Through the lens of MiraSh - quiet, perfect and beautiful

I have known MiraSh virtually since the time when she took her first steps in photography and when she wandered, like everyone just started, in her creative pursuits. And I remember her progress when each picture whispered more and more “I am Mira.”

Here is how she introduced herself to us in a few words:

“My name is Stanimira, in short Mira. Happily married woman with two children. I have been a photographer for about 10 years and I am currently working on preparing a studio in the village of Balsha, where I plan to offer a different type of photography focused on emotions, light and the combination of colors. I like to take artistic portraits and sometimes street. ”

I suggest you touch the essence and soul of MiraSh through the following lines.

If you could meet and talk to an artist, no matter when he/she lived, who would he/she be? Why? What would you ask him/her?

Without thinking, I answer – Vivian Mayer . Why? Because I remember when I first looked at her pictures, I cried. She aroused very strong emotions in me with her shots. Something that had not happened to me before, as well as so far with another artist. I would ask her if she would mind taking pictures together on the streets of Sofia?

What is good photography for you?

One that provokes, one that has hidden messages and hidden details. To be playful and with a certain theme for the viewer.

If you could have a superpower, what would you choose? How would you use it?

Teleportation. Because I’m afraid of flying, this force would do a great job and save me a lot of time.
For example, tomorrow morning I would be shooting on the black beach of Reinisfära in Iceland. Then, to keep warm, I would have a coffee in Rome or Florence, a light lunch and a beach on the island of Phi in Thailand, and in the afternoon a long walk around St. Petersburg. The world is so colorful and so vastly interesting. I think with such super power, I would travel around the planet in one lifetime.

Why do you shoot? What does photography give you?

I shoot because I need to – physical and emotional. If I don’t shoot, it won’t be me, it won’t be Mira, but a different person. When I shoot, I sometimes see perfect moments and it’s as if time stops. Through the lens in a second everything seems to stop and is very quiet, perfect and beautiful. At this point, everything is exactly in place, as if I’m in a still shot, like in the movies. And the people in this stopped time are perfect, their posture, their expression, their faces and nature, the whole universe and maybe even me. In this magic I steal perfection. 🙂 This moment is a gift to me and it is so perfect and beautiful that then I feel grateful and a great feeling of joy and satisfaction overwhelms me.

Through the lens in a second everything seems to stop and is very quiet, perfect and beautiful.
MiraSh

What are the things you like about the world around you? And what do you want to change?

I like the mountains, the forests, the smell of the field and the field flowers, the mushrooms after the rain and the sound of the wind in the Balkans. I like the nearby birch grove, which at sunset glows pink and orange against the dark blue sky of the coming twilight. I like also the storm clouds, bad weather, the rumble of thunder, raindrops on the face, wet leaves and soil. I feel an inner attraction to the sea. I like sad movies, classical and alternative music, books like The Thorn Birds and The Rice Mother.

I just want to change the way I look at the world around me. People, nature, things are as they are, in my opinion ideal.If I want to change something, it is to be able to fight with myself and achieve complete freedom to be what I feel I am.

Where do you think the power of photography lies?

In that it is a time machine, carrying memories, emotions, hope. Photography speaks, tells, paints, describes, provokes, changes a person and causes events, it shakes and breaks, it also lifts. It is light, power and magic intertwined in seconds and centuries.

Where do you look for and find inspiration for your photos?

Most often in the light itself, in people’s faces, in stories about artists and photographers. In art such as painting, cinema and music. When I’m looking for inspiration, I play films like Tarsem Singh’s The Fall or Max Richter’s music. I often play Leonardo da Vinci’s Treatise on Painting. I find inspiration in both Instagram and Pinterest.

What do you dream about, Mira?

Oh, for very simple but important things. To be with my family, with my children, with my husband, to live humbly and calmly, to become wiser. To take pictures, to be able to express myself without fear, not to feel guilty and to live in peace with myself.

What is the photographic project you would like to do?

At some point in their lives, people are increasingly confronted with their strongest fears, depressions, panic attacks and nervous states, and I am one of them. A person who helps me fight this gave me the idea to photograph these human conditions. This is the project that I hope to one day implement, to shoot a series of portraits that reflect a person’s fear, panic, depression and inner struggle. A difficult task, but that is exactly why it is so interesting to me and a challenge for me as a photographer.

Who or what can make you smile at any moment?

My children always and my husband, who is by my side and is my support in life, even though he knows my worst sides (and they are not one and two) and has loved me wholeheartedly for 20 years.

Who is the photographer you admire most? Why? Which is your favourite picture from his/her portfolio and why?

There is not just one, there are many. From the Bulgarian photographers, I really like the shots of Nadia Dzhambazova, Yana Peneva, Kemi (Kemi H), the self portraits of Lyuba Kemerova (K.ART.Kemerova), Ivaylo Petrov, Kalin Ruychev. From the foreign ones, of course, Vivian Mayer, Vivienne Mock, Pierre Honor, Kirsty Mitchell, Stormy Solis, Vlad Dumitrescu, the portraits of Irving Penn. But Vivian Meyer remains very special to me. Apart from being a genius photographer, she is also an interesting person shrouded in mystery and madness. I feel close to her, as if we’ve known each other for years. Her photos reflect exactly herself – mysterious, tragic, candid, beautiful, ingenious, funny, grotesque, strange. And her self-portraits are brilliant, here is one of my favorites:

What is the best piece of advice you have received?

Life is short, we know that, but let’s live it, choosing, if not to be constantly happy (this is again an extreme and unhealthy), then at least not to be unhappy so often. Let us leave the worries, guilt, and shame to those who think they will live forever. Life is given to us simply to live, and we owe it to ourselves to be who we are.