Moments of positive

Photo: Eslun (Eurasian network of people using drugs)

A drug consumer is primarily a person in whose life, like all other people, there are good, kind, positive moments. Drug users captured their life on film

The opinion on the life of drug users, formed by journalists, is often a biased. Reporters are most often interested in bloodied syringes in dirty snow, toothless mouths and distorted faces. These personnel are naturalistic and ruthless, but neither real human stories nor the feelings of the heroes of photographs are reflected in them - only the negative side of the life of those who were drug addiction.

The project “Moments of Positive” has a completely different goal. To concentrate on the positive moments of life, regardless of who is facing us, is a drug user or a person devoid of dependencies. This is the task of its creators. But this is not the main goal. The main thing is to give drug consumers the opportunity to look at the world from a slightly different angle, pay attention to the positive and try to capture it. The more moments a person notices, the stronger and happier he becomes.

All this gives strength for further personal changes.

The first experience of the project was small: 20 disposable cameras in the hands of drug users, of which seven films that saw the light. Then someone disappeared from sight, someone was in places of imprisonment, and someone just lost the camera. The second similar project was already international. With the help of the “Eurasian network of people who use drugs”, residents of Russia, Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine and Georgia took part in it. This time, 105 drug users captured their life on a photo film.

These pictures once again clearly showed that a drug consumer is primarily a person in whose life, like all other people, there are good, kind, positive moments. Perhaps, from the point of view of the art of photography, the value of these personnel is small, but from the point of view of the perception of the world, these pictures are priceless. They open the world of the drug user and show it from the absolutely human side, remove the stereotypes that are familiar to us and the demonization of these people. They find how and what they live in our city.

At first I was at a loss about the fact that I need to shoot at all. How to express this positive program of your positive? Photo: Eslun (Eurasian network of people using drugs)

When you see, then you see. You see and take pictures, and when you don’t see, then you don’t take pictures. We personally did not look for moments of positive at all, we just saw a photo: Eslun (Eurasian network of people using drugs)

I wanted to wish that they would enjoy life and not lose positive photos: Eslun (Eurasian network of people using drugs)

You just look for people on the street-you see that someone is good today, you catch this moment, and the photo is already interesting: Eslun (Eurasian network of people who use drugs)

I wanted to convey to people in any way that we are people and can see what is beautiful, to see the beauty of the world, to notice it just like all normal people. We are capable of good deeds, and not just bad. And do not think about us that we are all missing, finished and do not see anything, and we do not need anything but a dose. This is not a photo: Eslun (Eurasian network of people using drugs)

And then he thought: "Why look for something if there are a lot of good personnel around me?" You just have to look closely and draw attention to this : Eslun (Eurasian network of people using drugs)

I somehow thought that taking pictures would be very easy. Just take it, you will press the button, and everything is ready, but it turned out - on the contrary. It is difficult to capture positive moments, catch some interesting frame photo: Eslun (Eurasian network of people using drugs)

I pulled out the camera not because I was obliged to click this film, but because it was interesting to me and it seemed to me that this could interest other people. I always wanted to be a photographer or operator. This is like a dream I have the following photo: Eslun (Eurasian network of people using drugs)

When I looked at the lens, I felt joy. I was hoping to see something that you don’t notice in the usual bustle, and so the camera is seized and the photo was recorded: Eslun (Eurasian network of people using drugs)

I felt that life continues, no matter what. Despite some life troubles or illnesses there. Sometimes you notice it ... Well, come, look at a beautiful tree or a beautiful plant or a building and you understand that the world, it was before you and will be after you. And life will not end. And it does not end in the photo: Eslun (Eurasian network of people using drugs)

Mostly I was going to take pictures of these good moments of life, but there was not a lot of them. Mostly grayness, people were so sad, but nothing - we must look for a positive photo in every day: Eslun (Eurasian network of people using drugs) A total of 295 091 669 all reports text 0 of 0

I somehow thought that taking pictures would be very easy. Just take it, press the button, and everything is ready, but it turned out the other way around. It is difficult to capture positive moments, catch some interesting frame.