Digitalab Featured Photographer: Alina Kisina
At Digitalab, we know that you can’t underestimate the power of a truly exceptional image. The beauty of photography as an art form is in its diversity – with so many wonderful genres and so many utterly unique photographers out there, photography means many different things to many different people. That’s why we asked Alina Kisina for one of her images and asked her a couple of questions to find out exactly how she fell in love with photography and what she’d say to any aspiring photographer hoping to make a career out of their passion.
Alina kindly shared her thoughts with us over the phone recently and we have summarised them below.
Tell us a bit about this image and why you chose it to be featured.
I felt that this image was worthy of sharing due to the way it makes me feel. It’s contrasting features make me feel alive and inspired, but at the same time calm and focused. When I see this photograph I lose myself in a river of liquid silver, and can sense the warmth of the light, despite the image being black and white. This image is from a collection of mine entitled “city of home”. The image was actually taken in Kiev, Ukraine, but you wouldn’t know it from looking – it has a mysterious quality to it.
Which styles of photography most interest/inspire you?
I would not say there is a particular style or genre of imagery I find the most inspiring. It is the special qualities and unique features in photographs that I enjoy. The most inspiring photographs are the ones where the viewer makes a discovery, not necessarily unseen information, but perhaps unseen meaning and feeling. This could be a photograph from any genre, from fine art to sports.
What one piece of advice would you give to an aspiring photographer?
My number one piece of advice to any aspiring or young photographer is to be patient. Photography is a skill which needs to develop and it will naturally find it’s place with time. Postpone evaluating your work for as long as you can and continue to indulge in your passion, honing your skills. Another big piece of advice for anyone is – don’t be afraid to make a fool of yourself – nobody gets anywhere without trying new things or experimenting with their art.