Oleksandr Voropaev: Odesa's Photography Leader Aims for £20,000 Projects

During his long career as a concert photographer, 50-year-old Oleksandr Voropaev has photographed Scorpions, Patricia Kaas, Moby, Zuccero, Hurts, Morceeba, Garbage, Depeche Mode, Linkin Park, and others. An author and participant of photo projects, Ukrainian and international photo salons, competitions and photo exhibitions, he is currently the chairman of the board of the Odesa branch of the National Union of Photographers of Ukraine and plans to reorganize it. The interviewee talked about Voropaev's plans to create a brand that can be further called the Odesa School of Photography, about artists traveling abroad, and how to earn up to £20,000 per project.

Photo: Oleksandr Voropaev

The exhibition "Salon of Art Photography 2025" by the regional National Union of Photographers of Ukraine (NUPhU) is currently taking place. What was important to show?

The event is a reporting photo exhibition of members and candidates for members of the Odesa branch of the NUFPU. Each author decides for himself what he will share with the viewer and what topic he will present at the photo exhibition. The only restriction that exists is that the photos must have been created by the author within the last five years.

Are you satisfied with the result? What do visitors say? Which works do you like the most?

To a certain extent, yes. Most members of the organization were able to take part in the exhibition. I didn't have the opportunity to talk to the visitors, there were organizational issues that needed to be resolved at the opening of the exhibition.

But I hope that your readers will share their impressions of the exhibition in the comments to this publication. It is difficult to evaluate the work of colleagues in the shop, it is not objective.

For the visitors of the exhibition, I would like to draw attention to the photographs by Yevhen Kom, Hana Koreneva, Zoryan Lishchynskyi, Olena Martyniuk, and Natalia Moroz. I hope the viewer will discover something new.

What was the principle and how did you choose the works for the exhibition? Is there an artistic council? How many people are on it and who are they?

Oleksandr Voropaev (left) at the exhibition. Photo: Svitlana Koroleva

As I said, there is no selection process for the reporting exhibition. Each member reports with their photographs created in the last years of their creative activity.

This exhibition includes not only artistic works, but also reportage. We live in difficult times, and each of us experiences them in our own way. Artists especially, passing through events and their own attitude to them. That's why the exhibition includes military themes.

As for the artistic council, it consists of three men and two women, three members have the title of EFIAP (International Federation of Photographic Arts - ed.).

After the opening of the exhibition, there was a meeting of the Odesa branch of the National Union of Photographers of Ukraine, where you were elected as the head of the organization. Why and how did they choose you? Tell us about the technical procedure as well.

Why I was elected is a question that should be asked to the members of our organization, it was their choice.

The chairman of the board and the governing bodies are elected by secret ballot at the general meeting for a five-year term. At this meeting, the organization's governing bodies were re-elected, and the organization's Artistic Council was also elected.

Every five years we elect or re-elect all the governing bodies of the organization. In this case, the time for the next election has come.

How important is your new position for you? What do you want to say to the world? What are the plans of the new leader?

This position is neither the first nor the last leadership position in my life. It so happened that over the past thirty years I have held leadership positions in various organizations, some of which I have held and currently hold senior management positions.

Photo: Oleksandr Voropaev

I am concerned about the state of Ukrainian photography, what is happening to photography in our city. There are certain hopes that my managerial skills will have a positive impact on the further development of photography.

But a lot depends on the members of the organization, their activity and desire to change something in this direction.

I plan to carry out some reorganization. To involve interesting figures in the field of photography and new photographers, including young people.

One of my more ambitious plans is to bring back the photography museum to Odesa, which was lost many years ago.

An even more ambitious plan is to create a brand that can be called the Odesa School of Photography. There were and still are enough interesting photographers in Odesa, there is a rich history of photography development, and we need to collect all this, in the language of marketing, into a single product and pack it up.

Is the organization looking for grants for new exhibitions, for example, to travel to other cities in Ukraine and abroad?

Photo: Oleksandr Voropaev

The organization is funded only by membership fees, and we do not have enough internal resources to carry out all the projects we would like to implement.

Yes, we are open to cooperation on grant programs.

We are considering not only sending our exhibitions to other cities and abroad, but also accepting exhibitions from other organizations, NAFU branches, and individual artists. Helping and promoting them on the Odesa market.

Can male members of the union of mobilization age go abroad for an exhibition?

This question should be asked on a case-by-case basis regarding a particular project. We remember that permission will need to be obtained through the Ministry of Culture.

