Young photographers offered to show Tula from unusual angles

In Tula, a marathon contest “Tula in Focus” is launched for young photographers. It was organized by the creative industrial cluster “Octava” and the Agency for Tourism Development of the Tula region. For seven months, participants will shoot the city and region, perform thematic tasks and create their own photo series. The best works will be shown in the spring of 2027 at the festival of creative industries “Octava – 9”.

Expert support for the project will be provided by the Tula branch of the Union of Photo Artists of Russia. The authors will be invited to look at familiar places in a new way and tell about the region with the help of photos. The focus will be on city streets, industrial architecture, historical monuments, cultural life and people.

The organizers provided six thematic nominations. Each of them will allow you to explore a separate side of the life of Tula and the region.

In the nomination “Portrait of Space”, participants will capture the creative industrial cluster “Octava”. Photographers will be able to tell about residents, exhibitions, events, the Museum of the machine, architecture and everyday life of the site.

The Guardians of Time direction is dedicated to the historical and cultural heritage of the region. Material for shooting will be estates, museums, ancient buildings and famous sights.

In the nomination “Street Narrative” are waiting for pictures from everyday life of the city: portraits of residents, random meetings, street events and evening streets of Tula.

A separate category “Mobile aesthetics” is intended for photos taken on a smartphone. It will allow aspiring authors to demonstrate the capabilities of mobile shooting and image processing.

The nomination "Territory of Music" will unite works about the musical life of the region. Participants will be able to shoot musicians, concerts, recording studios, musical instrument production enterprises and exhibitions related to this field.

The marathon will run from October 2026 to April 2027. Participation is free, photographers aged 18 and over will be able to join the project.

The first event will be the festival “Young Photography”, which will be held on November 7 in “Octave”. The program will include lectures, master classes, portfolio analysis and photo walks. Here participants will be able to get acquainted, get the first tasks and show their work.

Then thematic stages dedicated to cultural heritage, street photography, mobile shooting, cluster life and musical culture will begin. At the final stage, each participant will have to prepare a whole photo series of 5-10 frames.

The work will be evaluated by an expert jury. When choosing the winners, the originality of the idea, the quality of the execution, compliance with the topic, the integrity of the series and the ethical attitude to people and objects caught in the frame will be taken into account.

The final will be an exhibition in the “Octave” within the framework of the festival of creative industries “Octava 9”. The exhibition will include the best works of the finalists. In addition, in May 2027, the participants plan to organize a photopicnic in one of the small towns of the Tula region.

The organizers hope that the competition will combine the creative development of the participants with the study of the cultural and industrial history of the region. Pictures will be able to acquaint residents and tourists with both famous sights and less explored places of the region. In the future, photos can be used in materials to promote the region, but only in agreement with the authors and with the mandatory indication of their names.

For the participants, the marathon will be an opportunity to expand the portfolio, try new genres and gradually build their own visual history of Tula and the region - from individual shots to a full-fledged author series.

Earlier, "MK in Tula" wrote