by Yvette Depaepe
Published the 20st of March 2023

Igor Kopcev excels in unique, magical and smooth bokeh in his florals.  But Igor has also his very own style when it comes to street photography or still life photography.  He is continuously in search of new directions and techniques. Let's listen to what he reveals to us through this interview.

'In peace and quiet'

I was born and spent the first 30 years of my life in the small town of Molodechno. Nevertheless, I always was gravitated to big cities.  It seemed to me that big cities are the places where real life is. One day, I got the opportunity to go to the wonderful city of St. Petersburg and that's where I live now. I have a charming wife and a wonderful daughter. I design furniture for various purposes.

I have been familiar with cameras since I was 10 years old, but I really became interested in photography at the age of 12.  My very first camera was a Lubitel 166B.  It was the era of analogue photography. My father only showed me where the trigger button was and how to rewind the frame.  No one told me about the subtleties of photographing and that was the magic that fascinated me. Soon my parents allowed me to use their Zenit E camera with a Helios 44-2 lens.  It became a faithful companion for many years. I photographed mostly school friends and our hiking trips. I really enjoyed sitting in front of a photo magnifier at night with a red lamp and finally discover the results of my shooting.  I often gave my photos to my friends.

But school ended and the years at the university flew by just as imperceptibly.  Friends fled to various corners of the planet, and my desire to photograph did not disappear.  On the contrary, it only was growing. I became interested in street photography especially at night and started experimenting with long exposures but the film rolls did not save exposure time or aperture so there was a need to switch to a digital camera.

I switched to digital in 2004 and wanted to photograph more and more because there was not the "film" restriction of 36 frames any more. My third camera was the Canon G3. I loved to take pictures from a low perspective, near the ground.  I continued to photograph city life during my many walks. Sometimes it took me more than a month to have a really interesting shot and sometimes the weather surprised me and I didn't hesitate to pick up my camera and go shooting.  Once I went cycling in 30 degree frost to photograph the soaring Neva River.  Another time I went cycling in a torrential downpour just to shoot the rain.

My fourth camera was a Canon 350D with its native whale lens. It was more difficult for them to photograph because I lost the opportunity to use the lower point of shooting. Due to this, I began to photograph less.  During this period, I found a soul mate and for seven long years I practically did not photograph anything. My traditional rhythm of life was disrupted. On the other hand, I was happy to sacrifice my hobby for the sake of my soulmate.  Once, after a vacation in Greece, I forgot my camera after checking my luggage at the airport and didn't even notice it until I heard an announcement on the speaker phone about a forgotten camera found.  Since than, I never did  forget my cameras any more.

In 2013, I got a Panasonic dmc -lx7. That was my fifth camera. It was an attempt to return to the world of photography. It was in my pocket for a long time, but I never came back to photography. I only used it to photograph my growing daughter and interior objects for my daily work. Only years later, looking through my previous works, I gave them a new life.

'Once in Moscow'

I had only one mentor, albeit in the form of a book - Rudolf Arnheim "ART and Visual Perception". After studying his works, I understood what I had done till that day and started to  disassembling photos I liked in order to learn whatever technique to take my photos in the future.

In 2018, I decided to return to my hobby, I already purchased a more serious Canon 80D device and several lenses with a focal length of 50mm, 70-200, then Sigma 1.8 art canon 18-35.  But during all that time, it turned out that the world of photography has stepped far ahead and everyone who had a phone became a photographer. I didn't want to join these ranks and started looking for my own style and direction. I photographed everything that I found interesting: streets and parts of architecture, my family and friends ... but everything seems to be wrong.

Once I went to the tulip festival, which is held annually in our city. There were plenty of colours and shapes to be seen. And that triggered again my passion for photographing, it was blooming again. I looked for an unusual way to show flowers in addition to the form of circles (air) in the background!

'Spring vaudeville'

The search for a nice bokeh began. I studied this aspect and realized that the lens is the key to these fascinating circles. An amateur photographer showed clearly the effect of different lenses on the resulting bokeh effect. Long evenings of studying images taken with one lens or another led me to Meyer-Optik Gorlitz Primoplan V 58 mm f/ 1.9, but unfortunately I couldn't afford it at that time. It was very expensive for me. I looked for analogues ones and the first was Meyer-Optik Gorlitz Orestor 135mm f/ 2.8. The bokeh turned out well, not too pronounced and smooth.

