We arrived at our second location of the day and boarded a private boat on the Canal Griboedova with the gorgeous Elena Guruleva.  Our main backdrop would be the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood (Храм Спаса на Крови).  The name of the church refers to the blood of the assassinated Alexander II of Russia, who was mortally wounded on that site on March13, 1881.

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The Setting:  If you recall, the day was chilly and grey while we were shooting at the Russian Standard Distillery.  That soon changed when the gods broke the clouds and poured the most perfect light on our already perfect setting and our porcelain-skinned model.  With Russian pop music blasting, we set sail down the canal and started taking photos! It was a moment to remember.

As we emerged from under a small underpass, we saw the massive Church of Spilled Blood covered in what looked like thousands of colorful mosaics. Its strong, yet comforting presence motivated us through one of the best shoots of the trip. As Elena warmed up between shots with a blanket, the crew chose plenty of tasty Russian Standard Vodka.  With each amazing set-up we toasted to a good life. Nas Drovia.


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Missed out on our other dispatches from Russia? See them here:

Inside the Russian Standard Distillery with Alina Ivanova
Still to come...Russia's finest ladies in St. Petersburg, Russia!
Stairway to heaven...
87 Photos (And Counting!) of the Miss Russia Girls
Anna Vtorova takes you inside Soho Rooms!
Lights Camera Club! - Fresh From Russia!
Home Sweet Home
From Russia with Love
Part 1 of our 2 Part Special
In Orbit over Moscow
Red Square Dancing
A Taste of Russia
Fresh from Russia

Maxim would like to send a very special thank you to our friends in Russia!  We had the most outstanding crew and this production wouldn’t have been possible without each and everyone listed below.   

Locations survey and Production – Igor Malakhov
Director of Communications, Russian Standard – Preston Mendenhall
Chief Marketing Officer, Russian Standard Vodka USA – Drew Beaver
Project Manager, Russian  Standard – Valentina Naumova
Chief Stylist – Elena Usanova
Stylists – Roman Travin & Philipp Ndzana
Hair – Konstantin Kochegov
Make-Up – Savva
Production Assistant – Stanislav Urzhumtsev
Beauty Team Assistant – Maria Pototskaya
Imperial Holiday – Leo Murzenko

My love to the Maxim crew as well:

Lighting Specialist – Brady Fontenot
Videographer – Greg Rusling

Co-Producer/ Project Manager – Jena Liberman

Location: The Jesus on the Spilled Blood Church (main view from the Canal Griboedova)

Photographed for Maxim Digital by Kelly Stuart | Copyright 2008 Alpha Media Group.  All Rights Reserved