Five Minutes With Alexei Krasnikov

At the moment when I took a camera in my hands for the first time I thought that it must be very interesting to create in this field. I felt that a camera can help do a lot, much more than merely document facts.

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I was born in 1975 in Moscow, Russia and I live here now. I have a degree in economics and for about 15 years I’ve been building a career in banking, doing photography as a hobby. Later I graduated from Moscow Academy of Photography (“Professional Photography” course) and now all of my working time is dedicated to photography.

Portrait_AlexeiKrasnikov

How did you get interested in photography?

At the moment when I took a camera in my hands for the first time I thought that it must be very interesting to create in this field. I felt that a camera can help do a lot, much more than merely document facts. From that time I consider a photo camera as an instrument that helps me convey what I feel with my heart rather than just see with my eyes. I experimented a lot, photographed in various styles and genres. Finally I focused on photographing landscapes. Despite my previous tries to photograph in other genres landscape photography was a natural choice for me. I really love nature, its beauty and for the current moment I can’t imagine myself working in a studio with closed windows, artificial lighting and all the “studio stuff”.

Dodho_5mins_5

Do you artist/photographer inspired your art?

A lot of them in fact. I am inspired by art pieces, be it a photograph, a painting or whatever, that are created professionally and that evoke in myself a desire to look at them again and again.

Just to name a few: Chema Madoz, Flor Garduño, Ansel Adams, Rolfe Horn, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Ivan Aivazovsky – photographers, painters – they all create in different genres, some of them are more famous than others, some create now, others already died. They are all different but I like them all and I can’t say whom I like more. They are real professionals, meaning they create (or created) art-pieces that can “speak”, they put a part of themselves into each of their creations. When I look at their photographs or paintings my own wish to create doubles and I think this can be called an inspiration.

Could you please tell us anything about your technique and creating process?

Currently I am using a Hasselblad 503 – an analog medium format fully mechanical camera and negative black and white film. Film is my choice as I feel it is “real”. It is about photography that existed many years ago, when we didn’t know anything about megapixels and gigabytes. The pace of work is much slower compared to digital process, and I like this fact too. All the process is rewarding by itself.

I develop film myself then scan it and post-process digitally – this is when modern technologies come into power. In some cases post-processing is relatively easy, at other times it can take many days to reach what I want.

As for my choice of black and white, to my mind b&w photography is more delicate and this fact attracts me a lot. Color is a strong instrument, but for the works I create it is an unnecessary distractor.

Describe your ideal photographic situation

No people around, weather not too hot and the whole of the day ahead. Solitude is an important factor for me as well as the absence of any rush. It helps to concentrate on what I photograph.

How much preparation do you put into taking a photograph?

In terms of organizing a trip I usually don’t prepare much. The preparation includes just buying enough rolls of film and choosing a place to go. The choice is made in general terms – just a choice of a country and region to go to. I prefer to come and see everything with my eyes, walking around, exploring the place.

Technically I try to do as much as possible within my camera rather than leave something for post-processing. This takes time, but it’s rewarding. Just everything must be done with proper accuracy and attention.

The hardest aspect is the artistic one. I talk about self-preparation for being able to “see” a potentially good photograph. On one hand it is a constant process, which can be mastered in everyday life. On the other hand, I need to concentrate on the place, the subject I photograph. Sometimes it happens fast, sometimes it needs time. It’s quite a complicated inner process. But it’s vital for making a good photograph, for putting a part of my inner world into a work.

Dodho_5mins_6

What’s your useable-to-unusable ratio when you review images from a shoot?

Well, the calculation of such a ratio is not that straightforward. When I photograph sometimes I do several exposures with different shutter speeds or apertures so I would have a batch of similar frames with minor differences. Also I’m quite critical to my work and I think several times before I show a photograph to the world. Furthermore, sometimes frames that are considered to be unusable can push to new ideas. And after all each frame that is not used for making a print can help me see some mistakes that I will try to avoid in future. This means that such unusable frames are very useful for further work.

