The Orthodox photographer is the best in Eurasia! The Neskuchny Garden correspondent won an international competition. Animated photography Orthodox photographer

Andrey Radkevich at work. Photo by Ekaterina Stepanova

Today, on World Press Freedom Day, the results of the II International Journalism Competition were summed up at the Central House of Journalists "Eurasia. Social portrait " .
135 professional photojournalists representing media from 17 countries of Eurasia and 44 regions of Russia took part in the competition. The competition is held by the International Confederation of Journalist Unions, Eurasia Media Center and the International Academy of Television and Radio under the patronage of UNESCO.
The 1012 photographs submitted to the competition reflect the social problems of our day: wealth and poverty, problems of difficult teenagers, street children, drug addiction, the terrible consequences of military conflicts and other pressing social topics.
The selection committee selected 205 photographs from the submitted works and presented them for consideration by the jury. Chairman of the jury of the photo competition - columnist " Novaya Gazeta“Yuri Rost, summing up the results, noted that it is not for nothing that in Russian the word “lens” denotes not only the main tool of the photographer, but also a truthful approach to covering facts. The idea that the truth about a person, conveyed by photojournalists, can change the world for the better was heard more than once during the ceremony.
First place was awarded to our magazine's photojournalist Andrei Radkevich (with his prize-winning photo entitled “Poverty is not a hindrance to childhood”).

Andrey is a regular participant in missionary campaigns carried out by the Brotherhood of the All-Merciful Savior. The photo was taken during one of these hikes in the village of Stupinskoye, Arkhangelsk region

Second place went to Andrei Kravchuk (Russia, Moscow), third place went to Said-Khusein Tsarnaev (Russia, Grozny).
Among the works selected by the organizers of the competition for the exhibition are photographs by our editorial photographers Ekaterina Stepanova and Evgeniy Globenko. Note that the vision social problems, demonstrated by our correspondents, as well as many other participants in the competition, does not come down to exposing the ills of society - the work is distinguished by the search for humanity and light even where it would seem difficult to find - in prison, on social day, in a nursing home, in deep poverty. Truth without love is not the complete truth, as evidenced by the exhibition materials.
The competition included not only photographs, but also documentaries and television stories. Of the 26 videos and tapes sent, 7 video materials were presented to the jury for consideration. Chairman of the jury of the television competition - President of the International Academy of Television and Radio Anatoly Lysenko. First place was awarded to the film by Arman Yeritsyan (Armenia, Yerevan) “Under open air» -- stories of life, love and death of two homeless people. The second was awarded to documentarian from Belarus Irina Akulovich for the film “I Can Speak”, and the third to Irina Pivovarov (Moldova, Chisinau) for a series of stories about HIV-infected people. After the names of the winners were announced, a viewing of the laureates' ribbons was arranged.

See photo report from the awards ceremony:

The winner of the photo competition came to the celebration with his family

After a short briefing...

...the opening ceremony of the event...

...and speeches...

...prizes were awarded -...

...- diploma and desk clock

Maria, Seraphim and Andrei Radkevich

Ours at the exhibition: above - Ekaterina Stepanova against the background of her exhibition, on the left - Evgeniy Globenko

Photo by Vyacheslav LAGUTKIN, Irina SECHINA and Ekaterina STEPANOVA

Selecting a camera

I made my choice of camera based on the following parameters:

To be mirrored.
SLR cameras have a much better lens and in addition the viewfinder is combined with the lens. Those. Through the peephole you see what is captured by the lens. Thus, it turns out to make sure that everything that is needed is included in the frame, and what is not needed is not included. And you can still see all the shadows and highlights, which you can sometimes get rid of by changing the tilt of the camera.
To be light and small.
Some people buy a cool professional camera with a set of lenses and tripods. Having read various literature on photography, they substantiate their choice. And then - they take pictures with a soap dish!!!
I consider this the height of stupidity and pride. They justify their behavior by saying:
- they are afraid of breaking or losing expensive equipment,
- hard to carry with you.
- I want to click quickly and don’t have time to tinker with the settings.
An obvious manifestation of pride: I HAVE A COOL CAMERA... But pride is usually quickly put to shame: the first normal amateur photographer will call such a fool or worse.
To have one universal lens: ZOOM / landscape / portrait
On a pilgrimage trip, it’s personally difficult for me to carry a bag with equipment in addition to all other things. And you must never part with her - they will take her away.
And in church with her, and to receive communion, and to approach the relics in a crush... So interchangeable lenses are very burdensome. In addition, there is often no time to change them.
To have a more or less powerful flash
Some novice amateur photographers believe that the flash of their soap dish illuminates everything around them like lightning and try to photograph landscapes at night with it :). To photograph an icon in a dimly lit church, you need a powerful flash. It seems that she is very close - on the ceiling. But to the ceiling - 5-20 meters. .
There won't be enough soap.

