My name is Dmitry Berezin. I have been studying at Saint Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov state conservatory since 2010. I play cello and I want to be a professional musician.
Being far away from my friends and family in Lithuania sometimes I have feeling of loneliness, and the only thing that still connects me with my relatives is my cello. I started shooting photos of my cello as a present for my lovely sister, who on 11.11.11. was going to turn eighteen! This is how my first 18 pictures were made.
Later on it became a number of various scenes expressing my own feelings in a big, strange and mysterious city.
Childhood
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I have been playing cello for 15 years so far and I noticed that one can succeed much faster if instead of trying to play the cello one would imagine it as a game and just play with the cello.
Tourism
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What can be better than waking up on a weekend morning, putting on warm clothes, grabbing some sandwiches and setting off for a nice walk? Maybe only if my cello would bother to take ME together...
How Should I Get To Nevsky?
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As for a person who came from a city without metro, it was quite complicated for me to get used to its stations, maps, crowds - oh yes, and that awful noise!..
Locals
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Saint Petersburg is often called the "Northern Venice" for its numerous canals, bridges and boats. But what fascinated me as well was the amount of pigeons which was probably even bigger than I saw in Venice!
Snowdrop
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Winter in Saint Petersburg is rough and long. Spring comes extremely late and I am always excited when I see snow melting and revealing the city and the nature that was underneath.
Urban Barbeque
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This was the first time I saw a real fire burning in the middle of a bus stop. What surprised me was that no-one seemed to worry about it as if this is what you usually do with the garbage. I quickly took a picture and tried to extinguish the fire. Should I mention all that curiosity and misunderstanding which I had been watched by all the passers-by with?
Sightseeing
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I noticed that many Russians, when asking to take a picture of them, mention that all their body should be visible in a frame, including legs. In this photo my cello asked me the same and I did my best (instead of disappointing by remaining that there are no legs at all).
Eternity
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I think that an objective assessment of any event is possible only after some time has passed. Here and now we can act according to our own heart and minds. Those will be only future generations judging us for our decisions.
Get Fit
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My father used to go mountaineering a lot and had taken me with twice. Every journey was preceded by a set of special exercises. And I remember that feeling of fitness that you get after 2-3 weeks of those exercises: everything - from opening doors to walking down the street - everything felt so much easier! So, maybe this world was simply designed for fit people?
My Way
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Every time I walk home after lectures I ask myself "What is waiting for me tomorrow?" But the only way to know what is after the turn of the road is... to keep walking.
Road Scenery
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Russia is famous for its never-ending renovation works for buildings, roads, underground pipes, etc. But why can't that be used as a stage for some nice concert? I think that there are many similarities between a city and a musician's life: a musician rehearses everyday for the big event on the stage, just like reconstructions in the city being done for its spectacular view.
Expectations And Reality
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What we see is not always what it really is. No, the mirrors don't lie to us, rather it's us who see what we want to see, distorting reality in a way we want.
Twilight Zone
Sometimes it feels completely impossible to succeed in something no matter how hard we try. It seems like the thing we want exists in some twilight zone and we will never achieve it. Don't worry too much, maybe you just need to approach it from another side.
Nocturne
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I like to listen to music a lot, especially at night. The darkness somehow sharpens my feelings and eliminates the distance between me and the music I am listening to. I wonder, what impact on people a concert performed at nighttime would make.
Ghost
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Many people believe in ghosts. That is why they avoid going down to the basement in the dark or miss out on pleasure of a walk in a cemetery at midnight. I think I will start believing in ghosts only if 3 ... becomes one.
Fall
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When I go for a walk in the middle of autumn, I'm always fascinated by tons of orange, red and yellow leaves. I start picking up the brightest ones and eventually end up with a huge bouquet of unnecessary firelighter. And then all the possible compositions are being discussed with my roommate. Here's the result.
Five More Minutes And I'll Definitely Wake Up...
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People are of two types, there are "night owls" and "morning larks". When two different persons make a couple they often face problems, when one goes to sleep, while another has barely woken up. Luckily, my cello and I have the same inner rhythm and in the morning it is completely impossible to wake both of us up.
Break
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Yeah, there are days when the scenery outside your window suddenly changes into something so beautiful that it makes you gasp. At these moments it's almost impossible to practice the cello and not to run for the camera instead.
Life After
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My dormitory is full of surprises. One day you may realize that there is no hot water, another day - there is electricity cut due to some repair works. It is really scary to see a completely black corridor with the bright light at the end of it. It's a perfect moment for a photo shooting of my cello!
Behind The Bars
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This is one of my worst experiences of being in a prison...
Nah, I am kidding! I haven't been to jail. But my cello once got drunk, knocked out a policeman without a particular reason and got imprisoned! Nah, I am kidding!
It is just the sixth floor of our conservatory before the renovation... And I am not kidding.
Nah, I am kidding! I haven't been to jail. But my cello once got drunk, knocked out a policeman without a particular reason and got imprisoned! Nah, I am kidding!
It is just the sixth floor of our conservatory before the renovation... And I am not kidding.
May I Help You?
We imagine the world in future packed with robots, machines and all sorts of technical things. But why couldn't that be cellos that will help us do things in future?
Discount For Cellos
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Hopefully, there still are some things that you can't buy in a supermarket: love, inspiration, music, cellos...
Crisis
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Cellos, deeply inside, suffer as much as humans do. It's just that they choose a different way to let the emotions go. So, when next time you see your cello with cartons of milk, take some wine and just join her for a drink.
Crisis II
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My cello didn't want me to post this, so, please, don't tell...
Time For A Break
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Studying in conservatory tends to be killing at times, leading to surprisingly weird moments. This is one of them.
Coffee Break
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That famous drink helps you wake up after you've got up every morning and makes you to some extent a creative person. Are cellos also addicted to coffee? Yes, of course!
Honey, Where Is Your Hairdryer?
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For me, cello is "she", not "he" or "it". I judge from the shapes of this instrument. Sometimes I even get feeling that the cello has her own life...
Relationship
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Why do I play music? It's simple: because it makes me happy. This happiness of playing cello can be compared with the one of hanging out with a girlfriend. The minor differences between a cello and a girlfriend is that you don't have to remember the date of her birthday, listen to numerous complains ant it's impossible to get angry with her.
Sunset
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During my studying in Saint Petersburg I got familiar with the city not just through visiting its numerous museums but also by discovering open parks, tiny inner courtyards and rocky shores. It is the matter of time, when to grab my cello and take more pictures.