This was my dream…

After having lived for some time in Russia, I began to dream about showing the world the beauty of Russia and especially the Russian people that I got to see in my every day life through portrait photography.

I wanted to share the diversity and beauty I am experiencing and I wanted to share the wonderful stories that these beautiful people think and dream about. I wanted to tell the stories that are not told when you are just passing by people on the street or sitting next to them at a cafe.

The stories in these interesting photos are so magnificent and complex that it would not have been right to express them only in words which is why I tried to capture them in pictures. It took me over two years, and I met over 230 people and did my photo ideas. This project has 100 pictures of people between the age groups of one and one hundred. They all shared their dreams with me.

More info: Facebook | 500px

1 Year – Alexander

Place of birth: Pushkin

Passion or Dream: Cars are our passion (mother’s words)

2 Years – Arseniy

Place of birth: St. Petersburg

Profession: Goes to kindergarten

Passion or Dream: Cars

3 Years – Anna

Place of birth: St. Petersburg

Profession: Goes to kindergarten

Passion or Dream: I like walking, dancing, drawing, studying the alphabet and playing with balls

4 Years – Daniel

Place of birth : Yerevan

Profession: Goes to kindergarten

Passion or Dream: My dream is to grow up as fast as possible

5 Years – Marat

Place of birth: St. Petersburg

Profession: Goes to kindergarten

Passion or Dream: I like playing with transformers, and people reading books to me and playing computer games. I dream of becoming a policeman

6 Years – Nadia

Place of birth: St. Petersburg

Profession: Goes to kindergarten

Passion or Dream: I like dancing, drawing and playing with friends. I dream of becoming a hairdresser

7 Years – Elisaveta

Place of birth: St. Petersburg

Profession: Student

Passion or Dream: I like ballet classes and ballroom dancing

8 Years – Alexander

Place of birth: Pushkin

Profession: Student

Passion or Dream: I want to become an artist

9 Years – Yulia

Place of birth: Lipetsk

Profession: Student

Passion or Dream: I love drawing and I go to an art school. I dance Spanish dances, sing karaoke and dream

of becoming a professional painter

10 Years – Valeria

Place of birth: St. Petersburg

Profession: Student

Passion or Dream: I want to become a millionaire

11 Years – Polina

Place of birth: St. Petersburg

Profession: Student

Passion or Dream: I sing and draw and I want to become a singer

12 Years – Denis

Place of birth:St. Petersburg

Profession: Student

Passion or Dream: I love to play with yo-yo’s, football and radio-controlled cars

13 Years – Valentin

Place of birth: St. Petersburg

Profession: Student

Passion or Dream: I like collecting models and want to become a lifeguard

14 Years – Vasilisa

Place of birth: St. Petersburg

Profession: Student

Passion or Dream: I am very interested in theatre. I want to become an actress and I love singing

15 Years – Sofia

Place of birth: St. Petersburg

Profession: Student

Passion or Dream: I have been drawing since my early childhood. My dream is to fly into space, but if I have to be more rational, then I would like to learn how to play the saxophone

16 Years – Natalia

Place of birth: St. Petersburg

Profession: Student

Passion or Dream: I want to cure others – it does not matter if it is people or animals. I would use various types of medicine, herbs, or even kind words

17 Years – Lev

Place of birth: St. Petersburg

Profession: Cellist

Passion or Dream: I love music

18 Years – Yulia

Place of birth: Obninsk

Profession: Student

Passion or Dream: I want to live until I am 100 years old. I also want to see new things and how they change during the time. I like to feel Russian

19 Years – Artem

Place of birth: Sestroretsk

Profession: Waiter

Passion or Dream: I like hockey and dream of sports cars

20 Years – Marina

Place of birth: Moscow

Profession: IT-specialist

Passion or Dream: I like drawing and I dream about traveling all over the world

21 Years – Demyan

Place of birth: Osh, Kirgizsky SSR

Profession: Student

Passion or Dream: I dream of having my own house near the sea

22 Years – Rodion

Place of birth: Novorossiysk

Profession: Sailor

Passion or Dream: I dream about world peace

23 Years – Natalia

Place of birth: Bendery, Moldova

Profession: Guide and interpreter

Passion or Dream: I want to be a good member of the society

24 Years – Vasiliy

Place of birth: Leningrad

Profession: Cook

Passion or Dream: Food, football, ocean. My dream is to visit New Zealand

25 Years – Irina

Place of birth: Samara

Profession: Singer

Passion or Dream: My biggest dream is to compose my own music and to share it with other people. I also want to be with my beloved person and share my joys and sorrows

