Iryna

Las Vegas, NV April 2026 • 35mm Kodak Gold 200 Pentax Zoom 90-WR • This trip to Las Vegas was not an escape like the other ones or a turning point in my life. I was going to a music festival, taking a small break from a fulfilling busy work schedule with a single goal - to have as much fun as possible despite fatigue or health issues or the fact that i’m in Vegas which i don’t care much for. And i did exactly that! This time i was in my most conscientious and truly grounded state of mind. And dare i say - happy and balanced. And i could feel how much i have changed especially once i looked back at all my other trips to Sin City. Truthfully the city changed too and is no longer a gambling destination but rather a stretched out Times Square with a larger variety of shows to watch and restaurants to enjoy. It sort of settled into an attraction park inside a shopping mall with an occasional gambler here and there.

35mm Fujifilm Fujicolor 200 Pentax Zoom 90-WR • Vegas sort of happens to me, it’s never my choice. I just end up there. This time though it occurred to me that each of those trips marked a completely different chapter of my life. First one was a drunken blur during my college days in Boston. My work friends were visiting their homies in LA and i joined them last minute; eventually it turned into an additional two-day trip to Vegas, a day in San Diego and an overnight in San Clemente. Back then i frozen-margarita-ed my way through Vegas, danced all night in clubs and cured my hang over with In’N’Out. Just as lost and confused as i was on that trip - exact same way i felt in my actual life. Yet returning from that trip helped me make a decision to quit my Starbucks job and focus more on photography. Second trip was suppose to be a short tour for a friend of a friend’s husband from Europe [whom i never met] - he turned out to be a very rude and disrespectful man so i abandoned him at the airport in LA [i was kind enough to help him get a return ticket to Europe earlier] and took a bus to Vegas alone. This took place in spring of 2014 while i was stuck in Indiana after my plans to return home were crashed by war. Yet again i was very lost in life. But while i sat at a bar in Cosmopolitan, read a book and had dinner before my flight to New York, i made up my mind to move back to the East Coast and restart my life. Third visit was an escape from a very cold San Francisco summer. I had just moved in with my [now ex] boyfriend and his three-year-old daughter. Foggy weather was lingering into the end of August and combined with a big life change [my first and LAST time living with a partner] - i was getting depressed - so i randomly suggested to go [and planned the whole trip] to Vegas for a couple of days. Main plan was to warm up and relax a bit, just the two of us. We stayed at lovely Encore, weather was warm. Yet the whole time his behavior was childish, passive aggressive and borderline rude, for then what seemed like absolutely no reason. And once again i felt very lost and started doubting my whole move to California…

we can’t afford to be neutral on a moving train • Sick New World vibes caught on my point-and-shoot Pentax Zoom 90-WR and 35mm Fujifilm • Las Vegas, NV April 2026

this year San Francisco experienced the coldest start of winter since 1900s and the hottest end of winter on record. this year was the first time i swam in the ocean in the city since i moved here. this year i stopped trying to balance my life or catch up on all my projects, and just lived each day as i wanted - and truly enjoyed my life here. i’ve decided to be here and now while i am here and now… cause you know, everything is temporary anyways. • 35mm Fujifilm Fujicolor 200 Zenit E 1979 + Helios-44-2 2/58 & Soligor 180 F/3.5

Neo Lunar “Fire Horse” - Night Vibes • SCENOGRAPHY: @taiwanesenoodles x @exteeng , immersive environmental design WELCOME HOME: living room installation by @itsyangsheng and collaborators DJs: @wao.nao and @tigermom.toy - eclectic sounds from across the Asian diaspora GALLERY: group exhibition with intercultural emerging artists, including @luckydr8gon @lian_yung_art PYROCALLIGRAPHY: live calligraphy performance ritual @graceejin LINEAGE: an intergenerational fashion show with archival from @yumishowroom • San Francisco, CA February 2026 • 35mm Fujifilm Fujicolor 400 & 200 Pentax Zoom 90-WR & 35mm Kodak Portra 400 & 800 Zenit E 1979 / Helios-44-2 2/58

Neo Lunar “Fire Horse” - Daytime Vibes • ALTAR: a verdant, interactive ancestral altar LUCKY HORSE 3: live fire horse 'Kabpainting @lian_yung_art PALATE: teahouse serving herbal & traditional teas @exteeng LITTLE LIBRARY: capsule of zines and literature by AAPI authors SCENOGRAPHY: @the_v_0_i_d x Hanna Chen @taiwanesenoodles x @exteeng , immersive environmental design WELCOME HOME: living room installation by Yăng Sheng @itsyangsheng and collaborators GALLERY: group exhibition with intercultural emerging artists NIGHT MARKET: local retail vendors and the Bay's culinary tastemakers @pengyousf - culinary tour all around Asia with egg tarts, cream puffs, gua bao, glutinous dumplings; @13orphanslounge - tea-based TCM inspired cocktails, exclusive debut of a new menu. • 35mm Portra 400 & 800 Zenit E 1979 / Helios-44-2 2/58 & 35mm Fujifilm Fujicolor 200 Pentax Zoom 90-WR • Fort Mason - Fire House - San Francisco February 2026

it took me over two weeks to pack for a snowy wintery New York, considering a theater appropriate gown and overall style [not just comfort]. but i think i succeeded! i truly liked each outfit i picked and two pairs of boots were equipped with thick warm insoles! it was Sunday night and i was fully ready for an early Monday flight… 8:46pm - your flight has been canceled due to severe weather created by Winter Storm Hernando… no outgoing flights available until Thursday… sadness, anger, despair… idea! if winter doesn’t want me, maybe summer will?! i spent Monday preparing, repacking and mentally accepting my impulsiveness, and on Tuesday morning i was on my way to Maui. summer did not disappoint 🌴 • Kihei, HI February 2026 • Pentax Zoom 90-WR 35mm Fujifilm 200

it was one of those whimsical cozy events. even though i was working [photographing] it, i was also hanging out and having the best time. dear friends and neighbors, beautiful ceramics and well-curated vintage clothes, delicious food and buzzy drinks. a truly perfect Grand Opening! • Frenzy Faire, 484 Union st, San Francisco August 2025 • 35mm Kodak Portra 400 & 800 Pentax Zoom 90-WR & Zenit ET 1991

🧧 the eve of Lunar New Year is upon us - perfect time to show you last year’s shoot i did for @laughing_gems_wine

I photographed “Hilda and Jesse” restaurant back in 2023. I visited them twice - before the service started and during, and had two very different yet mutually inspiring experiences. Being at the space alone with all its whimsical decor - i got to focus on the details. During brunch, restaurant’s peak busiest time, i admired the flow of food delivery and presentation combined with relaxed and personable treatment of guests : it all felt like coziness of the space met luxury of the food. A few months later i received an email with a request for larger resolution film scans from one of those shoots - for the Michelin Guide - a much deserved recognition for this North Beach gem! • 35mm Kodak Portra 800 Zenit E 1979 / Helios-44-2 2/58 • San Francisco, CA October 2023

“when times are extraordinary or confusing - as they are today - it might sound naïve to say that reality is the true home of the magical” • Notion Holiday Party, San Francisco December 2025 • 35mm Kodak Portra 800, Fujifilm 400 Zenit E 1979 w/Helios-44-2 & Pentax Zoom 90-WR

when you move to California “for the weather” but then fly to Hawaii and realize what “perfect weather” truly is... plus grounding energy, gorgeous nature and good vibes. • O’ahu, HI December 2025 • Pentax Zoom 90-WR 35mm Fujifilm Fujicolor 200 & 400