Wondering how you can translate your phone repair skills to shooting amazing stock photography? Hailing from Izhevsk, Russia, Dudarev Mikhail, a.k.a mihtiander, is now doing just that! With his captivating sports and travel-themed images, Dudarev is now making waves around the globe.
Dudarev’s stock photography stands out from the rest as it does not simply feature a standard indoor shot of a subject. Instead, his pursuit of adventure leads to an abundance of ‘in the moment’ shots. This gives off a Nat Geo-like feel to his photography. His thirst for discovery and heading into the unknown also sees him constantly exploring new locations. This explains why the outdoor theme is highly evident in his image series.
Therefore, it is unsurprising to see extreme sports such as mountain biking and hiking making up the bulk of his photography. Other sports such as kayaking, scuba diving, and fishing are also constantly featured in his image library.
Dudarev Mikhail’s Road To Freelance Photography
This one-time electrical engineer stumbled into the creative stock industry due to a series of events that inspired him to fund his photography journey. When he was still a student, Dudarev traveled to the Middle East and on his way, he was mugged. Having lost his trusted camera, he returned home and purchased another one.
At the same time, Dudarev also received a book which touched on the money-making aspect of microstock while hitchhiking during his travels. Coupled with some online Photoshop lessons, and he never looked back.
Dudarev’s creative process relies heavily on spontaneity. “Moving to locations, I keep in mind basic aims for photo sessions, but often everything happens spontaneously. Almost all of my best selling photographs were shot in this style”. — Dudarev Mikhail
His everlasting love for the outdoors is highly evident in his stylistic collection of images. Be it underwater shots or scenes up high in the mountains, Dudarev always captures what piques his keen eye.
“I shoot what I like, regardless of sales. My favorite theme is sports such as free diving, climbing, hiking and fishing. I like to shoot funny pictures. If the reaction of viewer is “This is stupid”, “It’s crazy”, “How did they do it?” – I reached my goal.” — Dudarev Mikhail
Dudarev also gives an insight into his favorite photograph. “My wife and I were living in South East Asia and went on a short trip on an island in Andaman sea. We slept in the hammocks right over the sea surface, with a starry sky above. We ate pineapples and shot coral reefs and fish underwater, and enjoyed the tropical clear sea alone. I dove to a bottom (about 7 meters), and created a ring bubble. There was no underwater current at this time and this single bubble went up 2 meters to the surface.” — Dudarev Mikhail
He believes the best way to create amazing content lies in his active lifestyle. “It is very pleasant on a vacation, in a new city, to wake up at 9:30 and drink a cappuccino. Don’t be lazy. Grab your camera, explore new spots and catch the early morning light with a vivid sky! Don’t be lazy – climb the hill! There is another nice view through a green leaves!” — Dudarev Mikhail
To check out more of his beautiful work, visit his 123RF portfolio at mihtiander.
If you enjoyed this, you might want to explore Jacob Lund’s expressive photography in our interview or feast your eyes on the incredible illustrations by Tithi Luadthong.