'Melody of fantasies'

I pursued my search, and came on a Meyer-Optik Görlitz Oreston 50mm f/ 1.8, which brought me closer to the conditions of macro photography, but the bokeh did not satisfy me. After digging into the depths of the Internet, I found out that the number of diaphragm petals strongly affects its evenness and finally switched to Helios-44 58 mm f/2.0 with its 13-lobed diaphragm.

'Leaving the spirit'

It was with this picture that my journey through the abstract world of macro photography with a characteristic bokeh began. The drawing turned out to be very interesting but did not completely satisfy my needs. I wanted a more perfect one.

I also found out that a more complete bokeh is only available on the full frame… this is how my transition to the Canon 6D Mark II took place.  I still photograph with it nowadays. And still searching for the perfect bokeh, my choice fell on the Meyer-Optik Görlitz Trioplan 100 mm f/ 2.8, but once more, the price, even for an older version, was too expensive, not to mention its modern modification. And finally, I found his younger brother Meyer-Optik Görlitz Trioplan 50 mm f/ 2.9 V which was purchased in Germany and delivered to my city almost in its original form.  I am very grateful to the person who provided it to me.
Yes, there were some problems to fix it on my camera because the bayonet did not match the modern Canon, but I found a solution and modified it manually, forever spoiling its pristine appearance.  It was magic ... for the first time I got what I wanted: those perfect circles on the bokeh.

'Placidity'

'Cornucopia'

'Magic'

I experimented with surfaces and sources for drawing bokeh. In 2020, the pandemic has come. I bought a Canon EF 100mm f/2/8L Macro IS macro lens and photographed nature where I continued experimenting with colours.

'Summer fantasy'

Another hobby of mine is listening to music ... everywhere, on the road, at work, while studying, while relaxing.  Sometimes I fall asleep while listening to music.  Music is an integral part of my life.  So, often the titles of my images use musical terms.

I used to be an observer, using light sources and my hands to highlight what I'm shooting.  I also take pictures with a light brush (another direction in my work).

'The ballad of the dandelion...'

'Expectation'

'Attraction'

I don't have my own studio. Sometimes, our living room turns into a studio for only a few hours and glass lanterns appear. Preparations consist in closing all windows and doors, cleaning dust and draft which are the main hindrance when I take pictures. And another important condition is complete darkness, and since the night does not last long in summer, my main creativity falls in  the period from October to March although there are a lot of flowers in spring who become models in my still life photography in a completely different guise and against a very light almost white background.

'Leitmotiv of spring...'

I like experimenting with light and with objects.  Everything take place during shooting and not in post-processing :). I tried various surfaces for a long time. It was mostly glasses of different thickness, surface types and colours. My ideas mostly come while shooting. First I chose the position of a still life or macro with bokeh which I want to photograph and very often I start with one composition finishing with other objects in a completely different composition.

I'm looking for inspiration in the vast expanses of the entire Internet, but only realise what I found months later.  So, I came across the Lafugue Logos gallery. Those works influenced my creativity. I also admire the works of photographer Shihya Kowatari.

I am always open to communication. One day, Lydia Jacobs asked for advice. I gave as much advice as I could about shooting objects using Trioplan.  I continue creating works with magic bubbles.

'Delicate melody of summer'

I have a lot of personal favourite photos and it is difficult to me to chose one.
But I can tell something about an unusual photo. The set-up is built on glass and illuminated by a light source and under the glass - as if forming a continuation - another composition is built, which in turn is laid out on the glass where water droplets forming bokeh are located.

'Multidirectional flows'

My photos are primarily showing something unusual in ordinary objects. Through my photographs, I convey mood, fantasy, sometimes feelings, and sometimes just beauty. A lot of my works are expressing my moods at the time of shooting. It is extremely rare that I manage to tell a story in my pictures besides the title. Recently, new experiments have led me to use  ultraviolet light. It helps to reveal the beauty of pure colour.

'Miniature of October'

'In the valley of illusions'

'In pink tones...'

I plan to continue searching for some new directions creating series of existing works. I also want to go out again and continue to shoot city life.

'Time goes its own way..'

'...Walking on red lines...'

I like the atmosphere on the 1x community, even if I am not posting my new works now. But I will definitely return in fall or maybe earlier. I hope that my new works will be appealing to the viewers because without them I would not have understood in which direction I should move.

Thank you so much for allowing me to tell my story.
... see you soon!

'1x'