My first acquaintance with a camera happened when I was a 10-year old kid, growing in a beautiful city of Lviv in Western Ukraine. It was an inexpensive film camera, yet the results it produced were beautiful enough for me to fall in love with the photography. My next step was learning how to develop black and white prints based on the instructions I got from my friends and read in a photo magazine. It was the only formal training I have ever had, the rest I have learnt by trial and error as I have gone along. I have also been very lucky to have many friends who enjoyed photography just as much and who were eager to share their photographic experiences and knowledge.

In 1994 my family and I moved to Toronto, Canada in search of a better life. What an experience it was to find myself in a land ruled by the Great Lakes, vast forests, sand dunes and rocky shores! The sheer beauty of Ontario captivated me and I began spending most of my free time hiking, canoeing or simply camping in one of the many parks and nature reserves of Ontario, always having my camera alongside. This was the time when I learned that art of nature photography was the purest expression of my inner world because it combined both deep appreciation and unconditional love for our beautiful planet, projected through the lens. I also learned that my passion was the main drive that propelled my photographic skills and led me to many magical experiences I had during my journeys.

In 2006 I made a decision to move to Vancouver, B.C. where I have been living and photographing since. The time-freezing mountains, never-ending ocean and ancient forests had been calling on me to do this since my first trip to the west coast back in 2000. The journey continues…