Storyteller: Emilie Ristevski
SHIBUI PAPER PLANE NO.28 | PUBLISHED BY SHIBUI & CO.
HELLO EMILIE…
where IN THE WORLD?
Australian Photographer, Storyteller and Author, Emilie Ristevski has over one million followers on Instagram, which is not surprising when you look at her breath-taking work.
Her dream-like imagery has taken her to all corners of the world, from remote villages in South America to wild landscapes in Iceland, Namibia and everywhere in-between. She has also partnered with some impressive brands including adobe and Lonely Planet.
Emilie's work inspires a deeper connection to this beautiful planet we call home.
WOW! We are totally lost in travel dreams just looking at your beautiful Instagram page. With an enviable collection of destinations, stunning imagery and over 1 million followers, can you share how @helloemille began and where you imagine your visual storytelling to take you from here?
My photography career has been a very long and intuitive journey, @helloemilie began through exploring a sense of curiosity and finding my own creative outlet. As a freelancer I pour my heart and soul into everything I do, my photographic work has become an extension of myself. It reflects how I view the world and over the years I have developed a strong focus on sharing meaningful content around sustainability and caring for our planet Earth.
Being a creative freelancer is an extremely exciting yet also terrifying journey with never really knowing what is next. I do have an endless list of personal projects I’ve been dreaming of creating and I am inspired to see how my storytelling will grow and shift over the coming years.
You travel, you take photos, you are a creative director and you've also recently launched your first book. Congratulations Emilie! With all of this creative energy to inspire, how do you think your storytelling helps influence the world? What do you love most about what you do?
My work is about finding the beauty in our world and I am always looking to find ways to conserve and capture the things that often go unseen.
With pieces of my mind and heart scattered all over the globe, I felt the urge for my images to do and say more with the hope that I can encourage a greater awareness of Earth’s beauty and ever present fragility.
It is through my storytelling that I hope to inspire and educate my audience on the importance of our natural world. I truly love being able to share the world through my lens and allowing others to see the magic hidden all around us. Knowing I have encouraged others to see the world in a new light, and to reignite their connection with nature and our planet is something really special.
hello AUSTRALIA…
You are Australian. Where did you grow up and where are you based at the moment?
Home will always be Australia, somewhere between the mountains and the ocean. I am currently based in northern NSW and grew up in several different regions along the east coast of Australia, but in someway have always been surrounded by nature. This is where my love and connection to the natural world originated.
Before we wander too far from home, do you have a favourite place in Australia that you love to take photographs of the most?
Australia is full of endless diversity, from the desert outback to the untouched beaches and tropical rainforests, the snowy mountain ranges and all the wide open spaces in-between. There is an endless list of destinations I have yet to experience and each time I explore somewhere new it feels like my wish list keeps growing. Tasmania is somewhere I keep wandering back to and has to be one of my favourite places to capture. There is such a wild feeling which surrounds the Tasmanian landscape. It’s somewhere you can escape to be in complete wilderness. A place like no other in Australia.
How did travel become a career and what has been your most enjoyable assignment?
Focusing on travel as a career was never intentional and while studying design at university I always imagined myself somehow in the design world. However, as photography was something I kept coming back to I fell more and more in love with the process behind creating imagery and the ability to tell stories.
My most enjoyable travel assignments are the ones where I have ended up exploring places I never knew existed. There are so many parts of our world I am inspired by and I am drawn to the more unknown places. My focus more recently has been to travel less, yet more meaningful.
You have a great eye for photography and design, but what came first... photography, creative direction or wandering the world?
I’ve always had an innate love of creativity. Growing up I experimented with different art forms and mediums, from painting, drawing, ceramics or anything where I could create and let my imagination become tangible.
My love for photography came when I discovered black and white film photography in a tiny dark room. I remember the moment I saw my first photograph develop in the chemicals right before my eyes, I was immediately fascinated and it opened up a whole new world for me.
I love how these different creative pursuits merge together, with each set of skills helping to balance each other out, while allowing me to create in a new way. At times I don’t think I could ever be defined as just purely a photographer or simply doing one thing as there are so many different elements which go into my work.
hello WORLD…
What was the first country you visited and what is your favourite place in the world?
New Zealand will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s one of the first places I visited on assignment and somewhere I will continue to return to. It’s hard to narrow down to my favourite places. Namibia and other remote locations throughout the Middle East have also always intrigued me and awaken my curiosity.
We live in such a beautifully diverse world and there are so many hidden landscapes and incredible cultures to discover. There is something about the unknown and realising how little we understand about this world that continues to inspire me to keep telling stories.
Is there one travel experience that was so profound it changed you as a person?
In 2019 I had the opportunity to explore Greenland, an extremely harsh and remote assignment where I had the chance to experience and photograph remote communities and environmental issues firsthand. It’s assignments like this that truly remind me of how incredibly special our planet is, yet it also brought on a complex sense of guilt which lead me to question how I am able to travel to experience places like these at all.
Travel in general has allowed me the opportunity to experience things I could never dream of. Always being in motion, I’ve learned the importance of being present, taking time to slow down and to capture the in-between moments that surround us. The connection I have formed with nature and travelling throughout our natural world has taught me to keep an open heart, to live with less and to always find gratitude in the smallest of things.
In this great void of no travel, how has the global pandemic impacted (or inspired) you? Do you know where you want to travel to next when the world opens up?
Initially the pandemic hit my industry as a big shock, a huge amount of my travel plans and upcoming projects were cancelled instantly. However it’s the slowing down and having the time to reflect which has allowed me to work on more meaningful projects.
I was also kept busy with the release of my debut internationally published photography book, Forever Wandering. It’s been a labour of love over many years and is such an overwhelming feeling to know people will be able to hold my book in their hands and be transported to the hidden wonders of our world through my photography. At a time when our approach to travel is changing, and restoring nature’s balance is more pressing than ever, Forever Wandering is a visual insight into our natural world, telling a meaningful story of how we can find a deeper connection with our universe – and ourselves.
I have no idea where I will go once the world opens up but I have an ever-growing list of places I am dreaming of photographing one day, and I am drawn to the more remote destinations. Places like Bolivia and Mongolia are high on my list. Although I’m not in a rush as I’m actually enjoying slowing down and exploring more of my homeland. I envision lots of road trips throughout the outback and to more of the lesser known destinations throughout Australia.
In a few years from now how do you think you will view this global pandemic in reflection?
2020 was a year full of uncertainties in so many ways, but in reflection I hope I can look back to see it as the year of growth.
A year we all needed to move forward and accept the need for change. Ironically, I have been feeling really grateful for the time which has allowed me to slow down from the chaos of our world. Anything that allows us to truly slow down inspires patience and the possibility to see and understand how interconnected we all are on our beautiful planet.
What is your ‘must do’ travel tip that you can’t wander without?
My must do travel tip is to always aim to travel lighter, more consciously and like a local. More recently I’ve been reassessing ‘why’ and the reasons behind our choices for travelling in the first place. Travelling in general is a privilege and it feels like before the pandemic it was more accessible than ever before, so I think we are in a time where it’s crucial to be conscious of our choices and the impact they may have. I’ve been able to work with clients who specifically focus on sustainable tourism, in the hope to inspire people to be open minded and consider choices from a new perspective.
But my biggest tip would be to always try to connect with locals in anyway you can, aim to support local businesses or smaller boutique accommodation or guides which will be able to connect you with authentic experiences and most importantly, give back to the local community. My favourite travel memories always seem to involve the incredible locals I’ve met around the world.