"Walking Around Belozeriye Through Centuries"

“One of contemporary arts is photography.
This term – photography – was offered by English astrologer John Herschel and appeared in 1841. The official date of making a photo is January 7, 1839. The first Russian photographer and portrait artist was Alexey Grekov who opened his own studio in 1940. Another interesting and talented master of photography was Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky who made many unique “pictures in natural paints” and worked in Belozersk in 1909.
Such photographers as K. Kalinin, A. Khokhryakov, N. Karpov worked in our ancient town on the cusp of the 19th and 20th centuries. The Kalinins’ embossed logos survived on portraits of citizens making such photos respectable. The Belozersk Regional Museum of Local Lore collections include portraits of merchants, priests, bourgeois who used to be well known at that time as well as other rare pictures. Having a look at photos made in different time periods, you will assure unintentionally that old pictures are symbols of the remote, fundamental and strong, past” (article in the New Way newspaper as of 18.02.1999).
Some very warm and heartful poems written by Sergey Orlov let us imagine the provincial town of Belozersk in previous years. It is important to demonstrate the touching nature of such towns to the new generation and tourists and approve they were not quiet at all due to their centuries-old proud history. Sergey Orlov tells us a loving story of our town and country in his poem The Photographer representing people depicted by a photographer from Belozersk. The image of a man with a camera in his hands is the generalized character. One can recognize Nikolay Karpov and unforgettable photographer Venya who used to repeat the following words during shooting: “I am shooting… Done!.. Failed!..” He pronounced them speaking with a lisp (as V. Chmutov, L. Kablukova said).
And one more wonderful poem called On the Background of the Pictured Garden // Where Statues and Palaces Showing White… where he remembers himself as a young man before the war.
Photographer Venya worked near the former fire station before and at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Perhaps, he had a studio as well. It is interesting to note that he made pictures of people living in Belozersk on the background of the pictured garden. This fact is confirmed by Sergey Orlov’s photo from the Museum collection.
3 pictures At Venya’s made in the street are also available. They were provided by L. Kablukova (Kondratiyeva) and are dated 1940, 1942, 1948.

На фоне нарисованного сада,

Где статуи белеют и дворцы,
Четыре парня как-то снялись рядом,
Совсем еще безусые юнцы.
Они глядят восторженно с портрета
В даль из забвенью преданного дня.
А крайний паренек по всем приметам
Похож на непохожего меня…
Смешные неуклюжие мальчишки,
Им даже в снах не снилось –
В дым, в огонь шагать,
Жить, как тому не обучали книжки,
Спать на снегу, пить спирт и убивать..
1945г.

Фотограф

На углу, на площади базарной,
В домике, где солнце в окна бьет,
Маленький, смешной и популярный
Мастер фотографии живет.
Здесь по воскресеньям утром ранним,
С важностью особой на лице,
В праздничных костюмах горожане
Вытирают ноги на крыльце.
В доме белокаменные горы,
Лодка на волнах, как на пиле,
Конь-огонь,- ударь с размаху шпорой
И на край земли лети в седле!
есть для малышей свисток отличный,
Чтоб на мир глядели малыши
(Вот сейчас вспорхнет навстречу птичка)
И смеялись ото всей души.
Мастер посетителей встречает,
Полчаса наводит аппарат.
Подойдет, чуть-чуть поправит орден,
Чтоб сидел клиент во всей красе,
Шутит сам: «Снимаю!.. Снял!.. Испортил!»
Не испортит, это знают все.
Весь район за стеклами витрины
Показал фотограф неспроста:
Женщины, мальчишки и мужчины,
Как в театре, заняли места.
—
…Смотрят, как живые, с фотографии,
Ретушью прикрашены слегка,
Люди незаметных биографий,
Люди всем известных биографий —
Жители родного городка.
1952 г.

“I was so enthusiastic about northern poems written by Sergey Orlov, remembered some of his images, read his poems silently and by heart. I never forgot my first love to beauty and brightness of Sergey Orlov’s metaphors. That’s why I perceived the Belozersk region, both intentionally and unintentionally, looking at it by his “emotional eyes”, wrote my own poems as if hearing his “emotional voice”.
In general, it seems that Sergey Orlov used to clean his art brush in life-giving water of arts whether it be poetry, painting, or music. And, besides global things, he had a keen glance at the natural northern life specific to Belozersk”. 
Valery Dementiyev