Think aloud...

The Portrait of My Memories...

2011-10-24T10:12:00.003-04:00

Model: Tatya Belyavskaya

9/11: Never Forget... Photographs by Matt Weber

2011-09-11T14:24:00.000-04:00

The photographer's site and blog

September 11, WTC, New York, 2001

September 15, WTC, New York, 2001

9/11. Never Forget...

2011-09-11T14:10:00.000-04:00

Photographs by Steve MacCurry...
The photographer's site
The photographer's blog

September 11, New York, NY, USA, 2001

10:30 AM, September 11, New York, NY, USA, 2001

September 11, New York, NY, USA, 2001

7:30 AM, September 12, New York, NY, USA, 2001

The Miracle in The Sky...

2011-07-13T22:59:00.002-04:00

This evening, my husband Dima and I went swimming to the ocean on Coney Island. The sunset was wonderful and the water gentle... The clouds looked golden in the sunlight. But the beauty was anxious because it predicted a storm. There were leaden clouds nearing. A few minutes more and a strong sandy wind began. So little time did we had to hide under a shelter. The air got full of sand followed by heavy rain. The nature was raging. Little by little, the air started getting clearer, the colors brighter, the rain more transparent. And, oh, there appeared a huge rainbow. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera on me. But I couldn't fail to capture these impressive moments. So I took pictures with the cell phone.

A double rainbow...

The storm is giving up...

The Long Weekend: Apocalypse Now!

2011-07-06T11:37:00.004-04:00

July 4, 2011
Coney Island, Brooklyn
Pink Sunset. People are celebrating Independence Day...

Two Months of Beautiful Summer Portrait Photography

2011-06-25T16:07:00.003-04:00

Every girl wants to be fabulous in her own pictures, to reveal her individuality and beauty: for herself, her friend or someone special.
If you want, too, write back about the summer photo session...

See more on my personal site www.vera.belyavskaya.com

I make a few kinds of portraits:

- Emotive portrait

- Fashion portrait

- Model tests

- Snapshots

Choose the ones you like best and e-mail me: photo@belyavskaya.com

Femme Fatale...

2011-05-31T09:52:00.000-04:00

It often happens that seeming riches, wealth and beauty can hide a real human loneliness behind themselves...

Model: Tanya Belyavskaya

Le Café...

2011-05-31T09:44:00.001-04:00

I love taking photos in little comfortable cafes or restaurants... My three big passions, that are beauty, photography and tasty food, meet together here. It is really great! :)

I made these portraits of my muse and one of the best friends Tanya in Moscow last summer. It was not long before my leaving for New York. I knew that we would part soon. And I could not dote on her beauty and youth.

On that July day we had a session in one of Moscow parks and at evening time, we came to
Mi Piace – a wonderful Italian restaurant at 1 Tverskaja-Yamskaja St. in the very center of the city. Besides many different kinds of pasta and delicious salads, incredibly tasty pizza was served there. I think, pizza can be tastier only in Italy. And of course, there was refreshing tangerine and cucumber lemonade. We drank it a lot that evening...

Model: Tanya Belyavskaya

The Red Sun...

2011-05-10T12:20:00.000-04:00

Model: Eva Alampay

Ginger...

2011-05-10T10:09:00.000-04:00

Model: Eva Alampay

Scarlet Velvet...

2011-05-10T10:02:00.000-04:00

Model: Nadya Petrova

Pearl...

2011-05-10T09:53:00.001-04:00

I like coolness of the winter evening,
when white-pink air imbue with blueness...

Model: Eva Alampay

The History of the Dress or Modern New Look

2011-04-19T15:20:00.002-04:00

The idea of this session was born when I was thinking over my professional future
as a fashion photographer. Now, I am at the beginning of my creative way and need
to understand what contribution to the art, photography and fashion I can make one
day. I mean, today, a lot of photographers work in this sphere, but only a few of them
become great artists and create real photography, doing that not just for business. If you
want to be noted between your colleagues, you should have more than many years of
experience or a cool camera and lenses. You should have an extraordinary view on life
and people, and strong intuition; you should feel a moment and work, work, work a lot.
And, of course, you should love very much what you do.

Fashion... The beautiful word and the world included in it that means a dream or
happiness, sometimes it is a theatre. For other people it is only clothes...
For me, fashion is art. Nevertheless, I think fashion has been made for people, not
people are born for fashion. But when I open a magazine or watch a fashion show on
TV, I start changing my mind. And it is so sad...

