Filip Hrebenda

Slovakia

Photo: Filip Hrebenda

Filip is a landscape photographer with a passion for nature and high mountains. He lives in Slovakia. Since photography became his profession and he became a member of the Association of Professional Photographers of Slovakia (APFSR), he has won several international awards and achievements, among which for example the title "Nature Photographer of the year 2021", which he won in one year in three of the four places where this award is given annually - in Budapest, Tokyo and Moscow.

A year later, one of his night photographs managed to win first prize in the prestigious Astronomy Photographer of the year awards in London, resulting in his work being exhibited at the British National Museum. In early 2023, Filip was awarded the "Golden Camera" award by the Federation of European Photographers (FEP) for his outstanding work in the field of landscape photography. Filip's work is regularly published in magazines and media such as BBC, The Guardian, DailyMail, WashingtonPost, National Geographic etc. Filip passes on his knowledge to other photographers in workshops and courses he has been running since 2018.

Q&A

How did you start with photo/video?
My serious photography journey started in 2016. I have loved mountains and nature ever since I was a child. That's why I spent a lot of time in the high mountains. It was my relationship with the wild landscapes and the mountains that led me to landscape photography.

How would you describe your style?
My work is characterized by the sensitive use of colors, light and lines that nature includes. With these aspects that I'm trying to transfer the mood and emotions of shooted locations locations to the viewer.

What inspires you?
My biggest inspiration is nature and its forms. I'm also inspired by the work of other artists. For example, when I was learning to capture light in the landscape, the artworks by well known painter Albert Bierstadt helped me. However, I also like to follow the work of contemporary landscape photographers.

What is your dream shoot or project?
I like to discover places and perspectives that have not yet been overphotographed. Therefore, my dream project is to discover such locations in Patagonia outside the mostly visited spots.

What is your best advice to others that want to develop as photographers?
My advice is find yourself. Only when you find a genre that really fills you, you'll be able to create your own distinctive style that will differentiate your work.

What is in your bag?

What is the most important in your bag?
A Sony A7RIII camera with two lenses, which I use most often: Sony 16-35 f/2.8 GM and Sony 100-400 GM. In addition, I always carry a good quality Sirui R3213x tripod with a Sirui K30II head. This combination has survived the harshest conditions with me. I also take a set of NiSi filters with me with the V7 system. The most commonly used filters are: polarizer, ND8, ND16, ND32, ND64 and ND1000. The basic equipment of course also includes spare batteries, SD cards and a cleaning kit. I carry all of this in my f-stop Tilopa 50L backpack.