ukraine, 2015 Late spring and early summer is the best time for going to Ukraine. The weather is usually good, it is warm but never hot and dry. The vegetation is green and many plants are blooming. Of course, it is also the best season for photography of amphibians, reptiles and birds in this region. Unfortunately it is impossible to determine exactly when to go because it depends very much on weather in these months. The spring was quite warm this year. Therefore, grass and leaves on trees were already grown and became an obstacle for finding animals. Snakes and many amphibians had already finished breeding activities. Overall, I came there a little too late, but nevertheless it was a quite successful trip. Read more...

ethiopia, 2014 This was my second and last expedition to Bale Mountains — at least to this part of them. The main goal of these two expeditions — 2012 and 2014 — was photography of the Ethiopian Wolf (Canis simensis). It is an attempt to show this species and its environment in a more artistic way than usual photographs made by zoologists researching the wolf or by tourists. This is the first trip report that I have almost entirely written during the trip. Read more...

tajikistan, 2014 This was my second attempt to photograph the rare markhors (Capra falconeri) in southern Tajikistan and the first trip that I organised for people whom I didn't know before. Read more...

tajikistan and kyrgyzstan, 2013 After decades this was the first time that I participated in a purely scientific expedition. It was also the longest and largest photography trip that I ever had in my life. It took 43 days for 14 people divided in 3 groups to travel through 3 countries of Central Asia at a distance of more than 3000 km. We went through high mountains of Pamir and Alai at altitudes of up to 4500 m above sea level collecting animals and plants in some of the least researched areas of Central Asia. My task was to create quality images of wildlife and landscapes for use in scientific papers, books and magazine articles. Read more...

canary islands, 2012 Gallotia stehlini was the first exotic lizard species in my terrarium when I was 14 years old. Then, in 1980-s, I learned about the Canary Islands because of that. Living behind the “Iron Curtain”, I couldn't even dream to ever have an opportunity to go there. Many things changed since then, and I travelled many other places, but the Canaries weren't among them. Because they are in Europe, and I am usually thinking that I will always have time to go to places on the continent where I live, they weren't even in my travel plans for the next future — till my wife insisted that we at last spend a vacation in a more “civilized” place than usually. Read more...

ethiopia, 2012 Despite its overpopulation and huge scale of devastation of natural resources and landscapes, Ethiopia may still be an attractive destination for a wildlife photographer. It is a very large country with many types of climate and geological relief. Due to these factors, Ethiopia's flora and fauna are also very diverse — ranging from desert and grassland ecosystems to afroalpine communities of highly specialized and often endemic species. The country is so huge that even a decade of trips wouldn't be enough for visiting and exploring all its natural sites. I have returned from my first expedition that has covered only a very small area in the south of the country. This is my report about it. Read more...

ukraine, 2011 The photographic excursions around my Ukrainian home city Kharkiv were this time much more successful in terms of shooting herpetological subjects than previous year, when I was there earlier in spring. This time I came at the end of April and stayed till the beginning of May. The weather was most of the time sunny and warm. Compared to the places around my home in Germany, the Kharkiv region appeared to me like a paradise for amphibian and reptiles. Read more...

turkey, 2011 I had never shot as many landscape photos as during this my first trip to Turkey. Landscapes aren't normally the main subject of my photographic interest, but this time I made an exception — for the scenic places I visited and because of lack of time for wildlife photography. This wasn't a surprise nor a disappointment because I had planned this trip so. Actually, I had never thought I would ever go to this country till a friend who is also a photographer invited me to visit him at the place where he lives in Alanya. So my first, and now maybe not the last, trip to Turkey was to Mediterranean coast and to Cappadocia — a region famous for its montane landscapes. Read more...

germany, 2010 Although I live less than 300 km away from the Alps, I hadn't been there before because I am usually thinking that I can go to places near my home any time &mdash and therefore am not doing it, considering it not as priority. In September 2010, I finally decided to spend a weekend in the Alps photographing landscapes and wildlife. My travel destination was the Berchtesgaden Land which is a small piece of German territory in the mountains near Salzburg.  Most of it is protected by Berchtesgaden Biosphere Reserve. The core of the reserve is the Berchtesgaden National Park — the only German national park in the Alps. Read more...

uganda, 2010 For a nature photographer, Uganda is certainly one of the best travel destinations in Africa. With 18,783 species accounted on a territory of only 241,551 km², the biological diversity in this country is phenomenal. Uganda harbours 1.7% of the amphibians, 1.9% of the reptiles, 2% of fish, 4.6% of the dragonflies, 6.8% of the butterflies, 7.8% of the mammals, and 10.2% of the bird species globally recognized. There are more species of primates than anywhere on Earth of similar area. Read more...

ukraine, 2010 In early spring 2010 I could spend two weeks at my home in Kharkiv. I used this opportunity for photographic excursions. I was hoping to find some amphibians and even Nikolsky adders, but the winter had been very cold, and there was still plenty of snow in forests and ice on ponds and rivers. Nevertheless, I had three quite successful excursions. One of them was particularly exciting because I had a chance to photograph bobaks. Their range reaches in the west the Eastern-Ukrainian steppe. Therefore they are, after the Alpine Marmot, the second European marmot species. I could find these animals and make some good photos thanks to support by my friend who works as a scientist in the local zoo. Read more...

poland, 2009 [In preparation]

cuba, 2009 [In preparation]

kenya, 2007 [In preparation]

kenya, 2006 [In preparation]

cuba, 2005 [In preparation]

cuba, 2004 Cuba was the first tropical country I visited in my life: 2004, it was my first trip there and the very first to the tropics. Maybe because of that, but maybe because Cuba was so, I immediately fell in love with this place and knew at once that this visit won't be the last. It wasn't a photographic trip because my equipment was very poor that time. Although I was photographing a lot, my main goal was nature tourism rather than photography. Read more...