I made the trip to Calvert 22 gallery last weekend to see an exhibition of Russian photography. The show aims to examine Russia's evolution over the past 100 years by comparing the way various Russian photographers have approached their subject.
Pastoral, 2008-12
Alexander Gronsky
Dinner During Hay Making, 1909
Alexander Gronsky
Anna Alexeevna, 2010
Olya Ivanova
The stand out work for me was that of Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky, who sounds like he had a pretty great time taking pictures of the length and breadth of the Russian empire after being commissioned by the last Tsar, Nicholas II, to do so.
Peasant Girls, 1909
Prokudin-Gorsky was a pioneer of colour photography. After inventing his own means of developing film, he did so while on the move in a specially equipped rail road coach complete with darkroom. Travelling far and wide, the pictures that emerged from this mobile darkroom show a multi-faceted Russia and are fascinating to look at.
Group of Harvesters, 1905-15
The exhibition is free and on until 17th August, see it if you can.
