"Create image before pressing shutter button" ©
The most complex photography genre, requiring the documentarian to have the skills of many other types of photography. This is the biggest mix of photography genres. Imagine a photograph with the depth of a portrait, the composition of a landscape, and the frozen moment of sports photography — and all of this must be documentary, without the need for editing, because time in politics costs too much for that. Photographing the life of a politician means being a universal soldier in photography who can do almost everything: from covering election campaigns to creating unforgettable family portraits. But the most important thing in this genre is the ability to see the best in the person.
The majority of these pictures are coverage of official events with top officials and key moments such as handshakes, walking the red carpet, wreath-laying, and other formal ceremonies. I took most of these pictures while working at the State Telegraph Agency of Azerbaijan. Despite the fact that a photographer’s work in the former TASS Photo Chronicle was governed by strict shooting restrictions, I found them too boring and introduced new methods and innovations. As a result, these pictures were published by the world's leading media, which had their own requirements that differed greatly from the archival rules of the State Telegraph Agency.
Twenty years ago, I was photographing football matches on film with manual focus lenses. It was a time of total superiority of the human factor over the technical capabilities of cameras. Those times have passed, and new ones have come, where the skills and background of a photographer still played a major role. Even 10 years ago, a well-captured moment in sports photography was an achievement of the photographer. All that time, the growth of photographers always outpaced the technological development of cameras. Today, a technically good sports picture is the result of artificial intelligence and technological progress. But I am proud that all these pictures are my merit, not that of a camera with artificial intelligence.
Even though photography is not a job for me, but a constant enjoyment of the process, there is still a genre which can be placed above all others, and that is Landscape. No matter if it is Moonscape or Sunscape, Cityscape or Mountains, Rivers or Lakes, Blue sky or deep Milky Way, I have combined them all together under one big genre - Landscape. It is the genre of my solitude with myself, as my subject, though “silent”, can convey more to me than words can. Its silence or sounds are much richer than distinct speech. It's a time for reflection, where technical calculations don't confuse the thoughts in my head. It is a genre in which you can grow internally, constantly communicating with your inner self. This genre of photography is unequivocally the best thing I have loved doing all my conscious life.