Fantastic Russia photography

Sergey Maximishin's pictures of Russia are incredible, from the kitschy to the haunting to the just plain freaky.

Sergey Maximishin Photography (Thanks, Josh!)

[#1 posted by Pantograph, September 4, 2009 12:22 AM]

For me, Teletubby waiting in front of a church is the clear winner in this set.

[#2 posted by Anonymous, September 4, 2009 1:03 AM]

Amazing photos. In these, the photographer is taking the pictures, not the camera (seems to be the other way around far too often these days…) the "Teletubby waiting for salvation" & the "Theological college" are my favorites.
I happened to have a playlist of David Bowie's freakiest moments playing while looking through the pictures. Highly recommended.

[#3 posted by Little John, September 4, 2009 1:08 AM]

I am somehow most captivated by the Theological college.

At first it looks like a drawing, or a collection of dolls similar to the Bosson heads my parents have on their walls, or Matryoshka dolls. But no, theyre real.

Then I wonder why they all (except two) seem to be deliberately looking away from the camera. I guess they're looking at display screens off to the sides, but the whole image is just fascinating.

[#4 posted by oyvinja, September 4, 2009 1:10 AM]

I love these!
They are some of the greatest photos to come through BB in a very long time.

[#5 posted by ackpht, September 4, 2009 2:58 AM]

The guy has a good eye, that's for sure. And if he used fill flash for any of these, it doesn't show- which is how it should be done.

[#6 posted by wirtes, September 4, 2009 4:32 AM]

Wow, this echoes Robert Frank's "The Americans." So many stories in those faces.

[#7 posted by Lester, September 4, 2009 6:09 AM]

Being a perve, I immediately clicked on the one of the naked couple standing on a table (the women is in a Jesus-on-the-cross pose, her face covered with a guy standing behind her). Then I read the caption:

Office workers of a bank celebrate a colleague birthday.

Damn, Russia, you freaky.

[#8 posted by dculberson, September 4, 2009 6:23 AM]

Awesome pictures, but damn the fur farm one was a little jarring.

[#9 posted by Takuan, September 4, 2009 6:54 AM]

uh, Lester?

in any case, remarkable work. Is there a black and white body of work? I expect it would be most powerful.

[#10 posted by Anonymous, September 4, 2009 7:05 AM]

Absolutely wonderful, thank you.

[#11 posted by Anonymous, September 4, 2009 10:49 AM]

So good

[#12 posted by Anonymous, September 4, 2009 11:05 AM]

Beautiful, startling, touching photos. Scary intimate.

[#13 posted by Eric Hunting, September 5, 2009 11:26 AM]

I've seen some of this photographer's work before on the Russian site Fishki.net. One of my favorite pic sites and easy to navigate and make sense of even if you don't bother to use Google's translator on it. Definitely NSFW but not extremely offensive. Russians seem to have a fascination with slice-o-life and street life images, especially in Moscow. It's as though they are suddenly rediscovering their own culture while its in the throws of future shock. Very reminiscent of that era in the US between the wars that produced the likes of Weegee. (no, not THAT Weegee...) And the Medvedev news pics! That man makes me smile. You just feel for him. He looks so lost but so happy, like a post-Soviet Mork from Ork. Bush was just insipid, but this guy is an artist. He must have learned his schtick from Rowen Atkinson. (either that or Russian robotics is far more advanced than we imagine...) And let's not forget the Putin communing with dolphins pics... Why that man gave up a perfectly good career as a teen idol to take up politics I'll never know.

[#14 posted by Takuan, September 5, 2009 11:43 AM]

http://pickeljuice.pbworks.com/f/1213294643/dobby.jpg