Masha Sardari



Masha Sardari

I am originally from Moldova, a country in Eastern Europe. Currently, I live in Florida, USA. I am full time student at the University of North Florida and I create photos during my spare time in collaboration with my friends.
 My style incorporates dramatic scenes, often darkly lit and focused on one or two subjects. The figures are often engaged in a surreal environment. The sense of a dream-like atmosphere is essential for my work. The use of a single, bright source of light that softly reveals the subject is characteristic of my photographs. Some of my wok is Bible-inspired in an abstract manner and draws on history to formulate the subject of the photo. The dominant colors are “Earth Colors” such as earthy browns, yellows, reds, and orange. Shades of deep green and almost black-brown are commonly seen throughout the work. Only a few photos include blue and violet hues. The photos are generally warm feeling due to the color selection. Additionally, I strive to select un-ideal models and settings.  Although I use a good amount of post processing, I do not work with professional models and choose to select people I know to take on the role of the character in the photo.  As far as realism, even though I tend to select surreal themes, I focus on using real objects in the photos and avoid “photoshopping” things in. 
I love photographing my friends and creating self-portraits in natural settings. I have always been enamored by nature but never found landscape photography as something for me. Therefore, I incorporate the human form in the nature around me. 
Much of my work is shot using a Canon 5D MKII with a 50mm F1.4 Nikkor manual lens. In the past year, I have switched over to a Sony A7II with a 28 mm F2.0 lens. Overall, I don’t think anyone needs to spend a lot of money on cameras and lenses, almost any photo device can allow you to create great work. It’s more about the vision.

In terms of my photography, I just want to create work that evokes emotion whether positive or negative and makes people think.