people in their environments. What I saw was no surprise, Russians do as we all do – they live their lives. The images you are about to see are my version of what I saw in a very unique country.
I was very lucky in St Petersburg to have met our local guide Tatiana. I loved her enthusiasm and her spirit to be free. Very inspiring to say the least. We had very good conversations about the Soviet Russia, in which she mostly grew, the transition to the current Russia, and the similarities that the new Russia has with the old Russia. Even though the systems are different now, the lives of the common Russians have not changed much from the Soviet Russia. She showed me that and I tried to capture it with my camera. Thank you Tatiana!
Moscow was a very different experience than the one I lived at St Petersburg. At St Petersburg, the environment was friendlier and more open. It had the feel of a small city. In Moscow, you could immediately feel how hectic it is.
I am from Colombia and I always thought the traffic in my hometown of Bogota was bad but, after being in Moscow, I had to change my thinking. It’s bad and I mean real bad. You can sit in your car for hours and just move a couple meters. I understand now why there are 2.4 billion passenger rides per year in their Metro System. It is the third largest subway system in the world, after Tokyo and Seoul, with over 185 stations and more than 300 kilometers of lines. If my math is correct, it is like almost 6.5 million persons per day.
Moscow is a very cosmopolitan city, full of people on the move. There is always something happening. It is very vibrant and very impressive. It is worth spending the time and seeing it. I was surprised and I am sure you will be too.
The photographs are in B/W. I think it gives them more character and feel. I chose ten photographs for this blog because I think they will give you the sense of what I have described above.
As I have always done in my previous blogs, you can see a preview of the photographs in the video below but I really encourage you to click on My Photographs/Russia in B/W to see them in more detail.
I hope you enjoy them.
