Coming from Dniepropestrovsk, one of the key industrial centres of the Ukraine is Galyna Andrushko – one of Fotolia’s most prominent suppliers of nature and landscape photography. We were lucky enough to get the chance to talk to Galyna to get an insight into her methods, her progress, and her success. On top of all this, we were able to identify the muse that always remains with her both offline and online.
Galyna began her interest in photography as a student, whilst participating in mountaineering and climbing activities. She said, “The beauty of unspoiled nature amazed me” and realised that she could use photography to “convey its (nature’s) magic to family and friends.” Moving from student life, into working life, Galyna found that she didn’t have the time to keep up her passion for photography and consequently quit her job and discovered the microstock industry in 2006. Passionate about photography, Galyna stated that she was very happy “When I found out I could share my images with the whole world.” She also added that she was happier still when she realised she could make some money.
With a self-described style of “Natural reportage,” we enquired into the inspiration driving Galyna’s work. She claims that no matter the subject, she is driven by the same goal – to give the subject, whether “a fragile dewdrop on a dandelion” or “a leopard in the African bush,” a “second life in the form of a beautiful picture for everyone to see.” It was interesting to discover how Galyna acted upon this inspiration – she certainly has some original methods:
- Galyna likes to get on an almost telepathic level with some of her animal photography. She told us that her “Mood is transferred” to the “Wild models” and that she tells them in a whisper “How beautiful they are.” This technique apparently bears fruit and she often finds her animal subjects posing for photos at the perfect angles.
- Landscape photography makes up a significant portion of her work. Galyna puts the success of her landscape photography down to determination to go the extra mile. Unlimited, by a lack of “Hotels” and “Restaurants,” Galyna will drive further, and go deeper until she can find the perfect spot with “no fences, wires, or sightseers.”
- The set used by Galyna is fairly modest. This is down to the “wandering” style of her photographer sessions – she claims an important key to her success is being ready, “Whatever the circumstances, rain or frost,” to pull out any one of her Canon products, and capture the moment.
Following trends surrounding the four seasons, and generally nature, Galyna has had marked success selling to travel agencies, outdoor equipment businesses, and other companies. When taking photos for the Fotolia website, she always has this target audience in mind – this is arguably one of the reasons for her commercial success with Fotolia.
Further advice Galyna would give to budding microstock photographers would include constant self-analysing of your portfolio. This way, she says you are able to identify the aesthetic properties of your best selling photos – as a result, you can recreate these characteristics in future photography. In addition to this, she suggests “Mixing current trends with your own style,” and “Taking ultimate responsibility for the success or failure of your pictures.”
If she had to choose her favourite images from her collection, Galyna would choose this image which inspired her love of the desert as a subject and also, of course, this photo of her muse (both offline and online).
A pleasure to talk to and to do business with, Galyna sets a strong example of how to make commercially successful, and intrinsically appealing nature and landscape photography. See more of her work here.
Written by Sam Bradpiece