Evgeny (evgenyvasenev) is a landscape photographer who captures the unreal beauty of Mother Earth - and also the galaxy we live in. One of his favorite things in life is to be alone in nature while shooting the amazing landscapes this earth has to offer. Evegeny's passion and love for it show through his photos.
Tell us a bit about yourself, how do you describe your photography style?
My name is Evgeny. I am originally from Russia but now I live in Seattle, USA. I am primarily a landscape photographer, but I really love travel and extreme sports photography as well. I call myself a photo painter because I like long exposure and I like to use my DSL camera to take pictures that are impossible to take without a tripod and waiting. Right now I am pretty passionate about night photography. I love the silence and peaceful atmosphere during my night shootings.
In one sentence what has photography done for you in your life?
Itâs given me peaceful moments, when I am taking pictures I forget about all my problems and my mind is calm.
When did you start taking photos and what inspired you to get started?
I started taking photos back in 2000. I used to do mountaineering a lot, and I was so in love with mountains so I wanted to show the beauty it. Thatâs why I started to take photos.
What has been your favorite shoot and why?
This is my most successful photo and one of my favorites. the peaceful moment, nice colorsâŚ
There is a wonderful story behind this photo. When I moved to the US I lived in New Orleans and I wanted to find some places to take landscape pictures. On the local web community, I found Scott Schexnaydre. He was a local guy and he showed me some incredible places! He had a boat, so without him, it wouldn't have been possible for me to take the photos I took with him. And by the way, the photographer you can see in the photos is he! I took this picture in the morning right after our boat ride in the dark.
Do you remember a difficult photoshoot session? What happened?
This photo was pretty difficult to take. It was on the Oregon ocean coast early in the morning. I woke up before sunrise the day after my birthday. It was pretty cloudy and I didnât expect any cool morning light, but I decided to give it a shot. So I was standing right in the water. It was cold and wet. Sometimes the waves were up to my thighs it was pretty scary because the waves were strong, the rocks were slippery and I was afraid to fall and to drown down all my equipment. But the end result was awesome! The exposure was about two minutes so the clouds above me made a cool smooth pattern and the waves transformed to fog. Personally, I think the photo looks like a painting but itâs an honest photo without any strong manipulations.
What do you carry in your camera bag?
Usually, I am trying to carry almost all my equipment, just in case, I would need it. I use the Canon 6D, Canon 16-35, Canon 24-70, Canon 70-200 II, Canon 15, and Canon 50. I have a Manfrotto tripod, Cokin filters, and some remote controls. But primary I use just 24-70 or 16-35. They are my most used lenses. I carry a few flashlights as well as I spend a lot of time at the night and I like to use small flashlights to make foregrounds better.
Do you have a favorite location and time of the day to shoot?
I really love the Southwest. Utah, Arizona⌠I love the sunsets there and especially clean nights. Itâs the perfect place to shoot night photos.
Can you share three tips with your fellow photographers?
1. Shoot a lot. Only practice will make you better!
2. Take photos of what you truly love. If you love water, take photos of waterfalls, oceans, rivers⌠People will see your passion behind your photos.
3. Donât care too much about the equipment. The equipment matters, but not as much as you can think. Of course, you canât take a picture of the Milky Way with a smartphone, but you canât do it with a professional camera either if you canât work with composition. Try to work with just one lens or just a smartphone. Think about the composition, the colors, lines, shapes. Donât think about the equipment you use, but instead think about how you use the equipment you already have.
Please share one of your favorite photos with us with a short tutorial.
Itâs my first Milky Way photo. I took it back in 2011 on my way from New Orleans to San Francisco. I had been in Arches National Park before but I had never tried to take pictures at night. I read a few articles about it before trying it out, but in general, I was learning while shooting that night.
Some technical facts:
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 4000
Exposure: 49 sec
Lens Canon Fisheye 15mm
I was totally alone at this spot and that is exactly what I love! Just me, my camera, and nature around me. It was hard to find the right composition and exposure because it was pretty dark. I spent hours trying to make something interesting and finally, I managed.
I like an honest photo. So I use just one file (RAW) for all my photos. For post-processing, I use Apple Aperture but I am thinking about switching to Adobe Lightroom. Usually, I use just common photo manipulations like contrast, curves, saturation, etc. I am not trying to keep the photo as close to reality as possible, instead, I am trying to show the reality I saw while taking the photo. But at the same time, I am not trying to do something crazy and unrealistic such unreal colors, HDR, or merged photos.
Please share some thoughts on your ViewBug experience as a photographer!
I really like the contests and how easy it is to choose photos for them. I don't need to upload new photos for each contest, instead, I can just pick one of my already uploaded photos - and that's it!
