About Roman Adler — Documentary Photographer

We work so hard to learn survival that we forget how to live.

Roman Adler. Documentary photographer.

Why Do I Shoot?

It all began long before I picked up a camera.

Throughout my life, I have been to many volatile and outright dangerous places on this planet. Wars and destruction have always been part of my lived experience. I met different people, lived through and heard hundreds of stories that the world will most likely never know.

That was when I first understood: photography is not just about beautiful frames. It is a tool that can give a voice to those who are not heard. Whose lives are mere statistics in the margins of world history.

Over six years of working as a documentary photographer, I have been to Karabakh, Abkhazia, and what were then the DPR and LPR. I saw war and life between worlds. But I also saw human dignity in the most inhuman conditions. And every time I became convinced of one thing: people are stronger than circumstances.

“I have seen many saintly sinners, but far more — sinful saints.”

I never shoot horror for the sake of horror. I shoot Life that continues despite everything — whether it is a child drawing with chalk on the asphalt between concrete blocks, or an old man brewing coffee in a city that “doesn’t exist” on maps. A street vendor in the labyrinths of Shanghai, living by laws I don’t fully understand — and I’m not the only one.

About Roman Adler — Documentary Photographer | The Humans v.21

My camera is not just my weapon. It is a bridge between the world where “everything is fine” and the world where people simply survive 24/7/365.

My photographs help you see these people as they truly are. They show that these People — EXIST!

The Humans v.21

A single documentary photography project, uniting six years of my work in five acts. It is a story about the Human of the 21st century — at the fracture of an era.

The Humans v.21 is not just a project. It is my obsession. It is a way of saying: these people exist. Their stories matter. They cannot be ignored.

My task is not to show destruction, poverty, and despair. My task is to show that even in conditions of absolute and total destruction, hopeless poverty, and extreme despair — a Human being always remains.

And yes, my works have been exhibited in Moscow, Strasbourg, New York, Zurich, Budapest, and dozens of other cities around the world. But more important than exhibitions and awards to me are the letters and messages from the heroes of my photographs: “Thank you for showing us as we truly are.”

2026. I continue to shoot. Because there are stories that must be told.

ACT I. PLANET WITHOUT WAR

Once upon a time — or perhaps never — our Planet will be like this. But for now… for now it is as it is.

This is not about politics. This is about NO NAME people.

They don’t have hundreds of thousands of followers. They are not popular. Nobody talks about them online, and they will never be shown on television. But they brew and drink coffee in the mornings, go to work, love, laugh, grieve. Ordinary people of our Planet.

Their “ordinariness” is not a curse, but a gift. A gift to simply live — even the simplest life — in these difficult times.

And they live — in the most different cities, villages, and hamlets of our world. They have more stories than you can imagine.

Each of them is a whole Universe unto themselves.

ACT II. TERRITORIES

Donetsk, Luhansk, Berdiansk, Mariupol, Melitopol, Svatovo, Starobelsk, Sievierodonetsk, Rubezhnoe, Avdeevka — cities that have become sorrowful symbols of our era.

I do not shoot destruction — I shoot life that continues despite everything.

The main characters are the people who live here in defiance of shelling and ruin. This is a project about those who have not surrendered, whom no one hears and no one sees.

Urban landscapes. Contrasts. Street portraits. And this is their world.

Documentary chronicle. War is the backdrop. Life is the main subject.

ACT III. CHILDREN ALWAYS REMAIN CHILDREN

They don’t have childhood in the usual sense.

But they still draw with chalk on the asphalt, chase a ball between concrete blocks, believe in fairy tales.

My project is not about the horror around. It is about what is inside these children. What cannot be broken. And about what we, adults, often lose forever.

I refused to shoot “poor children for pity.” That is dishonest. They don’t ask for pity. They live.

And in this — there is more dignity than in all adult reports combined.

ACT IV. TO BE UNRECOGNIZED

A passport that is accepted nowhere. A border that no one recognizes. A state that does not exist on maps.

But there are people. They fall in love, get married, have children, work and rest, make plans… in a word — they Live. They live where they formally and informally “do not exist.”

I photograph this invisibility.

What does it mean to be unrecognized? It is when your home exists, but your country does not. It is when you pay taxes, vote, grow old — and for the world, you are simply dust on a disputed territory.

My project is about people who have refused to disappear.

ACT V. RUSSIAN VIEW: CHINA

China, as seen through Russian eyes. Not postcard-perfect. Not touristy.

I look at their streets, markets, courtyards — and I see another civilization, living by its own laws. These laws are not always clear to me. But it is precisely in this lack of understanding that a genuine frame is born.

Neon above an ancient temple. An old man with a reed birdcage next to a courier on an electric bike beside a supercar. Red lanterns and signs in characters I cannot read.

I do not shoot “China for Russians.” I shoot China through the eyes of a Russian — with all the wonder, the incomprehension, and the respect that this wonder inspires.

How Do I Work?

01. HONESTY INSTEAD OF PITY

I do not shoot “poor people” to evoke pity. My heroes are not victims. They are alive, strong, real. I do not look for tears on faces. I look for dignity in eyes. And I show them exactly as they are.

02. THE HUMAN AT THE CENTER

Ruins are a backdrop. Only the Human is the main character. Even if there is war all around, even if a city has been erased from the face of the earth — I do not look for destruction, but for Life that continues. That cannot be broken.

03. TIME, NOT SPEED

I do not make reports in an hour. I arrive, I stay, I live alongside my heroes. Only this way can you see their true selves. Sometimes this takes weeks, months, and even years.

