Today we’d like to introduce you to Kseny Duke.
Hi Kseny, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been an artist for as long as I can remember. I was always drawing or trying something creative: sculpture, photography, graphic design, anything that gave me a chance to make something beautiful. For many years I worked as a fashion designer, but drawing and photography were always the things I loved most.
At some point, I found a way to bring those two things together. I started creating photographs almost the way I would create a painting, beginning with an idea or a story, photographing it, and then using editing to make the image more imaginative and dreamlike. Over time, people started noticing my work online. More photographers began following me, and eventually I started getting questions about how I created my images and whether I could teach it.
In 2018, I opened my first Magic Frame photography school, where I taught artistic photography and creative editing. I organized workshops, masterclasses, and photography tours to other countries. What started as my own love for creating became a way to share my ideas and creativity with other photographers.
In 2021, my family and I moved to the United States, and for a while photography became much more personal for me again. I continued creating artistic projects, but mostly for myself. I realized that I really need this kind of creativity in my life.
About a year ago, I started hosting workshops here in the U.S. together with my creative partner, and it reminded me how much I missed creating alongside other photographers. This year, I decided to officially bring Magic Frame to the United States and start a new chapter here.
I see it more as a creative experience, a place where photographers can step for a few hours in beautiful, slightly magical world. I create a story around each shoot, and every detail becomes part of that world. Photographers come to create beautiful images, but also to feel inspired, meet other creative people, and enjoy the experience of creating together.
I also completely fell in love with Oregon. The forests, mountains, waterfalls, the coast, the changing seasons there is so much beauty here, and I find inspiration everywhere. Oregon feels like a perfect place for the kind of photography I love to create. I want to bring photographers here not only for the photo sessions, but also to show them the Oregon I fell in love with, to travel together, photograph in beautiful locations, experience the landscapes, and find inspiration in this incredible place.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. I think one of the biggest challenges for me came when we moved to the United States in 2021. I had already built my photography school, had an audience, and knew who I was as an artist. Then suddenly, I was in a new country where I had to start almost from the beginning.
When I first moved here, I didn’t speak English, and that was probably one of my biggest challenges. I was very shy about putting myself out there, talking about my work, or promoting myself. Everything that had once felt familiar suddenly felt much more difficult.
I even thought that maybe the Magic Frame chapter of my life was over. I started a new Instagram page and tried to find my place in the American photography market. I photographed families, maternity, newborns, studio sessions, and even real estate. I was trying different things and figuring out where I belonged.
But through all of that, I kept feeling that something was missing. I could do those kinds of photography, but what I really wanted was to create. I missed imagining a story, building a world around it, working with beautiful details, and making photographs that felt artistic and a little magical.
Of course, there were also doubts, financial risks, and the challenge of balancing family, work, and creativity while trying to build something again in a completely new place. Starting over is especially difficult when you know what it feels like to already have an established creative life.
But looking back, I think that period helped me understand myself better. Trying different directions made me realize that I didn’t want to change who I was as an artist just to fit into a new market. I needed to find a way to bring that part of myself back.
And that is really what I’m doing now with Magic Frame in the U.S. I’m not trying to recreate exactly what I had before. I’m building a new version of it that feels right for who I am today and for the place I now call home.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My work is focused on fine art and storytelling photography. I love creating images that feel like they belong to another world, sometimes like a painting, sometimes like a scene from a movie or a story.
What makes my process a little different is that I usually start with an idea. I imagine the story first, and then I build everything around it: the location, the characters, wardrobe, colors, props, and all the little details. I often create mood boards and plan the visual direction before the camera even comes out. For me, all of those elements need to belong to the same story.
Today I create artistic photography experiences, workshops, and photo tours for photographers. I prepare the concept and the visual world of the shoot so that when photographers arrive, they can step into that story and focus on creating.
I don’t want people to leave my workshops with only beautiful photographs. I want them to leave inspired, with new ideas, new connections, and maybe a little more confidence in their own creativity.
How do you think about luck?
I believe very strongly in destiny. I believe that things happen the way they are meant to happen, even when we don’t understand why at the time.
Moving to the United States was one of the most challenging periods of my life. There were so many changes, so many unknowns, and I had to start over in many ways. But today, I believe it was one of the most beautiful things that could have happened to us.
I’m incredibly grateful that life brought us to Oregon. I fell completely in love with this place its forests, mountains, waterfalls, coastline, changing seasons, and the feeling of being surrounded by nature. I find inspiration here everywhere I look.
As a photographer and artist, I can’t imagine a better place for creativity. Oregon feels like a dream for a photographer.
So when I think about luck, I think about it more as destiny. Sometimes the road can be difficult, but I believe that every experience takes us somewhere we are meant to be. Looking at my life today, I feel very grateful that my road brought me here.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://magic-frame.com
- Instagram: Kseny_duke
- Facebook: Kseny Duke
