One Act Photos

Final Project: Work in Progress 3

Living with MS: the story of Justine Mertz

Final Project: Work in Progress 2

Living with MS: the story of Justine Mertz

Final Project: Work in Progress 1

Living with MS: the story of Justine Mertz

Life of a Colleague: Inna Spivakova (final project)

22-year-old Inna Spivakova's bedroom is very colorful, just like herself. She lives in an apartment in South Philadelphia with her best friend Julia Plekhanova. Inna and Julia moved to from Russia to America together three years ago.


September 30, 2006 is when Inna first met her boyfriend, 25-year-old Jason Carr. Oddly enough that is the same night that Julia met her boyfriend. Jason is a professional DJ, who has a Master's degree from Temple University in music composition and theory. Jason was preforming that night, and Inna went up to talk to him. This is the flyer from that night. March 30th marks their six-month anniversary.


Photography is Inna's passion, and her major in college. In Russia she was majoring in linguistics, with the goal to be an English teacher. For the first time, she really loves what she is doing, instead of just majoring in something to easily get a job after graduation.


This row of wine and beer bottles lines the kitchen counter, and has branched out onto the kitchen table. "We're proud of our bottle collection. We wrapped them up and moved them here from our old apartment," said Inna.


The Hung Vuong Asian Supermarket located on 11th Street and Washington Avenue is one of Inna's favorite places to food shop. She shops there about three or four times a week. Inna also enjoys shopping at the Italian Market.


Cooking is one of Inna's favorite things to do. Inna not only enjoys cooking with Julia, but also with Jason.


Inna is beginning to eat the delicious vegetarian dinner she cooked. "Jason is allergic to glutton, and Julia is a vegetarian so it is very difficult to make something that everyone can eat," Inna said.


Every weekend Inna checks City Paper's "DJ Nights" section to see if there are any interesting parties happening. A few times Jason was spotlighted in this section as the 'Pick of the Week.'



From Russia to Philadelphia: The Journey of Inna Spivakova

22-year-old Inna Spivakova is a very independent individual. She moved from Chelyabinsk, Russia to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania three years ago. She currently lives in an apartment located at 725 Wharton St. in South Philadelphia with 22-year-old Julia Plekhanova. “I feel that if I lived near campus my life would revolve around school. Sometimes I’m only at school for an hour, and then I come here and shop and go out around the neighborhood,” Inna said.

Inna and Julia moved to America together. They are best friends, and you can immediately tell this from the strong bond they share. They attended the same high school and college together and eventually want to get matching tattoos. Julia is Inna’s only link to home in America. Her mom, dad, brother Dmitry, and two grandmothers still live in Russia. “I call my parents every week, but it’s not the same. I’m pretty sad, I feel that I’m too young to live by myself,” Inna said. She jokingly added, “I talk to my mom and dad at the same time on the phone so they can’t say I didn't tell them something!”

Not only did Inna’s residence drastically change, but her career path took a 360-degree shift. In Russia, Inna attended South Ural State University for two years. She was majoring in linguistics, with the hopes of becoming an English teacher. When she moved to Philadelphia she became interested in photography. “School is much easier here than in Russia. You have to take summer classes there, it’s not an option,” Inna said.

Inna’s passion for photography began when she attended the Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial for two semesters. She enrolled in photo courses, but many of the students in her classes were much older in age than herself. Also, most of the women were housewives, and according to Inna, only took photos of skies and flowers. What Inna enjoyed most about Fleisher was the darkroom access. For the past year and a half Inna has attended Temple University, majoring in photojournalism.

Inna’s grandfather was a photographer, who set-up a darkroom in his bathroom. He would invite her on his photography trips, but when she was younger she had no interest in photography. Unfortunately, he passed away 4 years ago. “I wish he could see what I’ve done with photography now,” she said.

Inna’s photographs are tacked on her bedroom walls, prints are stacked on her desk. “For the first time I care. In Russia, it was just something to do to get a job,” Inna said about her choice to major in photography. “When my dad sent me money he asked me if I got something nice with the money, like a dress. I bought myself a big pack of photo paper, a filter, and a lenses.” Even though she feels uneasy about finding a job after graduation, her passion surpasses her fear.

Music is also a major aspect in Inna’s life. Music is what brought her to meet Jason Carr, her boyfriend. Jason, 25, is a professional DJ and composer, who has a Master’s degree from Temple University in music composition and theory. On September 30, 2006 Inna and Julia were at a party at Lava in West Philadelphia. Jason was one of the DJ’s preforming that night. Inna made the first move and talked to Jason. “Guys don’t talk to me. For some reason they don’t,” Inna said. “It’s weird, the same party is where Julia met her boyfriend Tom. He’s a DJ too.” March 30, 2007 will mark Inna and Jason’s 6-month anniversary. “I definitely want to do a surprise...we’ll see,” Inna said with a grin. Her relationship with Jason has been her longest so far. “Jason has only been away for 2 days and I miss him. Usually I say nah, I don’t need a boyfriend.”

Since Inna met Jason she has become very interested in techno music. Inna grew up listening to jazz, because her father, Vladimir, was a huge fan. Inna sends her photographs of jazz performances to him. Now her and Jason go to jazz concerts together. “The best time to take someone’s photo is when they’re playing music. They’re just so natural and themselves,” Inna said as she cooked. Even though Jason is a performer he hates having his photo taken by anyone, even Inna. Luckily, Julia loves having her photograph taken, and Inna has used her as a model for many of her photo projects.

One cannot write about Inna without mentioning how she absolutely loves to cook. Inna not only enjoys cooking Russian food with Julia, but also with Jason. "We really like cooking together. In terms of food, he trusts me,” Inna said. It is not an easy task for Inna to prepare a meal for everyone to eat. Julia is a vegetarian and Jason is allergic to glutton. Inna and Julia have added some character to their kitchen by lining the counter with wine and beer bottles. The collection has gotten so large that it has branched out onto the kitchen table. "We're proud of our bottle collection. We wrapped them up and moved them here from our old apartment," said Inna.

The Hung Vuong Asian Supermarket located on 11th Street and Washington Avenue is one of Inna's favorite places to food shop. She shops there about three or four times a week. Inna also enjoys shopping at the Italian Market. She also occasionally likes eating at Russian restaurants in Northeast Philadelphia. “In Russia we never had to buy fruits and vegetables. We had them all in our garden,” Inna said. This spring, Inna wants to start a garden on her roof deck to grow parsley and dill. “They’re good for salads.”

Inna has a lot to look forward to in her future. Jason and Inna’s relationship is evolving and getting more serious. Jason, who lives in North Philadelphia, has recently brought up the idea of them moving in together. Since Russian is Inna’s primary language, Jason is making an attempt to learn the language. Though her family is halfway around the world, she has her own family and support system in Philadelphia– her best friend as a roommate, and a loving boyfriend.

Life of a Colleague: Inna Spivakova (work in progress 2)

I went to Inna's apartment and wanted photograph her environment, roommate, and her love of cooking. Somehow most of my images were erased, so these are the only photos that "survived."