04. MEMORY AGAINST OBLIVION

These people may disappear. As if they had never existed. As if they had never loved, never suffered, never laughed. My camera is a way of saying: you were. You are. You matter.

All your steps before the door are meaningless if you never walk through it.

MISSION

The heroes of my photographs are people standing before a door — each before their own. War, devastation, non-recognition — a door for some. The ruthless and rapidly changing reality of modern civilization — a door for others. The handle burns their palms. Behind the door — the unknown. Fear screams: don’t open.

But they open it. Every day. Every morning. Every minute.

My mission is to be with them in this moment. Not behind the door, not in safety. But where it’s hot. Where it’s scary. Where the choice is between life and oblivion — and even death.

Because choice is what makes us Human. Freedom of choice is a gift. And my heroes choose to Live. And I choose — to show this to the World.

We did well, you and I. We did everything we could. But there’s still everything left to do that we cannot. Go where it’s scary. Say what’s uncomfortable. Show what the world prefers not to see.

The Humans v.21 is my door. I’ve reached it. The handle is hot. But I open it.

And I will not stop as long as I have a camera, as long as I have strength, and as long as there are people who deserve to be seen.

We so desperately trample down inside ourselves everything good, all of life, from the earliest years…

What drives us? Conformity? Fear? And then we are afraid to Love, to do Good, to Create… We are afraid to Live. As Balzac once said: “Where all are hunchbacked, beauty becomes ugliness.”

MY PHILOSOPHY

I choose to look where beauty still lives.

Where people, despite war, devastation, daily fear and pain, sometimes living in inhuman conditions, continue to Love. Continue to Create. Continue to Live.

So many Reapers, and so few Sowers!

I do not harvest the pain of others. I sow seeds of memory, dignity, and hope.

My camera is not a tool of documentation. It is a tool of love. I do not shoot because I must. I shoot because I love.

I love people. I love their stories. I love the very possibility of telling these people: you EXIST!

I believe that photography is not just an image. It is testimony. It is memory. It is a voice.

In a world where everyone rushes, where news becomes outdated in an hour, where people become statistics — I choose slowness. I choose depth. I choose to look into eyes, not at headlines.

I do not make art for art’s sake. I make art for the sake of truth. For those who cannot speak for themselves. For those whom the world prefers not to notice.

My philosophy is simple:

Every person deserves to be seen.
Every story deserves to be told.
Every moment deserves to be preserved.

Because we are all part of one story. The story of humanity. A story that is being written right now.

And if my photographs help someone not to be afraid to live — then I am doing my job right.

Exhibitions and Events (Russia)

Where — Forum Russia. Moscow Personal exhibition of author’s photography “Memorials of the Azov Region”

Where — Gostiny Dvor, Moscow Personal exhibition of author’s photography “Chronicles”
When — January 20–23, 2023

Where — ART FUTURE GALLERY, Contemporary Art Gallery Personal exhibition of author’s photography “Welcome to the New World” When — December 15, 2021 — February 20, 2023

Where — ART FUTURE GALLERY, Contemporary Art Gallery Personal exhibition of author’s photography and presentation of the social and humanitarian project “Planet Without Wars”
When — April 4–10, 2021

Where — Art Gallery of the Central City Library named after I. F. Gorbunov (Ivanteyevka)
Personal exhibition of author’s photography “Heroes of Our Time”
When — April 4–10, 2022

Where — POBEDA Cultural Center (Udelnaya, Ramensky Urban District, Moscow Region) Personal exhibition of author’s photography “Heroes of Our Time”
When — December 9–14, 2021

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International exhibition-competition of contemporary photo art “Russian Photo Week” (2nd place) — November 3–8, 2020 International exhibition-competition “Autumn 2020” — Male Image (2nd place) — November 3–8, 2020 (nomination: “Image of Our Contemporary”) International exhibition-competition “Autumn 2020” — Female Image — November 3–8, 2020 (nominations: “Woman and Society” — 3rd place, “Image of Harmony” — 3rd place, “Image of Our Contemporary Woman” — 1st place)

RECOGNITION

Over 100 nominations in international competitions. Six consecutive years among the world’s best photographers according to 35AWARDS.

🏆 35AWARDS 2026

TOP 10% of the competition’s best photographers

Main achievements:

🥇 Conceptual shot without processing — TOP 3% (4,597 participants, 110 countries)
🥈 Surrealism — TOP 5% (3,442 participants, 107 countries)
🥉 Theatrical photography — TOP 5% (1,979 participants, 86 countries)

Total in 2026 — 11 TOP nominations

🏆 35AWARDS 2025

TOP 4% Photographer of the Year (Conceptual Photography)

Main achievements:

🥇 Cars — TOP 1% of works, TOP 1% of photographers (2,796 participants)
🥈 Street portrait — TOP 3% of works, TOP 8% of photographers
🥉 Lucky moment — TOP 4% of works, TOP 13% of photographers
🥉 Clouds — TOP 4% of works, TOP 9% of photographers

Total in 2025 — over 30 TOP nominations

🏆 35AWARDS 2024

TOP 5% Street Photographer of the Year

Main achievements:

🥇 Cars — TOP 1% of works, TOP 4% of photographers
🥇 Street performers — TOP 10 best works of the competition, TOP 1% of photographers
🥈 Man at work — TOP 5% of works, TOP 8% of photographers
🥉 Cats — TOP 5% of works, TOP 7% of photographers

Total in 2024 — 15 TOP nominations

🏆 35AWARDS 2023

TOP 16% of the year’s best photographers

Main achievements: