Anastasiy Mikhaylov/Estergom:“I was born at 1966 in a soviet military man’s family. Most of school years I spent in Moscow, Russia, but high school years I was in Hungary not far from Esztergom town. In memory of those wonderful years of my youth I chose my nickname.
![Estergom](https://cdn.cfye.com/app/uploads/2011/10/28111410/Estergom_11.jpg)
After soldiering I entered the camera man faculty of Cinematography Institute in Moscow, Russia. After graduating I was working as a camera man for German company making documentary movies and TV programs for leading German TV companies like ARD, ZDF , ARTE, RTL, Pro7, SAT, MDR, etc. and colaborating with many well-known west companies – BBC, NHK and others. After I was working as Director of Photography (DOP) for several TV shows on Russian TV channels. I was making TV series, music clips, commercials. At present I am still working in the cinema and TV industry in the commercial advertising field as Director of Photography (DOP).
![Estergom](https://cdn.cfye.com/app/uploads/2011/10/28111410/Estergom_12.jpg)
“My interest for painting lead me to the photography. My first strong artistic impression was a brochure with reproductions of the Hermitage museum art collection.”
![Estergom](https://cdn.cfye.com/app/uploads/2011/10/28111412/Estergom_01.jpg)
I was spending hours looking into the most famous nudes works of great masters of the past like Rubens and Rembrandt. As I had no opportunity of taking draw classes I decided to use my dad’s camera Zenit to make photos and than make a painting of the photo.
Also I was under great impression of Dostoevsky’s novels and movie “Stalker”, A. Tarkovsky at this time.
![Estergom](https://cdn.cfye.com/app/uploads/2011/10/28111412/Estergom_03.jpg)
During my school years in Cinematography Institute I felt in love with such directors as Michelangelo Antonioni, Lukino Viskonti, Wim Wenders, Kshishtof Zanussi, Vadim Abdarashitov. I was impressed by Helmut Newton’s works, which was exhibited first time in Moscow.
Lately I discovered works of Armenian painter Akop Akopyan. His works charmed me with their graphics, meditativeness and internal moderation.
![Estergom](https://cdn.cfye.com/app/uploads/2011/10/28111411/Estergom_04.jpg)
“My passion for photography was with me during all my director of photography career. But I start to shoot serious when the new digital technologies took the market.”
![Estergom](https://cdn.cfye.com/app/uploads/2011/10/28111411/Estergom_06.jpg)
As a follower of classic black & white photography I am gladly using innovations of modern technologies. I think that disputes about film and digital photography are meaningless as I think that the Subject of photography is more important than the Method of it.
![Estergom](https://cdn.cfye.com/app/uploads/2011/10/28111411/Estergom_05.jpg)
“The most important thing for me in photography is a liberty of artistic choice, that why I am not very interested in commercial projects.”
![Estergom](https://cdn.cfye.com/app/uploads/2011/10/28111411/Estergom_07.jpg)
I just like to shoot and get satisfaction from the process, from communication with the model and photo retouching. The difference between working on movie where you are just a part of the team is that photography is giving me almost full liberty of self-expression.
![Estergom](https://cdn.cfye.com/app/uploads/2011/10/28111409/Estergom_13.jpg)
My photography style is formed from several factors:
Love for horizontal format as a tribute to cinematographic frame. I consider that as the most convenient for the viewer. It allows to insert some (noise) in the composition creating the effect of spying and leaving a lot of free space, stripping person’s loneliness or confrontation with external world.
![Estergom](https://cdn.cfye.com/app/uploads/2011/10/28111410/Estergom_10.jpg)
I think the color is distraction. The ideal photo for me is the one without any needless or odd details. I am consciously seeking simple, primitive, inaccurate or studiedly accurate compositions. I am using only day light or tungsten light. The only reason of this choice is my directors of photography habbit and also I think that flash is a little disturbing for a models. Because of long exposures people on my photos have to pose. I usually ask the models to look into the camera, I like when not only the viewer examining the person on the photo, but a model is examining the viewer. That creates a dialogue.
![Estergom](https://cdn.cfye.com/app/uploads/2011/10/28111412/estergom.jpg)
As for me I prefer not to classify Nude photography as independent genre. Many works of this genre I would refer as portraits, sometimes even as still-life or landscapes. Nudity for me is one of the ways to create a character. I consider my works more likely to be a portraits or movie stills. I am trying to express model’s individuality and singularity but at the same time I understand that photo for me is an attempt to create collective character of ideal woman, the one you can only dream about.”