Valeria_kalabina

Inner light

For the last time.

City walk

It's been 10 years since I moved to NYC. I still remember the first day back in 2012 when I first arrived. It felt like home from day 1. They say you either hate or fall in love with this chaotic city. Have you moved to another city or country? Share your experience with me

Photos by Juan Diego Johns

Happy Sunday, friends

Once upon a wave

Full sizes shot by Juan Diego Johns

Morning sheets

Oil colours?

Let's talk about color grading and framing.  What is that in frame that makes it look like an oil painting? I often mention Caravaggio as an ultimate inspiration in not only the colors but the composition itself. His 'characters' are rarely still, they are frozen in a moment, they are alive. Even his 'Sleeping Cupid' seems to be full of movement in his dream, you can almost feel his breath. His 'blacks' are full of contrast, it's bright yet dark. The main focus is on the highlights and w...

10 minutes of light a day

Morning doodles

Skin to me is a universal language. It’s understandable, it’s relatable, we all have it, we all feel it, we all express it.

Me, my skin and I

It's been 2 weeks only since I moved. I am still adopting, I am still learning, I have many projects and I will slowly start taking actions. I am learning my new soft light, its more gentle and I think it gives more subtle and in-depth look. What do you think? 

Tomorrow new post ✨

I am me

Be free.

Adopting

Honestly, I do miss my light. Frankly, I think it's going to take some time to adopt. Yet what is light if you don't shine yourself? 

With jealousy I look at my neighbors windows, seeing how the warmth floods their rooms. My studio is a corner apartment that has huge windows but no direct light. I always said that light does not define me, however I am a human and I still do miss it. Greatly.

New chapter

It's been 10 years since I lived alone last time. I've been married for a decade and this October I will turn 30. 1/3 of my life and this chapter is over. I had so many thoughts racing in my head in the past 2 months. From the moment I realized things are about to change, from the moment I started looking for my new apartment, from a moment I realized I had to choose if Im taking 'our' cat or leaving him behind in my old life. I am so happy I changed my mind very last moment. I feel balanced ...

Unboxing

Dear friends, I cherish so much your support in this uneasy for me times. Thank you all and I can’t wait to create this weekend in my new place. New series are coming up 🖤📸 Hope everything is having a great week!

Life update

Yesterday I finally left once and forever my old home. It’s a lot of work ahead but I’m beyond excited to get my first furniture settled this week and I aim to shoot this weekend at my new place. To the new beginnings📸✨

Sleepover

Packing and staying at my friends house. Ordering my new furniture this week and beyond excited for my future set up for self portraits 🤍📸

Preparing

On Monday, August 15th I’ll recieve my new keys and I will move. I am beyond excited to create my new work place, it will be different, it will be fully mine. I will to work on my last series for patreon today, at my current apartment. I was thinking of dedicating more time to neon colors. Regardless, I am beyond excited to give you a first sight on my new place as soon as I move. Stay well, friends 🖤✨

Inhale

50mm poetry

This series were shot on 50mm f/1.4 which means I did have to stay quite far from the lens in order to be in focus, however, without glasses I cannot really see the screen and what exactly I am shooting. Self-timer that repeatedly shoots every 5 second is on and I simply start moving. I find this lens the hardest to work for self-portraits but the illusion of presence, that you almost can touch the skin - it does worth the struggle.

Besides, any of my series can be the last s...

Braids and curves

Lately I've been experimenting with colors more than usual. Adjusting the curves and grading is always a favorite part of editing for me, especially when I have a goal to get a certain look. I was inspired by a classic negative colors, green shadows and warm highlights, skin tones are on the warmer side with a tint of green, the frames are still vivid yet have this calming affect. What do you think? 

Fleur

I always loved flowers, something so innocent and gentle about them that mesmerized me. These are the flowers I give to myself. The flowers that make me feel even more feminine. The flowers that will not die. 

Life update

Friends, yesterday I shoot new series and I’m trying my best to find time to edit and share with you (aiming for tomorrow). Meanwhile, bare with me, next month I am moving and I will be sharing the whole process here on Patreon. From packing up my life to creating new work space, new everything 🤍

Skin poetry

I said it yesterday, I will say it again today and I will keep repeating it tomorrow. Skin - is us, skin is you, skin is what we are. It is often a subject of sexualization, fashion and much more. However, what it is in reality - is you. It keeps all of our memories and experiences. It has burns, stretch marks, wrinkles, tattoos. It is a map you can read, it brings you to a journey of her, a time travel of his life, a memoir of us. Love your skin, be grateful to it. I will capture it young, I...

Pretty little things

The history of women's lingerie has always intrigued me. From serving a simple hygienic purpose to embracing how we feel about ourselves - that is what I love about it. Sensual lingerie is not always about sex, it is about how you feel in it, it is about how it empowers you. When woman is dressed and wears a set underneath, no now knows about it. It is her who put it on in the morning, it is her who knows about it the whole day, and it was for her all this time and day long. 

Life will not be the same

My dear friends, 

I would like to share with all of you some life updates. It is not time yet to share it all, however, my life is changing faster than me and any day in the house I used to call 'home' can be the 'last one'. I loved you, the light in my house, you brought me so many rays touching my skin, my dear and beloved home. 

I am about to find if it is me who follows the light or it is the light who is my life partner, following me whenever I go. 

Chronic insomniac

I slept so little lately that I have a double vision 

Wet skin texture is a always a yes to me

I am my skin

It is a physical fatigue I feel from fighting for my skin, for who we are. Artists have to fight not just their demons but also algorithms. What is art? When do our bodies transform into art objects? What is the modern cage? Is it the body or is it an algorithm? I am grateful I can share my vision with you, I am thankful I can do it here with no fear. 

“At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.” ― Frida Kahlo