26 Years – Anastasia

Place of birth: Samara

Profession: HR specialist

Passion or Dream: I would like to live in all the countries of the world and to understand different cultures

27 Years – Yuriy

Place of birth: Moscow

Profession: Priest

Passion or Dream: I wish there was peace everywhere in the world

28 Years – Alexey

Place of birth: Norilsk

Profession: Engineer

Passion or Dream: I dream of doing a lot of good things and changing the world for the better

29 Years – Anna

Place of birth: Novorossiysk

Profession: Musician

Passion or Dream: I love singing and performing – my solo concerts, playing the guitar, psychology, philosophy, traveling and studying other cultures and religions

30 Years – Ekaterina

Place of birth: St. Petersburg

Profession: Sales executive

Passion or Dream: I like ballet, traveling, extreme sports and visual arts

31 Years – Anastasia

Place of birth: St. Petersburg

Profession: Ballet dancer

Passion or Dream: Ballet

32 Years – Artem

Place of birth: Leningrad

Profession: Head of the cardiology department

Passion or Dream: I would like to become a member of the Russian Academy of Medical Science

33 Years – Georgiy

Place of birth: Sinegoriye

Profession: Fire-fighter

Passion or Dream: I want to take a photo of a polar bear together with my daughter on the island of Spitzbergen

34 Years – Anna

Place of birth: Norilsk

Profession: Accountant

Passion or Dream: I would like to do scuba diving in the Maldives and learn how to swim so I can overcome my fear of water and depth

35 Years – Konstantin

Place of birth: Moscow

Profession: Manager

Passion or Dream: I would like to sail all around the world on a yacht

36 Years

Place of birth: Leningrad

Profession: Journalist

Passion or Dream: I love different dances – bachata, hustle

37 Years – Elena

Place of birth: Otradnoe

Profession: Teacher / speech therapist

Passion or Dream: I love traveling and inventing interesting and entertaining activities for children

38 Years – Igor

Place of birth: Tulskaya

Profession: Photographer

Passion or Dream: Tourism and cycling. I would like to go to South America

39 Years – Olga

Place of birth: Kemerovo

Profession: Teacher

Passion or Dream: I dream about traveling all over the world

40 Years – Dmitri

Place of birth: Moscow

Profession: Marketing manager

Passion or Dream: I would like to ride a motorcycle on a professional track

41 Years – Alexey

Place of birth: Leningrad

Profession: Bouncer

Passion or Dream: I dream about living by a lake. I love banya, fishing and being with family

42 Years Luschik

Place of birth: Ukraine

Profession: Cutting torch operator

Passion or Dream: I would like to have a salary increase

43 Years – Elena

Place of birth: Ulyanovsk

Profession: Supervisor

Passion or Dream: I would like to visit Australia and Antarctica

44 Years – Elena

Place of birth: Leningrad

Profession: Teacher

Passion or Dream: I wish there was peace and people had opportunities to travel, learn new things and do what they love

45 Years – Vyacheslav

Place of birth: Simferopol

Profession: Land surveillance engineer

Passion or Dream: I would like to learn Dutch and Danish languages and to get less upset

46 Years – Dmitri

Place of birth: Saratov

Profession: Car wash operator

Passion or Dream: I would like to become a director

47 Years – Tatiana

Place of birth: Chelyabinsk

Profession: Soloist and pianist

Passion or Dream: Music is my life. I would like to visit as many jazz festivals as possible

