January 16, 2015
Photography classes at AUCA are gaining more and more popularity every semester. Anyone is welcome to improve their skills in shooting still photography and video, and students are provided with all necessary equipment like cameras, a photo studio, and a media lab.
Students from the Journalism and Mass Communications (JMC) department are stepping forward in organizing various events, exhibitions, new publications, and new achievements. Several months ago a class of JMC students organized a photo exhibition called “Bishkek in Focus” with support from professor Nargiza Ryskulova. A lot of media outlets namely Vecherniy Bishkek, Knews, AKIpress visited the exhibition space at AUCA and the news about it was covered in local news for two weeks. Later on December 19th, 2014, students in the Cultural Reporting class published a magazine called “Juicy” under the mentorship of visiting professor Laura Kelly.
Only a few days ago on January 10th 2014, two students of Journalism and Mass Communications at AUCA won in the national online photo contest "Authentic stories of life" that has been organized on the eve of an international photo exhibition of World Press Photo 2014. Aipery Janyzak took 1st place in the contest while Tatyana Esaulenko won the audience choice award.
The World Press Photo 2014 exhibition is on display at the Kyrgyz National Museum of Fine Arts named in memory of Gapar Aytiev. This unique traveling exhibition includes the work of 140 winners of the world’s most prestigious contest of photojournalism - World Press Photo. Every year after the announcement of the contest’s best works, those which best reflect significant events of the news of previous years, will be presented in Amsterdam for two months before traveling around the world.
The exhibition was brought to the Kyrgyz Republic with the support of the diplomatic missions of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Canada, and the OSCE Centre in Bishkek. The exhibition of World Press Photo 2014 will remain in Bishkek and open to the public at the Museum of Fine Arts from January 10th to 22nd, 2015. We talked to the winners of the national online contest "Authentic Stories of Life", Aipery Janyzak and Tatyana Esaulenko and find out about their inspirations and thoughts about the contest. We also found out how photography became a part of their life in the last few years and their advices about what each of you can do to become a good photographer.
Photo-project "Orphan" - winner of the national online contest "Authentic Stories of Life"
Tell us more about the competition? How did you find out about it?
Well, there was an online contest looking for authentic stories in Bishkek. The contest was timed to the opening ceremony of the international photo exhibition World Press Photo 2014. The opening ceremony was supposed to be on 9th of January, but it was held on 10th and the winners of the photo exhibition were announced at the ceremony as well. I have a Facebook page, so consequently this was the place where I found about the competition. Later my professor, Nargiza Ryskulova who teaches us photography at AUCA, told me and another girl Tatyana who is senior to submit our works as well. I was in doubt, I was thinking how I can take part in such a well-known contest; there will be a lot of people with photos that can be 100 times better than my photos. So, finally I decided to apply and submitted my project “Orphan”. I worked on this project with Laura Kelly, who was a professor in our department.
It was necessary to submit 4 photos with a maximum 200 words of description for the photos. I was doing research about orphans in Kyrgyzstan. I found statistics from UNICEF. They provided me with information about the amount of orphans in Kyrgyzstan. It turns out that there are nearly 11 thousand orphans in orphanages, including biological and social. Social means the orphans have parents, but they are not able to support them. Almost 94% of these orphans have parents. This is a huge problem and attention should be paid to this issue. Each child should grow up in a family. If he will live and study in an orphanage, he would not be full-fledged. A child should receive care and love from his family members. Therefore I decided to reveal this topic not because of the prize or the contest, just for the reason that people will start paying attention to this problem.
The selection process was very strict. The members of the jury were local and foreign professional photographers. The prize for the first place was $700, for the 2nd $600, and for the 3rd $500. I shared the first place with Mirlan Abdullaev. He is an actor who played a role in the film Kurmanjan Datka. This photo exhibition travels around the world. It was very cool to take part in it! This is a great chance!
Where your photos will go now?
Mirlan Abdullaev told me that our photos will be travelling all around the world in different exhibitions.
What inspired you to take part in this competition?
I would like to mark my professor Nargiza Ryskulova who was always there to help and support us whenever we needed it. She never looks at us like students. She talks to us as a photographer talks to photographers. She sees potential in everyone. Maybe she is one of the reasons of my inspiration of deciding to take part in this competition. Sometimes I think why she chose me; maybe she saw something in me. She is a wonderful professor, and she is an example for me as one of the best photographers.
Regarding the contest, it inspired me to get engaged with other projects in future as well. Now I look for contests and not that I have a 100% confidence, but still from now at least I won’t worry. I know that I am able to do something. I think if a person finds out that he can do something, he should try to develop it; to improve. This is my first victory and I am really proud of myself, not that I climbed up to Himalayas but for me this was a victory over my fears and doubts in the sphere of photography.
What did you realize about photography after this contest?
I understood that a photo should not just be beautiful, it should also tell a story. The story should describe the life of living things that are under danger. Through a good photo, we can push a person to certain actions and emotional outbursts. It also means that through photography we can also change lives of people by telling their story.
In the future, I would also like to develop myself in terms of documentary journalism as well as to take part in the World Press Photo. Maybe I will win, who knows? This gives me some sort of incentive that the issues related to human rights can be told through photos.
When did you start to develop your photography skills?
