Today, acquiring a camera is not difficult, as cameras are built into mobile phones. However, in the 19th century, taking a quality photograph was only possible in a photo studio. One of the most famous was located at 8 Kuybyshev Street.

Unfortunately, the building has not survived to this day. Previously, there stood a wooden single-story house with a sign "Photography by Vakulenko." Ivan Pavlovich opened his studio in the autumn of 1869. Unlike his competitors, he created a studio in the French style, with decorations and photo wallpapers, and even allowed some clients to bring motorcycles and personal weapons.

Moreover, Ivan Pavlovich often photographed streets, architectural monuments, and scenes of urban life. Thanks to his passion, dozens of photographs have been preserved, allowing us to see what Penza looked like almost 150 years ago. In addition to portrait photography, Vakulenko sold calendars and frames, and also engaged in light painting, coloring photographs and giving them color. At that time, this was considered a real wonder.

His son Alexander followed in his father's footsteps. In 1891, he received a gold medal from Alexander III for the best reportage photographs of prisoners from the Penza provincial prison.