This series was taken in Edinburgh, Scotland on the day my friend Veronika (Russian) passed her Viva and got her PhD in physics (being among the 10% of smart women that study at her Physics School). She was incredibly tired at the moment of shooting these pictures since her exam was in the morning and celebrations followed during the day! But she was still eager to get her photo taken. I wanted to freeze this moment in time to always remember the way she felt on the day of this great achievement. For everyone in the process of doing, or who already got a PhD, knows how this can push all your limits and often pass them. Mental health issues and constant breakdowns are not the exception but more likely the rule among PhD students from different fields, for which getting to this point, when its over and you finally see that you could do this thing (which most of the time you question and seriously doubt) is simply HEAVEN. During the shoot I asked Nika to connect to how she was feeling and the photos turn out to reflect a wide range of mixed emotions, showing happiness, tiredness, pride, stress, humbleness and the surrealist feel of suddenly slipping into a world where your PhD is over, is this really happening? Did I really do this?. The cover photo is my favorite (and hers too), because it clearly reflects the focus mind, patience and hope of waiting to see results from your efforts, doing what you are suppose to do, but still always wondering on those few seconds that seem an eternity, is this sparkler going to light up?
