Photographer Spotlight: Oleg Oprisco – Photos That Will Blow Your Mind

Oleg Oprisco is a photographer based in Ukraine whose magical, dreamy photographs have been shared far and wide on all over the Internet. In an age where realistic photo manipulations are the secret sauce behind impossible images, Oprisco’s work stands out for one simple mind-blowing fact: they aren’t artificial digital manipulations. Rather than use clever Photoshopping, Oprisco carefully plans out surreal scenes and shoots them on film. The only Photoshopping that goes into the final images are colour adjustments and the removal of dust specks from the frame.

Once he decides to turn one of the ideas into an actual shoot, preparing for the shot takes two or three days. Hours upon hours are spent coming up with concepts, creating the costumes and realistic props (e.g. oversized matchsticks, fake butterflies, a stack of fake books), scouting out locations (sometimes pretty dangerous ones), and figuring out hair and make-up. Each scene starts with a colour palette, which guides Oprisco’s choices for each of the elements included in the shot. Outfits and props are either created by hand, or purchased from flea markets and other second-hand sources.

Instead of having a team of assistants, Oprisco generally tries to create every element of his shots himself. The photographs themselves are captured using Kiev 6C and Kiev 88 medium format cameras and a variety of lenses. Many of Oprisco’s photos are so amazing that you’ll have a hard time believing they weren’t the product of digital trickery.

Imogen McGill

Click here to see more inspiring photographs from Oleg Oprisco.