July 12 is Photographer's Day. The holiday is dedicated to people whose job it is to capture the most important moments in our lives and the beauty of the world around. Photography has become an integral part of everyone's life.

Photographer's Day is an annual holiday and the date is fixed. There are several explanations for why it is Photographer's Day is marked on that exact day. The most popular and widespread version: July 12 is also the day of St. Veronica, the patron of photographers and photography. According to the legend, this woman followed Jesus as he walked to Golgotha bending down under the weight of his cross. While he was walking up, Veronica ran up to Jesus, gave him water to drink and gave him her scarf (a piece of cloth) so that the martyr could wipe the sweat from his face. On her return home, Veronica discovered the imprinted face of Jesus on the fabric. According to a second version, the date was chosen to commemorate the birthday of George Eastman (12 July 1854 - 14 March 1932), American entrepreneur and inventor, founder of Eastman Kodak, the man who made photography available to most of us.

Today we cannot imagine our life without photography, not only in the domestic aspect but also in the cultural one: photography has long been a permanent fixture in many exhibitions, and there are international festivals and competitions for photographers in various directions. One of these areas is the photography (or photographic fixation) of art works of. Visiting an art museum or an exhibition, an amateur photographer has natural inclination not only to keep the pieces he likes in his memory, but also to fix them for himself by the means at his disposal. Photographing works of art is becoming a veritable master's school for the amateur photographer, whatever his or her main interests. The photographic image of an artwork often replaces the subject itself, assisting to explore its fine details, unattainable for the researcher by enormous distances and times. In order to fully meet all of these objectives, a photograph should, first, correctly and technically perfectly represent the object. All essential details should be defined in detail and clearly readable, both in light and in shade.

The images that a photographer makes are actually not that different from the paintings that artist creates. Artists use a variety of colors and shapes to bring their vision and ideas to life. Photographers use different items for compositions, lighting to convey their own message. Intercommunication between a photographer and public is very essential in photography. We acquaint with the majority of art works in absentia -- for the first time we see the images in books, magazines, catalogues. Later we see them in the museums and at the exhibitions; hence we do not often have this opportunity. Museum photographer becomes a guide to the world of art and history, since thanks to the museum photography; people from any place of the world can be acquainted with the exhibits that are exhibited thousands of kilometers away. Museum photography can be considered a separate art form. A museum photographer should possess a range of professional skills and have practical experience in photographing various objects made of glass, porcelain, precious metals, wood, stone, parchment, marble and many other materials, including rare and specific ones. In addition to professional skills, a museum photographer should have an "artist's eye" -- his/her task is to depict an exhibit, all its details and peculiar features on a photo-image format accurately, authentically and without distortion.

Today we are glad to have the opportunity to congratulate all photographers on their professional holiday. Please, accept our sincere words of gratitude for your creative work, your invaluable contribution to the preservation of cultural heritage.

The museum Collection repository features a large quantity of photographs dating back to the late 19th - early 20th centuries. One can examine the pre-revolutionary Russian cities scenery, old photographs of the Imperial family members, made in the workshop of the first court photographers - Sergey Levitsky and Karl Bergamasco. However, the selection of genre and scenic photographs of the Caucasus made by one of the first Russian professional photographers Dmitri Yermakov, holds a separate place. His life story is posted under the heading "Audio Stories". The biography of the photographer, traveler and ethnographer Dmitri  Yermakov is in the section Authors.