Dina Belenko
Be not afraid (Single)
DESCRIPTION
This self-portrait draws on the idea of a biblically accurate angel — a being that exists beyond human scale, logic, and perception. Angels are often described as frightening, because they cannot be fully understood or placed into familiar human categories.
The figure appears dark and opaque, while the light comes from within. This darkness speaks to the parts of ourselves that remain unreachable: an inner territory that remains unseen and unnamed. Identity here is suggested through concealment and fragmentation, through light leaking from inside the form rather than being presented on the surface.
Ninety-nine percent of who you are is invisible and untouchable.
This image is about learning to accept that invisible majority as a real and essential part of who we are.
AUTHOR
Dina Belenko is a still life photographer whose work explores the emotional and symbolic weight of ordinary objects: how mundane things — broken porcelain, scattered leaves, found keepsakes — can hold complex emotions and reflect human experience.
Awards & Honors
2025 – Color Awards, Dodho Magazine, finalist
2024 – The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts 2024 International Photography Competition, Still Life, Third Place
2024 – 500px Global Photography Awards, Technical, PRO First Place Winner
2023 – Orange Book: Artrepreneur’s Annual Book of Pro, volume 2
2023 – Autumn’s Palette, O’Hanlon Center for the Arts Gallery Show
2017 – Sony World Photography Awards, Commended List (2017)
2016 – Sony World Photography Awards, Best Split-Second Photographs (2016)
2014 – Awarded Photographer, published in 1x yearbook Memento, 1X.com (2014)
2013 – Photo Discovery of the Year, 18th St. Petersburg Photo Fair (2013)
Books Written
Pocket Idea Generator: Journal of Prompts and Inspiration, Bombora, ISBN 978-5-04-162581-8, 2022
Composition as Visual Storytelling, Bombora, ISBN 978-5-04-191692-3, 2023
←
back to gallery