You work with international projects. I heard about the story with the Swiss. Tell me about it, it's a really cool impact for a Ukrainian photographer.

Consequences of the missile strike on Odesa, Luxembourg residential complex. Photo: Oleksandr Voropaev

During 2022-2024, I worked with the Ukrainian Photo Diary, founded by Swiss Patrick Luthi, which is an interesting project and a new experience. Some of the participants of this project had the opportunity to be included in exhibitions that were shown in Switzerland at exhibitions and included in the printed edition.

The project raises funds for Ukrainian refugees abroad and for IDPs. But it is open not only to professional photographers, amateurs also take part in it. Especially amateurs have a great opportunity to show their work to the world.

What is the Odesa National Union of Photographers doing now?

Photo: Oleksandr Voropaev

We are currently structuring the organization. We are creating separate units that will deal with certain areas of work. I plan to finish the preparatory period of structuring in the next three months.

Then we plan to amend the registration documents. Then we will start working differently, if nothing prevents us.

Are there many Odesa photographers who don't want to join the NUFCU? Why? Is there a controversy among members and non-members?

You don't have to join any association to be involved in creative activity. Membership in the NAFCU is voluntary.

Anyone who wants to become a member of the union must engage in public activities in the union, and this is free of charge. And not everyone likes this. That's right, we do it in our free time and no one pays us for it.

And I won't talk about those who wanted to join but were not invited. This also happens.

What are the membership fees in the organization? How many people are members of the union now? What benefits does it provide?

Photo: Oleksandr Voropaev

The amount of entrance and annual fees is set by the Plenum of the Board of the Union, taking into account the economic conditions in Ukraine at the time.

Currently, there are fifty-one members of the NUFCU and two candidates in the Odesa branch of the Union. The Charter is available on our website.

Membership in the union provides participants with access to a professional community, information exchange, and the implementation of creative projects. It is a kind of hobby club that unites those who are professionally engaged in photography.

Do young people come to you? What age are they approximately? Are there many of them? What do they need to do to join the NUFCU?

Opening of the photo exhibition "Salon of Art Photography 2025". Photo: Svitlana Korolova

The organization is approached by photographers of different ages, most of them are over forty years old.

Currently, a young and talented Odesa-based photographer aged twenty-five is being considered for membership. At this age, there are not many authors who have gone through a professional career and have certain achievements. In this particular case, she has the necessary background.

Any person over the age of 18 can apply to the union. The Board considers candidates for membership if they have: three recommendations from members of the union, photographic experience and participation in photo exhibitions, from ten to fifteen photographs.

Detailed information on the terms of membership is available on the union's website. Anyone wishing to join the organization, if they meet the necessary criteria, can send their requests through our social networks or to the organization's mailbox, we will consider everyone's candidacy.

What competitions does the Odesa NFUFCU hold? Can non-members of the union apply? How can I find out?

Before the full-scale invasion, the organization held various photo contests and international photo salons, including City by the Sea and The Image of a Woman in Photography.

During the pandemic, we started holding online contests on our social media pages. They are open to anyone who wants to participate.

How has the war affected the work of the union? And on the lives of photographers? What has changed dramatically?

Photo: Oleksandr Voropaev

A lot. For some time, the organization did not work. Over the past two years, we have held only reporting photo exhibitions, and now we are trying to resume our activities.

We also held an online contest called "Ukraine is Beautiful - Winter 2025" and are preparing the next joint project with the NGO "Special Youth" to be presented in April.

Kateryna Ionenko received a gold diploma for her work Winter Dream.

The war has a great impact on the planning horizon. We used to plan the work of the organization for a year. Now we mostly plan for a quarter or six months.

Each of the photographers experiences these events differently. Some of us put our cameras on the shelf back in 2022. Since the beginning of the war, it has been very difficult to work, even with the appropriate permits.

Some citizens grabbed those holding cameras in their hands on the street. There were cases when people who took pictures on their phones were dragged to the police.

Some of us did not stop and are still actively working. There have been transformations in topics and approaches to photography. Some photographers who were involved in commercial photography are now involved in documentary photography.

I know those who were actively involved in street photography before the war, but now they don't shoot anything. Their hands refuse to take pictures of the destruction and pain in their hometown. There are those who worked actively for the first two years, but now they are burned out and don't shoot anything.

There are those who have reached a fairly serious level, working every day and showing incredible pictures. It's different for everyone.

