Anton Shevchenko Photography
Travel and fine art images
News
7/19/10
This past weekend, I was [un?]lucky enough to shoot a short film for the Providence 48 Hour Film Project with a group of friends. 48s are a mixed bag--you never know how it will go under the obvious time and element constraints (you are given a genre, character, line of dialogue, and a prop at 7pm on Friday and have to turn in a 4-7 minute short 48 hours later). Will you have a stroke of genius and come up with a great, shootable story, will you make a quick and easy, but "empty" film, or will you succumb to the pitfalls of trying to do too much in the short time span? Although it was difficult at times, we managed to pull through in the end and I am proud of our effort. Check it out for yourself: Into The Day.
5/14/10
For the next few weeks, I have a 16-print photo exhibit on display at Cafe Japonaise (1032 Comm Ave in Allston). If you're curious, feel free to stop by--they have pretty good food too (it's also a bakery).
3/6/10
I'm so lucky to have the chance to go to Hawaii twice within a span of one year! On this third trip there, I visited Maui and Moloka'i, completing my tour of the five largest islands. I used to tell myself that I never want to visit the same place twice, since there are too many places in the world to check out in one's lifetime, but here I am, breaking that rule twice already! There just is something special about Hawaii and I feel like I'll keep coming back to explore the different places within the islands I haven't seen yet. Some of the exciting activities on this trip were mountain biking down the Skyline Trail on Halakala and getting my first Maui tattoo surfing in Lahaina ;)
11/1/08
This month, several of my prints will be auctioned off at a couple of Boston charity events: Children's Trust Fund Gala and Joslin Diabetes Center High Hopes Gala. I will also have several prints on exhibit at FotoWeekDC and the Embassy of Ukraine in Washington, DC. Come out and say hello!
8/28/08
Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Ukraine. Three weeks. Delayed flights, flat tires, lost luggage. And an absolute blast of an adventure! Pictures coming soon.
11/28/07
I'm very fortunate to have great friends in great places as I've just come from an amazing trip to Europe and the Mediterranean. The Glacier Express to Jungfraujoch in Switzerland's Bernese Oberland is a breathtaking experience. Thanks to some creative layover planning, I also had a chance to stop by Prague and officially announce it as my favorite city! En route from Zurich to Larnaca, I had the chance to walk around the city for just a few hours and was blown away by its beauty. I really hope I can return some day for a longer visit as every corner you turn rewards you with a more beautiful piece of architecture than the one you were just blown away by. Finally, Cyprus was a really interesting place to visit because of its history. Nicosia is the last divided capital in the world and allowed me to "play photo-journalist" for a few days, alternating between the opulent, Cypriot South and the crumbling in places Turkish North.
10/1/07
Over the next few weeks, some of my prints will be auctioned off at the following Boston charity events: Children's Trust Fund Gala, MGH Mindscapes Gala, and the Joslin Diabetes Center's High Hopes Gala.
9/10/07
What a wonderful natural playground is Hawaii's Big Island! With its myriad of climate zones, unique geology, and natural attractions of every kind, it's easy to put it as one of the best travel destinations thus far in my life. Renting an off road vehicle and touring the various hidden treasures is an unforgettable and highly recommended experience.
