Below you will find behind the scenes stories of 12 photographs featured in my 2024 wildlife calendar. If you don’t have the calendar yet, you can order it here.
On the ridge
I really enjoy capturing minimalist photos of animals that also showcase their natural environments. During my recent trip to the Swiss Alps, the conditions were perfect for this type of photography.
However, on the first day, when I visited the area where Alpine Accentors reside, the visibility was very poor. I was essentially in the clouds, and the only shots I could take at that moment were close-ups using a telephoto lens. Fortunately, after a few hours, the wind picked up, and the clouds began to disperse. It was the ideal time to switch to a wide-angle lens.
Based on my previous observations of Alpine Accentors, I knew they had a preferred path along the ridge’s edge, which they traversed in search of food. So, I waited with my camera, planning the composition. After some time, the accentor appeared, and luckily, I managed to capture the moment when it was mid-jump, giving the illusion of levitating over the snow.
Alpine accentor (Prunella collaris)
Morning yawn
A portrait of a relaxed seal that I encountered in Iceland this February. When photographing animals in the water, it’s crucial to keep the lens as close to the surface as possible to achieve a pleasing perspective. This will also result in a blurred foreground and background. In this particular shot, I had my camera nearly touching the water’s surface.
harbour seal (Phoca vitulina)
Above the Alps
Alpine chough flying above the alps.
Alpine chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus)
Steam
Last winter I visited the Białowieża Forest in Poland – the place where the largest mammals in Europe live – European Bison. The trip, although short, was very successful. On the last day of the trip, the weather changed, low temperatures came and the sky cleared up.
I found a group of bison at sunrise, which in these conditions steamed in all directions. I slowly walked around the herd to photograph the bison exactly in front of the rising sun. I corrected the exposure compensation in the camera to minus, set a low iso value and made sure not to overexpose the photo. After some time, the bison breathed out a puff of air and that was the moment I pressed the shutter button.
European bison (Bison bonasus)
Swan lake
One year I saw dancing swans at the nearby lake. Since then I knew that one day I have to photograph this amazing moment. When the spring came, I visited the lake everyday to observe a pair of mute swans. I had a small hiding place where I spent hours with my camera. One day the patience paid off and a pair of Swans performed an incredible mating dance just before my lens. They synchronously dipped their heads into the water and pulled them up, creating incredible sparks of droplets. Then swans united in the act of love. At the end they created a beautiful shape of the heart. As a photographer I couldn’t ask for more!
mute swan (Cygnus olor)
Icelandic beauty
It was past midnight and the sun was about to set. The light was beautiful and soft. The puffin just landed on the cliff and allowed me to take a few portraits in this golden backlight.
Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica)
Morning walk
Left, right, left, right. A reindeer crossing the gravel road in Iceland. In the background you can see a reflection of the midnight sun that is just about to set.
reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)
Orchestra conductor
A mallard shaking the water off its feathers after a bath on a sunny day in winter.
Fun fact: Do you see the blur around? This is actually a young mute swan that was just in front of me. At first I wasn’t happy as it covered the whole scene but then I found out that I could use it to my advantage. As the result it created a nice frame complementing the composition.
mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
At sunrise
A group of cormorants at sunrise.
great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Surprised
A portrait of a curious squirrel photographed on the chilly morning.
red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)
Last light
It was a cloudy day and nothing seemed to be changing. Despite this, I went for a walk to look for bison and found a couple on the meadow. I spent few hours with them but all the photos I got were mediocre because of a bad light. When I was about to come back home, the clouds parted, and the last rays of the sun shone on the scene. Two minutes later it was all over. That’s why I love photography, because it allows me to capture scenes that only last for short moments.
European bison (Bison bonasus)
Sunflower paradise
A giant field of sunflowers could not been mown because of a high water levels. In winter this place attracted thousands of birds, mostly greenfinches, goldfinches and bramblings. I wanted document the relative sizes of the small bramblings and the enormous sunflower plants. For this, I set up my camera with a wide-angle lens amongst the sunflowers and camouflaged it with snow and dried flowers. I then waited with the remote trigger in hand. After many unsuccessful attempts, a whole flock of bramblings finally alighted in front of my camera and one individual came to rest at exactly the perfect spot.
Read the full story here.
brambling (Frinailla montifringilla)
These were 12 photographs featured in my 2024 wildlife calendar. If you don’t have the calendar yet, you can order one here:
