Maxim Korostelyov
Minsk | Belarus
BIOGRAPHY
I was born in Minsk, Belarus in 1992. Since I can remember I was determined to become an actor. I think my mother's love for classical Soviet melodramas during my upbringing played a big role in developing of my passion for acting. I memorized lines from favorite movies, and spent hours performing in front of my mom in the kitchen afterwards. Later acting became my profession. In 2014 I graduated from the Belarussian State Academy of Arts and spent next 4 years in Janka Kupala National Theatre in Minsk working as an actor. I think ability to observe is one of the most important skills you can get from acting classes. You watch people: how they move, express their feelings and emotions, what their habits are. I am pretty sure that is what lead me towards photography. I can say, I was drawn to photography spontaneously. My father gave me his Zenit-E, a legendary Soviet 35-mm camera when I was 17. I started capturing and developing my own photographs. Classic film photography became my hobby and my passion and later on developed into my career. I like to use film. Working with analog machine is like zen meditation, it is an intuitive process that requires a lot of patience. I take a long time to look through the matte glass of my Mamiya camera to find the right angle. I want the portrait to be unique and honest at the same time. I think that good photography requires attention to detail, silence and time. Darkroom is the next step of the process. It allows for another layer of creative input, where I use gelatin silver printing technique to preserve the genuine quality of my photos. I photograph everything that touches my heart and resonates with me. I believe every detail and every part of this world is important, everything has its own value and significance. Honestly, I get lucky sometimes: I look through the camera and suddenly everything works out.