10/18/06
It's been a long year and I finally went on a much needed vacation! A good friend of mine recently moved to Zurich and has a spare bedroom in his flat--that was all I needed to hear to book a ticket. Thanks, Farid! So, I used Zurich as my home base during my month in Europe (including a couple of weeks of work). First, I visited another friend in Geneva. He just got a motorcycle and we went on a ride around lake Geneva and into the French Alps. In Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, we took the cable car up to 3800m for breathtaking views of Mont Blanc. This day was also enough for me to fall in love with riding a motorcycle (after being against them practically my whole life). Hmmm, knowing me, how long will it be now before I learn how to ride and get one myself? Oh, hi, Mom, I mean, riding a motorcycle is crazy--who would ever want to do that. After Geneva, I met up with a few friends in Munich for Oktoberfest. They had reason to celebrate after completing the Berlin Marathon! Driving to Salzburg on the autobahn and then returning via the curvy mountain roads in the Bavarian Alps completed the Germany/Austria portion of my journey. After missing my evening train back to Zurich and loitering around the station until early morning, I made it back, only to fly out to Kiev the next morning. My grandmother turned 80 and so my Dad and I went to visit my grandparents for a week. Upon my return to Zurich, I went hiking around Schwyz and then Farid and I drove to Zermatt across the Swiss Alps. Nothing like riding through the mountains on a Porsche and then capping it off with a cable car ride up to 3800m for a close-up look at the Matterhorn! Now that I'm back in Boston, nostalgia has set in, only exacerbated by the 15 pounds of Swiss chocolate I brought back to share with friends and family. After this trip, I definitely understand why people write blogs--so much has happened over the past month! All of these experiences result in so many new thoughts and ideas that I think I could spend a lifetime exploring and writing them down. But who has time to write--there is too much life to live ;)
9/1/06
Due to my insanely long nine month apartment renovation, my triathlon season has suffered (that's what you get when you decide to renovate by yourself instead of hiring someone). I've barely had any time to train and only entered two sprint races (bummer--no Ironman New Zealand for me for yet another year). However, in the process, I discovered the "Anton training method." Basically, it goes something like this: train as little as possible, yet easily beat all your previous years' times. No joke--I improved my time a lot over the past seasons, when I trained really hard. I don't understand why I spent the past four seasons training my ass off and getting (as I now see) crappy race results. Well, OK, honestly, this method only works for short distance races--I don't think I'd be able to beat my previous Olympic or Half Iron times on little or no training!
6/17/06
On a friend's tip, I entered "Flow" into the MFA Summer Party--a judged art auction with the proceeds benefitting the MFA. The print did well in getting more than ten bids and I was honored to receive good feedback from some of the attendees of this black tie event. Also, my friend Randace Moore's annual Art of July event is coming up--hopefully it will raise a lot of money for this year's beneficiary, Rogerson Communities.
6/12/06
This is crazy--a good friend's house got hit by lightning and caught on fire! And yes, this is in Boston! I feel really bad for her and her husband--what bad luck. Thankfully, the firefighters put out the fire pretty quickly. Anyway, besides the smoke, the water seeping through the entire house caused the most damage. We rented a huge truck and fortunately were able to salvage most of their belongings--it's amazing how much more efficiently and quickly a move goes if it's under stressful conditions.
3/19/06
My aunt Irene is an incredibly talented person. I have just visited her in NYC and her latest paintings are amazing. I will be updating her website with these new works shortly. Also, I have 14 prints on display at 29 Newbury in Boston from now until April 11. Finally, I was in Las Vegas for a friend's wedding and of course I tacked on an extra day for exploring--the next time you're there, be sure to check out the Valley of Fire State Park--it's a beautiful place and offers ample picture taking opportunities, especially if you get lucky with the lighting conditions.
1/10/06
My trip to the Philippines was enjoyable and, among other things, I got to hike an active volcano (Kanlaon, 2,435 m, Negros Island). Lesson learned: go on every vacation prepared. I didn't bring much hiking gear (because I didn't think I was going to do any serious hiking) and, of course, stupid me, when the opportunity presents itself, even though I wasn't ready, I jumped on it. So, it turns out this is NOT the season to do serious hiking because it's very wet and muddy. And I only had running shoes with me! Nevertheless, I went up with a couple of guides (thanks Nico and Glenn!) and we summited and came back down within 24 hours (the night on the shoulder near the top was coooold and wet!). The trail was treacherous--steep, slippery, and impassable in some parts. It's a good thing Glenn had a machete to clear the way in some places and/or chop steps on steep slippery slopes with nothing to grab onto. Another lesson learned--when you slip, fall, and slide, don't grab onto any old branch--you're in the jungle and bound to grab onto something with a million thorns on it! Also, do not get sunburned the day before you do a serious hike. In any case, it was a unique and challenging experience and I'm so glad I was fortunate enough to do the hike and see the beautiful countryside as well as a true jungle canopy. I have to say, coming back to freezing Boston after a tropical vacation wasn't easy. Speaking of, if you're in the Boston area from now through the end of February, a dozen plus of my prints are on display at James's Gate Restaurant & Pub in Jamaica Plain. As for updates to the site, one of these days I really need to drop the gauntlet and put up my latest photos, but work's been very busy, so that's on hold until I get a breather.