I loved photos from my early childhood. My father is a photographer as well. His name is Janybek Janyzak. He has very old photo-camera, I think it is Zenit. When I was very small I always wondered what kind of strange toy is it. It always attracted my attention. However, later when I grew up I found out that my father used to take photos with that. Sometimes when I take photos and see that they are pretty good, I feel that it is something that passed to me from my father.
I love taking photos, love different photos, love looking at them and finding something new inside them. I began paying more serious attention to photography a few years ago, when I held a camera from our department in my hand. I saw the photos of Elyor Nematov, who will be teaching in our department from this semester. He did multimedia production. His famous works were presented in an open-air exhibition in New York. His works also inspired me a lot to do photography. Now, I am planning to take part in other photo contests as well, for example, from the Magnum Foundation. During the summer last year I submitted a request form. The results will be announced later. So I hope my photos will tell something to the selecting committee.
Can you tell us about the photography course at AUCA?
Last year Elena Skochilo was the professor of photography. Since she left, Nargiza Ryskulova became our professor of photography. I think she is a very competent professor. She knows her business as she has been very into photography for a long time. During our photography classes we mainly practiced taking good photos. Nargiza split us into several groups and gave us a certain topic to make photos on. We went all around the city and thought of something interesting to take a photo. After when we had some good photos, we brought them to class and showed everyone. The photos that we chose for the ‘Bishkek in Focus’ exhibition were selected by students from the pool produced in this class.
What can you suggest to students of AUCA who wish to become a good photographer?
I would advise students who want to do photography to notice the little things around them. Do not just take empty pictures but also create a story from the photos that you are taking. If you look at one object from different angles you can obtain absolutely different photos. I advise to experiment with taking photos all the time and continue clicking. This probably sounds corny, but I think this is the basis of photography.
Is there something else you would like to add?
I would like to express my gratitude to AUCA, to our department and professors for providing us with needful equipment and for the opportunity to do self-development in journalism. Our university does its best to help each student to develop in his sphere.
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Audience choice award of the national online contest "Authentic Stories of Life"
Tell us more about the contest? How did you find out about it?
This competition started about one month ago. Ryskulova Nargiza helped me to find out about the competition and invited me to take part in it. Last semester, I took a class on photography and she was my instructor. Therefore, I would firstly like to express my gratitude to Nargiza Ryskulova. Participants began to appear one by one and eventually it got 15 people who have offered their interesting pictures. Some showed a series of pictures, some posted (on the page of competition) just one photo, so did I. From AUCA as far as I know were only two participants, Aipery Janyzak and I. Aipery made great pictures of children in orphanages.
Pictures that were submitted to the competition had to reflect the human rights problems that people face in Kyrgyzstan, or show the situation that goes beyond the "normal life". The jury members were representatives of participating diplomatic missions, along with expert in the fields of photojournalism and media experts.
What inspired you to take part in this contest?
What inspired me? Hmm. I guess it was the excitement. Typically, competition is not for me, but this time I decided to take a chance.
Why did you choose exactly this photo?
It was possible to go on shooting; to make the story or wait to see what other participants of the contest will do, and make something like that. Instead of that, I felt that the picture I have already made is still more alive and brighter than everything else I could choose to shoot purposely for the contest.
When did you start your career of photography?
I started taking pictures couple of years ago. However, all this can be called a long process of learning the art of photography.
What other experience of photography do you have? Does your thesis work relate to photography?
I would like to, but for the thesis, I chose a no less interesting and exciting area of media - radio. Yes, I have had the experience of taking pictures. I took pictures for a music blog stayinalive.kg, and worked for the sports championships of Wushu. I also take pictures by request. I like to see and show beauty through pictures.
What encouraged you to become a photographer? Tell us more about how you got started?
I always enjoy art. However, I have not learned to paint as I see it in my head. Instead, I realized that it is possible to portray reality as others do not see it through the camera lens. When I realized that it can be learned, there began an uncontrollable desire to shoot everything.
Once I was a photographer as well. I had a great desire and wished to continue with it further as well in my career and graduate studies, but some personal life circumstances put an end on it. Did you have any situation like that before?
I think it depends not only on desire. Sometimes you realize that it's yours. I do not know how to explain this feeling. If it is so, then circumstances have no control. I have not had the camera for a long time (about 2 years, after I got engaged in doing photography). I studied to see the frames through the camera on the phone. I remember, I had a 1.5-megapixel camera. I still like that time and pictures I have made.
Photos made with phone camera by Tatyana
Do you work somewhere as a photographer? What are your future plans?
Currently, I am a freelance photographer. In the future, I would like to open my own photo studio. And of course, win some photo contests and grow up to be in the World Press Photo competition.
Does this contest change your approach to photography?
Yes, it gives me a courage and confidence.
Can you tell us briefly about the photography classes at AUCA, if you have taken any of them?
In my first year I took a photography class (called Art Photography), where we were introduced to the theory and the basics of setting a frame. The course which was instructed by Nargiza I took last semester; we learned how to properly "submit" our work to people. How to show and explain what we are talking with this or that photo.
What can you suggest to students of AUCA who wish to become a good photographer?
Well, I will not give advice about persistence and constantly receiving new knowledge in this field. It is obvious. I say do not get shy of being new in this field. Do not get shy about your work. As well, do not think that a cool camera means cool pictures. Do not be afraid to gain knowledge in the fine arts. Still photography is the same picture and you should know classics in this field.
American University of Central Asia
7/6 Aaly Tokombaev Street
Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic 720060
Tel.: +996 (312) 915000 + Еxt.
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