We spoke with Luka Vunduk, a world-renowned Slovenian landscape photographer, Canon Ambassador, and multiple recipient of the most prestigious international photography awards.
How did your love for nature and photography begin?
My parents, especially my grandfather, were really in love with the mountains and nature. Every weekend, I would go exploring with my grandfather. As a child, I was often in nature. We have a really nice park in Ljubljana, and I would go there to photograph squirrels, birds, and other animals. That’s where it all started. I’m a very creative person, so photography is always with me.
What does nature mean to you?
I’m really in love with nature. It’s important for me to use all of my senses when photographing nature. When I look at my photos, I can almost smell the place. I remember everything. For every photographer, it is important that photography is not just based on nature, but on the emotions it stirs within us. I’ve always been a bit of a loner and, although I like people, I often withdraw into solitude. I look for peace and balance in music, but even more so in nature.
How did you become a professional photographer?
There are no schools for photography in Slovenia, so if you want to study photography, you have to travel to another country. After school, I set up my own design studio and started working with respected photographers in Slovenia to build up my portfolio. My wish, even as a child, was to go to the USA as an adventurer and visit the truly epic national parks. You often first think of the Grand Canyon, but there are so many more hidden and exceptional corners – Zion National Park, Capitol Reef, Mammoth Lakes. The parks are truly enormous, so you can find corners that no one has photographed yet, and that is a truly special feeling.
You mentioned that one photograph of the Dolomites took you 8 years. Tell us more.
Alpe di Siusi in Italy is about a 3-hour drive from my home. I still don’t know what draws me there, but I’ve been there nine times so far. This mountain seems to have cast a spell on me. During my last visit, when I took a group of photographers there as part of a workshop, we were met with constant fog and rain day after day. We waited and waited, and on the last day of the expedition, as our driver from the nature park urged us to stop taking photos and leave, I heard a gentle whistling of the wind and begged the driver to give us another 10 minutes. In just a few short minutes, the fog in front of the mountain cleared just enough to give us a magnificent scene – we only had a few seconds to capture it forever. The photo, with the magically intertwining fog, looking as if nature just exhaled, is the love of my photography life.
What is the key to success in landscape photography?
You need to have a lot of patience when you’re working with photography. You’re always waiting for something – the right time, the right season, the right weather, the right light. It’s also important as a landscape photographer to be outdoors as much as possible. But you don’t have to be travelling the world. I believe you can find something beautiful in your own country, in your backyard. If there is really good weather, I don’t like it. It’s nice, but I want to have more colours. I’m looking for more drama. About 90% of my photos were taken before or after a storm because at that time, the weather is changing rapidly and there are some amazing colours. It’s more vivid, it’s more extreme, so that’s what I’m looking for.
What does being a Canon Ambassador mean to you?
To be recognised on this global scale is something I am truly proud of.
What advice would you give to beginners in photography?
If you’re a photographer, you must be in love with photography. You need to have a lot of patience. It’s also very important to have your own style.
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About Luka Vunduk:
Luka Vunduk is an internationally awarded Slovenian landscape photographer and Canon Ambassador. His accolades include Platinum Awards at the London Photography Awards (2023, 2024, 2025), Platinum and Gold Awards at the European Photography Awards, Gold Award at the New York International Photography Awards, Gold Award at the Tokyo International Photo Awards, and ranking among the World’s Top 10 Landscape Photographers at One Eyeland (2020, 2021).
More: lukavunduk.com