This is another installment in our continuing series where we talk to photographers whose work we’ve appreciated on Flickr.

This week we feature amadnomad.

discarted: So who is this little girl with her traveling zoo we found on flickr? What’s your relationship to her?

amadnomad: The little girl is my daughter, Zhenya L’vovna Jabban Rukhina. She is 2 years old.

discarted: Wow, that’s quite the name…where did it come from?

amadnomad: In Russia, the middle name is a patronymic — in other words, if you are male your middle name is your father’s first name plus -vich. If you are female you add -ovna. Zhenya (named after my father who was a famous painter in Russia) L’vovna (Lev+ovna, but the “e” is replaced by a character that does not exist in Latin characters) Jabban (her mom’s last name) Rukhina (my last name, but in Russia, women get an “a” at the end. Hence the complicated but *fun* name.

discarted: Looking at the photos, you can see that Zhenya has quite the collection of toy animals. Where did they all come from?

amadnomad: Her mom bought her the toy animals. Zhenya loves arranging them and corralling them about the city.

discarted: Can you describe what it’s like to wrangle up Zhenya and the entire traveling zoo for a day out with the camera?

amadnomad: I always carry my camera (Rolleiflex or EOS 1DS). Whenever I catch Zhenya playing with her animals, I try to capture the beauty and innocence of a child’s fascination.

discarted: What spawned this fabulous idea?

amadnomad: I noticed Zhenya’s imagination as she played with the giraffe over breakfast one day. I took a photo and came to admire her rapture with the animals, her “down time” as she quietly played.

discarted: For some time now I haven’t seen an image that has really stuck with me. But these three really crawled under my skin. I was fascinated and amused yet I was also creeped out by them. How would you describe them? 

amadnomad: The images area documentation of our journey via public transportation from Hollywood to the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City.

Though this was meant to be a shot of the loneliness one may experience during a layover from one bus to another, when you find yourself in an unknown section of the city, thinking of what is to come or what you have just left behind. The trash can, however, lent the image a much more forlorn feel, inaccurate of what I wanted to portray. I agree, it came out a bit creepy.

The excitement of waiting for the bus, of the adventure ahead. Fun!

Aahh, the adventure is under way. Unknown faces, unknown places, brochures and fliers everywhere. Exciting time of experience.

discarted: Are there any Zhenya shoots planned for the future? What are some of the other interesting and funny locations we might see her in?

amadnomad: I am working on a new series for Zhenya all the time. 

To see more of amadnomad’s work checkout Lever and Fulcrum.

Interview by discarted.