‘The Beauty of Ukraine’ – a visual declaration of love from award-winning Ukrainian reportage, landscape and aerial photographer Yevhen Samuchenko to his homeland

The view from above reveals the dimensions of Ukraine as one of the largest European countries. An aesthetic masterpiece of shapes and colors. Ukrainian photographer Yevhen Samuchenko, born in Odessa, has won awards around the globe for his impressive travel photography and his artful aerials – because he captures the fragile beauty of our planet in poetic images. Also that of his homeland, which has abruptly moved into the center of international attention and seems more fragile than ever. ‘The Beauty of Ukraine’ presents us extraordinary landscape photography: modern, young and reduced to the essential.

Yevhen Samuchenko photographed the Lemurian Lake from the air, whose unusual pink color makes it look like a work of land art: “The first time you see the pink salt lakes of the Kherson region in Ukraine, it feels as if you were looking at another planet. During the summer months, microscopic algae causes the water to turn pink and red. The view from above is literally out of this world, which is why I chose to use a drone to convey the atmosphere of this unusual place.”

“Inspired by Mother Nature and our universe, my photographic passion lies in aerial shots and shooting at night. Night photography attracts me with its slow pace – you can break away from the bustle of the day, and because of the long exposure, the shooting process does not interfere with the contemplation of the starry sky. Consciously observing the majestic night sky, I feel like one small particle of the universe, merging into a single whole with it.”

The book has six chapters aimed at showing the beauty of the Ukrainian natural landscape and, at the same time, demonstrates the talent of Yevhen Samuchenko. The section ‘Unique Places’ presents regions of the country such as pink salt lakes, resembling the creations of talented artists, and ravines which were carved out millions of years ago. The section ‘Patterns of Nature’ shows the symmetry, harmony and combination of colors in nature. The authors consciously included natural objects whose modern forms have been particularly shaped by human actions – for example quarries – thus emphasizing the importance of the adequate coexistence of humans and the environment, as well as the urgency of discussing and finding solutions to environmental problems.

The book was created in co-production with CP PUBLISHING (Ukraine) and teNeues, among the world’s leading publishing houses for high-quality and exclusive books in the areas of photography, architecture, design, lifestyle and art. Editor of CP PUBLISHING and author of the book, Lucia Bondar, began working on this publication even before the beginning of the full-scale act of military aggression waged by the Russian Federation. Due to escalation of the war, publication of the book was only possible with the support of teNeues.

The book was presented at the end of October by Lucia Bondar at the teNeues booth during the Frankfurt Book Fair : “The book has received broad international attention and media coverage. It is loved by both Ukrainians and international audiences 💙💛. A copy of the book was also given to the new Ukrainian Ambassador in Germany.”

192 pages, 132 color & black/white photographs, 1 map, large format 23.5 x 30 cm, texts in English, German, Ukrainian, € 50,- $ 70,- £ 39,95, teNeues.

GoSee teNeues & cp-publishing.com.ua