Have you been taking pictures since the beginning of the war, when it was forbidden to take pictures in Odesa? How did you feel about this ban?

Photo: Oleksandr Voropaev

I have had military accreditation since the beginning of the war. I filmed wherever it was possible. Where it was necessary to get approval, I did.

There were cases where I was denied approval and my credentials did not work. On the one hand, I regret not having certain pictures, because I can't get back the time and recreate those situations. On the other hand, each of us does our job.

And a related question - many of the Odesa-based reportage photographers criticize the military filming of the Liberov family, who received exclusive permission to almost all the "red" locations. How do you react to this?

The aftermath of the missile attack on the Bristol Hotel. Photo: Oleksandr Voropaev

What prevented other photographers from getting to the places they wanted to shoot is something they should ask themselves.

For the first six months, the Ministry of Defense granted accreditation to anyone who applied, and you didn't have to be a full-time media correspondent.

There are photographers from Odesa who have never been broke, but their pictures have been published in international media. Almost everyone has the opportunity to shoot the war from different angles. The question is who uses their opportunities and how.

For your photos from the Odesa campaign "Money for the Armed Forces" you received a 1st degree Diploma at the international reportage photography competition "Art Press Photo 2024". How do you feel about this campaign?

Photo: Oleksandr Voropaev

I did not and do not belong to this action, as well as to other political actions, I only documented it for a certain time.

I sent some photos from this action to the competition, and they were accepted by the jury for the exhibition.

Other photos from the same action did not make it to another all-Ukrainian contest "Pohlyad", the jury did not accept any of my photos for this exhibition.

Recently, Odesa-based photographer Zoryan Lishchynskyi organized an all-Ukrainian competition "Ukraine is Beautiful - Winter 2025" under the auspices of the National Union of Photographers of Ukraine. It was attended by 20 Odesa photographers. Is this a lot or a little? How many photographers are there in Odesa?

Zoryan is a member of our branch, and this contest was held under the patronage of the union. The competition was open to those who specialize in this genre and were selected by the jury.

I have never counted Odesa photographers. It's an interesting question, I'll have to try to do it.

Personally, I know at least a hundred Odesa photographers with whom I communicate from time to time. Not all of them participate in competitions. Each of them realizes themselves in different ways.

I often feel the dismissive attitude of professional photographers towards authors who submit "pictures from their phones" to contests and exhibitions. How do you feel about this?

Photo: Oleksandr Voropaev

For me, it doesn't matter what the photo was taken with. In a professional environment, it doesn't matter and is not discussed.

One example is that many years ago a phone photo was on the cover of TIME magazine. After that, this discussion can be closed.

Works by Oleksandr Voropaev for the project "The Invisible War"

In our 2022 photo project The Unseen War, most of my exposition was shot on a mobile phone.

Who are your favorite photographers - from the world classics and among Odessans?

Photo: Henri Cartier-Bresson

Among the world's best known and most popular photographers, there are Bresson, Weegee, Newton, Salgado, and Avedon. Anton Corbijn is one of my favorite and most inspiring. Among the Odesa-based ones is Viktor Ratushnyi.

I know that you shoot music concerts. Do I understand correctly that the portrait of Serhiy Zhadan from the Art Photography Salon 2025 is yours? Tell us how you created it. Did Serhiy like the photo? How do you feel about his work?

Photo: Oleksandr Voropaev

I photographed music concerts all the time before the war. During the war, only Dakh Daughters, when they were in Odesa.

I met Serhii in Odesa, during his book presentation. I introduced myself, we had many mutual friends among musicians, and he invited me to his concert. We were filming in a hurry in a coffee shop, and we had very little time, almost two minutes.

I read his books, I'm attracted to his style and the modern Ukrainian language he writes in.

What's the most important thing for you - fiction or documentary, reportage photography? If we take away your attitude, what's more important now?

Photography: Oleksandr Voropaev

I have always positioned myself as a reportage photographer. It is difficult to force me into a studio. I always give preference to non-staged photography.

What is important now and always is what this photo is about, what feelings it evokes in the viewer. What and how it was taken doesn't make any sense.

What are you doing now and what do you feel?

I work at my main job, which requires a lot of time and attention.

When I have free time, I take pictures or read books. The last ones I read were The Three Body Problem and The Dark Forest. It's a modern fiction based on the theory of quantum physics and philosophy. The third book of this trilogy is coming soon.

By the way, some of the events described by the author during the Cultural Revolution in China are not much different from the events in our time. As Hegel wrote, history moves in a spiral.

