Konstantin and Vlada Liberov started their journey in photography 4 years ago. At first they focused on creative and emotional stories. At the beginning of the war in Ukraine, they changed the vector of their work, focusing on artistic documentary: their photos from Ukraine's hotspots went viral on social media, gaining hundreds of thousands of reposts, published by influential media like BBC, Welt, Vogue, Forbes, and shared by the President of Ukraine and other high-ranking officials. We talked about objectivity in documentary filmmaking, where to get the resources, and how to get back on track.
As strange as it may sound, our photography is primarily aimed at the average Ukrainian. I forgot that we were at war in our country in 2015, like the vast majority of Ukrainians. And this war, which had already been going on for eight years, did not enter my media space. Vlada and I took it upon ourselves to ensure that ordinary Ukrainians did not forget the war.
There is no such thing as an absolutely objective photo. In any case, the personality of the author will be noticeable in the photo: his values, pain, interest, etc. If we take into account the top foreign photographers who are photographing the war in Ukraine at the moment, then their photos, even of the same events, will be different. And if we take into account the global trends in war reporting, the world is less and less interested in the subject, but they are interested in the author's feelings about these events. So it would be more accurate to say that we all carry the TRUTH: through the prism of our 'ego', our vision and our pain.
Back to the previous answer: Vlada and I work for Ukrainians. Maybe it's a bit bold, but I believe that our photography can go beyond the military bubble and reach an imaginary girl, who is lying on a deckchair somewhere in Odesa and make her remember that the war is still going on. Because I myself was lying on that deckchair for eight years. I did not remember that we were at war. And that's why we're doing this kind of photography today. It has no boundaries in the media space. Wherever you are, you will stop, you will look, and if we have done it right, you will think. If we talk about a resource, it is the feeling of this mission: constantly giving Ukrainians a war feeling. To bring people down into the trenches. To make them feel blood, pain and sweat. So that the guys in the trench never feel alone again.
Duct tape, a pair of clean socks, American field ration, a good bag, a towel. And we seem to have forgotten how to talk about anything but war.
At this point, I can only say that there is no way to recover. Besides, when we get back to Odesa, where we have a bright, spacious apartment, on the second day you are already overwhelmed by the feeling of "how much everything pisses me off". It's a totally irrational feeling, with no basis in reality. But I see people living normal lives, and it doesn't match the life we see at zero point. Like soldiers who have been in a trench for almost two years without rotation, and here the guys go to the gym to do exercise. I have no suggestions. It is just an overwhelming feeling. It's like we've forgotten how to talk about anything but war. When we shoot the victory celebration, we will go to an island somewhere and rest. And when we come back, we're going to think about how to keep the memory of the heroes alive and how to help rehabilitate after the war.
Konstantin Liberov — Ukrainian photographer, photojournalist. Knight of the Order “For Merit” III degree (2023). One of his photos was selected by Time magazine among the 100 Best Photos of 2022. During the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, together with his wife Vlada Liberova, they filmed the consequences of the war in Kharkiv, Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, Svyatogorsk, Nikolaev, Bucha, Irpen, Kyiv and other cities. Photos of Konstantin were published by The Kyiv Independent, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journa, The Insider, The Independent.
Photographer's social networks: Instagram, Facebook
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Marusya Maruzhenko
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
Konstantin and Vlada Liberov started their journey in photography 4 years ago. At first they focused on creative and emotional stories. At the beginning of the war in Ukraine, they changed the vector of their work, focusing on artistic documentary: their photos from Ukraine's hotspots went viral on social media, gaining hundreds of thousands of reposts, published by influential media like BBC, Welt, Vogue, Forbes, and shared by the President of Ukraine and other high-ranking officials. We talked about objectivity in documentary filmmaking, where to get the resources, and how to get back on track.
As strange as it may sound, our photography is primarily aimed at the average Ukrainian. I forgot that we were at war in our country in 2015, like the vast majority of Ukrainians. And this war, which had already been going on for eight years, did not enter my media space. Vlada and I took it upon ourselves to ensure that ordinary Ukrainians did not forget the war.
There is no such thing as an absolutely objective photo. In any case, the personality of the author will be noticeable in the photo: his values, pain, interest, etc. If we take into account the top foreign photographers who are photographing the war in Ukraine at the moment, then their photos, even of the same events, will be different. And if we take into account the global trends in war reporting, the world is less and less interested in the subject, but they are interested in the author's feelings about these events. So it would be more accurate to say that we all carry the TRUTH: through the prism of our 'ego', our vision and our pain.
Back to the previous answer: Vlada and I work for Ukrainians. Maybe it's a bit bold, but I believe that our photography can go beyond the military bubble and reach an imaginary girl, who is lying on a deckchair somewhere in Odesa and make her remember that the war is still going on. Because I myself was lying on that deckchair for eight years. I did not remember that we were at war. And that's why we're doing this kind of photography today. It has no boundaries in the media space. Wherever you are, you will stop, you will look, and if we have done it right, you will think. If we talk about a resource, it is the feeling of this mission: constantly giving Ukrainians a war feeling. To bring people down into the trenches. To make them feel blood, pain and sweat. So that the guys in the trench never feel alone again.
Duct tape, a pair of clean socks, American field ration, a good bag, a towel. And we seem to have forgotten how to talk about anything but war.
At this point, I can only say that there is no way to recover. Besides, when we get back to Odesa, where we have a bright, spacious apartment, on the second day you are already overwhelmed by the feeling of "how much everything pisses me off". It's a totally irrational feeling, with no basis in reality. But I see people living normal lives, and it doesn't match the life we see at zero point. Like soldiers who have been in a trench for almost two years without rotation, and here the guys go to the gym to do exercise. I have no suggestions. It is just an overwhelming feeling. It's like we've forgotten how to talk about anything but war. When we shoot the victory celebration, we will go to an island somewhere and rest. And when we come back, we're going to think about how to keep the memory of the heroes alive and how to help rehabilitate after the war.
Konstantin Liberov — Ukrainian photographer, photojournalist. Knight of the Order “For Merit” III degree (2023). One of his photos was selected by Time magazine among the 100 Best Photos of 2022. During the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, together with his wife Vlada Liberova, they filmed the consequences of the war in Kharkiv, Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, Svyatogorsk, Nikolaev, Bucha, Irpen, Kyiv and other cities. Photos of Konstantin were published by The Kyiv Independent, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journa, The Insider, The Independent.
Photographer's social networks: Instagram, Facebook
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Marusya Maruzhenko
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
UAPP is an independent association of professional Ukrainian photographers, designed to protect their interests, support, develop and promote Ukrainian photography as an important element of national culture.
UAPP's activities span educational, social, research and cultural initiatives, as well as book publishing.
UAPP represents Ukrainian professional photography in the international photographic community and is an official member of the Federation of European Photographers (FEP) — an international organization representing more than 50,000 professional photographers in Europe and other countries around the world.
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