Anton Maliauski Anton Maliauski

A Shot in the Dark

June 8, 2026
✨

I am sitting under a tree.

It has sheltered me beneath its huge canopy. I cannot see the structure of the leaves, cannot see whether there are flowers there or not. It is just a large dark roof above me.

In front of me is the Svislach. The embankment, concrete, rare passersby. Night, silence, darkness. I am a little bored.

During the day, it feels as if we have many options. Any photographer will understand me. And not even necessarily a professional photographer, but a person who goes out with a camera, or a person who goes out without a camera but simply knows how to look. During the day, you dive into this abundance. You see so much. The world itself offers you frames, shapes, light, faces, trees, reflections.

But sometimes you do not want to choose from what is already given. Sometimes you want to look into the unknown. To trust what is here now. To see what is around me within arm’s reach. To touch it, in another language.

I take out the camera. Maybe out of boredom. Maybe with a childlike curiosity. I point it upward, turn on the flash, and take one shot.

Not ten. Not a series. I do not check the screen.

Just one shot.

I see the flash light up the tree for a second. And the world immediately returns back into darkness. I put the camera away and continue walking through the night city.

But later, already at home, when I open this photograph on the computer and develop it, I suddenly see what I did not see there, on the bench. Leaves. Flowers. Structure. The beauty that, at that moment, was right beside me, above me, around me.

Flowering tree branches against the night sky.
I saw all this beauty only after the photograph was developed.

I made a simple accidental “shot” with the camera, but it illuminated what was already there in reality.

In the note “A View from the Dark”, there was the thought that sometimes you need to remove the excess light in order to see differently. To look from the dark. To listen from silence. To step out of the noise of the day, out of the obvious, out of ready-made illumination.

Here the thought is similar, but it is about something slightly different.

Here I am not simply looking from the dark. I am trusting the space. Trusting the moment. Taking a step without knowing what exactly I will see.

Perhaps this is how it happens in life too.

We make some simple step. Sometimes almost accidental. We direct our attention toward a place where there seems to be nothing special. We illuminate a piece of reality for a second. And in that very moment, it may tell us nothing. We see only the flash, a brief illumination, an instant. And then everything returns to darkness again.

But something has already happened.

We have already exposed reality.

And now we only need to stop and see what has emerged.

See also  Link to this section

2026-06-05

June 2026
Minsk, Belarus
Yellow flowers with a residential building and parking lot in the background, with an electric vehicle charging station nearby.
Branches and leaves lying on the hood of a car, with a layer of dust visible.
A person in black clothing stands in front of a building, reflected in fogged glass with film on it.
An empty cabinet with drawers and open doors, with tools and a mat lying on the floor.
A red shop window with a figure resembling drops of paint and a building reflected in the glass.
A blurred image of a black car moving along a street with road markings and a barrier.
A yellow flower bed, a table, and a notice board by the wall of a house.
Flowers in a black planter on a metal stand, next to a weathered wall with peeling paint.
A guy on an electric bike rides through an intersection, wearing headphones and sportswear. Buildings are visible in the distance.
A person’s reflection in a window, with a plant on the windowsill and a building in the background.
An empty corridor with columns and a door at the end, creating an atmosphere of mystery and solitude.
A person’s reflection against a building with the sign “Centralny”. Shop windows and the street are out of focus.
A crack in a wall with exposed brick, with green trees and buildings in the background.
A fragment of an old building with a balcony and windows, with greenery in the foreground.
The facade of a building with balconies and a fire escape, gray in color, under a cloudy sky.
A high-rise building with balconies and a drainpipe, photographed from below against a gray sky.
A group of people walking under a bridge, with an urban landscape and river visible in the background.
Pedestrians on a wide avenue, with buildings and city lights against the evening sky in the background.

2026-06-04

June 2026
Minsk, Belarus
Two buildings against a blue sky with clouds.
A blurred red station wagon moves down the street, with other cars and green trees around it.
A bottle labeled “Coca-Cola” lying on the ground among grass near the sidewalk.
A bottle of “Arbishinka” syrup lying on the ground among grass.
A narrow passage between buildings with a view of a modern facade with black-and-white geometric patterns.
Sunset with clouds, light breaking through them, with cars and trees in the foreground.
The sky with clouds and a streetlamp in the foreground.
Green shrubs against the background of an asphalt path.
Sunset over a lake, with clouds and trees reflected in the water, creating a calm atmosphere.
See all photos ›

2026-05-31

May 2026
Minsk, Belarus

At a recent photo walk, I was mostly shooting video, but in this spot I wanted to stop time for a moment. Took a couple of shots.

A bright woodland space with tall trees and green grass, lit by sunbeams.
Sunlight breaks through the trees, illuminating the green grass and creating a calm atmosphere in the woods.

After the photo walk, I took a stroll through the city center and made a few more shots.

