A STROLLING PHOTOGRAPHER

Mir-Alakbar Agasiev is one of the few photographers who can rightly be called the Master of Art. He is the author of many photo albums, photo books, posters, postcards, calendars, postage stamps, who participated in several international exhibitions held in Canada, the USA, Germany, Spain, Poland, Romania and other countries. Mir-Alakbar Agasiyev was able to take photos of many famous personalities including Rashid Behbudov, Mikayil Abdullayev, Niyazi, Arif Melikov, Omar Eldarov, Tahir Salahov and many others. Last year, the famous master photo was awarded the honorary title of the Honored Worker of Culture.

- Alakbar-muallim, did you want to be a photographer as a child? May be you had other dreams?

- I love taking photos since my childhood. I was born and raised in Baku. My father, Fakhraddin Agasiyev, was a chemical engineer, and my mother Tahmina-khanim was a biologist. My elder brother, Masud, became an engineer too. He is my most reliable partner. As a child, I often asked my mother to take me to the department store, where I loved to walk in the department selling photographic equipment. I was watching massive cameras and lenses. My parents have noticed my interest and presented me the photo camera “Zorkiy-5”, quite expensive at that time. I was about 10 years old. From that day on, I began taking photos of everything. I photographed our neighbors and passers-by, houses, monuments, sea, and after a while, my mother enrolled me in a photo studio attached to the Palace of Pioneers, where I learned how to cope with chemicals, develop and print pictures.

- Tell us about your first picture printed in the popular “Baku” evening paper...

- It was a picture of the Nizami Cinema. I collected all my photos in a folder and decided to show them to the editor-in-chief of the Baku, Nasir Imanguliyev. He reviewed my photos, chose a few of them and asked me to write down my name on the reverse of the photo. He decided that my name, Mir-Alakbar Agasiyev, sounded old-fashioned and shortened it to Alakbar Agasiyev. I became known under this name. Decades later, I decided to return with my full name, and in 2010 was awarded the National Prize Humay and the Hasan Zardabi Award of the Union of Journalists of Azerbaijan under the name of Mir-Alakbar Agasiyev.

- Do you remember your first competition?

- I received my first medal at the International Competition of Young Photographers held in Moscow. I was 15 at that time. This victory encouraged me to sending my works to various photo contests and almost all presented me with awards. I still keep three boxes of medals and diplomas at home.

- You have an amazing series of photo-portraits of famous people. The great Rashid Behbudov is one of them. How did you meet with Mr. Behbudov?

- I met him at the Song Theatre. I loved his performances and concerts since my childhood. The tickets at that time were cheap, 30 cents only, and you could find me at the Azerbaijan Drama Theater and the Song Theater in the evenings. The ticket-takers knew me in the face, and sometimes let me in for free. One day, I saw a concert poster with Behbudov and thought that I had to attend the concert by any means. The tickets were already sold out but I was able to persuade the ticket-taker to let me into the hall for free. I found one empty seat in the gallery. Of course, the performance of Rashid Behbudov made an indelible impression on me. After the concert, I ran to the service exit to get an autograph from my favorite artist. When I saw him coming out of the theater, my feet were rooted to the ground. “You want something, son?” Rashid-muallim asked me with a fatherly tone in his voice. I asked him to sign on the theater program and I still keep his autograph. He began asking me who I was and where I studied. That’s how we met. Days passed and I became a frequent visitor at the Song Theatre. I photographed every concert and performance. But I especially liked to take shots of Rashid Behbudov offstage. He was an incredibly radiant and sincere person fascinating everyone from the first moment. You know, four people played significant role in my development as a person other than my parents: the singer and actor Rashid Behbudov, the artist Mikayil Abdullayev, Chairman of the Union of Journalists Haji Hajiyev and poet Nabi Khazri. The friendship with each of them influenced my outlook. I still have fond memories of these great people.

- Your photos have been exhibited in many countries around the world.

- That’s true - from Japan to Canada. At different times I worked with the publishing house İşıq, the Union of Journalists of Azerbaijan, and BP. My photos were published in the magazine Soviet Photo, as well as Azerbaijani publications including the magazines Azərbaycan Qadını, Ulduz, Xəzər, Azerbaijan International, Contact, newspapers Ədəbiyyat və incəsənət, Bakı fəhləsi and others including Azərbaycan xəbərləri. In 2001, my photograph of Sattar Bahlulzade won the Grand Prix at the First International Photo Contest in London. By the way, in Soviet times, this unusual and purely artistic work has not been properly evaluated for 30 years and. My first foreign exhibition took place in Romania, where I was invited by the Romanian Association of Photographers. Then there were exhibitions in Poland, Germany, Cuba, the Netherlands and other countries. In 1982, I visited Spain as part of the delegation of the USSR Union of Journalists. With my camera always ready to take photos, I have traveled all over the country. I wanted to capture on film every minute, every moment. During that trip, I made over two thousand pictures. Upon returning home, I have spent almost two years to select the best shots for my solo exhibition In Spain held in Baku in 1985. I remember that my close friend Nabi Khazri and Rasul Hamzatov visited the exhibition. Mr. Hamzatov liked the picture titled Flamenco. I presented this work to him. The following exhibition was held two years later in Germany. In 1991, it was the Sister Cities of Baku, last summer – Amsterdam, organized with the support of the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

- With the advent of digital camera, is it easier to work as a photographer? Do you still miss regular films?

- Of course, digital cameras simplify our lives; they facilitate the process of photo processing, production of the light. But the image quality suffers. The quality of photos captured on film was 100%. When you work with a digital camera, the image quality is reduced to 36% or below. Nowadays, the art of photography became public. It has pros and cons. Anyone who gets himself a camera, immediately considers himself a professional photographer: opens a web page and organizes personal exhibition.

- What are you working on now?

- I am planning to open three solo exhibitions at once - London, Paris and Baku. The first two will have photos taken during my trips to the UK and France. I have already started selecting photos taken during my life-time for the exhibition dedicated to the residents of Baku.