Moscow-based Mikhail Matvienko’s street photography journey began with a scenario that many photographers can relate to. Working as a film editor for almost 30 years, his job recently shifted towards a more technical direction, sparking in him the desire to seek a creative outlet somewhere else.
“So in 2021, at the age of 47, I bought a camera and found out that the most accessible genre is street photography,” he shared. “It also had the least chance of making money and the most chance of getting into trouble. I decided that it suits me.”
What followed is a path many of us are also familiar with. “After watching educational YouTube videos on photography and buying a book by Henri Cartier-Bresson, I went outside, and since then my passion for street photography has only flared up.”
These days, he usually spends one to three days a week taking photos, always carrying a compact camera and ready to shoot at almost any moment. Apart from Moscow, he especially likes shooting in St. Petersburg, spending two or three weeks a year there to take photos.
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Copyright ⓒ Mikhail Matvienko
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Copyright ⓒ Mikhail Matvienko
The “first year” in monochrome
With his background as a film editor, it’s not surprising that he found more potent inspiration in cinema. “The work of Emmanuel Lubezki, the films of Terrence Malick, Andrei Tarkovsky, Leos Carax, Michelangelo Antonioni, Jim Jarmusch – I can’t count them all,” he cited. Eventually, he also began to discover some of history’s most esteemed street photographers, along with his contemporaries that are making their mark in street photography circles across the globe.
“Almost randomly, I can name Saul Leiter, Harry Gruyaert, Alex Webb, Trent Parke. I have especially warm feelings for compatriots who have managed to assert themselves in the global arena of street photography: Gueorgui Pinkhassov, Lesa Kim, Artem Zhitenev, and Ilya Shtutsa.”
As with many photographers, he also found black and white fundamental to his beginnings in street photography. Feeling great about the visual technique — and greatly inspired by iconic names and movements in still and motion pictures — the vast majority of photos from his first three years were monochrome.
“I was greatly impressed by Daido Moriyama, Joseph Koudelka, Alexander Rodchenko, and of course black and white films – German Expressionist Cinema, French and British New Wave, Film noir. I especially want to mention the film by Wim Wenders – Im Zauf der Zeit with the incomparable aesthetics of the ORWO film.”
“But, at this stage, I have deliberately moved away from monochrome images and have been shooting only in color for six months. To some extent, this conscious step is dictated by the fact that in film institutes at the faculties of cinematography, future cameramen are not allowed to use color images for the first year, honing their skills to use form and simple contrasts,” he said, once more in reference to his filmmaking background. “Only then do they move on to chromatic contrasts and balances. So I thought that my ‘first year’ was over.”
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Copyright ⓒ Mikhail Matvienko
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Copyright ⓒ Mikhail Matvienko
The most democratic but also the most difficult photography genre
Street photography, Mikhail confessed, turned out to be not only the most democratic but also the most difficult photography genre. “I constantly have to educate myself — to study technical aspects, the history of painting, look at an incredible number of photographs, visit museums and develop communication skills,” he added.
It’s easy to see how he arrived at this idea. Anyone with a camera in hand (even a smartphone will do) can roam the streets in search of something eye-catching to snap. But it takes constant practice, steady flow of inspiration, and keen observation to capture an effective and timeless street photo. The ability to find something interesting in the everyday is another skill that street photographers spend honing for years.
“Almost anything can serve as a trigger for my photos – a strip of light, an unusual combination of shapes or colors, patterns, and interesting people. Over time, you start to get aesthetic pleasure from the most ordinary things and wonder why others don’t see it.”
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Copyright ⓒ Mikhail Matvienko
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Copyright ⓒ Mikhail Matvienko
Who decides what’s “decisive”?
Despite first being inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Mikhail doesn’t attach much importance to the concept of a “decisive moment.” “Who decides that it is decisive when in minutes, a rider on a beautiful horse passes instead of a cyclist?” he poignantly mused. “It’s just one of the options for the development of the event, which is provided to us by the place, time, and perhaps the universe itself.“
In addition, a big chunk of the decisive moment involves encapsulating a visual story into a perfectly timed shot. However, Mikhail also believes that today’s photography landscape, impacted by mobile photography and artificial intelligence, will shift away from straightforward narratives. These visual stories, he noted, have simply become too perfect and too easily achievable.
“In general, as with the advent of photography in the 19th century, artists were forced to look for new solutions. And with the advent of mass mobile photography and AI, modern photographers will already be forced to move away from simple and narrative forms into more abstract, non-personalized forms or vice versa, to technical and formal simplification. Hence, all this vibe of cheapest camera, films and Polaroids. People don’t trust perfection; it has become too easily achievable.
Copyright ⓒ Mikhail Matvienko
Copyright ⓒ Mikhail Matvienko
“Nothing difficult about what you enjoy”
Despite the inherent and perceived challenges of street photography, Mikhail believes the most difficult part of his foray into the genre is walking 20 kilometers or more. “There is nothing difficult about what you enjoy,” he adds, and that he also doesn’t get too upset if he doesn’t get, at the very least, an acceptable photo. What matters to him is that the “skill is getting better.” In addition, he alludes to training one’s observation by “taking pictures with your eyes — only it’s more difficult to save such photos.”
With these ideas, it’s understandable that he doesn’t really have a favorite photo of his own — or rather, the favorites are constantly changing. “Lately, I like the concept of Garry Winogrand that works should be published in a year, when the view of them becomes more impartial.”
Asked to share his recent favorites, he cited a photo of Lesya Kim’s reflection in the PhotoBox, “because she participated in photo exhibitions several times this year and I like how the audience guessed what was on her.”
On a final note, he also believes that the most unique thing about street photography is street photography itself. He describes it as “a genre that gives such an incredible impetus to the development of a creative attitude to the world, and where everything can only begin for you at the age of 50 and older.”
Follow Mikhail Matvienko on Instagram to stay updated with his work.
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