Russia Archives | Moss and Fog

Architecture

Vibrant Russian Pavilion at Dubai Expo Wrapped in Interwoven Tubes

December 20, 2021 Architecture

The Dubai Expo 2020 has pavilions from a range of countries, all of them showcasing their own strengths and creativity. The Russian pavilion is particularly striking, wrapped in interwoven colored tubes, lending the building an amazing striped appearance.

The Architect Sergei Tchoban wanted to represent the future, as well as traditional matryoshka—or Russian nesting doll.

The aluminum tubes that wrap the exterior are only made of six colors, but they seem like many more, like a mosaic of hues. The interior of the space is expansive, with a ceiling dazzled with LED stars.

Photos by Ilya Ivanov. Via My Modern Met:

Colors

Kamchatka’s Winter Adventure Tour

November 29, 2021 Colors

Wow. This top image of a rift in the Earth is pretty spectacular. Those colors are incredible, showcasing the viciously hot magma below. Welcome to Mount Tolbachik in Kamchatka, Russia.

There’s a rawness to the wild in this part of the world, which is mostly uninhabited, and full of nature in its purest form.

Do you want to visit this incredible place yourself? Check out the Winter Safari Tour. There are a number of adventures that involve backcountry skiing, volcano adventuring, all in a once-in-a-lifetime package.

An incredible amount of work went into the sourcing of these images. Thanks to Knstrct and Alexander Pavlov.

Colors

Lake Baikal’s Mystery and Magic

November 14, 2021 Colors

Lake Baikal is by volume, the biggest freshwater lake on the planet. Indeed, it’s not the biggest by surface area, but contains 22% of the entire world’s freshwater, and the North American Great Lakes could all fit within it’s enormous depth.

Located in Siberia, it’s a frozen wonderland in winter, and creates the perfect backdrop for a photoshoot. Full of scenes that look directly out of the movie ‘Frozen’, it’s almost too picturesque to be real.

Artist and photographer Kristina Makeeva has a stunning collection of photos bringing costume and art to the natural setting, elevating the subject matter in beautiful ways. Her use of fashion mixed with nature is stunning, bringing the texture of the lake’s ice into play with a range of colorful costumes and arranged images.

We’d love to experience the magic of this impressive frozen place. Via InspirationGrid:

Art

Fantastical Lake Baikal Photo Series

December 29, 2019 Art

Lake Baikal is by volume, the biggest freshwater lake on the planet. Indeed, it’s not the biggest by surface area, but contains 22% of the entire world’s freshwater, and the North American Great Lakes could all fit within it’s enormous depth.

Located in Siberia, it’s a frozen wonderland in winter, and creates the perfect backdrop for a photoshoot. Full of scenes that look directly out of the movie ‘Frozen’, it’s almost too picturesque to be real.

Artist and photographer Kristina Makeeva has a stunning collection of photos bringing costume and art to the natural setting, elevating the subject matter in beautiful ways.

We’d love to experience the magic of this impressive frozen place. Via InspirationGrid:

Documentary Film

Russian Volcano Erupting, As Seen From Space

July 2, 2019 Documentary Film

Talk about an out-of-this-world photo! Taken from the International Space Station, the amazing photos show Raikoke Volcano on Russia’s Kuril Islands erupting this past weekend. The massive plumes reached eight miles into the sky, and even caused flight disruptions in that part of the world.

Via Colossal:

Via NASA:

On the morning of June 22, astronauts shot a photograph of the volcanic plume rising in a narrow column and then spreading out in a part of the plume known as the umbrella region. That is the area where the density of the plume and the surrounding air equalize and the plume stops rising. The ring of clouds at the base of the column appears to be water vapor.

Architecture

Sverdlovsk Philharmonic Concert Hall

October 4, 2018 Architecture

You may have never heard of the city of Yekaterinburg in Russia, but it will soon be home to a stunning concert hall, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects. The Sverdlovsk Philharmonic Concert Hall is a gorgeous example of form + function, mimicking the physical aspects of sound waves, with dramatic swooping curves and a massive suspended canopy. Home to the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra, with a 1,600 seat main performance hall, and a 400 seat chamber music hall, the inspiring architecture should be a landmark for the city for decades to come. Via Uncrate:

Nature

Crimean Winter by Daniil Korzhonov

January 9, 2018 Nature

Via Fast Company Design

Is it a nuclear holocaust? The after effects of a massive asteroid striking earth? Nah. Just Eastern Europe in the winter. Crimea in wintertime with dramatic light looks almost otherworldly.