48 Years – Valeriy

Place of birth: Tashkent

Profession: Driver

Passion or Dream: I love different types of music – rock, pop and classical

49 Years – Irina

Place of birth: Leningrad

Profession: Fire protection engineer

Passion or Dream: I would like to travel, first of all to Paris

50 Years – Oleg

Place of birth: Moscow

Profession: Mechanic

Passion or Dream: Traveling – I would like to visit all the countries in the world

51 Years – Alexander

Place of birth: Kiev

Profession: Conductor

Passion or Dream: I love the mountains, cycling and being with my friends. I would like to have more peace and quiet

52 Years – Leonid

Place of birth: Moldova

Profession: Agronomist

Passion or Dream: I like to study plants

53 Years – Margarita

Place of birth: Gatchina

Profession: Journalist

Passion or Dream: I write short stories and would like to publish new books

54 Years – Rosia

Place of birth: Buhara

Profession: Accountant

Passion or Dream: I dream of my son getting married, to arrange his wedding and get grandchildren. I would also like to buy a car

55 Years – Irina

Place of birth: Stavropolsk

Profession: Baker

Passion or Dream: I dream of moving to Prague to my daughter

56 Years – Nina

Place of birth: Volzsk

Profession: Librarian

Passion or Dream: I would like to create a historical museum in Zelenogorsk (Leningrad region)

57 Years – Sergey

Place of birth: Leningrad

Profession: Construction engineer

Passion or Dream: I love music and fishing

58 Years – Svetlana

Place of birth: Belаrus

Profession: Medical assistant

Passion or Dream: I love to work in my vegetable garden and I dream of having my own house full of happiness and loving people

59 Years – Petr

Place of birth: Novorossiysk

Profession: Carpenter

Passion or Dream: I like to go to the banya, and my dream is to surf the Internet on my own

60 Years – Sergey

Place of birth: Leningrad

Profession: Engineer

Passion or Dream: I like photography and traveling

61 Years – Grigoriy

Place of birth: Slavyansky

Profession: Carpenter

Passion or Dream: I dream of happiness for my grandchildren and I love fishing

62 Years – Anatoliy

Place of birth: Smolensky area

Profession: Radio technician

Passion or Dream: I like to play chess and fishing, I love driving my car and I enjoy good food

63 Years – Valeriy

Place of birth: Leningrad

Profession: Engineer

Passion or Dream: I love sport, especially football

64 Years – Valentina

Place of birth: Nerehta

Profession: Teacher

Passion or Dream: I like to work with Russian art and I like music, drawing and knitting. I love children and teaching. I dream about visiting Paris

65 Years – Vladimir

Place of birth: Leningrad

Profession: Artist

Passion or Dream: I like esoteric science and I want to gain new experiences through creative work

66 Years – Tamara

Place of birth: Khabarovsk

Profession: Engineer

Passion or Dream: I love reading historical books and I would like all people to be happy and healthy. I wish there were no wars

67 Years – Vladislav

Place of birth: Leningrad

Profession: Engineer

Passion or Dream: I dream about beautiful women

68 Years – Olga

Place of birth: Zitomirskaya area

Profession: Teacher

Passion or Dream: I wish there were no wars and that my children and grandchildren were healthy

69 Years – Albert

Place of birth: Turkmenistan

Profession: Cook

Passion or Dream: I wish to see my grandchildren’s weddings and I want my daughter to be happy. And I love cooking

70 Years – Vadim

Place of birth: Malahovka

Profession: Driver

Passion or Dream: I want to have a long life

71 Years – Oleg

Place of birth: Stalingrad

Profession: Military

Passion or Dream: I like constructing things – everything from a small cabinet to a house. I also like to repair technical equipment. I want my grandchildren to be happy

72 Years – Victor

Place of birth: Kirovsk

Profession: Driver

Passion or Dream: I would like to have an interesting life, more money and to go to the Black Sea. I would also like to have a place form where I can trade

73 Years – Svetlana

Place of birth: Malaya Vishera

Profession: Nurse

Passion or Dream: I love my dacha (country house), flowers and wish to have good health

