Former Chelyabinsk Policeman's Photography Featured at Prestigious Exhibition
The camera became a means of earning for the Chelyabinsk resident only a few years ago.
A photographer from Chelyabinsk has become a participant in a prestigious exhibition for finalists and winners of the Russian Photo Awards «Photo of the Year» competition. Igor Ushakov was noted by the expert jury, his works from the cycle «Quiet Forms» entered the top-100 of the spring series of the competition, although the Chelyabinsk resident has been professionally engaged in photography not so long ago — since 2022, and before that he worked in the police. How such a radical change happened, Igor Ushakov told 74.RU.
Once, the model for the photo artist was the former head of the regional Ministry of Social Policy Irina Butorina.
\«Actually, I»ve been interested in photography for a long time, practically since childhood, my uncle was a photographer,\« explains Igor. \»But then I entered law school, studies, work... During my service in the police, I also did some shooting for myself, tried different techniques, and when I reached retirement, I decided that«s enough. I could have continued working there, but I realized that it»s time to do what I want.\«
Such photos can hardly be called typical.
After retiring, Lieutenant Colonel Ushakov — at that time he was not yet 40 — bought a professional camera, enrolled in courses, learned retouching, and gradually began working in the commercial field — shooting portraits, weddings, event reports.
Minimum of emotions and colors — emphasis on form.
\«Of course, at first it was unclear where and how to gather clientele. But, as you know, word of mouth works best. Gradually, people notice you, see your desire to work, to make it beautiful,\» notes Igor.
These works did not make it to the final of Russian Photo Awards, but look worthy.
Igor does not draw a clear line between commercial and artistic photography, like some of his colleagues.
\«There are people who clearly separate: here they earn money, and here is the creative impulse, when they come up with something, get inspired. But for me, commercial photography is also creativity, I always try to find some interesting angle, interesting idea. I want people to remember you for some unusual shots, non-standard approach, so on any shoot I try to experiment.\»
In response to the question whether it is possible to compare earnings from police service and photographer«s income, Igor answers negatively.
\«Between these jobs there is an abyss, the internal affairs organs are a system, you have a clear schedule, clear tasks, stable salary by rank. And here there is seasonality, there are busy months and »empty« ones, for example, January is a rather difficult month for photographers. But it»s not just about how much you earn, what matters is what you are passionate about. If you want to do this, you can always plan and distribute your income so that it«s comfortable.\»
Conceptual photographs, like the series «Quiet Forms», are still a smaller part of Igor Ushakov«s portfolio, but the Chelyabinsk resident admits that critics» attention is flattering and he plans to develop his successes in this direction.
\«I just returned from St. Petersburg, went to the exhibition where my works are. I didn»t even expect that it would be right in the center, next to the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, that there would be so many people. It was pleasant to observe from the side how your works are viewed, evaluated, someone approaches, photographs. Not every experienced photographer can boast of such, and I am very pleased, it is very valuable,\« he shared. \»When I got into the top-100 of the spring series, my mentor was very worried that I wouldn«t take first place, said, »don«t give up» and so on. But I was by no means upset, I am definitely not giving up. Only forward.\«