But just to give an estimate when I have 1-2 “usable” frames from a roll of film (which has 12 frames) I think that the result is really high. This relates to working with film – when I switched back from digital to analog camera, the attitude to each single frame changed. It became much more careful as the result can’t be seen instantly when film is used.

What quick advice do you have for someone who wants to improve his or her photography skills?

A very quick advice: set a goal and work hard. Work. Hard. And – yes – smile a lot:)

Dodho_5mins_4

From time to time many photographers find themselves in a creative rut or uninspired to shoot. Does this ever happen to you and if so how do you overcome these phases?

As for myself, if I sit on a couch and think that I feel uninspired all I need is start working. Very often it is enough just to stand up and go to overcome this “crisis”, which I believe deals more with laziness rather than anything else. Sometimes it happens that I can’t see a single decent frame when I am already at work. That’s a different situation. In most cases that means that I am not “connected” with the place. I need to “feel” the place, its atmosphere. For myself it’s better to put the camera aside and just walk, or simply sit watching, listening to what’s around. When I do this the connection usually appears and I start to see things again.

The core thing is not to soak in this uninspirational feeling, not to use it as a reason not to go out and work.

What future plans do you have? What projects would you like to accomplish?

My future plan is to make and make and make photographs. Better than before, more interesting than before, having more people seeing and enjoying my work. After all I photograph to share the beauty, emotions, a piece of my inner world with people, hoping that I can help someone feel a little bit better.

And I have a bunch of ideas on what and how to photograph, which I think are quite interesting. I wouldn’t reveal the details now: here in Russia we say “A man supposes, God disposes”. Let it be a surprise for the future;) [Official Website]

Dodho_5mins_3

Dodho_5mins_2

Dodho_5mins_1

More Stories

Colors and light; Sociocritical Art by Achim Koerfer

Colors and light; Sociocritical Art by Achim Koerfer

Colors of exquisite vibrancy captivate the eye. The commonplace is presented in a surprising new light in striking compositions both complex yet lucidly transparent.
Displaced by Nektarios Markogiannis

Displaced by Nektarios Markogiannis

Home and Away, is personal project documenting the lives of the displaced in South Sudan. The Sudan, after an almost half a century long civil war, was finally divided into two countries.
Stories Retold by Lukas Vasilikos

Stories Retold by Lukas Vasilikos

His influences from Henri Cartier-Bresson to André Kertész and from Garry Winogrand to Josef Koudelka and Roy De Carava, as well as from the great Greek photographers, older and contemporary such as Nikos Economopoulos, enrich the inspirations and form the photographic aesthetics of the new author.
https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/bannerpr.jpg

We invite you to participate in the first edition of the Portrait Photography Awards. Our call is open to any artistic interpretation of portrait photography.

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/BAnImage.jpg

ImageRights provides intelligent image search and copyright enforcement services to photo agencies and professional photographers worldwide.

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/mono2022.jpg

The best 100 images along with the winning images published in the yearly book “Monochromatic – Best Photographers of 2022”

Call For Entries #24 | After 23 editions and more than 100 published photographers, our print edition has proven to be a simply effective promotional channel.

Benjamin Goss, The collector  of souls

Benjamin Goss, The collector of souls

My inspiration for the images im creating now comes from symbols and archetypes in mythology, history, religion, and our sub-concience.
Berlin bhf. by Anna Tihanyi

Berlin bhf. by Anna Tihanyi

Berlin bhf. (bahnhof) is a staged series that is rooted in intimate issues of my personal life, through which I could emphasize Berlin being a transitory place, a habitat of the passengers.
Garage Project by Vanessa Filley

Garage Project by Vanessa Filley

The Garage Project began in 2011 when, each morning, I would take my two small children and two large dogs on a long walk, exploring the alleys, streets and beach front of our town.
Lavapiés ; A gentrification story by Andrea Ratto

