Elina Mellov

My journey into photography began in 2007 when I was a professional ballet dancer. After a couple of traumas, my professional dance career ended, and I started looking for another specialty. I was studying for 8 years at Tallinn University: Spanish language and culture, later Sound design, I wasn’t feeling what it’s my true calling. There was something else. After the first baby was born and graduating in 2018, I decided to take the path of an artist. It was my old dream from childhood: to be a multi-talented artist.

By what time photography had already been my hobby for 12 years. My passion for photography & art became so powerful, that I started my own business in February 2021. Now I am officially Elimel Art OÜ.

How to describe who I am? I’m from visual artist to visionary, and everything in between. Doing whatever it takes me to do – as an entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, writer, educator, wife, mother, fashion designer, spiritual photographer, director, model, and actress.

My name is Elina Mellov. My maiden name was Koptjajeva, before finishing high school I changed it to Lait. My artistic journey began in 1996.
I was born in Tartu. My first specialty was rhythmic gymnastics, but later I was invited to the theater “Vanemuine”. There my ballet career began.
An important moment from my childhood: scalding by boiling soup when I was 4 years old. Before it happened, I had déjà vu. Half my body and face were damaged, but the skin was repaired quickly. Only left a scar – because I damaged the growing bubble.
One evening, at the age of 5, I wrote two wishes on a small piece of paper, believing that if I put this piece of paper deep between the stones in the wall of Vanemuise Street, my wishes would come true. The first wish was related to whom I want to become – I wanted to be like Leonardo da Vinci (multifunctional and talented in many areas). Second wish: “Art will save the world”.
During my childhood and adolescence, I attended 13 schools, including university (twice BA). I was on the run or looking for a better place to stay, and wanted a fresh start and friends.
Since 2002 (I was 10), I lived without a mother with other boys and girls in boarding school. It was the time when I studied at Tallinn Ballet School (2002-2008) and lived in Narva. And during the holidays from Ballet School, I went to music school. Where I studied piano, music history, theory & singing.
In 2007, I jumped and landed heavily on my left ankle. I still don’t know the exact injury, but it hurts me so I can’t walk, run, jump, dance, etc. Later I had an accident with my spine at Tallinn Ballet School. At the Ballet School, I have been capturing the environment, friends, theater backstage, etc.

At the age of 16-17 (2008), I also lived alone in Saint-Petersburg, because of studying at Academic Jacobson Ballet Theater. We were traveling a lot with a dancing company and had a lot of hard work and after one year and a half, I couldn’t dance anymore, cause of pain and pressure. My ballerina career was over in 2010. I decided to change my specialty.
So I returned to Estonia and finished high school and musical school at the same time in Narva in 2011. After high school, I still dreamed of dancing and teaching. I wanted to be a choreographer, but my body didn’t agree with that, or maybe I didn’t want it that much. I wanted to have a break from endless studying, depression, and traumas and just to rest and travel.

My mother insisted on me going to the University, so I tried to Viljandi Culture Academy for a dancing teacher/ choreographer, but I didn’t make it, so I went to learn the Spanish language and culture. Didn’t finish my studies after an Erasmus stay in Zaragoza and changed the subject to Sound Design. Finally, I graduated in June 2018.

I gave birth to my first child in February 2018 and almost died in the same month. I had blood poisoning. My recovery took 2 years after the birth of the first child. During the years of recovery, I was at the lowest point of my life, it was hell in my mind and soul. I have never felt so bad in my life. I’ve had depression before, but this one was a serious burnout. I was on medication for depression and anxiety for 2.5 months, but during that time my subconscious was telling me to stop the medication. I trusted myself so much that I listened. Soon came the opportunity to meditate with Deepak Chopra for 21 days. And those days changed me for the better.

I shaved my hair three times between 2016-2019. I think when a woman shaves her hair, it’s a sign of awakening and she will discover something very interesting. I had reasons for it too, but it can also mean letting go of the past, finding who you are, and what you want, finding love, and becoming stronger.
I’m creating conceptual, surreal, mystical, and symbolic digital artworks and videos. Everything is weird or related to fantasy, fashion, spirituality, society, and the environment. So I put different pieces of myself into every work, and there are a lot of other parts of me.

From cosmic eternal love to all that I have been through. In the darkest moments of my life nature, meditation, books, and expressing myself through any art area can express myself – saved me.

After all those years and traumas, I still wanted to dance. In July 2021 I got into the choreography master’s degree at Tallinn University, but because I wasn’t vaccinated, I was unmatriculated. I went to an osteopath, who helped me with traumas and I’m still working with them.
My passion for art became so strong that I started my own business in February 2021 with governmental financial support (Töötukassa). Now I am officially Elimel Art OÜ.

I am appreciating my time as the most valuable gift that we have on planet Earth. During my first year of business, I understood a lot about myself and how important are people what surrounds you, what you think, what you eat, what you wear, what you do, and what are your goals and dreams.
I have a lot of specialties, in what I’m doing now: photographer, director, scenarist, operator, actress, model, dancer, videographer, montage, sound design, singer-songwriter, web designer, creator, founder, mother, and dreamer. So my dream of becoming a multitalented and multifunctional artist is coming true and I’m ready to work hard to become a true me.

