Maria Plotnikova
Maria Plotnikova is a documentary photographer from Moscow. For 10 years of her life in South America she visited almost all countries of the region: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Venezuela, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, El Salvador, Uruguay, Ecuador and Chile.
It was Latin America where her personal style formed in the genre of street photography.
It was Latin America where her personal style formed in the genre of street photography.
Maria Plotnikova
People, animals and various objects stand apart in his photography. They seem to exist within the same photo, but at the same time they do not outwardly contact each other in any way.
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"My inspiration is life itself, unstaged and unpredictable"
Maria Plotnikova
— Maria, hello! Tell us how and when did you start photography?
— I became interested in street photography after moving to South America. Until 2010 I lived in Moscow and worked as a reportage photographer, mainly in sports and news. After moving to Argentina in 2010 I got the opportunity to take pictures for my own pleasure, I was able to realize my long-standing plan - to just hang around in the streets and photograph the daily life of the city. I didn't get into the specifics of the genre, but quite quickly realized that what I do is so called street photography. Since then, street has become my favourite genre.
— What advice can you give to those who start street photography or what would you advice to yourself in the beginning of your career?
— The method I will now recommend was the one I used to overcome my fear of photographing strangers.
It seems to me very useful to come up with a certain topic for yourself before leaving the house and shoot it specifically. For example: “today I shoot only people in glasses”, “today I shoot men in suits”, “today I shoot red colour”, “today I shoot laughter”.
Gradually, the fear of the subject will disappear and the boundaries of your images will open indefinitely.
It seems to me very useful to come up with a certain topic for yourself before leaving the house and shoot it specifically. For example: “today I shoot only people in glasses”, “today I shoot men in suits”, “today I shoot red colour”, “today I shoot laughter”.
Gradually, the fear of the subject will disappear and the boundaries of your images will open indefinitely.
— How do you look for inspiration? Are there any street photography masters who have influenced you?
— I am one of those photographers who find inspiration in the external environment, I find arts in the moments that arise in front of my eyes, so I do not seek and do not create something within myself. I just have to press the button at proper moment, and the image with the story is ready. Street photography is the best fit for this method of shooting, but any other genre of documentary photography can also match it. However, it is always important to be on the alert and try not to slip into stamps.
From the point of street photography, I was most influenced by Magnum's Alex Webb and Gueorgui Pinkhassov. I was part of the now-disbanded Vivo street photography community for a while and Facebook conversations with photographers such as Shin Noguchi, Gustavo Minas, Ed Peters, Martin Molinero, Alison McCauley and others also influenced my perception of street photography. In addition, I follow the work of Russian photographers who shoot in street genre, some of my favourite authors are Artem Zhitenev, Alexander Gruss, Emil Gataullin.
From the point of street photography, I was most influenced by Magnum's Alex Webb and Gueorgui Pinkhassov. I was part of the now-disbanded Vivo street photography community for a while and Facebook conversations with photographers such as Shin Noguchi, Gustavo Minas, Ed Peters, Martin Molinero, Alison McCauley and others also influenced my perception of street photography. In addition, I follow the work of Russian photographers who shoot in street genre, some of my favourite authors are Artem Zhitenev, Alexander Gruss, Emil Gataullin.
“I just have to press the button at proper moment, and the image with the story is ready.”
— Thank you for sharing! And what cameras and lenses do you prefer for street photography?
— Probably 90% of my photographs were taken with a 50mm lens. And I've been shooting all my life with Canon DSLRs. In addition to the full-frame camera, since 2012, that is almost ten years, I’m actively shooting with mobile phone. I think that the quality in this case is not so important, and those angles that allow you to use a smartphone completely cover all the disadvantages of mobile images. For example, I am shooting a series about trains and without a mobile phone it would have been simply impossible to make most of the shots in cramped carriages of trains.
— Maria, what are your artistic plans for the future? How did you change your approaches to photography in situation with the pandemic?
— As for personal projects, now I have moved a little away from street photography and am engaged in long-term documentary photography. I am very interested in the theme of Moscow renovation and I try to capture the Moscow that will disappear in some fifteen years - not only in architectural terms, but also in terms of everyday life, interiors, leisure, atmosphere and other routine moments.
In addition to that I am very curious on everything connected with the "Big Brother": how he gradually takes power in our lives and why we do not resist it. This is a difficult task from a photographic point of view, but very interesting to search and find visual solutions. The situation with the pandemic and quarantine is the best fit for the implementation of my ideas.
Besides to personal projects, me and my friend develop our chamber photo agency Tempus Photos, offering documentary photo stories to business. Due to the coronavirus, activities had to be suspended, but we are full of courage.
In addition to that I am very curious on everything connected with the "Big Brother": how he gradually takes power in our lives and why we do not resist it. This is a difficult task from a photographic point of view, but very interesting to search and find visual solutions. The situation with the pandemic and quarantine is the best fit for the implementation of my ideas.
Besides to personal projects, me and my friend develop our chamber photo agency Tempus Photos, offering documentary photo stories to business. Due to the coronavirus, activities had to be suspended, but we are full of courage.