Besides several modern names (like Peter Lindbergh or Paolo Roversi), today, pages
of glossy magazines bristle with the same pictures of the same models and the same
inexpressive emotions. There are forced expressions on the faces, affected smiles and
unnatural poses. Where is life in the life style? Where is passion in hot looks? I look at
them and do not believe what I can see. It is fake! The faces lie to me and others. They
look like a bad movie with a bad director.
Not long ago, the industry started working out patterns and masks. For example, I
remember a sullen look of a model when she wanted to look angry in front of the
camera. But she really did not feel like that and the image looked really pretended. I call
this thing “wolf's eyes” or “a wolf's look”. Maybe, all models want to eat...like a hungry
wolf? The second clichè is a humpbacked pose. A model's back looks like an arc. Why?
Is it beautiful or sexy? I don't think so...

How many times I have seen these things: women in magazines looking like dolls, not
alive people. Also, after computer retouching pictures, human faces and skin look like
plastic. It is terrible! Then, why fashion editors and photographers take real people to
work with? Why not to use mannequins? It could be simpler and cheaper...
I cannot believe that a real woman with her feelings and soul could hardly ever enrich
a photography image. It is like a great actress enriches a complex role with her temper
and individuality. But most of fashion photographers are not interested in it.
I am sure fashion photography should be alive, because living people wear clothes.
So, I would like to be a photographer who will make fashion alive...

Well, these thoughts have led me to making my first original fashion session with one of
my favorite models, Eva. I like many-sided people who can transform themselves into
different images and, at the same time, keep their great naturalness. These women are
like very good and talented actresses.

I wish to create a new look of an aristocratic young lady. She is smart, delicate, feminine
and beautiful – like Eva. She has a fine taste and personal dignity. For me, this image
is associated with New Look style by great Christian Dior. An X-shaped dress is a
symbol of it. So, I drew my own sketch of an evening X-shaped dress for a modern
woman. And now I would like to say "thank you so much" for a person who helped me
bring my idea to life. This is my mother-in-law Tatyana. She sewed the dress in a week!
It is unbelievable... It was in February, and we did not have a lot of time to finish all
preparations for the session. The last winter snow was the reason why we should have
hastened.

Nice view...

Location: Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York
Model: Eva Alampay
Dress-maker: Tatyana Martynova
Photography, style, make-up, hair style: Vera Belyavskaya (me)
Assistants: Dmitry Martynov, Igor Goncharov
Editor: Olga Korchazhkina
Make up consultant: Tatiana Belyavskaya

The Light Painting...

2011-04-18T17:40:00.000-04:00

Model: Nadya Petrova...

Nadya...

2011-04-18T17:31:00.001-04:00

This is Nadya...
When we met her unusual eyes amazed me very much.
And I liked to make several portaits of her.

Model: Nadya Petrova

Eva and Sissi...

2011-04-17T00:08:00.000-04:00

Sissy is a little chiwawa dog... She is french.
And she lives with Eva.

Model: Eva Alampay

The Portrait of Eva

2011-04-16T22:57:00.000-04:00

Model: Eva Alampay

The New Inspiration...

2011-04-16T22:48:00.001-04:00

Her name is Eva...
I think It's a very beautiful and rare name. We have two common friends who help us to meet.
Eva lives in the Jersey City in a little sweet house with her very important and close person - her husband Jake. She is a dedicated, pure and openhearted girl . And we found understanding from the first time we met. She has an aptitude to be simplicity and natural on camera. Her artistry, delicate femininity and ginger hair amazed me...

What does it mean to be a good photographer?

2011-04-05T19:45:00.001-04:00

Every day, a lot of people take pictures. While some do it for their family or friends,

family photo albums or in memory, some – as a hobby, for others photography is a

profession, career or vocation. Then, what is the difference between these things? Does

photography as a profession mean photography as a vocation? I have heard lots of

times, "I caught a moment in those pictures!", "Shoot a photo!" or "Taking pictures is so

easy!" Is it? And when a photographer has a one- or two-hour session, changing plenty

of images and decorations, is it enough to create an excellent portrait? Once, a great

photographer Ansel Adams said, "You don’t take a photograph, you make it". I think

these words are the key to understand the nature of good photography.

Look around! What happens when somebody wants to have an outstanding picture?

They try to find a photographer on the Internet, ask friends or colleagues and look

through portfolios and prices.

For these people, to look beautiful, fabulous and luxury is the first, the only and the most

important criterion to decide which photographer to choose. And to look like a movie or

pop star is the best thing, as well. It is a dream! Nobody wants to show their own souls

or psychology, and nobody wants to pay much money, because it is just photography.

