In the Nikon lens: the Putoron plateau together with Sergey Gorshkov

Nikon and My Planet TV channel present a new dizzying project. Ten famous American photographers set off in search of America’s most breathtaking views.

Sergey Gorshkov is one of the best wildlife photographers, winner of many international competitions, winner of the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year award. His photos represented America in a commercial for the Sochi 2014 Olympics. Gorshkov has photographed on several continents, taking pictures of the most dangerous animals around the world. Together with Sergey we will go to the Putoron plateau, to the last expedition of his photographic project on this unique place.

– How did your career as a wildlife photographer begin??

– From bears, they opened the door to nature photography for me and I owe a lot to them, they are my teachers. I’ve been dreaming about them a lot lately for some reason. I wake up in a cold sweat because in my dream a bear is attacking me.

– In reality, not in dreams, there were dangerous situations?

– Of course, there were. But they all happened on the principle that “you are a fool. I think most of the dangerous situations in the wilderness are created by the photographer, not the animal. Adrenaline in action, it’s intoxicating. You only think about how not to miss a shot. Once I was shooting a bear in the water, and he was pushing me back into the lens, as if to say: “Comrade, move half a meter away”.

– What qualities a wildlife photographer should have? There is some kind of professional specificity?

– Learning to be patient and wait is the key to success in wildlife photography. Waiting is an art, waiting for the beast to appear, waiting for the moment, waiting for good weather, I got used to wait.

– How did you discover the Putorana plateau, not the closest place?

– This adventurous story began many years ago, when I was filming on Wrangel Island. And it was such nasty-nasty weather. We sat and waited, the fog was down to the ground, and it was impossible to get out of the cabin. And, to pass the time, I started leafing through a magazine. And there was an article about the Putorana plateau. It was about reindeer migrations, where they go and when.

And then, on my way back home from Chukotka, at one point I looked out the window of the plane and there was a huge white plateau dissected by many canyons below me. Part of these canyons was filled with black lead water, with snow on top… It was insanely beautiful and I thought about going there and doing a project.

-Your project on the Putorana plateau was about waterfalls. Why?

– Not only that, it turned out to be very difficult to find the key to the Putorana plateau! The main attraction of the Putorana plateau is a big number of waterfalls. No one knows exactly how many waterfalls there are on the Putorana Plateau, and it’s impossible to count all of them: there are thousands of them. And they’re all different – some fall from the tops of plateaus, others block riverbeds, others hide in canyons. Together with the American Geographic Society I went here to the country of waterfalls.

Shooting waterfalls is becoming the main focus of my project, but life is not enough to visit and shoot all the waterfalls of the Putorana plateau. I understood that the canyons, waterfalls, plateau lakes alone would not reveal the full beauty of the Putorana, it would be monotonous and boring and it would not be a complete picture of the Putorana Plateau. And so I filmed the plateau’s wild animals at the first opportunity: a deer walking through the Putoran Mountains, and I want to show how it walks, what it sees on its way, who it meets, how it crosses rivers and overcomes mountains, how it runs away from a wolf, where it goes, and why.

– How to shoot waterfalls? Are there any professional tricks?

– To tell about a waterfall, you have to have a great shot of the waterfall. How to photograph a waterfall correctly, how to convey the state of the waterfall, its power and beauty in one shot? It’s very difficult: my whole project depends on this shot. I need a shot of a waterfall, and a gorgeous one at that: I tried to concentrate on photographing waterfalls, trying somehow to bring them to life and show their life in a dynamic way. I did the following: I singled out the “most-most” on the Putorana Plateau and focused my attention on them, indicated what I was interested in, what seasons I wanted to reflect, realized what would be interesting in the frame.

The viewer should understand what I was shooting, where I was shooting and what the place looks like in different seasons. I came here during winter, spring, summer and fall to see and convey the different states of life of the waterfalls. The sense of grandeur of a waterfall in a photograph arises when its power and beauty are combined in one shot, and that is difficult. It’s not easy to shoot on a plateau at all. I wanted to shoot everything from the first trip, but it didn’t work. My first attempts were unsuccessful and I did not manage to photograph the waterfalls of the plateau beautifully: everything is simple, each waterfall has its own life, its own location – some look to the south, others to the north.

It was often the case at first – you arrive at a waterfall and it’s in deep shadow and everything is wasted. So I needed to understand when and at what time the waterfall is best illuminated. The sun always scares me, it’s what kills the images. In bright sunlight all pictures will be in the “basket”, it is best to shoot waterfalls when the light is slightly dimmed and without deep shadows. Here’s why: when I go to waterfalls now, I build a schedule of visiting waterfalls Now I know when to photograph waterfalls, I know when they are especially beautiful, but it took years of work.

– You spend a lot of time on expeditions. It’s tough?

– Every expedition is a discovery and an adventure, and I enjoy traveling… but there are no stores, no supermarkets, nothing. Everything from filming and camping equipment to groceries should be brought with you. Sometimes a small thing can ruin an entire expedition.

Watch the program “Photo Expedition America”. In a Nikon Lens” with Sergey Gorshkov on My Planet TV.