Samuel Vovsi Photography

Samuel Vovsi was born in St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad, USSR) and lived most of his life in Riga, Latvia. After receiving Ph.D. in Mathematics in 1972, he worked as professor of mathematics at Riga Technical University. In 1989 he immigrated to the United States and continued his academic career at Rutgers University, College of New Jersey and UCLA. He published more than 50 research works and several books in abstract algebra and group theory; the results of this activity (not related to the contents of the present website) can be found here.  In the mid 1990s he became a computer programmer and since then has been working in various financial institutions.

As an amateur, Samuel Vovsi was doing photography most of his adult life. During the last years this hobby has evolved into a serious passion, especially because it perfectly complemented his love to travel and exploration. He traveled extensively over the world (to the wildest and remotest areas of the former Soviet Union in the 1970-80s and to more accessible regions in later years) and the desire to capture his impressions and share them with others has gradually made him work on his images more and more seriously. Travel photography still occupies central place in his work, but now he is also interested in photographing landscapes, cityscapes, sculptures and architecture, and people in their everyday life. His works were exhibited and won awards at a number of juried shows and competitions, both domestic and international. Partial list of these events follows.