Flying in Dreams Levitation Photography | Winner Designs
Flying in Dreams Levitation Photography by Maksim Zinchuk

Flying in Dreams Levitation Photography

Silver A' Design Award Winner 2022

Flying in Dreams Levitation Photography by Maksim Zinchuk, recipient of the Silver A' Design Award in Photography and Photo Manipulation, emerges from the rich tradition of surrealist image-making that has captivated audiences since the early twentieth century, yet achieves its effects through distinctly contemporary technical means. The work presents a vision of childhood transcendence within an autumnal natural setting, where two young figures hover impossibly above a forest floor carpeted in warm amber and russet foliage. The photographer demonstrates exceptional command of composite technique, seamlessly integrating figure and environment to create an image that reads with convincing naturalism despite its fantastical subject matter. The chromatic strategy proves particularly sophisticated, establishing a warm analogous harmony of earth tones that suggests the transitional quality of autumn while providing dramatic contrast through the pure white garments adorning both subjects. This chromatic choice carries iconographic weight, positioning the figures as beings apart from the organic decay surrounding them, their pristine attire suggesting innocence preserved or spiritual purity maintained against temporal passage. The compositional arrangement displays careful attention to visual rhythm, with the primary figure positioned according to classical proportional guidelines while her counterpart echoes her pose at diminished scale, creating both depth recession and thematic resonance. The identical outstretched arm positions suggest either flight preparation or peaceful surrender, while closed eyes indicate interior experience rather than external engagement. The work invites consideration of dreams as spaces of liberation from physical constraint, childhood as a state of imaginative possibility, and the forest as archetypal threshold between ordinary and extraordinary realms. Viewers might contemplate their own remembered experiences of flight in dreams and the particular freedom such nocturnal visions afford.

People always dream. Dreams make a human move forward. Where they will lead depends on imagination and the efforts he or she encloses. In childhood, these dreams are usually purer and brighter. That is why the photographer uses children's characters in white outfits. To create a surreal effect in the "Flying in Dreams" series, Maxim Zinchuk utilizes the levitation photography technique. The main idea of the series is perfectly complemented by the words of William Shakespeare: "all things that are, are with more spirit chased than enjoyed".