“I always come back with a clean conscience”

Volodymyr Dubas, a Leopolitan photographer, marked his 60th birthday with a personal exhibit “The Roads of Life” at the Vasyl Pylypiuk Gallery in Lviv. The anniversary exposition includes only a small part of the wealth of Dubas’ rich collection. He has been a professional photographer for 42 years already. There are 34,000 meters of film in Dubas’ store; his camera has captured all that has been happening in Lviv since 1968. His portrait gallery contains photos of such great masters as Mykola Kolessa, Stanislav Liudkevych, Volodymyr Zdoroveha, and Rostyslav Bratun.

Dubas’ works have been exhibited in 50 countries all over the world. He has authored seven personal, and participated in more than 300 international, photo salons from Canada to Hong Kong. There he was awarded medals and other decorations, in particular, that of the UNESCO International Federation of Photographic Art. He has also participated in The Day’s photo exhibits more than once. On this occasion The Day asked DUBAS about his life and work.

Do you remember your first attempts at photography?

“What I remember is how I loaded a cassette in the cellar where we kept potatoes. I spent two whole hours there because I could not get the film into the cassette. Yet somehow I managed to handle it, did the shooting, developed the film, and all the pictures were good, every single one of them. That was amazing, for a first attempt. Later it depended, there were some better and some worse shots.”

Can you say approximately how many shots you have made since then?

“When I started working for the editorial board of Leninska Molod (Leninist Youth) and then, Moloda Halychyna (Young Galicia), and that was from 1968 to 2002, I would use up a kilometer of film per year. And I remember all my sessions.”

What countries have you worked in as a photographer?

“Over the last years, it has mainly been Europe. But most of all I love our Hutsul region, although I come from Volhynia. The Hutsul land for me is a photographer’s Klondike where you can work all year round. The mountains, people, their traditions — I have been photographing all this since 1967.

“As far as other countries go, I take a great interest in India. There are very unusual colors there, which you will not find here. Also, it’s a country where you would like to come back even before you have left it.

“Another riveting event was the World Soccer Championship in Germany in 2006 — my goal was to photograph the fans, especially the Brazilians. The game itself was less interesting than the fans’ behavior, before and after games. The things I saw in Berlin, Hamburg, and especially in Cologne, when Ukraine was playing against Switzerland... I was following the Brazilian fans for two hours, it was fantastic!

“I also remember photographing the mascot of the Moscow Olympics in 1980: the bear that was floating up in the sky to the sounds of Aleksandra Pakhmutova’s wonderful song. Many people were crying, I could see that myself. These are the moments which make up a photographer’s life.”

Do you have your favorite themes?

“I used to hate Komsomol meetings, Leninist classes, elections — that is, everything organized which had to be photographed. It was all so artificial. I love to photograph an event, an action where you do not have to interfere. Then you just work as a reporter, trying to catch interesting moments. And this is where you can show your mastery, when you are looking for an interesting site or the right angle.

“I remember photographing timber rafting down the Cheremosh in 1976, together with a colleague. We went to Verkhovyna raion, found the spot where they were making rafts. We even managed to raft together with the team, it was something fantastic. In 2001, I went to a festival in Verkhovyna and took my old photos along, and I found some of those men...

“I always send my photos to my subjects, sometimes after a month, and sometimes in five years. I keep a good relationship with everyone whom I have photographed. I have always had this creed: no matter where I have been, I will come back there in ten years, or in thirty, it doesn’t matter. But I will always come back with a clear conscience.”

They say that until a certain point in time, man scatters stones.

“Now I have a near-ready exhibit about soccer. I think I’ll do it next year, because I have been photographing soccer all my life. My first soccer picture was taken as far back as in 1964. The next exhibit I have planned is about the Hutsul lands. The third has a working title, ‘A Look from Eternity,’ and it will be dedicated to the people who are no longer with us. It will include not only the pictures of celebrities — writers, painters, athletes, or actors — but also of ordinary people, my friends, whom I love and remember. It will only contain black and white pictures, mostly hand-printed.

“I plan to dedicate my next exhibit to the 20th anniversary of Independence. I have a lot to show: I photographed all the events in Lviv, starting with the first rally outside Ivan Franko University on July 7, 1988. That exhibit will be dedicated to the dreamers of Lviv. So, the time to gather stones hasn’t come yet...”

And if I were to ask you what would you like to photograph right now, at this moment?

“Nothing. I’m going to the local administration for culture, getting them an estimate of expenditures — they have promised to allocate money for the Fourth Photo Salon of Lviv.”