Research Piece

Looking into studio photographers I wanted to focus on still life and food photography
because I feel that it is something that has taken my interest at this moment in time.
The first photographer that I have been researching is Dina Belenko and the below
paragraph taken from a website explains what her work is all about.
“My name is Dina and I tell animate stories about inanimate objects”. I'm a person
with little paper cities, sugar cubes, moon from polymer clay, dolls miniatures, broken
cups, handmade Rube Goldberg machine, repainted puzzles, wire trees, cardboard
dragons and spilled coffee. And with photo camera. That's quite essential me :)
When I graduated from high school, I wanted to be a book publisher. I received a
humanitarian education (Publishing and Editing). Oddly enough, this education was
useful to me as a photographer: both in the technical part (the basics of image
processing and prepress) and in the creative part (inspirational courses literature,
aesthetics and cultural studies). I think it's my dream to do book illustrations is a kind
of desire to combine these two specialties together.
[ CITATION Din \l 1033 ]

Dina Belenko focuses her work on still life where she tells stories with her objects,
creating a whole narrative to the scene. She is a brand ambassador and is
commission based for her work on food. Her style is very unique, bold and vibrant,
she tells a magical story with inanimate objects making them appear animated. She
works with a range of different objects placing them cleverly and very well thought
out to make her photograph come to life. She uses a Nikon D800 60mm and 50mm,
Two speedlights SB-910 and a tripod.

What other writers have said about her work,

by Editor  Yvette Depaepe

“Dina Belenko's imagination is endless.  She tells us magical stories with mundane
objects, brings them alive.  Her work is colourful and playful.  She doesn't consider
her photographs as creatively edited but far more as still life images. Dina is not only
a talented visual narrator but she drags us into her magical world through her
images. Moreover, she is a spirited and charming lady who often made me smile
when I first red her answers in this interview.
Enjoy her sparkling personality and learn more about her.”

[ CITATION Yve \l 1033 ]

Here are some of her images below,

[ CITATION Den \l 1033 ]

[ CITATION Den1 \l 1033 ]

[ CITATION Den2 \l 1033 ]

The second photographer I took a great interest in was Victoria Ivanova another still
life photographer who draws up sketches in preparation for her still life photographs.
She lives to create a story from her images, she explains that the story of the scene
is much more important to her than the technical side of it. She states that she is a
constructor and not a hunter and what she means by that is that she doesn’t go out
looking for the perfect image, she doesn’t want to spend the time waiting around for
something amazing to come along she just wants to get on and create her own
exactly how she has planned in her head. Victoria works in black and white which
creates these dark, sad and moving scenes, her photography is conceptual and
imaginary and she manages to make even a pear come to life within her
photography. She uses studio lighting, different perspectives, lens’s and particular
objects to make something that could otherwise seem so ordinary come to life.

What writers have said about her work,

Author (Unknown)

“Russian Photographer Artist Victoria Ivanova (1986) who is really a different beat in
both object creation and using her camera. As a photographer she got that
imagination gift to be able to translate a full imaginary story out of her mind to be a
picture in a frame carrying a full story where the observant catch it from the first
seen. Lights, perspectives, lens and objects all together gives us that new great
inspiration of artwork using ordinary and regular things to produce new style and
ideas of photography. She is such a stream of deep, rich and different imagination
that comes from heart and mind of a true artist.

She always loved paintings and photos. she have also always wanted to show her
friends all the beautiful places that she had seen and the things that had impressed
her. Russians often say: “It is much better to see something once than to hear about
it even 7 times”. Photography helps her to do this. And to express herself.”

Below is some of her work.

[ CITATION unk17 \l 1033 ]

[ CITATION Vic14 \l 1033 ]

[ CITATION Vic141 \l 1033 ]

[ CITATION Vic1 \l 1033 ]

In conclusion, the styles of both the photographers certainly have a unique way
about them but also very different vibes. Belenko uses vibrant colours and creativity
in a way that makes the whole scene very interesting and happy, where as Ivanova’s
images often look sad and there is a great deal of emotion to them. I look at
Belenko’s images and just feel bright in myself, she uses a variety of props and
pop’s of colour to grab the viewers attention, where as Ivanova uses expression and
often sadness to make the viewer feel something, I even feel sorry for the pear in the
photo and the reality is that it is a pear and general when I pick up a pear I wouldn’t
feel upset to eat it but I’m not sure I would feel the same with hers. With Belenko’s
images there seems to be a lot more going on and often mess being created, to
someone with ocd this could meddle with their brain, and then Ivanova’s Photo’s are
more simplistic and they don’t need too many objects because what she has is
enough to tell a story. Ivanova works mostly in landscape and black and white but
Belenko works in colour and often has the camera faced in a birds eye view position.
I love both of their works for all these different reasons.

Bibliography
Belenko, D. (n.d.). Coffee Wins.

Belenko, D. (n.d.). Dina Belenko / Members Interview. Retrieved from photography talk:
https://www.photographytalk.com/member-interviews/6695-dina-belenko-member-
interview

Belenko, D. (n.d.). Kitchen Mess.

Belenko, D. (n.d.). Summer Homework.

Depaepe, Y. (n.d.). best photography. Retrieved from best photography tips and tricks:
https://best.photography/tips_and_tricks/266633/dina-belenko--photographer-of-the-
week/

Lonely, V. I. (n.d.). A. Retrieved from Art p: https://www.art-prints-on-

demand.com/a/ivanova/lonely-6.html

Lonely, V. I. (n.d.). Art Prints. Retrieved from Art Prints: https://www.art-prints-on-

demand.com/a/ivanova/lonely-6.html

Pears, V. I. (2014, June 23rd). Black-white artwork by the Russian photographer Victoria Ivanova.
Retrieved from Russian Ambiance: https://russianambience.com/black-white-artwork-by-
russian-photographer-victoria-ivanova/

Pegs, V. I. (2014, June 23rd). Black-white artwork by the Russian photographer Victoria Ivanova.
Retrieved from Russian Ambiance: https://russianambience.com/black-white-artwork-by-
russian-photographer-victoria-ivanova/

unknown. (2017, December 29th). Artist Of The Day. Retrieved from visualdiplomacy:
https://visualdiplomacyusa.blogspot.com/2017/12/artist-of-day-december-29-victoria.html