Nikon and My Planet Channel present a new dizzying project. Ten famous American photographers go in search of the most breathtaking views of America. Anna Yatsenko was born in Norilsk, lives and works in New York. She takes photos of wildlife in the wild, has been published in National Geographic Traveler and American Reporter magazines, and is the winner of numerous competitions. Photo Expedition Americaā crew. In a Nikon lensā went to Krasnoyarsk with Anna Yatsenko.
-Why did you suggest Krasnoyarsk Pillars as a subject for the My Planet TV channel and Nikon project?
-Krasnoyarsk ā the city of my childhood. Ever since I was a kid I used to go with my father to the Krasnoyarsk Pillars and I used to take my first camera with me. Krasnoyarsk Pillars is a childhood memory for me, one of my first subjects. But thereās also the fact that Iāve mostly been to the so-called cultural part of the reserve, and to enter the buffer zone, or part of the Wild Pillars, you need special passes. So I decided to take the opportunity to legally enter the buffer zone of Krasnoyarskie Stolby Nature Reserve.
-What were you going to film and how realistic were your intentions??
-It was obvious to me that with the four days we had at our disposal, I wouldnāt be able to shoot what I love most of all, the animals in the wild. To shoot animals, you have to make a stake out and stay in it sometimes for weeks. So four days is not the period when you can count on an interesting shot with a bear or a wolf. Anyway, I made up my mind from the very beginning that I was going to shoot landscape.
There were some problems here, too. At first the trip was planned for July. But due to the fact that in July there is still a great danger of being bitten by an encephalitis tick, we decided to postpone the trip until August. In August there are almost no encephalitis ticks, but at this time the weather in Krasnoyarsk region is noticeable. It was starting to rain, so we could not count on pictures with colorful sunsets and sunrises. Nevertheless, I think we were lucky.
We had planned to climb Gryphon Rock, where Gryphon izba is located. This hut is built on the height of 50 meters and is completely built into the rock. Despite the fact that formally no one is allowed to go there, some fans of Krasnoyarsk poles are above the law. So when we climbed in, we were met by its owner: grandfather Vitaly, a man of about seventy. We began to shoot it, to talk. I took a couple of shots too: Vitaly is telling his stories with the taiga in the background. In my opinion, it turned out to be a very interesting reportage pictures, which I did not expect at all. That was my first luck.
The second problem was a really heavy downpour with a squally wind on one of the days of the photo shoot. The group insisted that we needed to finish the dayās shooting. But I decided to stay. Knowing the nature of the area, I knew that the weather here is changeable, in addition there was a wind, and therefore the downpour could soon blow away. And so it happened. And when the rain stopped, a very beautiful view opened: on the one side were receding storm clouds, and on the other through the clouds the sun shone through. That was, in my opinion, the most interesting landscape shot.
To be honest, though, when shooting a landscape, I prefer to choose a perspective that necessarily has a foreground in the frame. Here there was no option for the foreground: from the rock you have a wonderful, but single-plan view of the taiga. So if by and large Iām not a hundred percent happy with the result.
-What advice would you give to beginner amateur photographers??
-If weāre talking about photographing animals in the wild, itās out of the question. To shoot a bear or wolf from a distance of 100 meters, you need a certain technique, and a lens for such a situation costs from 250 thousand Dollars, and it weighs a lot. No amateur would carry such equipment. Speaking about amateurs, I can give them the biggest advice: shoot to the last moment.
Even when it seems that there is nothing to shoot, even when everything does not turn out the way you planned ā you should not pack up your camera. As a rule, the best shots are the moments you hadnāt planned, and couldnāt have planned at all. As an example, the same landscape I took after the rain in the Krasnoyarsk Pillars. If I had listened to the other band members who wanted to stop shooting and go down from the cliff, there would have been no shot.
Or another example. We were shooting seals in the Arctic. The seal was just lying sleeping. It would seem how much you can shoot the sleeping seal? 10, 15 minutes, but no more. He doesnāt move when heās asleep. All the other photographers turned their cameras off, thinking that thereās nothing interesting for them here anymore. I waited until the moment when the seal woke up and yawned. As a result, I got a shot of a seal thatās not so much yawning as it is smiling. And I was the only one who got it, as it turned out later.
-Why shoot with Nikon?
-Iām a Nikon fan! Honestly! I like everything about this brand of camera! Ergonomics, great autofocus speed, but most importantly, reliability. Iāve been shooting with Nikon cameras for many years. All in all I already have more than a dozen of them. There are also Nikon film cameras. I practically always keep a Nikon DF compact in my purse. If I go anywhere, even without intending to make a serious photo session, I necessarily take a Nikon D800 with me. And in case of serious photography I have two cameras Nikon D4. For me, itās the best thing the photography industry has done to date.
Who is Anna Yatsenko and what is her connection to Nikon lenses and the Krasnoyarsk columns?
Who is Anna Yatsenko and what is her connection to the Nikon lens and Krasnoyarsk columns?