To withstand rain, snow and other bad weather

The camera should work in snow and rain. As a rule, all cameras are more or less designed for this. True, this is a matter of luck. I somehow fell into a snow-filled gutter with my OLYMPUS and fell with the lens extended forward. He wiped away the dirt and snow and dried it. Works.

Additional details
Among the additional things I purchased for it:

Tripod GIOTOS RT-8000.
Small: 30 cm long when folded, slightly more than a meter when extended. Those. the device is at chest level. The store said that it was for a point-and-shoot camera, but it calmly holds both my OLYMPUS and ZENIT with a large and heavy flash. The main thing is to extend your legs completely and secure them, and that the surface is level and there are no strong gusts of wind.

I always have a set of spare CR123 lithium batteries.

Two pot-bellied barrels.
Why is this necessary? No charging indicators can be fundamentally accurate and sometimes they lie very much. Do you think that your battery charge is enough for 2 films? Maybe that's enough, but suddenly the flash doesn't flash... Once I found myself in such a situation. There were no such batteries at the station, much less in the kiosks that it was possible to go into. These are rarely sold anywhere, especially far from Moscow/

I bought a zero filter for the lens.
At first I used it for a gas mask, and to make the device softer, I put it in a soft wool cap. Then I bought a more waterproof one of the same style and size.

Why not a branded case?

Cameras are being stolen...
There are a lot of thieves in Orthodox churches. Why don't they fight them? Because it's very difficult. Here in our monastery there was a gypsy who forced a child to beg and periodically beat him in the toilet. When I go into the toilet, I see him beating. I'm calling the watchman. He calls more men and drives her away. Well, they kicked me out, what next? He will come again. Need money for drinks. If you turn it in to the police, they will still release you; there is no article for vagrancy. But here we are, where there is a seminary - 60-80 young guys - and even with great difficulty it is possible to disperse ordinary beggars. And largely due to the fact that the priest did not give his blessing to give them MONEY. Candy and food - please. If you catch a thief in a church red-handed, he will scream wildly that Christians are killing him, he will curse everyone and everything, and he will find many intercessors among the grandmothers (I saw it myself in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra).
The matter will not reach the police. And all thieves know this and therefore often steal in front of everyone. In many parishes, everyone knows thieves by sight and warns regular parishioners. SO THE LESS YOUR PHOTO BAG SAYS ABOUT THE PRESENCE OF A CAMERA IN IT, THE LONGER YOUR CAMERA WILL BE YOURS.
Sometimes you can't take photos
Some people are jealous that you take photographs. Therefore, if they see your bag with a camera right at the entrance, you may be asked to put it in the storage room - you will lose a lot of time, and most importantly, you will not take a photo of anything. And if they don’t notice, then you can say that they didn’t know and hide the device in your bag. Everyone will be happy: you took the photo, the guard made a remark to you :))).
Sometimes grandmothers who are zealous beyond reason begin to take the initiative and ask:
Have you been blessed to take photographs?
You can answer this:
- Have you been blessed to make comments to those who take photographs?
And she will shut up or it turns out that she was sent to keep order, then calmly put away your camera - all power is from God, even this...Easier to get
from a soft and wide bag than from a hard case, especially with cold hands. Warm your hands in winter

When waiting for a shot, it’s better to wear a warm soft camera hat than a cold plastic case. The optics do not fog up, as if you hold the device under a coat.

How should an Orthodox photographer dress?
Nothing should indicate that he has expensive (or not very expensive) photographic equipment. No straps or bags with logos or advertising of photo manufacturers. The presence of such things is the first tip for a thief. Remember! Shooting time is a few seconds or minutes. And your items may be the watch in question.

In winter, the jacket should have a hood.
When praying outdoors (for example, in a cemetery), it is customary to remove the hat. But then the prayer service is over, and you have a few seconds for a successful shot, and at this time you put on your hat. Or you need to take off your hat indoors, there is an opportunity to take a photo, and have the hat in your hand. While you are moving it from hand to hand, you can lose time - a crowd of pilgrims will stand near the icon you are interested in... The frame floated away. Or if you take a photo while holding a hat in your hand, it may cover the lens. Even just a little bit, but it will spoil the frame greatly.

Mittens, gloves, fingerless gloves.

Hands get cold in gloves. It's inconvenient to take off with mittens. There is a compromise - gloves with cut off fingers and a mitten cap. It seems convenient, but this cap often gets into the frame when shooting, especially when you need to quickly photograph something. So, in my opinion, regular mittens are better, but not wool ones - your hair will get into the lens.

