First of all thank you very much for your contribution to our project. Can you please introduce yourself for us?

I am a Soviet Union child who liked playing the musketeers, and then got fascinated by the Parisian culture with all its creative "bouillon" and "art de vivre".

That was partly why I moved to Paris after graduating from the university where I studied first philology and then art. Now I live and work in Paris as a photographer and journalist.

How did you start in photography?

Sometimes I think that it was not me who started photography, but photography who started me. Some things just come into your life as evidence. Then you also need the right conditions for them to be able to stay. In my case, my way as a professional photographer began when I received a professional camera as a gift. Pretty prosaic.

What is 'Mademoiselles’ about?

'Mademoiselles' (this is still a temporary title, but we know how constant temporary things can be) is about young French women, well not just French, but Parisians. I photograph them naked at their places surrounded by their everyday environment, thus documenting women in connection with their space. One of the reasons why I started shooting Parisians was because I did not understand them. Photographing is my way of studying and appropriating things that frighten me.

In general, what inspires your work?

Life itself, every little thing, people I meet, places I visit, words somebody pronouns, dreams, books... Inspiration is everywhere. Literally everywhere. Mind is like soil, constantly absorbing everything that falls on it, the crazy compost where seeds of ideas germinate slowly or swiftly.

"...I wish you knew the kind of garbage heap
Wild verses grow on, paying shame no heed..."

Anna Akhmatova said that about poems, but it is also so true for images.

Who are your favourite photographers / artists?

I constantly come across, on instagram or anywhere else on Internet, with extremely talented contemporary photographers. One page would not be enough to put all the names. Most of them are under-appreciated and little-known.

But the name I often keep in mind, when I create, is an old one, Vermeer. I would love to approach, at least a little, his ability to convey the slightest movement of a soul, of inner life.

What is your favourite photo book?

Probably 'Unrepentant Ego: The self-portraits of Lucas Samaras' published by the Whitney Museum of American art. It is like a box of treasures. It is just so delicious and endless, and full of surprises. I don't know anyone for the moment, who would show what happens inside the busy human mind better than Samaras does.

Thank you very much for your time and contribution to analog magazine.

Tahnk you too.

All images © Natasha Gudermane