Masha Karpushina

Born into the dusted over idealism of communist USSR. Most of the faces I am today, are rooted in that time. What's made an impact:

1. My grandparents (both geologists and eager campers)
2. Dacha.
3. No tv commercials/no macdonalds.
4. Svetlana Grigorjevna Galkina- my first primary school teacher.
5. Family (their virtual presence)
6. Free education, free doctors, and no anaesthetic at the dentist.

At ten, my mother took me to Germany. The last image I have of Moscow in '93 was a woman on high heels and a beautiful long fur coat, dragging a huge suitcase behind her on an icy roadside.

At 17 I moved to London.

3 years of LCP: A lot of frustration. A lot of disappointment. One important lesson- think!

The last year- a struggle- but the best I had in drawing. ( I finally dismantled my inner struggle with my family. I came to peace with myself)

My favourite time of year is spring. City humans are fearfully far away from nature, yet this is one period when we are forced to dust our winter thoughts away as the city around us is slowly swallowed by colour.

The day I will stop believing in love, I will know that I have failed.

Cassie Giraldo

Born in Tarzana on May 4th 1989 as the daughter of Cesar and Lydia Giraldo, my biggest inspiration for photography came walking the streets of Paris during the summer of 2006.

Coming from a mixed background of Columbian and American, my upbringing has helped shape myself as a photographer as well as a young, independent woman in Los Angeles.

Infected with a curiosity for people, streets are often my open aquarium for observation. I aspire to continue to indulge myself in this medium and become a photo journalist later in my life.