Bag for photographic equipment
We've already talked about the bag.

Only for women.
Speaking about clothes, it should be recalled that unpious clothing for men - shorts and T-shirts with open shoulders, for women - bare heads, short skirts, trousers, bare belly, bare shoulders and cosmetics - ESPECIALLY UNACCEPTABLE for an Orthodox photographer. If you, wearing ungodly clothes, modestly get lost in the crowd, no one will notice you. But if you take photographs, there will definitely be many, many people who want to make comments to you. It won't seem enough. Remember this, especially dear ladies!

What is possible and what is not

You can't walk everywhere in the temple. Therefore, even if you were allowed to take photographs in the temple, this does not mean that you can go wherever you want in search of a shot.

It is forbidden:

Walk between the iconostasis and the candlestick or between the priest (reader, deacon) and the iconostasis. You have to go around from behind.
The number of people does not matter.
Walking on carpets is reserved for priests.
Go to the raised platform in front of the iconostasis - pulpit and salt.
Stand with your feet on shrines with relics, candlesticks and other church furniture, as well as sit on it (in order to catch a shot)
Use beepers and buzzers on digital cameras and photography phones.
Interfering with the movement of people and especially clergy.
Talk during worship.
Photograph moments of the service when the sacrament is performed:
Baptism,
Confirmation (not to be confused with anointing)
Eucharist (communion)

Not advisable:

Standing unnecessarily with your back to the altar.
Distribute unsuccessful footage depicting the shrine (this will be discussed in more detail).

Preferably

Before taking a photo, take a blessing from the priest: come up and say: “Father! Bless me to take a photo!” As a rule, they allow it. It is usually not the priests who do not allow photography, but the MUSEUM. And that’s why priests sometimes don’t bless. For example, in Solovki, when the museum was strong, they were not allowed to photograph even the temples from the outside - they were forced to buy a special ticket for this. The museum gave up its position - the monastery allowed it. And inside the temples they are often not allowed to take photographs, so as not to spread bad photographs.
Do not take photographs in the temple with a flash, but rather with a long shutter speed and a tripod. In this way natural sanctification will be transmitted.

How to frame a frame well

The ability to construct a frame well, i.e. choosing what you want to photograph is the most important thing in the art of a photographer. Without this the most will not help best technology. How to learn this art - there is a lot of different literature, incl. and on the Internet. I will talk about the features in relation to church photography.

Procession.

How not to take photographs.

A woman in a headscarf is very beautiful. But a frame consisting entirely of handkerchiefs is not entirely healthy. And this is exactly what happens if you try to photograph a religious procession while being in its ranks. Or, lifting up your favorite soap dish, you try to photograph the priest’s face facing you. Have the nerve, or better yet, take a blessing from any priest (before shooting, of course) and take pictures as needed.

How to take photos

It is good to photograph a religious procession either from the front or from above, and it is advisable if it is photographed against the backdrop of churches - the beginning and end of the path.

Temples and people, people at temples.

Don’t be like the communists - don’t “cut off” crosses and domes from churches!

If you want to take a photo of a person against the backdrop of the temple, let him come CLOSE. Otherwise, few people will believe that this small figure is in the distance... This especially applies to group photos. Pilgrims who want to take pictures at the temple usually immediately stand near the wall of the temple, as if they were going not to be photographed, but to be shot. Therefore, you have to move away to the required distance to hit the entire temple, and then chick-chick-chick....

A little more about people.

Taking a good photograph is not easy. I'll tell you about a few basic things:

If the photograph is light, then the person in it will be dark. Therefore, set your camera to “always flash” and preferably “anti-red-eye” (blinking). Otherwise, the camera's brains will adjust to a light background or to a medium one - in short, it will be bad.

By the way, it is on the principle of the “black silhouette” that Orthodox icon painting is based. The saint is depicted against a bright background: the halo is a glow. However, the saint’s facial features are light, as if he is not blocking the light, but the light passes through him, filling him. We are not saints, so there is no need to take pictures against a bright background :)))

Usually the defect occurs when a couple is photographed. Wanting people to be in the center - center autofocus ends up on a distant point behind and focuses into the distance. Because of this, people appear out of focus - not sharp. Therefore, if you are photographing with an unfamiliar camera, it is better to focus on the face of one. Let the photo be not entirely symmetrical, but in focus. A similar disaster does not happen if people stand near a wall or other object - even if it focuses between their heads - then the distance to the wall is almost the same as to the people!

Glare. An attempt at a scientific explanation of where angels and demons come from in photographs?

