Artistic Vigilante got to have a one on one with amazing Fine art photographer Galina Zabruskova. Galina is definitely a delight to learn from and we certainly had fun with this interview. Enjoy it and get inspired from it.
ARTISTIC VIGILANTE – What is your full name and how long have you been Photographing for?
GALINA – My name is Galina Zabruskova, I am an art photographer from Russia.
ARTISTIC VIGILANTE – What got you into the fantasy and fine art genre of photography?
GALINA – Photography has been my passion since I was 10 years old, and it was my father who introduced this wonderful world of light and magic to me! So many years have passed but I still remember the thrill of the picture developing process in our bathroom with a special red light lamp, you know, I have exactly the same excitement when I post-product my works now! The tools and gear have changed but the curious and creative child has been staying inside me since those old times.
ARTISTIC VIGILANTE – What are your sources of inspiration and what is your creating process like? Can you give us a brief walk through of how you come up with an idea and shoot it?
GALINA – For all those years I had tried myself in different genres of photography, but one day I saw the picture of the doll-like girl walking the hedgehogs and it changed my world forever. I had no idea whose picture it was, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the author and what could inspire her to create such an amazing thing! I wandered what personal experience she must have had in her childhood to be expressed in that art. The Universe was very generous and in a while I was lucky to become a student of this artist, one of the best fantasy and fine art photographers in the world, Margarita Kareva. So, I was let into her wonderful world of perfection. She taught me a lot of things about fine art photography and by now she is number one for me to admire and get inspired from.
ARTISTIC VIGILANTE – Can you talk a bit about your style of editing?
GALINA – However, every artist wants to find his own way and style and this turns out to be one of the most difficult things. I have noticed that my attraction is a story. I always look for the plot development, that is why I like emotional and dynamic shots. The inspiration comes from anywhere: it can be a simple thing like a silk scarf, or a fancy doll, or a bottle of perfume – you never know! But what I will definitely ask myself about before any project is WHO (the character), WHERE (the location) and WHY (the plot) she or he is going to be in the picture. I will not start the project until I know theanswers. Sometimes it takes a couple of hours, but mostly it is a long process for I like to plunge deep into the subject. It is not just a fancy image I want to depict, but a complicated picture where every single detail has it’s meaning. That’s why fairy tales and legends are my favorite sources of inspiration.
GALINA – As for my editing tips, I would mention the following. Number one is to find the way for the image to look too fancy for a simple photo. To create a fairy tale, an unreal world, something special to catch an eye and think: “Wow! Is it a photo at all?” How to achieve it? First of all I get rid of all imperfections I can find: clear the ground, trim the trees, leaves and grass, sometimes add the details I lacked on the location or erase something I don’t like. Then I work on the character’s image. Perfection is the key word again: the lines and shapes are balanced and ideal – as if it is a picture in a book. And the final touch is the harmony of colors, lights and shades.
ARTISTIC VIGILANTE – We noticed you do a lot of motion photographs, why and how do you achieve these?
GALINA – Motion photographs are my passion! I think they are more emotionally expressive (motion=emotion) If someone is asked to recollect the most exciting or brightest moments of his or her life, what will they be? Mine are always dynamic… I am a 3-year-old girl riding my father’s shoulders, we are trying to escape from rain, and I feel the wet tree leaves bumping my face. I am excited, safe and extremely happy! Then I am five, I am going to pre-school and feel the wind playing in my hair, and I keep checking if the ribbons have not gone with the flow yet. And then I am a young girl, and the boy I like is teaching me to waltz under the light of a streetlamp… Life is the moment between the past and the future, so I want to catch this moment for my images to be live.How to do it? To be emotionally open during the photoshoot, to feel the story and, of course, to take advantage of the tools any modern photographer has to create his own perfect world.
ARTISTIC VIGILANTE – How much does it cost to do a Galina photo shoot and what is the procedure to book you?
GALINA – I like to collaborate with creative people to do something outstanding. Last year I met a wonderful underwater model @mermaid_deepblue (she found me on Instagram) and now she travels from London to Moscow to do our photoshoots. Along with different images she always has in her mind, we have made a series of fairy tales. Underwater environment is a wonderful location for magic pictures and a huge inspiration source. Another interesting collaboration with Russian-style-costume designers Darina Zimina and Lyubov Mikhaleva produced a series of artworks on a beautiful story of a famous Russian fairy tale writer Pavel Bazhov. So, once there is an interesting idea I am excited to collaborate for new projects. Just don’t be shy to contact me – we will find the way to express ourselves through the beautiful world of fairy tales!
ARTISTIC VIGILANTE – Where do you see your photography and art form in the next five years?
GALINA – Russians are very superstitious and they don’t like to share their plans so that not to spoil thefortune. However, I often tell my dreams and plans to different people and it helps me to better understand what I really want and to find who and what I need. This is how I attract a lot of creative people who I make my projects with and who have become my good friends and great supporters. So, in my nearest future I would like to cooperate with good publishing companies to create the series of fairy tales with my arts as illustrations. They will reflect different cultures, ways and customs. I am planning to travel to different places and countries to find the right people and beautiful locations to shoot the most interesting fairy tales in the world.I am sure it is going to be cool!
ARTISTIC VIGILANTE – What are you doing to make sure you get constantly noticed in the art realm?
GALINA – At present I participate in different exhibitions, take part in competitions both local and international, do magazine interviews. My pictures and projects got different awards and prizes. I am very happy my arts attract people and I am so thankful to Artistic Vigilante for the possibility to share my art with their readers! Hope we will cooperate in future too! Thank you!
