About & Contact

Photography, without a doubt, can be art. However, as much as we endeavour for our photographic work to be art, more often than not it ends up being mere visual records or unfulfilled intentions. It is a rare achievement that a photograph, let alone a whole body of photographic work, can reach the level of true artistic embodiment.

While I strive to produce artistic work and, by extension, something that truly bears my signature, this site is nothing but my personal playground, a sandbox where I explore, experiment and build sand castles. As mentioned on the home page, it is a collection of random ramblings and musings, both visual and written. Whether any of it is art, only time—and you, the viewer—can tell.

Containing more than one hundred photographs (some posted together with essays), the Gallery is constantly evolving as I gradually develop as a photographer and replace some of the images with better ones. It thus represents my aesthetic perception and level of technical skill at this particular time.

My work has been published in various international magazines (and not only). Among notable publications I would like to mention an article on my work in the Photographer magazine (in Russian), and that two of my photographs were included in the Hasselblad 2010 calendar. The reason I am not mentioning any newer publications is that I ceased actively seeking to publish my work when I realised that what really matters at the end of the day—and what I crave most—is connecting with myself.

I love Asia. Though a Russian national, I studied, worked and traveled in China for well over twenty years (I am currently based in Singapore). As of now, most photographs on this Web site were taken here. Consequently, they present not only images as such, but, indirectly, a long–term commitment to this country. I hope that this Web site might be of interest not only to my friends and those interested in photography, but also to anyone related to The Middle Kingdom in any way, be it through a one–week trip or a life–long academic quest.

Your comments, suggestions and critique are welcome and will be appreciated—you can always reach me on oleg–at–olegnovikov–dot–com.

Thank you for visiting.