9/20/05
The Half Ironman was a challenging, but rewarding race. The sunrise on the beach was stunning (wish I had my camera!) and my first ocean swim was actually enjoyable. Nothing sums it up better than a fellow athlete exclaiming in the middle of the run "We're crazy, aren't we? We're so crazy!" I have to say the worst part of it was trying to stuff an energy bar down my throat on the bike--it took me around 5 miles to finally swallow it all down! (In a 5+ hour race, gel and Gatorade alone don't cut it, hence the need for some solid food.) The whole race I was thinking, man, how the hell does one double this distance and do a full Ironman, that's going to be so damn hard! Eh, I'll worry about it when I get there.
8/30/05
It's been a great summer! After mountain biking in Moab, I went out to Colorado and did some hiking in the Rockies. It's beautiful out there. The tops of the peaks were still covered in snow and it was a totally new hiking experience for me. I was surprised that the altitude didn't affect me nearly as much as it did in Peru, although to be fair, 12,500 feet is not the same as 16,500. I did a few more triathlons, including two Olympic distance races, in preparation for my Half Ironman next week. On the photography front, I donated a few framed prints to several charity auctions: Art of July, Children's Trust Fund, and Mindscapes. Most of my donated prints sold for several hundred dollars each--I was surprised at people's generosity and psyched to be able to help these great causes. Mindscapes is cool because it is a judged exhibit and six of my prints will be on display at The Art Institute of New York City and The New England Institute of Art, before being auctioned off. Finally, we just planned a two-week trip to the Philippines with a couple of friends--I can't wait until November!
6/11/05
I suppose I should mention why my photography hasn't been progressing that quickly... Back in November, I quit my cool job at the travel startup and joined a long-time college friend in his new endeavor, SoundSpectrum, the maker of G-Force music visuals. It's been a really busy few months ever since--as you can imagine, a tiny venture with no funding is no easy task to make successful from the ground up. It's my most exciting challenge to date though, and I'm thankful for having the opportunity to take it on. Even though this has resulted in some definite lifestyle changes, I try to "stay true" to my roots--just did my first triathlon of the season last weekend and also went mountain biking in Moab, Utah (awesome pics to be posted soon!). In a couple of weeks, I'm going to Colorado for a friend's wedding, where I'm also taking two extra days to visit Rocky Mountain National Park. Finally, some of my photographs and my aunt Irene's paintings will be featured at my friend Shaonan's cancer benefit in Boston next week.
3/27/05
Through The Gasmask was completed in the fall of 2004. We made a limited number of DVD's and have given them to friends, family, and the people who've helped with the film. We're also looking to submit it to several film festivals. Looking back, it was a great learning process, both about film, and working with other people. I hope I am able to meet more creative minds in the future to collaborate on another film. My triathlon goals got derailed halfway through last season (my best one so far, results-wise) after sustaining a foot injury, so I've had to move my Ironman plans off for a couple of years. However, the new season is about to start, which I'm very much looking forward to, and I'm coming back with a vengeance! On the photography front, I haven't taken any extensive trips, but I have taken a few shots I like throughout the year, which I'm hoping to post in the near future. Also, FORMULA 151, a band out in Colorado used one of my pictures as their first album cover, which is exciting!
3/28/04
Wow, it's been a while since I've written anything here! Let's see, my trip to Peru was awesome, although I felt much less macho at 16,500 feet going over Salcantay than I thought I would. It's not easy (smart?) flying from 0 to 10,000 feet and hiking at or above that altitude for 2 weeks. Suffice it to say that I took many fewer pictures than I had planned on... Blackout (now officially titled "You've Never Seen the World 'til You've Seen it Through a Gasmask") is still in post production and moving slowly towards its completion at the end of spring... I'm going back to Ukraine at the end of May to visit my grandparents and shoot a documentary about their experiences in WW II and life in the former USSR in general. This is not an "official" documentary, but rather a personal project. I realized that my grandparents have lived amazing lives and if I don't preserve their story, it will disappear, and it's just too precious to vanish untold. In other news, I have finally resumed (friggin' Boston winter) training for the upcoming triathlon season. I have six races lined up throughout the summer to get me ready for a half-Ironman in September. If all is well at that point, I'm aiming for Ironman New Zealand at Lake Taupo in March of 2005.