How do you take pictures - do you take a long time to shoot and then click, or do you fire off a lot of pictures at once?

Immediately, with one touch, without looking at the result on the camera screen.

I select the footage only with the help of a computer, on the monitor screen.

When I'm in uniform, as I was before the war, I have no more than 10 percent of rejects. Now I don't shoot often, always in one shot.

Do you work with film or only digital?

I work with digital. It satisfies me completely.

Do you have any curatorial experience? Tell us about it.

Photo: Alexander Voropaev/Facebook

Individual photographers - no. My own and joint projects - yes.

The last two projects that my colleagues and I created were dedicated to the war. The first one is The Unseen War. The second was The Price of Freedom. Both projects were implemented in partnership with Yuriy Bershadsky.

For the second project, we engaged a fairly young and talented Maya Makeieva to curate it, and she did a great job.

How can a beginner photographer monetize his or her work? What are your tips?

First, decide on the direction of your activity - creative or commercial photography.

The second thing is to be different from others in this field.

The third is to register on the necessary platform to promote yourself.

The fourth is word of mouth. This is the most effective way to promote yourself.

Do you have any nude photos? Are they really in greater demand?

I don't shoot nudes, I haven't researched the demand for such photos. This is a very complex genre, where the line between art and vulgarity is very narrow.

There is an opinion that the world is more interested in conceptual photography, abstractions. Do you agree? Do you have any such works?

Photo: Jan Saudek

Some people collect Peter J. Whitkin's photographs, some Helmut Newton's, some Jan Saudek's. Each of these authors has their own aesthetic and each photograph has its own viewer and buyer.

I know that you often photograph Odesa beaches. What does Odesa mean to you?

Photo: Alexander Voropaev

Odesa is the city in which I was born and, as Ganya sang, I am proud to be born here and to live here. I love the city of my childhood, I feel at home here.

What do the guests of the city want to see Odesa like?

Photo: Oleksandr Voropaev

In my personal opinion, guests of the city want to see the Odesa they have watched movies about, sung about in songs, and told about in jokes. A colorful city with a rich history on the shores of a warm sea. That's why they have always come here.

What photos of Odesa by foreign photographers do you like?

Oleksandr Sinelnikov, member of the National Union of Photographers of Ukraine, FIAP. Photo: Svitlana Koroleva

Over the past decade, French photographer Mathieu Perin has been photographing Odesa, and he and Oleksandr Sinelnikov had a joint exhibition, which was an interesting project and an atypical view of our city.

Which Odesa photographers' works are exhibited in international galleries? What are the themes of these photos?

Photo: Serhii Chekh

Serhii Chekh and his wife Viktoriia work with galleries in Germany, showing artistic photography.

"Ukrainian Photo Diary" was also shown in galleries in Switzerland and Austria, and it was exclusively reportage photography with military themes.

Why do you think there is no photography faculty in Ukraine? Even in Odesa, there is no photo gallery that would present exclusively art photography. In general, what is wrong with our photography culture?

This question should be asked to the Ministry of Education. There are photographers, but there is no relevant education in Ukraine. We have already discussed this problem with the Ministry of Education, but there is no result.

The nearest country with a relevant faculty is Poland. The Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Lodz, Poznan, and Gdansk has a photography department with a master's degree and postgraduate programs.

Perhaps the profession of photographer is not as popular as economist or lawyer.

As for the photo gallery, Art Odesa is trying something in this direction. But yes, there is no specialized gallery in Odesa, specifically for photography.

The culture of photography consumption in Ukraine is not very high. Social networks promote courses where you can learn to take better pictures with your phone than professional photographers.

Consumers like this very much, they don't know the difference. Anyone who buys a professional camera or the latest smartphone automatically becomes a photographer. We need to raise the cultural level of the population.

Is it possible to live in Odesa nowadays doing only photography?

Photo: Alexander Voropaev

Yes and no. It all depends on what kind of photography and how you do it. Everything is individual.

There are those who work with photo projects and showcase them abroad, receiving grants ranging from 3 thousand US dollars to 20 thousand pounds.

There are those who work with foreign news agencies and sell their photos to foreign publications.

There are those who sell five-day courses of three hours each for more than ten thousand hryvnias.

Weddings and content shoots are also happening. Pay attention to the schedules in photo studios, some work non-stop.

The photography market is working, everyone is doing their best, this is Odesa.

Ната Чернецька