The magic of Dina Belenko’s camera
In a world where everything is photographed and recorded, it can be tough for photographers to stand out. After all, social media encourages everyone to pick up a camera of their own and show off their creative side. Only the best of the best can make it in the photography industry.
I am not much of a photographer, but I can appreciate an artist when I see one, and Dina Belenko (@dinabelenko on Instagram) is certainly a standout in my eyes. Belenko’s Instagram is filled with creative, colorful still-life so perfectly captured you can’t look away. She follows a central theme of magic using stars, smoke and gravity-defying objects. Belenko has mastered the art of using complementary colors and unique object placement to make her images look natural but kinetic.
Belenko focuses not on a single object, but rather a collection of pieces that fit together to tell a story. She uses a lot of teacups and plants in her scenes but finds so many ways to dress them up, which shows the brilliance in her creativity. She pairs leaves and teacups with animals and stars in ways that make them look as though they belong together.
Belenko tends to use dark backgrounds of navy blue and black to contrast the vibrant colored subjects in the foreground. She also layers some photos by adding blurred objects to the background. The background objects tend to stick with a dark color scheme, adding just the right amount of detail without taking away from the vibrant subject. This contrast is very pleasing to the eye and allows her to play with the lighting to show depth. Her lighting technique is exquisite as she finds a way to create different shadows for each element in the setup.
What I love about Belenko’s work is her ability to incorporate smoke and use its unpredictable motion to create new scenes within the images. She also likes to include hands in her setups, which is interesting because that is the only body part she photographs. She adds a human factor in a playful, unique way.
Belenko’s also not afraid to flip objects on their side or upside down completely to change the perspective of the photo. Seeing how she plays with perspective to enhance her scenes is inspiring for future photoshoots and something I’ll have to try. My favorite photos of hers include dishes and boxes being stacked in ways that seem to defy gravity.
From food to flowers to flames caught in motion, Belenko’s photos really are a work of art that even inspires people like me to grab a camera and try. With almost 50k followers on her Instagram, I cannot be the only one that feels this way.
