Anastasiia Chorna & David Shama
Photographers, Visiting Israel & Switzerland
Anastasiia in Israel
Anastasiia is a photographer who originally aspired to be a model. She met David Shama while on a photo shoot in Houston—they've been together since. Her Eastern European heritage allows her to understand the beauty and pain of the immense region. Anastasiia is expecting a baby and sees herself entering motherhood in a go with the flow approach.
You are born in Ukraine, now you are living in New York City, your pictures were taken in Israel, can you tell me about your travels, and the influences all these locations and cultures had on you?
One of my favorite things in the world is to travel, to see something new, I am very excited by any cultural differences our little planet can offer. I didn't find yet my style, I just shoot anything I like in hope to find sooner than later some topic I want to concentrate longer on and dig deeper into. I’m Eastern European and I speak Russian, it gives me a wide spectrum of possibilities to understand the beauty and the pain of being from such a wide territory who can communicate in Russian, the history, the culture and the mentality. I can't visit any of these places yet as often as I’d love to, but in the future I guess I will take a long trip or stay to Ukraine or Russia to find what is so attractive for me in it. New York City and America in general is a completely different world. It’s not native to me but I don't change my eye on looking at things. I try to dig deeper on various nationalities NYC contains, how they live in their little community bubble inside of an American institution. NYC is like a little planet Earth with pretty civilized rules for everyone, not perfect yet but pretty damn good. Israel is my first Middle Eastern country, I was excited about everything: people, desert climate and local architecture, way of living. Israel is very civilized, so many things are not as exotic as I wished them to be.
I have discovered you as model, now I follow you as a photographer, how did that transition took place?
I was not skinny enough for modeling so I finally quit after 9 years of trying. The transition was painful, I had high expectations to succeed, but it was the matter of luck as well, so it was much healthier to let this dream go. I studied architecture and I was always attracted to the visual part plus dating a photographer made the choice easier.
David. It is almost hard to think or talk about you without mentioning him (and vice versa) how did that love start up?
As I said I was studying architecture and was on & off modeling. A model in Paris suggested me to be photographed by him a year before I actually met David. I added him on facebook and he asked me to come back to Paris and then Switzerland and finally USA (where I had a visa for) to do a shoot for S Magazine. I quit my 5 year studies, my boyfriend at that time and just flew to the unknown photographer, who I didn’t even know how he looked like. I just liked his work and needed a change in my life. We fell in love quickly and here I am pregnant.
You are a married woman, a mother to be, can you talk about those important steps in your life happening at the moment?
We are moving to a new apartment and I am looking for more projects to do or at least one but to dig deeper as I wrote earlier. I have no idea what to expect from being a mom, many other moms scare me with their problems and just few say something nice. I’m 25 and I have no expectations, I just go with the flow.
We are focusing with disposable on the notion of couple. Not only in a lover vision, also in a duet vision. What is your feeling on that number 2?
Soon to be number 3 haha. David and I, we are in love, and trying to make it in NYC, for now separately as artists. I put my art more as a hobby, his as a work.
And what is coming next?
His book, our son and our art project together.
What do you do if you can’t sleep at night?
Watch Russian talk shows
Do you collect?
No
Tea or coffee?
Coffee with milk
What is the strangest thing you believed as a child?
God
A color?
Rainbow
A city?
NYC
What are your plans for this weekend?
Packing, moving
A song?
Kendrick Lamar - Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe
Right or left handed?
Right
What is the best dish you can cook?
Pesto Pasta
Your idea of happiness?
Love, work, travel, friends, family.
Your idea of misery?
No power, energy
If not yourself, who would you be?
A bag packer
Your heroes?
Happy people living a family life who can do what they like and laugh sincerely with friends
What is your present state of mind?
Scared but at the same time do not care about it
Bedside table books?
Essential Judaism hahaha don't ask me
What is your middle name?
In Russian it’s father’s name plus an ending, male of female, Aleksandrovna
What do you do in your free time?
Sleep/ editing/ computer games/ talk shows
What inspires you?
Rap and letting go
What do you do for money?
Nothing yet
What do you do for pleasure?
Shoot
David in Switzerland
David is a photographer who was born in Switzerland but has been living abroad since 2005. He met Anastasiia while on a photo shoot in Houston—they’ve been together since. He is passionate about traveling and his work is heavily influenced by his whereabouts. David often hits the road and drives for days or weeks until he is satisfied or catches a glimpse of inspiration. He is currently working on a book and is about to become a father.
You are born in Switzerland if I am correct, now you are living in New York City, your pictures have been taken all around the world, can you tell me about your travels, and the influences all these locations and cultures had on you?
How did the passion of photography come to you?
Anastasiia. It is almost hard to think or talk about you without mentioning her (and vice versa) how did that love start up?
You are a married man, a father to be, can you talk about those important steps in your life happening at the moment?
We are focusing with disposable on the notion of couple. Not only in a lover vision, also in a duet vision. What is your feeling on that number 2?
And what is coming next?
Yes you are right I am Swiss born and raised, but I left Switzerland in 2005, since then I lived in Argentina, Paris and now New York. I love to travel and my work is heavily influenced by my whereabouts as I am close to documentary photography in my process. I like to set situations for things to happen and then shoot everything. For my personal work I often take the road, I drive for days or weeks until I am satisfied I got a glimpse of something. I met Anastasiia in one of those trips, it was for S magazine, she was living in Ukraine at the time but had a tourist visa for the US so she flew to Houston to take the road with me and we fell in love after a couple days. We are now both photographers but we work separately on our own projects. Of course, we show each other the result and discuss a lot about edits and ideas. I am working now on a book with great editor, it will come out in Spring so I am very excited.
What are your plans for this weekend?
Moving
A song?
Le Chat du Café des Artistes, Charlotte Gainsbourg
Right or left handed?
Right
What is the best dish you can cook?
BBQ Beef Short Ribs, Texas Style
What is your middle name?
Jonathan
What do you do in your free time?
Travel
What inspires you?
Nature, the road
What do you do for money?
Photos
What do you do for pleasure?
Photos
Your idea of happiness?
A coffee early in the morning by the lake
Your idea of misery?
No more coffee
If not yourself, who would you be?
An Architect
Your heroes?
William Eggleston, Stephen Shore…
What is your present state of mind?
So many things are happening I really don’t know. I am moving, working on a book, having a baby, …
Bedside table books?
I wish, I was reading more, last book I read was “Just Kids”
What do you do if you can’t sleep at night?
Laptop
Do you collect?
Yes cameras
Tea or coffee?
Coffee
What is the strangest thing you believed as a child?
That I could stop time
A color?
Blue
A city?
Lausanne
