Mic Kedi · The Story Behind the Photographer
About me
Hi! My name is Gleb, and I work under the name Mic Kedi. I am a photographer who mainly shoots with film cameras. I do it for one simple reason: I enjoy it.
01
My story
As a child, I loved holding cameras, just as I loved handling other kinds of technology. I have always been interested in mechanisms, how they work and how they are put together. A little later, I also came to enjoy being photographed — or, more precisely, having good photographs of myself.
Everything came together in 2021, when I saw my friends’ Soviet-made Zenit film cameras. We arranged for them to photograph me. I was fascinated by how these wonderful machines worked: they need no battery and have virtually no electronics inside, can survive rain and, in theory, even immersion in water. Each was already at least 30 years old, yet they still worked and produced beautiful images with that special quality — the charm of film.
That charm softens an image’s imperfections and turns them into unique strengths. And you can always say it was part of your creative vision.
After a few of these walks with my friends, I was so impressed by the results that I immediately asked Artyom to lend me his Zenit-11 for a trip to Saint Petersburg. That was where I shot my first two rolls of film. From there, things took on a life of their own: photography drew me in for years to come and found a special place in my heart.
02
Creative approach
From the very beginning, my approach has been to make as few adjustments to a photograph as possible. This has taught me to notice shortcomings and try to avoid them next time. I aim to convey the qualities originally built into the film and lens as faithfully as I can — whether you see them as flaws or distinctive features.
03
About this website
This website is my personal creative archive, photo gallery, calling card and portfolio.
I created it because I wanted a space of my own: somewhere to publish photographs, thoughts and whatever else comes to mind, arranged exactly as I imagine it.
Most of my published photographs are collected here. It matters to me to preserve image quality and let you examine the grain or look more closely at a photograph than social networks usually allow.
04 · Equipment
My cameras
01
Zenit-12SD
My first camera of my own. Later, I acquired one made in 1988 — an ideal basic camera for learning to shoot film while enjoying the process.
02
Zenit-19
A truly professional camera for its time: a wider range of shutter speeds, an electronic shutter, a split-image focusing aid and an uncoupled light meter. Unfortunately, I broke it while trying to rescue an expensive lens that had become stuck. Sometimes equipment demands a sacrifice — and sometimes the sacrifice is the equipment itself.
03
Praktica LTL
A mechanical camera made in East Germany in 1973. To me, it feels about a decade ahead of its Soviet counterparts. I later gave it to the friend with whom I had started taking photographs.
04
Konica MT-11
A quick little compact from around 1982, with a fast f/2.8 lens. It helped me understand low-light photography better, although its contrast-detect autofocus needed constant attention.
05
Nikon FE-2
The camera that remains my main camera and my favorite. A wonderful Japanese camera from 1983, with shutter speeds from 8 seconds to 1/4000, a coupled light meter, aperture-priority exposure and an enormous choice of lenses. I fell in love with it the moment I first held it.
06
Mamiya 645 1000S
My first and, so far, only medium-format camera. Heavy, complex and demanding, it never quite won my affection, but it did earn my respect. Under the right conditions, the quality of its scans can surpass that of modern professional cameras.
07
Agat-18K
An engineering marvel that fits in the palm of your hand. This half-frame camera gives you 74 frames on a standard roll of film and makes a great tool for street photography and fast-moving scenes.