9/22/03
It's been a looooong summer. Last night, we finally finished shooting "Blackout," which is a big relief, both in terms of completing principal photography of a feature film and getting free time to rest! This was perhaps the first summer of my life without any days off. Now, it's weird to have even a couple of hours of free time because of having gotten used to completely the opposite. I also changed jobs (I'm now at an awesome travel startup), which was not an easy task in the middle of the film... The project has been very rewarding, but not without its share of difficulties. My only regret is that we didn't find a group of documentary filmmakers to make a film about us shooting "Blackout," since I often think this process was a lot more interesting than any movie ever made. We are now entering the post-production period, which may be even more challenging. We are aiming for a Boston premiere at the end of spring. In other news, I'm planning a trip to Peru in late Nov/early Dec. Along with a friend and a couple of native guides, I'm going to hike over Salcantay and on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. That will be a refreshing change from being stuck in Boston all summer!
6/22/03
Although I got the new Canon 10D and a new lens, my photography has been on hold because of the film. It's getting really interesting now as I'm meeting with each director and discussing his/her piece shot by shot (we're starting to shoot next weekend). What a phenomenal experience it is to bounce creative ideas back and forth and come up with ways of conveying things through cinematography... Since we all have full time jobs, all the shooting has to be done on the weekends, meaning I can't travel until we're done with the film. As a result, I've had to postpone my two week trip to New Zealand. That's OK though, since I decided to do Ironman New Zealand sometime in the future. Oh, I've done my first two triathlons, a Sprint and an Olympic distance. This is one amazing sport and I can't believe I've only discovered it just now! Take the runner's high and multiply it by three--that's how good you feel after completing a race!
4/23/03
I got an incredible opportunity to collaborate on an independent feature film being shot in Boston this summer as the Director of Photography. I've always wondered what it would be like to take my pictures one step further, adding movement to them, so here is my chance to try cinematography first hand. I'm working with a very talented group of people and I'm very excited! We just had the first round of auditions this past weekend and got some amazing actors. It's going to be one busy summer, with the shooting to commence in mid-June and last most of the summer! You can find out more about the film here.
2/10/03
Well, after spending a couple of weeks at my Dad's in Philly trying to get healthy, I couldn't sit still and so I went to California to visit some friends. I flew to San Diego, stayed there for a week, then rented a convertible and took 2 days to drive along the Pacific Coast Highway to San Francisco, where I spent another week. It was an amazing experience, driving along the ocean on twisty, mountainous roads with the air rushing through your hair and your eyes tearing, possibly from the wind, or maybe out of the sheer excitement/joy of absorbing the breathtaking views. Now, I'm back in Boston and, after having spent entirely too long looking for a place to live, have almost finished moving in. My, what a great feeling it is to take a pair of socks out of a cardboard box that's been in storage, and put it in a dresser, and my, what a yuppie I've become, depending on such things as a home and furniture. Nevertheless, I was happy to unpack my photo equipment and am very much looking forward to plunging into the world of photography again!
11/7/02
I'm sad to inform you that my stay at OCS has been cut short. For better or for worse, halfway through training, I got dropped from the program due to getting pneumonia and not being able to recover within a week. I'd say about half the people in my platoon are sick right now because we go through cold weather training several times a week and don't have any recovery time to get better. This training entails crawling through standing water and being outside for a few hours at a time while being wet. It's been unseasonably cold in Virginia for the past month too, not helping the situation any. This is a big disappointment, but I have to move on (I do have the option of re-applying to the program in the future). OCS, even five weeks of it, has been a tremendous experience. Some character definitely got built and new thresholds of pain and willpower have been tested. Going through hell together with a bunch of guys teaches you a lot about yourself and others, on a basic human level. Perhaps one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in life was saying goodbye to my platoon of 60 yesterday. My bunkmate shed a tear or two and everyone shook my hand and gave me a hug after I gave a short goodbye speech. The Marine Corps is an incredibly professional, brave, and proud organization. My peers were nothing short of impressive, and those who make it through until the end will, no doubt, make great officers. I'm going to spend the next couple of weeks recovering from my illness at my father's in Philadelphia. It will be good to read through my journal and remember everything that happened, since I can only recall the highlights at the moment. Afterwards, I'll head back up to Boston, find a new place to live, and go back to work for the time being. Thanks to everyone for your letters and e-mails of support; they were definitely helpful. Hope everyone's fall is going great!