In January 2022 I created a studio called “Stationyx” and I was the founder and CEO until June 2022. What was my first attempt to create a rental studio. In April 2022 I had second burnout, which lasted for 3 months until July, during which I could create or even have the power to start any new projects. I almost went bankrupt and lost my brand and my photography career. During those months I learned an expensive and important lesson about business and relationships.

After failure with the studio, I sold almost everything, including my main camera, and went back to phone photography. As well started educating myself again about illustration, editing, marketing, and psychology.

Coming Soon

“Golden Swallow 2021. Beauty Festival” 2rd and 3rd place. Images was made for Tiina Barberina

TOP 100 Estonia photographers, 7th International Photography Award, 35awards, 2021

TOP 50 Tallinn photographers, 7th International Photography Award, 35awards, 2021

Nominated in “Art Photography”, International Photography Award, 35 Awards, 2021

“Golden Swallow 2021. Beauty Festival” 2rd and 3rd place. Images was made for Tiina Barberina

Nominated in “Pets” category, 35 Awards, 2020

TOP 50 Estonia photographers, 6th International Photography Award, 35awards, 2020

TOP 30 Tallinn photographers, 6th International Photography Award, 35awards, 2020

Nominated in “Art Photography”, International Photography Award, 35 Awards, 2020

Top 35 Estonia photographers, 5th International Photography Award, 35 Awards, 2020

Nominated in “Fictional story”, International Photography Award, 35 Awards, 2019

Untold Magazine, Fine Art IV November 9, issue 2, Cover + p.12-17

Music Album, Trio Didalli “Helisevad hetked”, November 2022

Music Album, Tuuli Pruul “This is the start”, October 2022

PMM (Prestige Models Magazine) Fantasy 257/2022

“Idee” Magazine, 1/2022, Apr 19, 2022, p. 50

“Artell no.1” 2016, Magazine, lk. 33-34, 56-61

“Eesti JA Põhjamaad – Eesti KUI Põhjamaa?”, Book, Tartu University Ethics Center, p. 92

Untold Magazine, Fine Art IV November 9, issue 2

Viljandi Fotoring, Rääkimata lugu, “Raamist välja”, 25.11.22

Viljandi Fotoring, Ühe pildi lugu, 22.11.22

PMM (Prestige Models Magazine) Fantasy 257/2022

“Idee” Magazine, 1/2022, Apr 19, 2022, p. 50

ETV “Elu Lugu” Ene Mellov 2021

Viljandi Fotoring “Ühe pildid lugu” 24.11.2020

Instagram GodoxUserGroup “Baron Samedi post” 17.11.2020

Dark Beauty X Fashion Magazine 5.18

Laboratory CTRL+ART (Anna Radchenko)

Josh Rossi FTP School “Composing Secrets”

Digital Fantasy Portraits with Photoshop, Karmen Loh

Adobe Photoshop for Matte Painting, Karlos Vega Palacios

Secrets of Photomontage and Creative Retouching, Carles Marsal

Fine Art Conceptual Photography from Shoot through Post-Processing, Bella Kotak & Pratik Naik

Turunduslabor “Viie päevane turunduse intentsiiv”

Josh Rossi FTP School “Composing Secrets”

Surrealistic Photomontage with Photoshop, Carlos Jimenez Varela

Turunduslabor “12 tundi turundust”

Turundustreff, E-mail marketing master class by Priit Kallas

Turundustreff, Facebook marketing master class by Priit Kallas

Turundustreff, SEO optimization master class by Priit Kallas

Turundustreff, Google Analytics master class by Priit Kallas

Turundustreff, Google Ads master class by Priit Kallas

Creative Live, 28 Days of Portrait Photography, Sue Bryce

CreativeLive, Portrait Startup, Sue Bryce

CreativeLive, SkillSet: Wedding Essentials

PHLEARN, 30 days of Photoshop

Sue Bryce Education, 20.04.20-03.05.20

Sabri Suby, “How to grow your sales”, webinar

Sue B. Zimmerman, “The 3 Keys”, webinar

CreativeLive, Creative Studio Lighting, Lindsay Adler

CreativeLive, Fine Art Photography by Brooke Shaden

CretiveLive, Local Dodging and Burning for Beauty Retouching, Chris Knight

IGTV, Fineart_Photomarathon, 14.04.2019-18.05.2019

“Commercial and product photography” by Eduard Kraft, 08.04.2019-12.05.2019

Marketing webinar with Josh Rossi

Expanding your own creativity workshop by Ilona Pulkstene, 23.03.2019

Wokshop by Dmitry Rogozhkin, 16.03.2019-17.03.2019

Tallinn University, BFA Sound design 2014-2018

Tallinn University, BFA Spanish language and culture 2011-2014

Narva Estonian Gymnasium 2010-2011

Narva Kreenholm Music School, piano, 2004-2011

Tallinn Ballet School, 2002-2009

Phones:

Xiaomi 11T Pro

Oneplus 6T

Medium format (120mm):

Mamiya C330

Mamiya 80mm 2.8

Mamiya 55mm 4.5

Full frame (35mm):

Minolta SRT201

Minolta MD Rokkor 50mm 1.4

Minolta MD Zoom 35-70mm 3.5