Eric Kogan is a photographer who was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, but when he was 5 years old, he came to the states. He currently resides in New York, but he actually grew up in New Jersey. It was his father’s idea to move to the US as he was fascinated with American culture. 

New York has a special place in the photographer’s heart as Coney Island was always like a second home to him, spending entire childhood summers with fellow Russians who have a dense community there. In 2008, Eric started studying at Pratt Institute and has lived in Brooklyn ever since.

Eric is an artistic soul all around. He has a day job in the event industry and he has a background in painting. He started taking pictures during his school years, where he was able to use the photography lab. 

Bored Panda reached out to Eric and he told us that “the studio was a really significant place to me, behind its door I could cancel everything out except for creativity.” The excitement about photography didn’t fade and in 2004 he took his first course on fine art photography and “it taught [him] to pay more attention to [his] immediate surroundings, and it marked the beginning of looking for new discoveries in ordinary places.”

Eric thinks that the best place to do that is the street. He told the online photography magazine Up that he finds street photography to be inspirational because it pulls the unexpected from the common. 

You can notice so many things when you observe your surroundings and even a commute to work can result in an inspirational and interesting photo. That’s exactly what Eric does and presents his followers on Instagram with various coincidences that attract his attention in the streets of New York.

We asked if Eric would like to explore the streets of other parts of the world and he absolutely would. He said, “I have many photos from abroad that, despite being out of context with my current body of work, played a role in shaping my approach to the medium. They helped me see things back home that I may have failed to register without exploring the world.”

If you look at the moments that the photographer captures, you will realize that they are not staged and based on serendipity. What is more, they are often temporary, like the clouds lining up or birds standing in just the right spot. 

Photographers have their own methods on how to capture the perfect shot: for example, nature photographers may wait for months until they finally have what they want on camera.

We asked how Eric manages to seize those temporary moments. He explained, “A friend of mine once described the decisive moment as being able to tell the future. I thought it was such a fascinating way to look at it, and I've definitely found patterns to follow in how clouds and birds behave. I either sense a formation happening and start maneuvering, or catch only a glimpse of it and wait for the occurrence to happen again. Sometimes it can happen again quickly, other times have challenged my patience for years.”

As the photos are not staged and are results of the spur of the moment, they probably don’t have thought-out significance beforehand. But it doesn’t mean they are meaningless either.

The photographer wants people who look at these photos to know that “It’s all about connecting with others, sharing what I find important, and seeing what could be taken from them. My aim isn’t to provide anyone with answers, it’s rather to ask questions. The personal takes and individual relationships that people have expressed through them is really where the meaning lies.”

What was your favorite moment captured by Eric Kogan? And what do you think of his photography overall? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to upvote the photos that left the biggest impression for you!