From the Shut Your Aperture archive (2014): the contributor’s words and circumstances below belong to that publication period. This was originally labeled a sponsored feature.

Self-Portraits in Landscapes by Paul Zizka

Self Portraits by Paul Zizka-Sponsored Feature

I am usually alone when I shoot landscapes, so when I want to experiment with a person in my images I am left with no option but to enter the frame myself. Since I am both the model and the photographer, these shots often require many takes and a lot of running back and forth, into frigid water and out again in order to nail the composition and ensure a satisfactory outcome. These photos are taken during long nights out chasing the aurora borealis, on trips abroad to places like New Zealand and French Polynesia, and just minutes away from my home in Banff. I have an incredible amount to work with just a few kilometres from town.

The impact of these self-portraits is two-fold. Placing a person in the shot gives the reader an emotional element they can relate to – the human experience in nature. But it also adds the story of the photographer himself, and how he is relating to his subject, instead of simply standing behind the lens and out of the picture. As a landscape photographer I find the inclusion of the human element heightens the sense awe and wonder evoked by the image. Our world is so beautiful, especially in its most natural form. My hope is that these images inspire people to want to preserve the natural places left on this planet for the generations to come.”

The original 2014 feature introduced Paul Zizka as a Banff-based mountain and adventure photographer. This is an archival description, not a current location or client claim.

Photographer under a starry sky beside a lakeSave

Figure beneath northern lights near dark mountainsSave

Figure beside a lake beneath a moonlit ridgeSave

Lone figure on a beach under starsSave

Figure standing in shallow tropical waterSave

Figure beside an alpine lake and mountainsSave

Figure standing in a lake at duskSave

Self-portrait in water beneath northern lightsSave

Figure beside a waterfall at nightSave

Figure framed by a sea caveSave

Long-exposure self-portrait beneath the Milky WaySave

Figure in a lake beneath a snow-covered mountainSave

Figure beneath northern lights beside waterSave

See Paul Zizka’s photography site. Historical social links were removed.