10/27/02
I'm on a 22 hour leave from OCS. It's been manageable for the most part, but there have been really tough moments. We only get 3-5 hours of sleep a night and the rest of the time we do various things, like physical training, obstacle courses, academic courses, combat training, drilling, etc. There is constant mental pressure from the Sergeant Instructors (anyone remember Full Metal Jacket?), fatigue from lack of sleep, and lack of time to complete the tasks assigned to you. This is done with purpose, of course, to see how you respond to pressure and the kind of decisions you make under extreme stress. My class started out with 275 people and is now down to 210. Some people ran away, some got dropped because of physical injuries, others due to various other reasons. I'm hanging strong, though, and intend to finish this 10-week program. It's definitely great to have a break for the first time in 3 weeks, after endless physical strain, mental stress, lack of sleep, misery due to being wet in the cold, etc. For those of you interested, to get an idea of what kind of stuff we do, you can check out Class 181 under Photo Gallery here. It might be hard to recognize me though, since we all look the same with no hair! There are lots of stories to tell, since, as you can imagine, the world I'm in now is totally different from the world I have known and gotten used to thus far in life.
10/6/02
I recently went on a whale watch with a friend and we did see two whales, but it was for a split second and I couldn't really get a good shot of one. Too bad, but I will try again another time. I also went backpacking with another friend to the White Mountains in NH. We hiked Washington, Adams, and Madison. The views are breathtaking; if you get a chance, you need to experience it! Plus, once you make it to the top via an intimidating-looking trail, it definitely feels like an accomplishment. Well, I'm off to OCS once again (see a couple of entries down), so no new pictures for a while. It's too bad I won't be allowed to photograph, since I think I could get a lot of great "action" pics of Marines in training. Have a good fall everyone; I'll miss the New England foliage...
7/7/02
I just got back from Acadia National Park in Maine! It's beautiful up there. I was hoping to get some sunrise pics, but getting up at 4 am got old after... well, one day, and it was real foggy anyway. In any case, I had an awesome time mountain biking there, you should check it out if you get a chance. One annoyance was someone trying to steal our bikes from the bike rack while our car was parked in the hotel parking lot during the first night! I guess the thieves got frustrated trying to hacksaw the lock, so they decided to hack off the brakes, undoubtedly to make our stay more pleasant. Anyway, after $100 of repairs we were back on the road (and kept our bikes inside the hotel room thereafter). More annoying?
6/15/02
Well, just a few days before I was due to appear in Quantico, the Marine Corps decided that my blood pressure was too high to go through the class. Mind you, this is after I left my job, moved out of my apartment, and sold my car. In any case, I need to figure out what's wrong (if anything) with my BP and, if it checks out, I can go to the next class, which starts on October 6th. Meanwhile, my trip to Ukraine was great--I will post pictures shortly as I'm scanning them in at this very moment.
5/7/02
My trip to Kiev is coming up in 4 days! I can't wait!!! However, it's going to be a while before I post all the pics I take as when I get back, I'm going straight to Officer Candidates School in Quantico, VA. But, for a change, you should be able to see some pics of me there!
2/14/02
Well, my parents and I finally planned our trip to Ukraine. We'll be going for two and a half weeks in the middle of May. I can't wait as it will be my first time back since I left in 1990. I'm hoping to get some great pics, but I especially want to take some portraits of my grandparents.
1/1/02
Happy New Year! I spent the past five days in NYC and was trying to imitate Henri Cartier-Bresson, taking street photography pictures. The subway was the most difficult place to take pics and not get noticed--I managed not to get yelled at or beat up though. It does require some guts though and I was surprised I was able to do it. I guess it's all about giving yourself permission, like my photo teacher once said. Some shots came out really well; I will scan and post them when I get the chance.
11/22/01
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! People were complaining that the site is very slow, so I decreased the thumbnail size on all the pages and things should be running slightly faster now.
11/18/01
Well, here it is, finally. A basic photo site that I finally got around to finishing. Hopefully, I'll be adding new pictures often, but it does take a while to scan and adjust them to my liking... so, be patient! For now, there are two main photo sections, Travel Photography and Favorites. Later on, I will be adding more categories and providing better organization.