Photo Credit: James Ouellette
Don Komarechka is a nature, macro and landscape photographer located in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. From auroras to pollen, insects to infrared, much of Don’s photographic adventures reveal a deeper understanding of how the universe works. Exploring the world that we cannot see with our own eyes has been a common thread in Don’s career as a professional photographer.
Don teaches workshops in the areas of nature and macro photography, as well as photographic editing and creative compositions. “Photography is about sharing your unique view of the world with others – without using words. Helping others accomplish the same goal is extremely rewarding. I like to see the world through my camera in ways I normally cannot see with my own eyes. Seeing the world beyond vision is a gift that photography gives me.”
Don’s first mass-produced book, Sky Crystals: Unraveling the Mysteries of Snowflakes shows his attention to detail and desire to understand the world around him. He has been featured in an episode of The Nature of Things with David Suzuki. A 2017 limited-edition one ounce pure silver $20 coin produced by the Royal Canadian Mint features one of Don’s snowflake images. His work with snowflakes will also be featured in Canadian Science and Technology Museum in fall 2017.
Don worked with BBC to create the title footage for the documentary series “Forces of Nature”. Credited as a macro photographer in the Discovery documentary “Mosquito”, his ultraviolet fluorescence imagery and complex focus stacking was used extensively in the film. Contributions have also been made to the upcoming National Geographic series “One Strange Rock”.
Always science-minded but never formally trained, Don uses photography as a way to explore and understand the world around him. Photographing something unusual or unknown is the perfect excuse to learn something new. Don’s work often pushes up against the technical limitations of modern camera equipment and the physical limitations of light itself.
“Pushing the limits of light while still producing visually stunning images is my passion. If someone is captivated enough to re-evaluate the world around them, I’ve done my job.”
Watch this short behind-the-scenes video of Don Komarechka discussing the ultraviolet photographic techniques he used for the Discovery documentary “Mosquito”:
