I was born and grew up in the former Soviet Union in Kharkov, Ukraine. Receiving my first camera at age 8 soon led to my photographic 'obsession.' The camera was a Russian copy of the German Leica and was actually not a bad camera; In fact, it still works.
    I completed an apprenticeship at the USSR State Regional Photographic Studio. There, I was taught to be a portrait photographer and later continued on as a staff photographer. Very soon, I was promoted to head photographer and manager of a photographic studio in Kharkov.
    In 1982 I was drafted into the Soviet Army. There I served and worked as a military photographer from 1982-1984. Between the years 1984-1988, after finishing my military service, I returned to work at my previous job.
    When the Soviet Union started to fall, Perestroika was enacted, and private enterprise was allowed for the first time. Finally, I was able to work for myself and open a business as a photographer.
    In 1990 I emigrated to the United States and began working as a scientific photographer in the Biology Department at Purdue University, Indiana. Shortly after, I began a freelance wedding photography business in addition to my job at Purdue.
    After moving to San Francisco in 1998, I started my new business, iz photo.