It is better not to shoot against the sun. And if necessary? Then you have to experiment - shoot from different angles, cover the lens. If the device is a mirror, then, having some experience, you can see where the glare is formed and fight it. Soap camera users hardly see the glare at all, and for them, various amazing spots in the photo are creatures from another world.

We photograph icons.

Many priests do not allow photographs of icons in churches. They do it right! Because in a church setting it is almost impossible to do this well for a number of reasons:

1. The icon is blocked by candles, lamps, pendants, someone’s handkerchiefs and the back of their heads

2. In the dark, when photographing with a flash, a glare appears on the icon

3. It’s almost impossible to set up a tripod for shooting: there’s nowhere.

4. Due to the impossibility of standing in front of the icon, they take photographs from the side, distorting the proportions

5. Illumination due to nearby candles and lamps creates additional glare

If the icon is famous, then, as a rule, with the blessing of the abbot, he photographs it good photographer, having previously arranged it in the desired way, and these photographs are sold in the church shop. Moreover, the price is comparable to the price for a regular photograph, if it is printed not somewhere cheaper, but in a good studio. Those photographs of icons that pilgrims take are often not copies of icons, but disgusting caricatures of these icons, for a caricature is a distorted image. That's why I very rarely photograph icons. And even then, only when there is some chance of doing it well, because the icons are placed accordingly. Otherwise I say: “shoot it yourself, I can’t.”

Our author today is not just a “priest passionate about photography.” Father Igor Palkin - professional photographer. And if the image of the priest, who took the camera in his hands to express love and admiration for the world, is already familiar to readers of Thomas, the path of Father Igor, from photography to the Church, is unusual and therefore especially interesting.

Igor Palkin took his first steps in photography in the newspaper “Tatiana’s Day” - one of the first Orthodox media in Russia, which was published by the Church of the Holy Martyr Tatiana at Moscow State University. In the nineties, working in such a publication was akin to pioneering: journalist-enthusiasts of “Tatiana’s Day” broke numerous stereotypes that had developed outside the Church - about the Church. Including pictorial stereotypes, due to which the Russian Orthodox Church acquired in the eyes modern people popular print image: “candle, domes, gold icons.” The youth publication tried to show the beauty of Orthodoxy not only with the usual, but with all possible colors.
Truly carried away by his work at the newspaper, photojournalist Igor Palkin remained in the Tatyana Church, becoming first a simple parishioner, then an altar boy, a deacon and, finally, a priest.
But life circumstances were such that the priest did not give up his profession; and now I am grateful to God for this! Now Father Igor Palkin is a staff photographer at the Orthodox Encyclopedia Church Scientific Center. Business trips give him a unique opportunity to see and capture in photographs the Russian Church as it is: in huge cities and abandoned villages, on great holidays and church days, and not only in Russia, but in Belarus, Ukraine...
And wherever the priest comes, he takes living, animated photographs. Alive, because at the center of them there is always a person. Even if there is no face or outline of a shadow in the frame, there is an amazing feeling of presence, a warmth left by someone. Here is a priest at the Liturgy, bowing to the floor - a symbol of bright sorrow... Here are two people: a spellbound visitor stopping in front of a painting and his interlocutor, looking from the depths of the painting.
Father Igor is a principled opponent of “spying” on the lives of other people. And the point is not even that he denies any possibility of reporter photography (for a professional photographer this would be strange), but that people, according to his sad experience, react negatively to a photographer who “steals” minutes of their life, taking them without asking, secretly, treacherously.
“I’m interested in finding spiritual contact with the person I’m photographing, so that he opens up, and not sullenly or embarrassedly withdraws in front of the lens. Every photo session for me is a Meeting with a capital “M”, an opportunity to touch the secret of someone’s soul. I don’t know whether I can do this... let those who see my work judge!”

The baptism of a child is one of the most important moments in a person’s life. Such a magical event, a great Sacrament, captured in photographs, will become an invaluable contribution to your family chronicle.

In this type of shooting, it is important to approach the choice of a photographer with special care. Filming in a church is considered one of the most difficult types reportage photography. The lack of light in the Temple, a large crowd of people around the baby, the need to be unnoticeable and delicate regarding the action taking place - all this poses difficult tasks for the photographer. In such conditions, only an experienced professional, well prepared from a technical point of view and, certainly, having secured the blessing of the priest, will be able to catch the most important points, the best angles, the most vivid emotions.

When you choose the Orthodox photographer Ekaterina Efremova, you can be sure that she will cope with shooting at any level of complexity. Ekaterina Efremova has been involved in children's and family photography since 2009, but another favorite area of hers is Orthodox photography. Ekaterina Efremova’s works are exhibited at Orthodox exhibitions in Russia and abroad.