Russia - August 2021

Kamchatka

Botanical Expedition

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Group of people standing in front of a large white truck with a small living area, outdoors on a cloudy day.
A man with a cap looking out a rainy window with condensation, touching the glass.
A man wearing a green and white shirt with camouflage pants standing next to a large, white truck in an outdoor parking lot with mountains in the background.
A group of people gathered around an old white truck outdoors in a grassy field, with green hills and cloudy sky in the background.
Group of hikers loading gear into a truck on a grassy hillside.
A group of hikers trekking through a grassy, hilly landscape with mountains in the distance under a cloudy sky.
A man with glasses and a beard, dressed in outdoor clothing, carrying a large backpack, standing in a green forest with cloudy sky in the background.
A man with a backpack standing in a grassy field full of wildflowers, with green trees and mountains in the background under a cloudy sky.
Two hikers standing in a grassy field under cloudy skies, with a makeshift teepee structure made of crossed branches in the foreground.
A person's hand shows a fresh bear paw print in the dirt on the ground surrounded by green grass and small plants.
Two bears, a smaller bear in the foreground and a larger bear in the background, are standing in a lush, green forest surrounded by trees and bushes.
A scenic view of a lake surrounded by green hills and mountains under a cloudy sky.
A green grassy field with two tents, one black and one beige, near a body of water. In the background, cloudy skies with a rainbow arching across the sky.
A person hiking on a grassy trail in a mountainous landscape, carrying a large backpack with a rolled-up sleeping pad, surrounded by green vegetation and purple flowers.

Following a Botanist into the Wild.

A man (Vladimir Gury) with glasses wearing a green jacket and brown pants kneels in a grassy field, holding a small electronic device in his hand.

In August 2021, I joined a small team on a research expedition through Russia’s Bystrinsky Nature Park. Our destination: remote alpine zones where Vladimir Bury, a botanist from Belarus, hoped to document rare high-altitude plant species.

For over a week, we followed him across volcanic ridgelines, river valleys, and fog-covered passes—85 kilometers on foot, carrying up to 30 kilos each. It was wild, physical, and unpredictable.

My role was to photograph the journey: the science, the challenges, and the quiet moments in between.

Expedition Lead: Vladimir Bury
Expedition Organization & Field Guides: Martin Kaiser & Lea Meier

Nighttime scene of a campsite with tents pitched on snow-covered ground in a mountainous landscape, with two people standing near the tents as the sky darkens.
Snow-covered volcanic mountain in the distance with dark rocky terrain in the foreground and cloudy sky above.
Damaged wooden cabin with leaning walls and roof, surrounded by camping tents on a grassy field with mountain range in the background, under a cloudy sky.
A person's hand with a ring is placed on top of a topographic map with green and white land features, and red and black lines, on a dark surface.
Group of hikers trekking through a rugged, grassy landscape with rocks and mountains in the background.
Group of eleven hikers with backpacks and outdoor gear standing on grass in front of green hills and snow-capped mountain.
A person (JP. Baldus) dressed in outdoor gear, holding a camera, standing on grassy terrain near a body of water with hills in the background.

The far east, pure Kamchatka salmon, Soviet echoes, lots of vodka and seeing bears in the wild—this one had its own kind of magic.

A black-and-white photo of a smiling man (JP. Baldus) wearing a baseball cap and a jacket with a mountain in the background.

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KAMCHATKA - RUSSIA.