I am just a filter for reality– interview to Russian photographer Alexander Petrosyan

I am just a filter for reality – interview to Russian photographer Alexander Petrosyan

Alexander Petrosyan

We can read on your website: “After taking up photography in the year 2000, Alexander Petrosyan realized that, in order to truly understand the world around him, he must first try to capture it through the camera lens, something where he has continuously succeeded”. But how was it for you before? Before you became a photographer?

I was a teenager when I got my first camera as a birthday gift from my father. In the beginning, I wasn’t really serious about shooting and most of the pictures from that time weren’t really good. Then I started to work as a photographer for papers and magazines, and in the end, it became an art for me. I realized that I’m much more interested in the creative side of this profession. When photography was only my job, I felt it wasn’t not enough for me.

Wasn’t interesting enough?

When you do this because this is your job, it means it is like an order for money. When you do this because something catches your attention and it creates a feeling inside you, it is art.

Then what is photography to you?

It is a form self-expression. Being a photographer is who I truly am. This is the way I perceive the world around me.

©Alexander Petrosyan

“A picture is worth a thousand words”. Do you agree with that?

Photography is the universal language; has no borders and limits. A great photo can enter into your mind and soul from the first moment you see it and can feel it more deeply than words because it does not require understanding the language or cultural context, like for example literature. You do not have to have a bigger picture, you can see just a small piece of reality that is given to you by the photographer and immediately get its meaning. It is like a mysterious connection between the picture’s author and the person who looks at it. . You can feel it or not. You can get the author's message or not. There is no analysis, just pure emotions. And this is what I try to do in my work: trying to catch not so much the shape of objects as the emotions and moods felt among them.

So you think a picture has a stronger message than words?

I think the connection between the photographer and the person who look at his pictures does not require words. We can speak different languages but we can perfectly understand one another without them.

Do you take a camera with you everywhere? Can you shoot a photo every day?

Yes, and if I don’t have my camera, I have a smartphone or any other type of device capable of doing the job. For me, taking photos is like breathing. I do not have to think about it, I just do it. I see the world around me like in photo frame. This is also my way of understanding the reality.

©Alexander Petrosyan

Russia from your photographs is very different from what we get, say, on postcards. The pictures feel untouched, unperfected. Do you realize that?

No, because for me it is just how I see it! On the other hand, there is no such thing as an objective photo. The picture always passes through the photographer’s perception and is marked with his point of view. To me my pictures are portraits of the reality. I am just a filter for that reality.

But still… It depends on your inner state.

Yes, but on yours too. If I catch your attention, it means I shot a good photo.

How do you shoot a great photo?

You do if you want to. For that matter you can go anywhere, find the best view and still be taking bad photos. Heck, you can even go around the world and see the most amazing things and still come empty-handed, without a single good shot. Why? Because it is about the photographer, not the world around him or her. Because it is all about how you see the reality.

©Alexander Petrosyan

“The reality is a bit different than it really is” – do you know that statement? Is this what you do with the camera too?

I like polish poet Stanislaw Lec because of the double meaning of his short rhymes. This is what happens with my photos as well. When I take a photo it seems like it passes through a camera lens and at the same time, through myself. Therefore the piece of reality I caught is already different. And when you look at it, you can see something still completely different from what I saw, because your inner work begins. That’s why one photo can have countless meanings.

Do you think life is extraordinary even in its most, seemingly ordinary aspects?

The most extraordinary things happen within you. If you have the ability to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, then everything will amaze you. But yes, I believe that absolutely everything can be extraordinary, you just have to be able to see that. I’ve been taking pictures of my city for 40 years and it still surprises me. But you can also say that I make the city look surprising to myself too!

How?

Maybe because of the time factor. The same place but viewed at different times can be completely different. But possibly also because of my own evolution.

©Alexander Petrosyan

However, one can but wonder how you do it, since the picture of Russia you project with your photographs speaks the same way to people all over the world, regardless of their geography and culture?

That is the great mystery of photography! It is impossible to take the photo without linking it to your own feelings and emotions. My photos are testimony to my point of view. Does it mean others connect with my point of view? It seems like it. I give them a world perspective as seen through my eyes.

It seems like you spent decades discovering what makes Saint Petersburg, your hometown, tick. What do you think it is?

To clarify. Every city has its own, unique features. Which I try to capture and show through. You just need to sink into those features. Into the atmosphere, the spirit. St. Petersburg has a great history. It’s immersed in it, from the early days of the Russian empire to its near destruction in the World War II, and then from being a province to its rebirth under Vladimir Putin.

Have you ever had any trouble shooting photos on the street? Do people get defensive when they see you taking photos of them?

I get this question a lot from my students: how to shoot a photo without being punched in the face? Well, the problem is a bit overrated. I’ve been working for decades and I can count it on my one hand how many incidents I had during street shoots.

What, then, is the most difficult thing for a street photographer, or perhaps any kind of a photographer, to do?

The hardest thing is to surprise yourself. It is a daunting task. You wake up, you take your camera and you go out with just one thought in your head: how can I do this differently, how can I surprise myself? Routine can kill you. I mean, when you become a slave to your habits. It is vital that you do something in a completely new, different way as much as possible. That you keep that inner fire inside you going at all cost.

What can I wish you?

Wish me that I could keep that drive to see ordinary as extraordinary. That is also what I wish to everybody else.

Karina Bonowicz & Ilya Akulshin

Alexander Petrosyan is one of the most renowned, contemporary photographers. He is a double winner of the St. Petersburg Award "Photographer of the Year". He also won Grand Prix prize fund of photojournalism, as 1st place in the "Daily life" and Medal of Honour (Award of Exellence) in the category "photojournalism" by 25 world competition «Society of New Design» in Syracuse (New York, USA). Go to his website: www.aleksandrpetrosyan.com