Lavapiés ; A gentrification story by Andrea Ratto

Lavapiés is a neighborhood in Madrid and it is not just any neighborhood. Its history tells us about a place of working-class tradition, which was previously a place of reception for immigrant labor from the rest of Spain,
Washington Square Park by Jay Patel

Washington Square Park by Jay Patel

One summer afternoon I walked through a park full of young people. It took me a few visits to observe and absorb the energy around me.
The passage of time by Katherine Young

The passage of time by Katherine Young

London, the city of hope and potential, history and culture. One of the world's most visited places, it has something for everyone. At times, the city feels like an amusement park with thousands of tourists pushing their way through the crowds.
The Fetish

The Fetish

I once won the Vogue/Sotheby’s Cecil Beaton Award, a competition for young photographers with a series I shot of a shoe. They were among the first pictures I took in what was to become my new style.
Swimmers; Spirit above waves by Jan Caga

Swimmers; Spirit above waves by Jan Caga

Spirit above Waves The project shows disabled swimmers in a pool. Almost all people enjoy competing, because it belongs to our human nature, to our animalistic status.
Five minutes with Saman Deilamani

Five minutes with Saman Deilamani

I have been inspired by Willian Eggleston, Thomas Struth, Richard Avedon and Irving Penn.
Ori Guttin Co-Founder of Viewbug

Ori Guttin Co-Founder of Viewbug

Founded by photography buffs Ori and Jimmy, and supported by a team of all-star advisors, ViewBug is out to redefine the photo contest.
Thierry Dulau : Long exposure in Bask Country and Béarn

Thierry Dulau : Long exposure in Bask Country and Béarn

I love capturing architecture and landscape in long exposure, and the place where i live is great for that ! A reflex, a nd filter, a tripod, and it's just i need, to dream and discover the beauty which surrounds me.Let me talk with you, about some photos ...
Portrait of the Aryans by Abhishek Nandy

Portrait of the Aryans by Abhishek Nandy

Beyond the rich heritage of monasteries, the spirit of Buddhism, the captivating Landscapes and the Indus, one specific facet of Ladakh which has always fascinated me is the legendary inhabitation of pure-blooded Aryans in this parts of the region.
Unconscious Reality by Kaushik Dolui

Unconscious Reality by Kaushik Dolui

Sometimes we want to destroy the real space through our imaginative mind. Tried to replace the concrete form of the image to combination of light and shadows and our physical body becomes transparent against light or shadow.
Kushti, the noble art by Marcello Perino

Kushti, the noble art by Marcello Perino

Kushti is a form of wrestling practiced in india, it's not just a sport actually, it's a lifestyle made up of strict rules which allow to earn a pure and noble living. Wrestlers live and train together followed by a guru who is also their spiritual guide.
Instant Stage by Ioana Tăut

Instant Stage by Ioana Tăut

The photographs that can be seen in my submission are part of my latest project called “Instant Stage”. The name of the series presents the subject it handles and the medium through which the series was created. 
Five minutes with Olivier Borson

Five minutes with Olivier Borson

I’m 50 , French, I live in Reunion Island, which is a small French overseas territory close to Mauritius and Madagascar.

Featured Stories

Ethiopia – Change in the Valley by Matilda Temperley

Ethiopia – Change in the Valley by Matilda Temperley

The fate of the Omo Valley was sealed in 2006 when, upstream of the valley’s arterial Omo river, the Ethiopian government began constructing the ‘Pride of Ethiopia’
The Tribal Heartland of India by Tania Chatterjee

The Tribal Heartland of India by Tania Chatterjee

Bastar is the tribal heartland and treasure trove of ancient Indian culture. Today Bastar, is a part of the State of Chhattisgarh, India. It is a land of undiscovered surprises, with mysterious forests, breath-taking waterfalls
Why Drag? by Magnus Hastings

Why Drag? by Magnus Hastings

Magnus Hastings is a portrait photographer whose current series of large-scale photographs, and accompanying book, Why Drag?, focuses on the phenomenal artistry and counter-cultural spirit of the international drag scene.
Descendants of Samurai Ryotaro Horiuchi

