Our PHOTONews portfolio for the winter 2018/2019 issue features the work of Paul Zizka, a full-time mountain landscape and adventure photographer based in Banff, Alberta.
From the peaks of the Canadian Rockies to iceberg-laden seas off the coast of Greenland, Paul’s journey to capture the “under-documented” is a testament to his passion for exploration, his creative vision and fierce sense of determination. These qualities, combined with his keen eye for unique compositions, have resulted in an exhaustive portfolio of cutting-edge images. Whether it’s wading waist-deep into a glacier-fed lake or chasing auroras from dusk til dawn, Paul is known for an adventurous spirit that draws him to the extraordinary.
We asked Paul to describe how he captured the stunning image featured on the cover of PHOTONews Volume 27 Number 4, and other shots in the series. To read the full content of the issue FREE of charge, please visit www.photonews.ca
“I enjoy chasing images that are fully pre-visualized. I like the challenge of dreaming up photographs and then trying to figure out how to execute them, how to transfer them from the brain to the memory card. Often, because these shots require many factors to line up, they may take months or years to finally come together. Many will never happen. But when they do, they make the creative process immensely rewarding.
For the “over/under selfie” image shown on the cover of PHOTONews, and for the alternate image showing me standing beside the tent on the ice surface, I used a Canon 5D Mk 4 inside an Aquatech Elite underwater housing, mounted on a tripod. I basically composed, shot the foreground, focus stacked to the background, then I activated the intervalometer and went for a walk…
For the self-portraits in the caves that are featured in the PHOTONews portfolio section, I wanted to keep the snow in the foreground as pristine as possible – I set the camera on a tripod, activated the remote shutter release, and carefully took my place in the scene, entering the cave from an alternate access point, out of sight in the photograph.”
For a visual tour of Paul’s images, please visit Paul Zizka Photography at the following websites and social media links: www.zizka.ca , www.shoppaulzizkaphoto.com , www.facebook.com/paulzizkaphotography , www.twitter.com/PaulZizkaPhoto , www.instagram.com/paulzizkaphoto and Getting #WildlyCreative with OFFBEAT.
Paul is sponsored by Canon, Ball Watch, DJI, Mountain Hardwear, AquaTech, and other leading brands.
Magnifique ! Grandiose !