Dear guest, thank you for visiting my portfolio!  My name is Arcady Zakharov. I hold a PhD in Physics and Mathematics, work as a Leading Researcher at the St. Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, and I am a Corresponding Member of the International Academy of Refrigeration.

I became interested in photography as a child. It all began with film and a darkroom, where an image would miraculously appear on a sheet of white paper. When evaluating my own photographs and the work of other authors, I always rely on three criteria: craftsmanship, creativity, and emotional impact.

Life has turned out — or perhaps I have shaped it — in such a way that I have been able to visit many fascinating corners of our planet. In the “Travelling the World” section, you can see photographs from Mongolia, Nepal, the Kingdom of Bhutan, Upper Mustang, and other remote places. Many unique images were taken during two scientific expeditions to Antarctica. This section does not yet include photographs from my journeys to China and Tibet.

The results of my photographic expedition to the Russian North are presented in the “Wooden Age” section, which features photographs of churches, chapels, mills, barns, peasant houses, and their interiors. These photographs are still waiting for their publisher.

I was deeply impressed by the church architecture of Pskov from the 12th to the 16th centuries. This is where the “Temples” section begins. I also plan to expand this section with photographs of Buddhist temples from Lumbini, Nepal — the birthplace of Buddha Shakyamuni.

I am interested in shooting techniques that make it possible to obtain unconventional images directly on the camera sensor at the moment of exposure. Computer post-processing contributes more technically than creatively to the final image. Over time, I have accumulated many such techniques, including some that I invented myself. The results can be seen in the “Made in Camera” section. This is what I call the analogue component of shooting with a digital camera.

The “Pictorial Photography” section is dedicated to photographs taken with a single-lens objective, or monocle lens. This lens creates a soft image while preserving sharpness in the central part of the frame, with halos around bright details. Strong chromatic aberrations make the monocle difficult to use in colour photography, but they can also be used as an artistic expressive device. Shooting with a monocle requires simplicity and conciseness in composition. Such photographs are distinguished by a strong emotional component and are perceived lyrically, poetically, and even philosophically. A photograph taken with a monocle is most expressive when softness of image, sharp contours, and luminous halos are all present at the same time.

The “Series” section contains works that are not included in the other thematic sections of the portfolio. I rarely take single photographs, as a series provides a more complete representation of a subject. If the individual images within a series are expressive and self-contained, then the series can be considered successful.

From time to time, I photograph beautiful women, and these works can be seen in the “Photo Sessions” section. In these photo sessions, I strive to reveal femininity, individuality, beauty, and the inner state of the model. I also believe that every woman should have her own photographic portfolio: it can help her feel beautiful, strengthen her self-confidence, and preserve her image as a memory for her children and grandchildren.

Photography is a visual art, and one should learn it, among other sources, from painting. In the “Painters” section, I post photographs from exhibitions and return to them from time to time. This helps develop visual experience, which in turn helps in composing the frame.
 

The “From the Life of a Photographer” section contains pictures taken by friends and by people I barely know. This section was created not for self-promotion, but to show how interesting and diverse life becomes when one is truly passionate about photography.

The “My Recommendations” section contains a small selection of films and books that, in my opinion, can help one become a photographic artist.

 I hope you have found something interesting here — and perhaps even something useful. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact me through the “Contact” section.