The photos are the work of Russia-based Daniil Korzhonov, who likes to tramp around the snow-flecked mountains and barren forests of the Ukrainian republic of Crimea, his Nikon D80 in hand. The soft-focus effect here, which makes some of the pictures look fake (like they were swiped from the set of yet another overproduced End Times blockbuster) is largely natural, Korzhonov tells us–just a product of bizarre weather.

“Mainly, my photos are taken in deep fog in the morning,” he writes in an email. “Crimea is a small peninsula at the Black Sea. So clouds cover the mountains in the morning. And my mission is to harvest the rare moments of sun coming through the cold winter clouds.” He does use some Photoshop (“a little bit of toning and color correction”), he says, but nothing unusual: “The heart [of the photographs] is the light in the scene.”

[Images courtesy of Daniil Korzhonov; h/t to Designboom]

Animals

Red Fox Rising

November 25, 2014 Animals

Via LaughingSquid, a collection of gorgeous images of the northern red fox.

Ivan Kislov is a Russian photographer who captured the red fox in the remote Chukotka Peninsula in the northeastern area of Russia.

“Foxes are curious and can come very close, and I shoot with wide angle and telephoto lenses.”

Colors

Pacific Rim of Fire

June 4, 2014 Colors

Ski the Kamchatka Volcano in Russian travel Adventures

Holy wow. This top image of a rift in the Earth is pretty spectacular. Those colors are incredible, showcasing the viciously hot magma below. Welcome to Mount Tolbachik in Kamchatka, Russia. Do you want to visit this incredible place yourself? Check out the Winter Safari Tour.

An incredible amount of work went into the sourcing of these images. Thanks to Knstrct and Alexander Pavlov.

Architecture

Snowflake Geometry

November 22, 2013 Architecture

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The geometry of snowflakes is something I don’t think I’d get tired of looking at. These are taken by Russian photographer Alexey Kljatov, and done with a cheap point and shoot camera! Via FastoCo Design:

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Art

Mind Blowing Face Painting

November 21, 2013 Art

Valeriya Kutsan is a Russian make-up artist who has taken the craft to a whole new dimension. Rarely do we literally have our jaws drop when perusing images on the internet. This was one of those times. Unbelievably cool and intricate and creative, these works (and their models) will forever change the way we look at the potential of painting a face. Via FastCo Design:

Architecture

The Dystopian Future of Alex Andreev

October 17, 2012 Architecture

Digital painter and illustrator Alex Andreev has a way with floating objects, otherworldly lands, and moments of strange emotion. His work is both very quiet and very disquieting.

A Separate Reality: New Paintings of Dystopian Worlds by Alex Andreev science fiction painting illustration digital

Via Colossal:

Trying to categorize or summarize the genre of Alex Andreev’s (previously) digital paintings is nearly impossible. Part science fiction, part dystopian future, the scenes are equally disturbing and beautiful, his characters inhabiting a world Andreev tells me is deeply influenced by Soviet-era literature, music and movies. Based in St. Petersburg, Russia he works primarily with Adobe Photoshop and Corel Paint and relies only on a small selection of brushes and colors to create each illustration, meaning there are no special effects or 3d-rendering of anything. Andreev recently published an art book, A Separate Reality, which is available through Blurb.com.

Art

Amazing Undersea Life

January 19, 2012 Art

Via io9:

Russian photographer Alexander Semenov creates photographs of marine life that just burst with color and energy. You may have understood, on some intellectual level, that the ocean depths are an ecosystem, teeming with life and all connected. But looking at these stunning photos will make you seeit in a new way.

Semenov is a diver and project manager at the White Sea Biological Station in Russia, and he studied zoology (particularly squid brains) as a college student. Semenov writes:

When I first began to experiment with sea life photography I tried shooting small invertebrates for fun with my own old camera and without any professional lights or lenses. I collected the invertebrates under water and then I’ve shot them in the lab. After two or three months of failure after failure I ended up with a few good pictures, which I’ve showed to the crew. It has inspired us to buy a semi-professional camera complete with underwater housing and strobes. Thus I’ve spent the following field season trying to shoot the same creatures, but this time in their environment. It was much more difficult, and I spent another two months without any significant results. But when you’re working at something every day, you inevitably get a lot of experience. Eventually I began to get interesting photos – one or two from each dive. Now after four years of practice I get a few good shots almost every time I dive but I still have a lot of things that need to be mastered in underwater photography.

Advertising

Soviet Space

July 22, 2011 Advertising

As America was just beginning to think about their postwar space program, the Soviets were dreaming. And dreaming big. For many years, the Soviets were truly on the cutting edge, and made the USA squirm with each new advance they made in space.

Here is a collection of awesome Soviet Space posters with their translation. The sentiments are just as striking as the artwork. Very inspiring and beautiful work, in a bizarre, Communist way. Thanks to Nathan for the tip.