Ilya Kovalchuk's analog conceptions of beauty

"My name is Ilya Kovalchuk, I'm 30. I was born and raised in a small village in Russia, but now I live in Moscow.

I became interested in analog photography 3 years ago and recently started experimenting with color film. I do filmsoup, redscale, and multiple exposures, sometimes all at once. I like orderly chaos in my work."

A/A: What alternative techniques were used in creating these images?

IK: I'm keen on experimenting with filmsoup, using various chemicals, and boiling temperatures. Otherwise, I use a hot air gun to melt film emulsion. Also, I like creating shots using redscale + multiple exposure.

A/A: What got you interested in film photography?

IK: I appreciate balanced decisions in film photography. Having only 36 shots to make, you separate the wheat from the chaff, and that's why the most shots do the job. You just can't learn that with digital photography.

A/A: Do you find your work has a theme?

IK: People's beauty is my through line. With the alternative methods of film photography, I create new scopes of perception, new points of view on beauty of the world.