Boris Kupershmidt, a photographer from Kiev, Ukraine, took to the streets of his adopted home and captured some of California’s fleeting. . . : Moments of Truth

I didn’t like anybody taking pictures of me when I was a child--that lifeless look of the lens, then something whirls and the camera turns over, it seemed weird. . . .

In Ukraine, I always took photographs. Not of things I desired or performances, but of life. Why do I need to invent something? Life is splendid and picturesque as it is. I used to walk along the streets with my camera in hand, casting glances in all directions--right to left, up and down.

My eye catches thousands of pictures; I need only to choose the right moment, raise the camera and push the shutter. I see the world through the prism of the camera.

Another very important thing for me is imagination. Not as a creator but as a contemplator. I stop the moment when it seems important or just interesting. It can be everything that surrounds us. But it’s impossible to put all the world into one shot. The main thing is to find the right frame.

Everything remains natural. You don’t have to squeeze out something heroic, attractive or prepossessing. Like nearly everybody else, I am not an actor.