He travels a lot, and takes photo’s to save the beautiful places in his memories. Russian photographer Andrey Belkov likes desolate places and wants to remember them in their pure form. In an interview conducted by Perspectiva Art for Color Objects, Andrey says ‘Only during this time of the year you can see snow in combination with a very blue sky and the reflection of this juicy sky in the water. Works in the series came together by themselves: all about the snow, water, sky in various combinations.’ The series was made in various locations in the winter of 2011.
‘Of course, colors play a big role in my work: they convey my emotions to the viewer and create a mood. For example, the first three works with water, sky and snow seem warm and cheerful, despite of the fact that all of them have snow. They are charged with optimism and raise emotions such as happiness, self-confidence and freedom. I think that the colors are responsible for such emotions. The whole palette of blue colors takes me into a world of peace and joy. I feel better when I look at them myself. On the last four photos with snow and sky – a combination of colors is quite different… the color is not bright, it’s cold, the palette is more sparse. Objects on the photo seem insignificant and together with the color, they create a sense of calm and relaxation. If the sky would have been more juicy or contrasty then the whole effect of the work would be different. The color on these photos does not draw your attention to it, it is neutral and calm, but this was my idea: to make the picture look very plain with pale colors, to make it quiet and calm. Sometimes it happens that I can see the colors straight away, at the moment of shooting, and sometimes I see them later on, when viewing the photos. But in this series colors are vital, they create the photo themselves, they are the core element.’
‘For a long time I was fond of black and white photography and I was absolutely happy with the quality. But as soon as I started trying to make colored photos, I was almost instantly disappointed by lots of minor details, and the main thing was the color. I tried to do something more or less interesting out of these pictures, “twirling” the color in the editor, but I didn’t like it from the start. But then I tried a film camera and when I scanned the first slide, the decision was made instantly. The picture without any significant changes looked exactly as I wanted it to be. So now I make minor contrast and tone adjustments only. The rest makes the film. And the colors the film gives are perfect. Thus, I do not create these colors myself, its all – nature. I’m just a good observer. And I know how to preserve these colors in my works.’
