In 1980 my father gave me my first camera, a Fed 4, and since then I've constantly been taking pictures of everything. One exciting development happened in 1983, when I started to shoot with an underwater camera.
I'm a self-starter, and I learnt photography through practicing and reading books.
My first assignment was covering the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt against Gorbachev. It was the first hostile environment I had worked in and I learnt to be very careful.
I am enthused by stories with strong emotional content and my interest in conflict photography is fading away. With experience I've learnt that you can share really interesting stories that an audience can connect with on a very personal level - for example, my recently published 'Dance in Kiev' story.
I don't have any specific audience in mind when I shoot pictures, but I always ask myself who would be interested in the story. Am I the only one interested in this? Is there a local audience? Is there an international audience?
Early in my career, I met and worked briefly with James Nachtwey. It was a privilege and a great inspiration as my work developed.
