Meet Ekaterina Gorbacheva | Photographer / videographer & musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ekaterina Gorbacheva and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ekaterina, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
To be honest, I don’t think I ever had a choice. Repetitive actions put me to sleep or force my mind to wander, and even in a non creative job per se, I would always focus on problem solving, differences, starting things up, finding unique approaches and solutions; I would work best when presented with a challenge of finding a new path and it’s the most creative thing if you ask me. Creative, personal, attentive and thoughtful. So to answer the question, creative career is the only way I get to feel like I’m doing something important while moving forward and the only way I can keep grounded in the moment. It also allows me to tailor personalized solutions or explore the moment in an inquisitive and respectful manner. And I like being respectful.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
A presence of a photo camera has always been a constant in my life. My mum used to be into film photography in her younger years and later switched to disposable and compact film cameras. She was always emphasizing the importance of documenting moments and preserving these little snippets of memories. Something I didn’t understand at the time, but I grow to appreciate more and more as I get older. Despite there always being a camera around I’d say I didn’t start getting serious about photography till 2009, when I started taking lessons and got my first DSLR, and 2017 – 2018 is the beginning of my career in concert photography as we know it today. The thing is that around that time I almost got a retinal detachment and got terrifyingly close to losing my eyesight. That gave me the courage and resolve to put myself and my work out there, because I decided that if I am destined to ever go blind I want to be able to say that at least I did it, I used my eyes to the maximum and captured the beauty.

It’s a little bit hard to talk about your own work, but I would say that what sets my work apart are, firstly, that most of my photos have a cinematic, dark and atmospheric look. I always try to capture the vibe, the mood of the music or the artist, make it timeless, big and immersive. I love weird lights and having the subject backlit and using negative space. Second thing that I became known for, is the use of prisms and other practical effects while shooting. If you ever see any light streaks, flares and etc… in my photos, know that those are always practical effects, not Photoshop. And third, is my latest obsession, shooting everything with an anamorphic lens. I absolutely love the optical distortion, bokeh and flares it gives. It also adds, in my opinion, an extra story telling quality to the shots, which probably comes from the fact that these lenses are mostly used for movies and hence we have this subconscious association. And last but not least, it’s BW photography, though you can find a lot more color in my recent work. But even when it has color I still like to keep it subdued and color themed, not overly bright.

I would say that concert and music related (promo, guitars, guitar pedals, album art, etc…) photography is probably what I am most known for, however, the Covid years both allowed and forced me to branch out and bring my vision to automotive and product photography and also start my path in video work. Currently, with shows back, I’m keeping active in all of these different styles of photography to which I am very grateful. I am finding that having this variety is allowing me to keep fresh and curious in each and have a balance of fast paced and loud (shows) and slower more zen experiences in my profession.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would definitely take them for a drive up the mountain, including a night one for a beautiful view of night LA. Otherwise depending on what they are into, cos LA has so much to offer from museums to nightclubs to hiking and anything you can imagine.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First of all I’d like to say a huge thank you to my parents for bringing me into this world, always being my biggest supporters and having my back. Literally and figuratively wouldn’t have been here without you. I would also like to say a huge thank you to Patrick for reaching out and Ruben Aguilar for pointing in my direction, and just being the best friend and human being in general. Thank you for always being so thoughtful (you are literally the best at choosing presents), present and being someone I can always count on. I would like to say huge thanks to people who have helped me start in the LA scene, especially Ryan Avery and Dan Dismal. I would also like to make a shoutout to Luis Flores of Heaviest of Art, Raymond Flotat of mxdwn.com and Cvlt Nation for giving me a platform to showcase my work. Huge shoutout to absolute creative legends, forever inspirations and amazing friends Daria Endresen, Bobby Cochran, Diana Lungu, Anne-Laure Marie, Ilona Gerasymova and Vicente Cordero for always pushing me to keep going forward with both their art and human warmth. I would like to express a big thank you to all the amazing artists that let me create visuals with them and for them, especially Misha Mansoor, Tosin Abasi, Chelsea Wolfe and Dennis Sanders. And to my amazing friends Valentina Jimenez Vetencourt for being my biggest cheerleader and the ultimate vampire queen; Chris Rosales for being the most reliable, easy going and knowledgeable person I know; Rod Chong for becoming the best post Covid friendship, an endless well of wisdom and being able to ask the right questions at the right time; Jonny Lieberman for being absolutely amazing and helping my career like noone else; Lydia McIntosh and Andrea Skelton for being my moon sisters, Kevin Lambertucci for always being there for me, Geoff Bisente for always keeping in touch and cheering up on me even if we don’t get to see each other in person that much; Kyle Vogt for probably being the most interesting person I know with the best knowledge of places to go eat at; Collyn McCoy for perfectly balancing my creative energy with the way his works; Cathy Pellow for taking a chance on me and welcoming me into her amazing creative community; and Ziyin Zhao for being a gentle feminine present in my life.

I am sure I am forgetting some people, so please forgive me if I do. But know I am truly grateful to all the amazing people, friends, teachers and just random encounters that I have met in my life that let me be where I am now even if we are no longer in touch.

Website: https://www.ekaterinagorbacheva.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ekaterinagorbacheva.art/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekaterinagorbacheva/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sacredhalla

Other: Print Shop: https://www.inprnt.com/profile/sacredhalla/ Music Project: https://circleofsighs.com/