Jun 13, 2008

and now for something completely different...


Images From "City of Shadows" by Alexey Titarenko

Some images just tug at your heartstrings for some reason. My heart must be dark because the above images are probably the most fascinating photographs I have seen in recent memory. Don't why I love them so, but I do.

Titarenko uses
long exposure shots of crowds in St. Petersburg, Russia to create these borderline demonic and machine-like images.

Question for all you long exposure guru's out there... What type of camera and technique do you think he is using? How can he have what looks like they could be almost 20 second exposures and retain so much exposure? Is there a trick or was it very dark at the time? Fill me in if you have a clue.

update: Mr. Titarenko was kind enough to email me back already. He is rep'd in NYC and has a few images there at a Russian Photography Gallery (Nailya Alexander Gallery 24 West 57th street) and also has a show in Baltimore through July at the Grimaldis Gallery.

He also pointed out the 30 minute documentary made by French-German TV Channel ARTE on his website. (LINK) The old lady in blue coat that he is stalking in the beginning is hilarious! I'm not sure if he knew her or if she was told what he was doing, but he seems to follow her for a few blocks and manages to get a few shots because she is soooo slow.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

filters my duder,
neutral density,dual polarizers, you name it,
people will use it for long daytime exposures.

i personally use neutral density filters when shooting during the day, combined with a long exposure,(and a polarizer) will remove(or in this case blur) moving figures from a street scene

definitely some really fresh stuff man

Anonymous said...

beyond wow...what's up with city 18...the last in the collection?

Aaron said...

Thanks knuckles. I guess the b&w is throwing me off too. Definitely the best choice for these shots. Not sure if color would have the same effect on me.

and what's up with all of them madame bravado, aka my darling, aka wifey pooh. I emailed him to see if he will be showing stateside this year, cause I would love to see these large and in person!

Anonymous said...

yes, his works are stunning - great dystopian mood. my guess would be filters, or maybe they're shot with a large format/view camera with the aperture closed down to 64... or 90 or something - the depth of field is rather large in the second example you've posted. also it could be very 'slow' film... maybe a combination of those three. or a decent pinhole-lens. those videos are loading so damn slow here, so i can't get a look 'behind the scenes' right now.