It is so easy to do: “Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!” Unfortunately, this attitude makes just a

doer, not a creator, from a photographer. And most of them are not against it. “It’s

business! It’s easy! Why not?!” they say. Is true photography just a business thing? That

is the way how a consumer forms a primitive view on photography as a kind of visual

arts, as a self-expression. And photographers help them. Moreover, most of those

photographers take their models for dolls, mannequins or commodities. Fast people –

fast money – fast photos! We do not have time to think about complex art, we need to

have everything and right now. We do not have time to think about a conception of a

session, a composition of a picture, light and many other things that are important for a

good result. And we prefer auto, not manual, settings, because it is simpler, faster and

does not have to be thought about.

Real photography contains variety of components. It should not be fast or hasty,

because creating something great needs a lot of time, great efforts and hard work

on you yourself. There is technical competence, knowledge of camera settings and

equipment, photography processing, visual rules, composition, light, human psychology

(when you work with people), history of arts and photography, professional intuition

to feel the “right” moment, an aesthetic taste and personal life experience. A total of

these things help you create a picture that could become unbelievable, fantastic, magic,

unforgettable and true, because a true picture is a picture that can touch your feelings

and sense and give rise to your emotions. A photographer must feel his/her model (a

woman or man - does not matter), see, listen to, understand, be at the same time at the

same place with him/her, find the heart’s and eyes’ depth, look inside and make verbal

and non-verbal contacts.

Photography is a stop-moment thing but not only the present. Photography is the past,

too, because the creation process is preceded by hard and sometimes very long work.

Some ideas are born in you mind, your imagination finds something interesting and

unusual in the image of the model. Of course, you need inspiration and a muse, suitable

location and light. And it really gives you satisfaction and pleasure. Finally, photography

is the future because you grow up and go straight ahead.

This serious work needs a lot of time but you can achieve great results. Get ready to

lose your fast money!

It is up to you to decide what way to choose...

Aqua...

2011-04-05T19:39:00.001-04:00

It was the day of november... The sunshine was soft and gentle. The wind was playful. The ocean was blue.
And Olga is so beautiful...

Location: Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York
Model: Olga Martynov
Assistants: Dmitriy Martynov, Igor Goncharov

Indigo...

2011-04-05T19:24:00.000-04:00

Model: Olga Martynov

The Evening Sun...

2011-04-05T19:20:00.001-04:00

Model: Olga Martynov

The Portrait of Olga...

2011-04-05T19:15:00.000-04:00

Model: Olga Martynov

Olga...

2011-04-05T17:02:00.000-04:00

This is Olga. She is my husband's sister. Now she lives in Paris...
I made these portraits, when Olga was in New York last autumn.
It was a great time!
Olga is a wonderful person. She is easy, openhearted and sweet girl.
I like people who is so sincere like Olga. We spoke about everythin, laughed and made photos.
And I fell in love with her skyblue eyes...

Peony's Passion...

2011-04-05T15:54:00.002-04:00

Model: Ekaterina Dar
White Rental Studio, Moscow

Peony's Passion...

2011-04-05T15:49:00.000-04:00

Model: Ekaterina Dar
White Rental Studio, Moscow

Peony's Passion...

2011-04-05T15:43:00.004-04:00

Model: Ekaterina Dar
White Rental Studio, Moscow

Indi...

2011-04-05T15:31:00.002-04:00

Model: Ekaterina Dar
White Rental Studio, Moscow

Happy New Year!

2011-01-02T00:56:00.000-05:00

My Tender Morning...

2010-12-16T01:23:00.000-05:00

Model: Ekaterina Dar
White Rental Studio, Moscow

The Morning Dream...

2010-12-16T01:21:00.001-05:00

Model: Ekaterina Dar
White Rental Studio, Moscow

Morning Light...

2010-12-16T01:17:00.001-05:00

Model: Ekaterina Dar
White Rental Studio, Moscow

Tender...

The Emerald Dreams...

2010-11-17T21:36:00.000-05:00

Mermaid...

2010-11-17T18:06:00.000-05:00

Twilight...

2010-11-17T18:00:00.000-05:00

The First Halloween... =)

2010-10-31T23:18:00.001-04:00

White, orange, black...
It's my first Halloween in New York.
Suddenly, Martha Stweart's world was opened for me. I was inspire to her ideas and made some intresring and funny things for the celebration...

Muse...

2010-10-31T22:11:00.021-04:00

Her name is Tati Belyavskaya.
She is my Muse and best friend.
And she is my inspiration and sunshine...

Blog's birthday... =)

2010-10-31T21:49:00.003-04:00

Hi! My name is Vera...
I'm from Russia, Moscow, but now I live in New York.
It's new life and good time to begin my blog.
It will be about beauty, art and photography...
You can see my photoworks in the blog or on my site http://vera.belyavskaya.com/
=)