Travel
Paul Zizka
Where the Land Meets the Sea and History: ...

Tucked at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Cyprus is an island steeped in myth, history, and natural beauty. Known as the legendary birthplace of Aphrodite, it has been shaped by millennia of conquest and cultures. Cyprus today is clearly a hotspot for real estate investment, with luxury resorts and seaside villas drawing international buyers. But I was there with my family to hike and explore. What impressed us most was the island’s raw beauty, its varied landscapes and dramatic coastline.

Where the Land Meets the Sea and History: Images from Cyprus
News
Paul Zizka
A New Approach to Social Media

As we’ve all discovered, especially in recent years, social media has transformed into something that goes well beyond simply sharing. The algorithms have hard-wired us to repackage wilderness experiences for consumption. Video became the best tool in our kit. We have been taught that to survive as a photographer, we must be “content creators,” not only capturing the scene but also what’s happening behind the scenes. I have enjoyed many parts of that process, but I don’t like the motivations behind it — reducing the creative journey to online metrics and marketability taints the process and the wilderness experience, both for the artist and the audience.

A New Approach to Social Media
Travel, Landscapes
Paul Zizka
Historic Cities and Stunning Landscapes of ...

A photo portrait from a family trip through Romania and Bulgaria. Each country was distinctly different from the other due to different influences in their histories and modern-day trajectories. In Romania, we largely spent our time in the gorgeous Transylvania region with its Saxon-influenced architecture, folklore (you might be familiar with Dracula), and the mountainous countryside that linked our journey from town to town. In Bulgaria, we journeyed cross-country to visit more diverse parts of the country, including the mind-boggling rock formations of Belogradchick, the Medieval city of Veliko Tarnovo, the seaside resort town of Sozopol and the Madara national historical-archeological reserve.

Historic Cities and Stunning Landscapes of Romania and Bulgaria
Canadian Rockies, Portrait
Paul Zizka
People of Passion

Here in our mountain landscapes, there exist individuals whose passion is as big as the peaks that cradle them. These intrepid souls are artisans of altitude; their canvas is the very terrain that challenges them. Here are just a few of my favourite images from over the years.

People of Passion
Canadian Rockies, Cryophilia, Landscapes, News, Travel
Paul Zizka
Documenting Vanishing Ice: Q+A with Paul Zizka

I’ve been photographing ice since the very early stages of my career. Whether glaciers, ice caves, frozen lakes, or mountaintops, I would continuously find myself drawn to cold landscapes in search of ice in its many forms, textures, and hues. Icescapes are among the most dynamic, visually exciting, and rewarding places a photographer can document. But as I spent more time shooting ice, it became apparent that I was capturing something that is vanishing.

Documenting Vanishing Ice: Q+A with Paul Zizka

travel

Where the Land Meets the Sea and History: Images from Cyprus

Where the Land Meets the Sea and History: Images from Cyprus

Tucked at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Cyprus is an island steeped in myth, history, and natural beauty. Known as the legendary birthplace of Aphrodite, it has been shaped by millennia of conquest and cultures. Cyprus today is clearly a hotspot for real estate investment, with luxury resorts and seaside villas drawing international buyers. But I was there with my family to hike and explore. What impressed us most was the island’s raw beauty, its varied landscapes and dramatic coastline.

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Documenting the Sundhnúkagígar Eruption in Iceland

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Documenting the Sundhnúkagígar Eruption in Iceland

Iceland has long captivated me with its dramatic landscapes shaped by volcanic activity. Even before I became a photographer, I was enthralled by this island. At the conclusion of my undergrad in Earth and Ocean Sciences, I walked across Iceland and became familiar with its rugged terrain. Since then, I have returned several times, including this month when the Sundhnúkagígar eruption occurred.

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Land of the Eternal Blue Sky: 5 Favourite Images From Mongolia

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Land of the Eternal Blue Sky: 5 Favourite Images From Mongolia

It seems impossible to take a bad photo in Mongolia. With towering sand dunes that glow during magic hour, vast landscapes that seem to stretch on for eternity, and welcoming people who share their traditional way of life and—a photographer will find endless possibilities. It’s no wonder that OFFBEAT returned to the “Land of the Eternal Blue Sky” this June to host two photography workshops: The Gobi Desert and The Wild West.

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Greenland Grandeur: Ice, Water and Northern Lights

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Greenland Grandeur: Ice, Water and Northern Lights

Earlier this year, I was fortunate to spend an entire month in Greenland, a place that feels like my second home. This trip, which marked my 6th visit to the island country known as Kalaallit Nunaat in Greenlandic and Grønland in Danish, involved leading two OFFBEAT photography workshops in familiar locations and working on a tourism photography project at a destination that was new to me. Despite revisiting several places, natural wonders such as ice, water, and northern lights made each experience unique.

A Road Trip through the Western Balkans and Croatia

A Road Trip through the Western Balkans and Croatia

Rust-red roofs and sand-coloured buildings set again the azure blue of the Adriatic Seas. Quaint and historic towns that feel like a storybook in real life. Wild skies and crashing waves that keep a photographer on his toes. This, in a nutshell, was our family trip through the Western Balkans.

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Ecuador: Capturing Vanishing Ice on the Equator

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Ecuador: Capturing Vanishing Ice on the Equator

On a mission to document vanishing ice across the globe, I found myself in Ecuador back in February — a South American nation named for its position on the Equator. You may wonder why I’m chasing ice on the Equator, but Ecuador is home to Andean peaks towering up to 6,310 metres. It turns out that the country’s stratovolcanoes are home to a number of receding glaciers. 

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To the Ends of the Earth: An Evening with Paul Zizka

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To the Ends of the Earth: An Evening with Paul Zizka

Take a journey to remote landscapes around the world, from the icebergs of Antarctica to the crystal waters of Polynesia, the eerie deserts of Mongolia to forgotten corners of the Canadian Rockies. Join us for an evening of storytelling and photography with award-winning photographer, Paul Zizka.

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Behind the Image: Audience of One

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Behind the Image: Audience of One

This time around, play time meant finding ourselves camping on the Greenland ice sheet for three nights, about 50 kilometres away from the closest settlement, Kangerlussuaq. Our main purpose over those few days was to document supraglacial lakes, these surreal, turquoise bodies of water that have proliferated along the edge of the ice cap recently.