Meet Julia Shinkareva | Writer, Media Professional & Amateur Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julia Shinkareva and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julia, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
My grandfather was a writer, dad an amateur photographer and a musician, and grandmother was an art critic, though she never worked officially she still wrote an enormous amount of reviews and provided me with a good artistic background. Granddad was responsible for fiction. Dad instead converted one of our bathrooms into a printing studio and developed the photos there on the weekends just for fun. He photographed landscapes and his friends too. So I always grew up seeing camera equipment, paintings, sculpture etc. Mostly all the beautiful things that, unfortunately, made in a perfectionist.

Despite the fact the I have degrees in business, I was always fully engaged into writing and lifestyle photography and this is how we came to be…

I was born and Moscow, Russia but grew up in Milan, Italy – one of the leading fashion and art capitals of the world. Since late teens I’ve started running my own fashion and photography blog, inspired by the streets of Italy, incredible architecture, sense of style and surely light and shadow, which is the main aspect of my photo work. A couple of years later I got an offer from one of the leading British publishing houses to collaborate with them. I’ve started writing and doing lifestyle photography officially since then. And let me tell you it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. It was my passion which became a profession. They say that the goal of every single artist is to express what they see and share with others. Well, I’m happy that people can experience things that I’ve seen and done just by looking at my photos or reading some of my articles without even going out of their apartment.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I think there’s nothing more fascinating than the city and it’s inhabitants. Regardless of the country you’re in. The life is happening outside, the stories do too. Once you capture one of these moments, it’s already gone, became a history. But your camera remembers. That means others can fully immerse into it just by seeing your photo.

I was always attracted to architecture, light and shadow… whether it’s sunrise or sunset, doesn’t matter. The way that sunlight plays with the architecture at 5 AM or 4 PM is incredible and you should witness it. American photographer Ray K. Metzker had a significant impact on the way I see the things now. He was working back in 50s tho… No photoshop, no tools, no nothing. And that was absolutely incredible. Guess that made my (firstly) photojournalistic work very particular. I played a lot with light and shadow. Perhaps more than any other photographer I’ve worked with back in Europe. I was also writing notes and articles about the places I used to visit, eventually those were the complete articles and guides that were published.

It was a hard process. The weather conditions, inspiration, building connections across the globe etc. Everyone knows that having an artistic profession is interesting, just a few of them realize how hard is that mainly because most of us are driven by our mood, inspiration and things we are going through at that specific moment.

I had my own exhibition in Milan back in 2017. I just got back from my first trip to Indonesia and dedicated all the photography to it’s nature and beaches, perhaps it wasn’t my favorite subject but a great experience for sure, surprisingly all the works were sold… by people who never knew me and never met me.

A couple of years later I’ve decided to move to the United States and proceed with my careers here. And it was another hard process that I went through professionally and legally. Obtaining my artist visa, I got here and let me tell you there’s no better place in the world for street photography… at least for myself.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I absolutely adore all fish everything and there’s no better place than California for that. Undoubtedly will bring my friends to Kodo for izakaya experience and Ceviche Project in Silver Lake. Drinks at Stella, Harlowe, The Roger Room and rooftop at Sunset Tower Hotel. I grew up in Italy and terribly picky with what I eat and drink. I also wouldn’t disregard a visit to a buzzy Thai Night + Market Song, the food is delicious. I love Botanica Restaurant & Market in Silver Lake a lot for a brunch and Squirl in East Hollywood for a breakfast, the lines are often too long and might suggest Kismet or All time in Los Feliz as an alternative. Bowery Bungalow for Mediterranean for sure. My favorite coffee in the city is undoubtedly at Maru’s.

I’d also suggest to go a bit outside of the city for a day and visit Rose Bowl Flea Market for a perfect vintage denim, jacket or sunglasses. The chance that you’ll meet someone else wearing the same outfit somewhere in the world is miserable. So consider it for sure.

I read a lot and always buy something at Skylight Books, definitely a spot to visit. The Gorky on Sunset for a home decor or an interesting dress. You’ll find a lot small shops with unique goods while walking down the Sunset.

LA is full of art galleries and museums, but I would recommend to visit Broad at the first place as the collection of masterpieces there is exceptional and then find some time and head to Bel Air for a Getty Center visit.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I was born in a very supportive and loving family. So I got lucky with it. And each time I was about to engage into something new, I had an encouragement from them. Undoubtedly when I decided to do what I’m doing now, I had a very strong positive feedback. It meant the world to me.

Website: https://www.juliashinkareva.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julia.shinkareva/