Who is Ksenia Gintsak?
A thirty-year-old human, woman, photographer, friend, wife, dreamer, introvert, book-lover, film-lover and much more.
Moscow! You are so wonderful!?
Moscow does not believe in tears that’s a fact. But in spite of all the difficulties, it’s a terrific city to where lots of talented young people flock. Moscow gives them a chance to spread their wings. It’s a good city, it welcomed me and I’m very grateful for that.
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky or JK Rowling?
You are tearing me apart! Both left a mark on my heart. JK Rowling gave me a magical childhood. A totally carefree time when you are 10-12 years old, your mom sends you to bed, you turn on a flashlight under your blanket (saying, of course, “Lumos”) and go wandering about Hogwarts with Harry, Ron, and Hermione suspicious of Professor Snape’s mischief! Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky brightened my youth. I was lucky enough to live in St. Petersburg (where the events of Crime and Punishment take place), I read about Raskolnikov’s adventures and wandered through gray St. Petersburg, which got me immersing myself deeper in the depressive atmosphere that was the essence of the novel. It was a dark time, but very necessary for me to grow up.)
A room without books is like a body without a soul? (Cicero)
Fact! People who don’t have books in their homes scare me. At least some! At least a little shelf but no. Empty! And then it turns out that there’s nothing on the inside either. But that’s not always the case. Sometimes a person just has an e-book.
The pen is mightier than the sword?
For me, yes, but sometimes it is the sword that is needed.
Self made is always something to admire?
Oh my God yes!!! There is nothing more beautiful than watching a person create something with their own hands. A blanket from the store is always inferior to a blanket your mother or grandmother sewed for you. A thing goes from being “just a thing” to being “a thing with a story”.
Embroidery is the crown of needlework?
I don’t think so. I believe the crown of needlework is knitting. Knitting is the big league of needlework, which I have yet to access.
Diamonds are a girl’s best friend? (Marilyn Monroe)
A girl’s best friend is her intellect.
The most important photo equipment you use is your eyes?
Yes. Accepting this fact has come a long way, it always seems like you have to get a more expensive camera, the best lens. But it’s simple really. There’s you and your eyes. The camera is just an assistant in this case.
It’s one thing to make a picture of what a person looks like, it’s another thing to make a portrait of who they are? (Paul Caponigro)
Fact! A person’s true beauty is hidden beneath a ton of social norms. When we come home, we relax, wash off our makeup, slouch and put on our favorite t-shirt, which is 10 years old. That’s who we are. Not who we sometimes try to portray to make a better impression. You don’t always get to meet the “real” person in the shoot, but I try.
What is the one key thing you need to know to take the perfect selfie?
If there was a category for “the girl with the least amount of selfies” I would win it! I have 5,003 pictures on my phone, 2,000 of them are of my little niece, 1,000 of my embroidery, another 1,000 of my husband, 1,000 of nature photographs and my models and 3 of my selfies. So, I’m not your adviser here.
If you look for a meaning, you’ll miss everything that happens? (Andrei Tarkovsky)
Oh, yes. Life consists of small and simple events. You have to learn to notice them. In the end you realize the most important thing – the path, not the ultimate goal.
What is your favorite line from a movie?
I think Albus Dumbledore had the best line ever: “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if you remember to turn on the light.”
Right now, you are exactly where you want to be?
I think so, I like this place and I like the path I’m on.
Survival is the greatest form of resistance?
Rather, resistance is the greatest form of resistance.
Your goal in life? To become a movie director?
No, my goal in life is to remain a good person and introduce the world to the simple stories of the people I photograph.
_Uwe Buschmann (copy editing Silvia Strauch)