A building silhouette against the evening sky, lit by streetlights and framed by overhead wires.
Two people sitting on a bus, one embracing the other, their heads close together.
A person in dark clothing walks down a subway staircase lit by soft light.
See all photos ›

A View from the Dark

June 1, 2026
✨

It’s interesting how photography makes you notice things that help you look at other areas of life as well. And perhaps it’s not only photography that works this way. Any practice you truly focus on can reveal something larger. Not only inside the practice itself, but around it too.

I’m thinking now about dark photography. About an image where the details are almost indistinguishable. Where the play of light and shadow is not so obvious. Where there are no strong jumps in brightness, no familiar contrast, no immediately readable picture. And this photograph is not necessarily made this way on purpose. Sometimes it is simply an image in a dark key. A photograph taken at night.

Night cityscape with high-rise buildings and an umbrella in the foreground. Dark sky, visible lights.

At night, our attention works differently. We look at light differently. We become more sensitive to faint details, to barely visible transitions, to small patches of brightness. We do not need as much light as we do during the day to make out form, shadow, presence.

But the most interesting thing does not happen when you look at such a photograph at night. The most interesting thing begins during the day. You open the image in daylight, and suddenly there is just a dark rectangle in front of you. What was full of details at night becomes empty during the day. Not because the details are not there, but because you are no longer looking from the same state.

And if we look at this more broadly, something similar happens in life. We can also fail to see certain moments because we are looking at them from the wrong state. Not in the right light. Not in the right inner time. What was once full of meaning can later seem like just a dark spot. We look and do not understand what was there. We do not make out the details. We do not feel the depth. We pass by something that was once alive.

To see such a photograph, you almost have to return to the state in which it was made. To look at it in a different light. At a different time of day. And if we are speaking about life, in a different mood, in a different silence, with a different kind of attention.

Sometimes, to see something, you do not need to add more brightness. Sometimes you simply need to enter the darkness again.

2026-05-30

May 2026
Minsk, Belarus
Shadow of a person on asphalt, with a red wall in the background. Night, dim lighting.
Night cityscape under an umbrella, with a view of a building with windows and stairs.
Silhouette of a person with an umbrella against a wall.
Night cityscape with high-rise buildings and an umbrella in the foreground. Dark sky, visible lights.
Light reflections on steps, creating red and yellow stripes against a dark background.

2026-05-26

May 2026
Minsk, Belarus
A person on an electric scooter rushes along the road, with the blurred background creating a sense of speed.
The roof of a house with a window against a cloudy sky and antennas.
An old wooden platform surrounded by green plants and leaves. Marks and litter are visible on the surface.
A calm river reflecting a cloudy sky, surrounded by green banks and trees.
A snail on the ground among leaves, with a distinctive brown shell.
Reflections of trees on still water, with branches crossing and creating interesting patterns.
See all photos ›

2026-05-24

May 2026
Minsk, Belarus
A blurred image of a road with a passing car against sunlight.
The silhouette of a person on a bus against a green field and forest.
Green leaves against a blurred landscape with water and sky.
A high-voltage power tower against a blue sky with clouds.
Green blades of grass against a bright sky, with soft light creating a calm atmosphere.
Clouds against a blue sky and an apartment building with red and white balconies.
A calm river with reflections of trees and power lines in the background, with greenery in the foreground.
See all photos ›

Chizhovka Reservoir, May 2026

May 23, 2026

A short evening walk by the Chizhovka Reservoir in Minsk.

FILM BY ANTON MALIAUSKI
CAMERA / CANON EOS M
CROP MOOD / OPENGATE 4:3 / 14BIT
LENS / MIR-1V
HANDHELD SHOOTING
LOCATION / MINSK / CHIZHOVKA
MUSIC / PIXABAY
ANTOMAL.COM / 2026

An electrical tower against a blue sky and a green tree.
00:00:14:06
A green field with tall grass and trees in the background, with sunlight creating soft shadows.
00:00:23:08
A calm body of water with green banks and tall grass in the foreground, with trees visible in the background.
00:00:30:17
Plants against a blue sky and a body of water, with light clouds.
00:00:37:05
A calm river with vegetation along the bank and city buildings on the horizon under a blue sky.
00:00:37:05
A river with green banks and tall grass in the foreground, with buildings and utility poles visible in the distance.
00:00:57:15
A sunset behind tall grasses and bushes, with an electrical tower visible in the background.
00:01:03:15
Green leaves in the foreground, with a calm river and a cloudy sky in the background.
00:01:16:06
A calm river reflecting the sky, with trees and buildings in the distance and power lines on the horizon.
00:01:25:03
Read more ›

