Across from Kino Babylon, Veronika Zaets found the face from a Metropolis poster in a window. She talks about that photograph, a walk with no fixed goal and the roll of portraits that made her take her own eye seriously.
How did photography become part of your life, and what place does it have today?
I've been photographing for about twenty years. I started with a Sony point-and-shoot, then moved to smartphones, and never owned a serious camera. Last year I finally picked up a film camera I'd bought at a flea market years earlier, and started shooting film.
2026 has been very hard for me. I'm going through many changes in my personal and professional life, rethinking who I am and how I see my future. Photography has become my anchor: a way to focus on the moment instead of spiraling into anxiety.
What is your connection to Berlin, and how does being there affect what you notice or photograph?
I moved to Berlin four years ago and quickly felt deeply in tune with the city. It's very honest, almost shamelessly open. Though it's a modern metropolis, it keeps its informal, creative, rebellious spirit.
The main characters of my photographs are facades, streets and the art on the city's walls. I love noticing the geometry of space, and working with perspective and contrasts of light. I look at Berlin with love, and I want my photographs to show the beauty of this contradictory city.
Could you tell me the story behind the Berlin photograph from our Lomography exchange?
This photograph is part of my small project, Reflections. I set myself a creative task: to tell the story of who I am now and who I want to become, through reflections of myself with a camera alongside different objects, living or not.
This image is a reflection of the Metropolis poster at Kino Babylon. I find the film incredibly deep and still relevant, and the photograph has an almost demonic aura. The heroine's layered reflection in the window across from the cinema reminds me of the social masks we wear, and the Self that looks out from under them.
How do your camera and your choice of film or digital affect the way you photograph?
I'm at the beginning of my journey with film, so I'm still learning what my camera, a Canon EOS 1000F, can do and how different films behave in different light and seasons. I almost always shoot outdoors, so what matters most to me is how a film handles natural light, darkness and streetlights.
I love black and white for being both minimal and layered, so my favorite films so far are: Fomapan 100, Ilford HP5 Plus 400 and Kodak Tri-X 400. They're very different, and I still have a lot to discover in each of them.
Has an unexpected result or returning to an older photograph changed how you see your work?
I've always loved portraits, so I dedicated one of my first rolls entirely to them. I had no big ambitions. I just wanted to capture the emotions, character and mood of people I know. To make it more of a challenge, I gave myself very little time with each subject, which forced me to be decisive, creative and resourceful.
When I got the scans back, I was genuinely surprised. I saw the work of someone who doesn't just press a button, but has her own vision, a strategy and a real interest in the people she photographs. It helped me take my work more seriously and look for new opportunities and new people to photograph. I call my approach to portraits Capturing the Essence, and I hope I manage to do that with every person.
When you look through your photographs, what connections begin to appear, and what would you like to explore next?
Over time, it became clear that I'm mostly interested in capturing light, color, geometry, mood and emotion. Each deserves a deeper dive, and I still have a lot to learn about the technical side. For now, my work is more intuitive than methodical.
But I try not to turn my hobby into another thing to achieve. I remind myself that a walk with my camera is, above all, a form of meditation: time when I'm fully focused on scanning my surroundings for moments worth keeping. I switched to film because I wanted to return to a time when every frame had real value, before gigabytes of memory and endless attempts at the perfect shot were at our fingertips.
Photographs and interview responses by Veronika Zaets.
