Lyubitel Kislogo (Lover of Sour Things), Leningrad 1973

Boris Smelov made this photograph, Lyubitel Kislogo, or "Lover of Sour Things," in Leningrad. The image feels like a stage, doesn't it? A bare set with a stark, looming shadow where the light pours in. In the center, this man, leaning on the table with those two eggs, looks a little weary, a little sour himself. I can feel him thinking, maybe plotting, or just plain tired. Smelov was part of the Leningrad School, a group known for their intimate, personal takes on everyday life, turning the mundane into something poetic. I imagine Smelov walking the streets, his camera a companion, always searching for moments of quiet intensity like this one. He’s looking for the offbeat, the melancholic, the little dramas playing out unnoticed. It reminds me a little of Ralph Eugene Meatyard or even some of the early street photographers, all of them trying to find the strange beauty in the ordinary. Ultimately, it shows how we all see through each other’s eyes across time, and this ongoing conversation is the lifeblood of art.