2026-05-20

May 2026
Minsk, Belarus
A river with green trees along the bank and a building under construction against a gray sky.
Bridge supports above the water, green trees and stairs on the bank. A calm water surface.
The ceiling under a bridge with concrete beams, viewed from above.
A ground grate surrounded by grass, with several leaves and traces of rust.
A white brick wall with horizontal rows and small plants growing between them.
A skyscraper under construction with cranes against a cloudy sky and green trees.
An urban landscape: a river with reflections of buildings and green trees on the bank. The sky is cloudy.
Green leaves floating on the surface of dark water.
Blue and red water bikes on the shore, next to each other, with visible signs of use.
Pedal boats on the water, painted yellow, red and green, reflected in the calm water.
Two ducks sitting at the edge of the bank by the water, surrounded by greenery.
An architectural composition: two buildings with an arch, with another skyscraper visible in the center against a gray sky.
A woman in a blue suit and a man carrying a girl on his shoulders walk along the sidewalk. Greenery and city buildings around them.
A street with cars and flags, with multi-story buildings and billboards in the background.
A construction crane and a tree with green leaves against a cloudy sky.
A glass building with a pyramidal roof against a gray sky.
A guy in a red T-shirt and white hat rides a bicycle along an asphalt path.
Rusty metal grates with horizontal stripes in green and white.
A calm river with reflections of trees and buildings, with a walking area and green plantings along the bank.
A calm river with reflections of trees and stone islands on the water surface. A gray sky above the horizon.
Three round platforms are visible on the calm river water, surrounded by green trees and the bank.
A dry tree with a few green leaves against a gray sky and power lines.
A skyscraper under construction with cranes against a cloudy sky and power lines.
A woman in a black coat walks across a pedestrian crossing, with a gray wall and road sign in the background.
A roof structure with alternating triangular elements made of wooden panels.
A gray roof with diagonal stripes forming triangular shapes.
An orange part of a vehicle with the number 720 685, with green bushes in the background.
A trash bin with waste and a transparent balloon tied to it. A gray wall.
High-rise buildings with reflections in the glass, gray sky. The shot is taken from below.
A low-angle view of tall buildings, gray sky and reflections on glass facades.
A smokestack with red and white stripes against a cloudy sky and green trees.
Green leaves and plant buds against a background of blurred objects.
Green shoots and buds against a building with windows.
A gray wall with small holes and wires, with a round light fixture mounted on it.
A flower pot with flowers against a light-colored wall.
A metal element on the wall releases rusty water, leaving stains on the surface.
A red sports car with rims against green grass and dandelions.
A red car with rims against green grass and dandelions.
A round well with a metal handle, with soil and grass visible at the bottom.
An elderly woman in dark clothing sits on the sidewalk next to flowers and bags.
A bright fruit market: strawberries, grapes, peaches, apricots and citrus fruits in baskets, with prices on signs.
A woman sits in a van with a Coca-Cola logo, selling food or drinks.
A yellow bus passes a stop where people are waiting for transport. The weather is cloudy.
A bus with an ad for MIR radio at a stop, people waiting for transport, one passenger boarding the bus.
A window with lamps reflected in the glass, against a brick wall. Tree branches on the left.
A silhouette of tree branches with green leaves against a gray sky.
Blurred cars against a background of green forest and a fence.
A woman in a vest walks across the tiles, while a toddler in an orange sweater sits on the ground.
Silhouettes of birds on a wire against a gray sky and trees.
Silhouettes of birds on a wire against a cloudy sky.
A street surrounded by green trees, with an asphalt path and houses in the background.
A motorcycle stands under an arch, with workers and scaffolding in the distance. A truck is visible on the left.
A model of a round building with stairs, reflected in glass.
A model of a building with a wavy facade wall, placed on a table next to a green plant.
A model of a building with a ribbed wall and a slanted staircase, reflected in glass.
A building facade with a wavelike texture, gray in color, with a mesh in the foreground. Cloudy weather.
A pedestrian street with a sidewalk lined with trees and buildings, with cars and people visible in the distance.
A green park with benches, seen through the metal bars of a fence. A house is visible in the distance.
An urban street with cars, buildings and a gray sky. A curb is visible in the foreground.
A pedestrian street with green buildings, passersby, a gray sky, with streetlights and billboards visible in the distance.
A building with columns and arches, cars passing in the foreground, gray sky.
A fragment of a building facade with an architectural element shaped like a face above a window.
Exposed brick in a wall, next to a metal handrail. A wall with cracks and green paint.
An old wall with peeling paint and brick paving on the sidewalk.
A pedestrian street with people, buildings and evening lighting. A clock tower is visible on the horizon.
A gray door with stairs and a red flower pot against a lattice wall.
A sign with the letters “KK” and an arrow pointing to the side.
House number 8, 90–96, on an old sign held in a hand against a concrete surface.
An exposed patch on a wall with a heart painted in red.
A crack in the wall with a red heart-shaped sticker.
A traffic light with a red signal, cars at an intersection, a parking lot and a pedestrian crossing. Gray sky.
A pedestrian street with green trees, cars and people, gray sky.
A calm pond with a fountain, surrounded by green trees and urban architecture on the horizon.
A communications tower against a cloudy sky.
A pedestrian area with people, cars on the road, and a traffic light with a red signal. Gray sky and urban architecture.
A building facade with balconies, windows and a gray sky in the background. One of the windows is lit.
A square with a gray sky, buildings in different styles and green plantings. Columns are visible in the background.
2
« Earlier Later »