ITAI MONNICKENDAM
Under Nature’s Veil
Location: Cordillera Huayhuash Mountain Range, North Andes, Peru
Immersing in nature is one of my favorite feelings. Especially when it all comes together, a great location, good weather and amazing colors of an exhilarating golden hour. But this love of the wilderness isn’t always a dream come true. Nature doesn’t always cooperate and quite a lot plays it hard to get, literally. Experiencing it and even more – photographing it, sometimes require walking hundreds of miles, with many pounds of equipment in my backpack. This combination of nature and photography is very often frustrating due to the uncompromising elements. In this tough and challenging exploration of the Northern Peruvian Andes, I had to change my mindset. Conditions were harsh, rain, snow and sleet almost every day with only short breaks from the constant cloud hovering above us. I hoped for some good golden light each day, but it never appeared. Even with the disappointments the experience was thrilling and marvelous, a feeling I wanted to share and convey in this series. Emphasizing even more on texture and contrast, rather than color and simple tones in the field I hoped these elements would work well in B&W and set the tone and mood of my experience in this eye opening adventure.
“I’m Interested in taking pictures almost as far as I can remember, it’s only in the last couple of years that it turned into a specialty of landscape photography. Since then I’ve been fortunate to meet my wife and together we travel and document amazing locations such as Patagonia, Central Asia, the Balkans and the US. Our photography style is complementary and together we’re able to bring a unique perspective of the local culture and the amazing landscapes wherever we go. It’s a long journey ahead and I look forward to every single moment. ”
– Itai Monnickendam
Read the full article on Lens Magazine #15 The Big Black&White Issue
