Boyan - As we’ve been a little sparse recently, I wanted to go all out with a feature interview and we couldn’t have chosen a better person for it. Vera has a love and passion for her work which shows not only in her images but her words… below. Enjoy!
Tell us a little about yourself?
I was educated to be a philosopher and a critic; however I work as a journalist and writer. Photography is my passion. I wouldn’t mind if photography turned into my profession as well. On a personal level, I like to think I am a positive person and my friends seem to think so, too, which makes me happy.
A little about your work?
I shoot with film cameras, which are either low-technology toy cameras, or vintage ones, such as Lomo LC-A, Diana, Smena, etc. – Russian cameras from the 50s which acquired quite some popularity in the past few years, or also vintage pro cameras such as Canon, Yashica, and others. Of course, analogue cameras take a little time and patience getting used to, so one can get the best out of them. It also should be mentioned that very often film cameras, especially the low-technology toy ones, differ from each other, even if they are the same model. Recently a friend of mine asked me how to use his Lomo LC-A and I explained to him that despite the fact that both are cameras were made at the same place in the same year, there’s no way for them to be exactly the same. Each of those cameras is unique and has its very own personality which you need to get to know and learn how to get the best out of. So sure, it takes time and patience, but the results you get are so unassumingly beautiful; there’s no way a digital camera can get you such depth and beauty.
Why you do what you do?
Once I started shooting with film I just couldn’t stop. I realised that I look at life around me mostly through the lens. We live in a digital world where everything is universalised and…well, digital. What attracts me in photography is the analogue in every sense – the manual settings, the lack of automatics, the responsibility, and the decisions you need to make in order to get a good image. Taking photographs is a great chance to see the world in a different way which can never be recreated. The beauty of it all is so strong that it overwhelms me, makes me think, or just makes me smile. In a nutshell – I take photographs because it makes me happy.
If you didn’t do what you do, what would you do?
Photography, very much like writing, is a solitary activity. Even when you share your work with others, what you show them is a replica of a moment which you experienced while being alone – you saw something alone and you shot it; you felt something alone and you wrote about it. And still, sharing remains a highly important thing for me and my work. This is why if I had to do something else that isn’t writing or photography I’d probably be doing something which doesn’t remain only in me and for me. For a while now I’ve been thinking of taking part in a volunteer program in a third world country, however I haven’t yet figured out what it is exactly that I can contribute in that field, so I haven’t done it yet. I haven’t given up on this idea and my desire to do something really valuable and important.
Your best experience so far?
I won’t forget the moment when I was hiking with a couple of friends. It was a very cold January afternoon and the few scant rays of light were falling slant. Then I took out my Lomo and I asked my friend to turn around and look at me. She did so, and that was when I knew that this is just the photograph I wanted. The truth is that when one takes photographs and then shares them with people it’s always a different experience for the photographer and for the audience, so to speak. But people always know when a photograph is touching and when it’s not. Sometimes things get left out of the frame – like the smile of the person who was beside me while I was taking a certain photograph, or a memory or a certain thought that I brought into a certain frame. I totally believe that the best shot is yet to come.
Your worst/most difficult moment so far?
The worst moment is when I find out that I ran out of film and I want to take more photographs! I’ve missed quite some great frames I’d have liked to capture. But I console myself thinking that these sights will forever stay framed in my heart.
In an ideal world…
In an ideal world I wouldn’t be any different from what I am now. Perhaps the one thing I’d want is to never run out of film. I do believe that my wish to reach more people with my photographs and to make an exhibition with prints is absolutely possible in our world as it is now, whether ideal or not...
See more of her work here: Vera Gotseva
