Sunday, September 9, 2012

100 Faces of Russia

Danish photographer, Keen Heick-Abildhauge had a goal upon moving to Russia: to make Russians smile. When his wife got offered a job in Moscow, Heick-Abildhauge embraced his new country with all of the typical stereotypes; Russians are cold, scowling people who never smile. He soon discovered, however, that these stereotypes were false. H-A wanted to show his friends what he saw in the Russian people from day to day, so he embarked on a new photography project of capturing the faces of Russians, from every age, 1 to 100. It started as a project to simply to show his friends, but soon it gained momentum with the help of the Russian media. Finding a person from every age, 1 to 100 proved to be a bit of a challenge, but with the help of friends, he was able to network and complete his portfolio entitled "One Hundred Years: The Russian Portrait.” Through the experience, H-A learned that it is easier to make someone smile than you might think (even a Russian!). "I found out quite fast that Russian people are smiling; you just need to talk to them."
Here's a link to a sample of his work. Each picture has a caption with the name and age of the subject of the photograph and a the dreams and passions of his subjects. 

http://rbth.ru/articles/2012/07/16/one_hundred_years_the_russian_portrait_16391.html 

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