Interviews
The wonderful world of people by Dmitry Rogozhkin
An interview feature on Dmitry Rogozhkin's work, his approach to photography and the ideas behind the images. His works were featured in the 35AWARDS 2015 TOP100, where he won the photo prize in the nomination "The Man".
The interview
Winner of the 35AWARDS photo prize, nomination "The Man"
Dmitry immediately agreed to the interview. Even a rather extensive list of questions did not deter him: he talked about his work with enthusiasm and brightly — about photographs, paints and lives. It is not surprising that his works received the award in the nomination "The Man".
The photographs in this series are living images of real people, our contemporaries. The interview follows the reasoning behind them and the way the photographer arrives at each frame.
Somewhere in a year photography became for me a more convenient way of self-expression than drawing or painting.
Dmitry Rogozhkin
The full conversation is published with the original feature on Photar.ru, and the interview is dated 15/10/14.
Recognition
Awards and nominations
The interview accompanies a body of work that brought international recognition, listed here with the years as they were reported.
Photography began for this artist as a more convenient form of self-expression than drawing or painting, and that shift still shapes how he works today. Instead of a brush, he reaches for a camera; instead of pigment on canvas, he composes frames of light, gesture and ordinary life. The early path was gradual: an interest in art and drawing, encouragement along the way, and eventually the decision to enroll in architectural studies. Buying his first camera changed everything, opening a way to see the world differently and to record what he noticed.
Growing up in a small town and being shaped by university years gave him a strong sense of how surroundings influence a creative mind. The built environment, the people in it and the rhythm of everyday streets all became material. Workshops, tutorials and a growing portfolio of works helped him move forward, and social networks offered a place to share what he made and to learn from other photographers. The camera, once a tool, became a way of paying attention.
His images have been recognised beyond his own circle, with works featured among an international selection and a photo prize received for a portrait nomination. Such recognition rarely feels like the point; it simply confirms that photographs about people can resonate. What matters most to him is the honesty of the encounter, the patience required to let a subject relax, and the pleasure of shooting when the frame finally holds something true.
This interview explores that process in conversation: how photographs are made, how ideas take shape, and what lies behind the images. The answers come across as thoughtful and generous, full of enthusiasm for the craft and for the people who appear in it. Between them they reveal a photographer who treats the camera as an extension of drawing, and who believes that paying careful attention is a form of artistic expression in its own right.
| Year | Award or feature |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 35AWARDS 2015 TOP100 — winner of the photo prize in the nomination "The Man" |
| 2015 | Gold at the international competition of the Photographic Society of America, Varna |
| 2015 | 1st place, All-Russian Festival of Contemporary Art, student art festival "genre portrait" |
| 2015 | 500px Best of 2015 — Top 10 Fine Art Photos |
| 2014 | Winner, VII International Competition Youth Film Festival "Create-Mountain" |
| 2013 | 2nd place, I Festival of contemporary photographic art RT |