Descendants of Samurai Ryotaro Horiuchi

In the Soma region of Fukushima prefecture, there is a traditional Samurai festival called “Soma Nomaoi”, which is said to have continued for more than 1000 years.
El Gimnasio Hermanos Manchego by Theo Gould

El Gimnasio Hermanos Manchego by Theo Gould

Nelson “La Maldad” Manchego has created a warm and educational atmosphere within a hollow shell of a space. San Andrés Island, one of the lesser known Caribbean Islands
Nice Nosing You by Elke Vogelsang

Nice Nosing You by Elke Vogelsang

Born in 1972 Elke Vogelsang turned her professional life upside down later in life to leave a smoothly running and profitable but dull job as a translator to pursue what she loves - photography.
Secret garden by Fenqiang Liu

Secret garden by Fenqiang Liu

Secret garden was selected and published in our print edition 21. Spring, many nesting pairs of Great Egrets gather at Kraft Azalea Garden in Central Florida, the United States to begin their nesting rituals. I was inspired to share with the world the beauty of the Great Egrets.
Baikal of wonders by Alina Desyatnichenko

Baikal of wonders by Alina Desyatnichenko

The land of Baikal region in Russia has always been sacred for the local indigenous peoples – buryats. And shamans who could talk to local gods were revered as a hereditary caste of the chosen.
The ordinary by Lotta Lemetti

The ordinary by Lotta Lemetti

For me creating still life compositions is a form of self-exploration. The creating process is an intriguing and almost devotional journey through my mind. Through predilections in aesthetic decisions such as subject matter, color and composition the work reflects who I am, where I come from and what I have experienced.
Golden Gate; The Bridge, Reconstructed by Michael Yuan

Golden Gate; The Bridge, Reconstructed by Michael Yuan

I wanted to challenge the perceptions of the Golden Gate Bridge. In solid red-orange and spanning 1.7 miles long, the Golden Gate Bridge is an icon of San Francisco.
Crash landed by Ken Hermann

Crash landed by Ken Hermann

“Crash Landed” is a series of 10 photographs imagining an astronaut who suddenly returns to Earth and finds himself needing to readjust. The project is shoot in collaboration the British Art Director Gemma Fletcher.
Wake Me Up by Suvobroto Ray Chaudhuri

Wake Me Up by Suvobroto Ray Chaudhuri

Some people wake up in the morning full of energy and some find themselves fumbling for the snooze button. How you begin a day goes a long way towards how your day would end. So it is important to find ways to get off to a good start.
Tokyo by Manol Valtchanov

Tokyo by Manol Valtchanov

Tokyo had always been a special place to me from my first visit. Since then, each of my travels there has meant a sort of break dedicated to an emotional research and sometimes even more to an inspirational flat-out.
Delhi … where life never stops 
by Victoria Knobloch & Jagdev Singh

Delhi … where life never stops 
by Victoria Knobloch & Jagdev Singh

Monochrome Photoart is a joint venture of the german photographer Victoria Knobloch and the indian photographer Jagdev Singh. Their work highlights the essence of human existence with the same loving eyes yet individualy different.
Self-portrait project : Exposure by Jaqueline Vanek

Self-portrait project : Exposure by Jaqueline Vanek

Self-portrait project focused on the transformation of oneself, against the prejudices of the general society towards freedom of expression and to be who one really is without hiding before anything.
A Hindu funerary rite in a Calcuta crematory by Joxe Inazio Kuesta

A Hindu funerary rite in a Calcuta crematory by Joxe Inazio Kuesta

Today we are going to go to a different site that will interest you, which will impress you, Rahul told me. Where? I asked. You'll see, he answered. Rahul was my guide: a boy who slept in the street. And he was right, it was impressive, exciting.