74 Years – Ariy

Place of birth: Kronstadt

Profession: Church chorister

Passion or Dream: I would like to have a decent pension and I love woodcarving

75 Years – Ludmila

Place of birth: Leningrad

Profession: Art historian

Passion or Dream: My whole professional life I was involved in restoration works and I’ve been breeding and taking care of Greyhounds for 50 years

76 Years – Margarita

Place of birth: Leningrad

Profession: Interpreter

Passion or Dream: I dream of having a stable work and moving from the newly built area to the historical center

77 Years – Stanislav

Place of birth: Arkhangelsk

Profession: Ship builder

Passion or Dream: I would like to create my family’s family tree by using a computer program

78 Years – Iza

Place of birth: Arkhangelsk

Profession: Waitress

Passion or Dream: I dream of getting rid of all problems and having an addition to my pension

79 Years – Nina

Place of birth: Kurgansky area

Profession: Glassblower

Passion or Dream: I want to bring up my great-grandson and to do housework

80 Years – Igor

Place of birth: Yaroslavl

Profession: Professor

Passion or Dream: I wish that Russia becomes really strong. I write training materials and my memories of relatives and parents

81 Years – Zoya

Place of birth: Yaroslavsky area

Profession: Shop assistant

Passion or Dream: I want to have a good health and I like embroidery

82 Years – Nilolay

Place of birth: Vologodsky area

Profession: Excavator operator

Passion or Dream: I would like to meet a good woman and to get a family

83 Years – Valentin

Place of birth: Leningrad

Profession: Artist

Passion or Dream: Painting, photography, “Sanki”-painting. I would like to let this world know about a special form of painting

84 Years – Anastasia

Place of birth: Leningrad

Profession: Nurse

Passion or Dream: I recently got married and I want my husband and I to be healthy. And I want to help people

85 Years – Victor

Place of birth: Podolsk

Profession: Military (Air Force)

Passion or Dream: It is impossible to live without inspiration. I am a chairman for the veteran society

86 Years – Margarita

Place of birth: Saratovsky area

Profession: Production engineer

Passion or Dream: I dream of making a masterpiece from patchwork, to live long and to continue learning German language

87 Years – Maria

Place of birth: Torzok

Profession: Packer

Passion or Dream: I dream of being able to walk on my own legs until the very end

88 Years – Ksenia

Place of birth: Pskovskaya area

Profession: Pensioner

Passion or Dream: I wish to bring up my great-grandson

89 Years – Muza

Place of birth: Pushkin

Profession: Bibliographer

Passion or Dream: I want to be healthy and to quietly leave this world, not noticing the end

90 Years – Leonid

Place of birth: Tula

Profession: 1st rank (navy officer)

Passion or Dream: I want to live a bit longer in my current condition. I relax a lot, but also love doing things like repairing wheels

91 Years – Lidia

Place of birth: Velikie Luki

Profession: Ship designer

Passion or Dream: I would like to visit Denmark. I play the guitar and sing Russian songs

92 Years – Anna

Place of birth: Leningrad

Profession: Nurse

Passion or Dream: I would love to have a family and relatives and to be in good health

93 Years – Nadezda

Place of birth: Ukraine

Profession: Cashier

Passion or Dream: I want to live until I am 100 years old and be healthy and active

94 Years – Sofia

Place of birth: Sivirskoe

Profession: Nurse

Passion or Dream: I like good and tasty food and to read books

95 Years – Vera

Place of birth: Moscow

Profession: Economics engineer

Passion or Dream: Above all I want to be healthy

96 Years – Nadezda

Place of birth: Briansky area

Profession:Production engineer

Passion or Dream: I want peace and quiet, my life was very stressful

97 Years – Petr

Place of birth: Ural

Profession: Electrician, retired colonel

Passion or Dream: I dream of living for more than 100 years

98 Years – Roza

Place of birth: Gomel

Profession: Factory worker

Passion or Dream:I already have everything – everything that I would like to have

99 Years – Alexandra

Place of birth: Kostromsky area

Profession:Accountant

Passion or Dream: I want to relax

100 Years – Evdokiya

Place of birth: Smolensky area

Profession: Worker

Passion or Dream: I dream of walking by myself, being independent and alive