I have just recently seen the work of Oleg Oprisco for the first time.  For me, this was an electrifying experience.  Each picture has a story – and inspires me creatively.

This is the first one I saw.  It was a perfect picture to point out to a group of friends who make craft for communication.  And then there’s these:

  I think a sign of creativity in an artist is that when you see or hear their work, there is so much inspiration in it, that it overflows.  When I listen to the music of a particular band, I find new lyrics coming to my mind – which are nothing to do with the song I’m listening to – but my brain just accesses that place of thinking creatively very easily, very fast.

Do you find yourself being inspired by these photographs?

I know I do.  I find Oleg Oprisco’s photographs instantly make me feel emotions, remember other metaphorical images.  One of his photos has inspired me with an idea for visitors to an exhibition I am curating with a friend (due date 2018).

There is plenty more to see at his website, http://www.oprisco.com/ and if you, like me, like these photos, then I would urge you to visit and look at his portfolio.

Taking Photos with Film

Oleg shoots his pictures with physical film, rather than digital, welcoming the uncertainty of the process: “I only have 12 chances to get it right, so it’s so important to get each frame right.”

Most importantly, he loves the visual look compared to digital results: “The film creates a totally unique colour and the long-focus lenses give unique depth”

Career Development

Oleg certainly knows his colour – he first became interested in photography through a job colour-correcting pictures in a photo lab.  He saw thousands of images each day and began to recognise what colours he was attracted to.  Working with a commercial photographer for a few years was an apprenticeship in taking pictures – but he came out of the process with his own system.  Nowadays, he takes the photographs he wants to take, before looking at them with his managers to work out where they would like to sell them.  If you live in America, you can order prints of his works.  I have yet to find out if he sells and ships to the UK, but I did hear about his work through the Craft Council of Britain, so I would have hopes that he will.

Photoshop?  what Photoshop?

Another aspect of his work which is tangible are the props – they are not photoshopped in.  Oleg doesn’t have any assistants, he plans the photographs in notebooks, sets up the shoot himself, and sometimes he doesn’t get the image, the weather, the props right until day 5 or 6 of the shoot – but when he does, it is so worth the wait.  See below:

This photo wasn’t achieved until:

Day 6 of a shoot

50+ different umbrellas tried before getting one which burned beautifully (and safely)

When asked what is the most difficult thing for a photographer, Oleg replies that it is to persist to get the perfect shot, not settle for very good – take that extra day to shoot, look a little longer for THE perfect prop….. it all shows up in the frame, finally.

Extract from an excellent interview with the photographer on the online creative magazine, Atlas (in this case a mini version of the mag), viewable here:

http://theatlasmagazine.com/the-azure-issue/