Trending Stories

Abstract photography; Ethereal by Castro Frank

Abstract photography; Ethereal by Castro Frank

His dramatic approach to street photography takes on a new life as the series delves deep into exploring psychological and emotional states of mind.
Liminality by Pygmalion Karatzas

Liminality by Pygmalion Karatzas

‘Liminality’ series was taken during the ‘Integral Lens’ 5-month photographic journey in United States sponsored by the Fulbright Artist Scholarship for a multi-perspectival study of architectural photography. 
Jean Bastien Lagrange : Sous la Lampe

Jean Bastien Lagrange : Sous la Lampe

Jean-Bastien Lagrange is a Paris based photographer with a serious sense of place and style.
Skyscrapers : The View of the Tokyo’s Subcenter by Masuda Yoshitaka

Skyscrapers : The View of the Tokyo’s Subcenter by Masuda Yoshitaka

If I were to choose a place for me to enjoy such views, I think I would go with an observation deck in one of those skyscrapers overlooking Tokyo's subcenter.
Homeless notbeing notbelonging by Ismaël Guye

Homeless notbeing notbelonging by Ismaël Guye

Not being, not belonging: to anything, to anywhere. How to survive if you are excluded and alone? How to survive if you don’t have a place, if you don’t have a home? Just pretend that nothing happens; take a place
Own Place by Wiktoria Wojciechowska

Own Place by Wiktoria Wojciechowska

This photographic series of works is a symbolic attempt of connecting a human being with his place of living. In times when distance is no longer a barrier and when settling down and identifying with space is getting harder.
Nicolas Boulet ; Passers-by

Nicolas Boulet ; Passers-by

The serie is built around the photograph of passers-by in the same place (Paris) following the technique of the light-dark. The images are taken over several months. The set consists of over a hundred images.
Sicilian Sea by Alex Foolery

Sicilian Sea by Alex Foolery

Alex Foolery was born in Catania, Sicily and is now 24 years old. He started photographing in 2010 with an old mobile phone, a Sony Ericsson Z1010, to send multimedia messages that could outweigh the standard of a normal text message.
Fashion; Glamour photography of Ludek Ciganek

Fashion; Glamour photography of Ludek Ciganek

I was born in Trebic, Czech Republic, where I also currently live. Photography has fascinated me even as a child, ever since my father allowed me to handle his film SLR camera
Fractal images; Melothesia by Ricardo Guixà

Fractal images; Melothesia by Ricardo Guixà

This work belongs to the series entitled "Melothesia", a term that designated in Greek the affective relationship by affinity between all things, terrestrial and celestial, that populate the universe.
Transcendental tranquility  by Dirk Roseport

Transcendental tranquility by Dirk Roseport

Seas and oceans are central to the work of Dirk Roseport. With his Transcendental Tranquility - Oceans Project he makes a contemporary reference to a romantic tradition within painting: that of the artist/photographer shunning the turbulence of the 21st century.
Hypothesis by Claudio Mortensen

Hypothesis by Claudio Mortensen

The central idea for Hypothesis Project came to me during a theatrical performance, that I had the opportunity to photograph in 2016. Once the performance started, immediately came to my mind, a memory of part of poem from a Brazilian poet, Carlos Drummond de Andrade.

Other Stories

stay in touch
Join our mailing list and we'll keep you up to date with all the latest stories, opportunities, calls and more.
We use Sendinblue as our marketing platform. By Clicking below to submit this form, you acknowledge that the information you provided will be transferred to Sendinblue for processing in accordance with their terms of use
We’d love to
Thank you for subscribing!
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted.
- Between 10/30 images of your best images, in case your project contains a greater number of images which are part of the same indivisible body of work will also be accepted. You must send the images in jpg format to 1200px and 72dpi and quality 9. (No borders or watermarks)
- A short biography along with your photograph. (It must be written in the third person)
- Title and full text of the project with a minimum length of 300 words. (Texts with lesser number of words will not be accepted)
This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Contact
How can we help? Got an idea or something you'd like share? Please use the adjacent form, or contact contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted. This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation.
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Get in Touch
How can we help? Got an idea or something you'd like share? Please use the adjacent form, or contact contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.