Bison, deer, foxes, and hares bathe, hunt, and play in his photos, living their wild lives. However, it wasn’t these animals that brought Viacheslav Mishchenko global recognition, but snails. A photograph of a snail earned him awards in two categories at the prestigious International Photography Awards in 2014, and a book featuring his snail photography was published in Japan. Japanese publishers hailed him as a brilliant Ukrainian photographer.

Viacheslav Mishchenko lives in Berdychiv, Ukraine. By day, he is a dental technician at a military hospital. Often, on the same day, he is also a wildlife photographer.

Coming home from the hospital, slightly breathless and busy, Viacheslav eagerly tells us about his passion — photography.

Immersion in the Microcosm: How Mushroom Picking Can Change a Life

— Where was your latest photoshoot?

— Yesterday, I went to the forest with my grandchildren. We found some mushrooms — honey fungus and oyster mushrooms. Oyster mushrooms are unusual, and I wanted to photograph them… and I found some! I love foraging. My father got me “hooked” on it. He was an avid mushroom picker who made me a small basket and took me along to gather mushrooms.

That’s what got me into macro photography. While mushroom-picking with my father, I’d see bugs, spiders, and snails moving about… It was so interesting for me as a child! This love for the micro-world has stayed with me ever since.

My overall love for nature also came from my father. He was a mathematician by training, but in Berdychiv, he took courses and began teaching drawing, crafts, and drafting at school. He also worked as a freelance school photographer, so I witnessed the magic of photography as a child. He bought me my first small camera, a Smena, when I was ten years old — that’s when my long journey in photography began.

Then came the era of digital photography, but I didn’t have a camera. Instead, I painted. It was a joy for me! I became the head of the Vernisazh Union of Independent Artists and Folk Craftsmen and led it for 11 years (2002–2013).

One day, a friend sent me a camera — a Fujifilm — simply as a gift. That’s when it all clicked! I began taking a lot of photos, especially macro shots. I’d go to the forest and spend hours photographing.

On Land

— How do you find wild animals to photograph?

— Whether I’m photographing a deer or a snail, I first study the area where the animal is likely to be.

Most of the time, I set up A blind is a shelter used by hunters or nature photographers. blinds made of branches or camouflage netting. Sometimes, I pitch a tent and cover it with something. Occasionally, I shoot from my car or hide in a cornfield.

For example, let me tell you how I tracked black storks. I photographed them in Bystryk, a village near Berdychiv. It’s very convenient for me to go there because I live on the edge of the city. I brew some coffee, get in the car, and by the time I reach the location, I’ve finished my coffee. There are many lakes here, each home to its own birds. Over the past 15 years, I’ve come to know their nests and feeding spots.

Black storks are very rare. They build their nests far from people. Before migrating, they feed at lakes in Bystryk to gain some strength. In the summer, I saw them in the fields. I knew they’d stay for 10–12 days before leaving, but I couldn’t find the lake where they were feeding.

Storks like to visit lakes at dawn and sunset, and then, they can spend the rest of the day in the fields. I drove around the lakes for several days until I finally found them.

One evening, I prepared a spot where I could lie down. I brought a mat and camouflage netting. It’s the kind our soldiers use to cover tanks. I added a few branches on top so I could see the birds, but they couldn’t see me. Even the slightest movement makes them flee. If they spot you, one screeches, and they’re gone.

The next morning, I left at 5 a.m., parked my car far away so they wouldn’t hear it, and made my way to the blind. Ideally, you arrive before dawn, while it’s still dark. I waited in the forest, wondering—will they come, or won’t they?

— Have you encountered any other rare animals besides storks?

— There’s the largest butterfly in Europe — the great peacock moth (Saturnia pyri). Its wingspan is 15 centimeters. I’ve photographed it. There have also been bison. I made a special trip to Brody in the Lviv region to photograph them. Next year, I’m planning to head to the Belarusian border to photograph capercaillie, which are also rare.

— How did you photograph the fox cubs?

— It was early May. I saw the vixen once, then a second time… Sometimes she’d be carrying fish, other times she had a mouthful of mice. If she’s carrying food, it means she has cubs. So I started looking for the den. You need sandy soil and a kind of slope. And I found it! She had made her den so well that you wouldn’t notice it unless you were looking carefully. But it was very close to the village… Nearby, there was a cornfield, which is a perfect hiding spot for a fox. Corn is good for hunting birds that land there. 

I arrived when she wasn’t around and spotted the cubs first. They were curious about me and started coming out of the den. If the vixen hadn’t returned, they would have approached me and cuddled up to me.

But she caught my scent, yelped, and the cubs hid in the den! They didn’t come out again until she returned and yelped once more. I spent three hours sitting there with my camera, but it was all in vain.

However, I outsmarted her. She went out hunting, and I started bringing chicken wings to the den. The cubs would come out just a little, and I photographed them.

On the Water and in the Water

— Do you often have to go into the water to take photos?

— Yes, because many birds live on the water. There’s the great crested grebe — a very photogenic bird. Their courtship rituals are fascinating. Then there are bee-eaters and kingfishers, which are so colorful! Just this November, I saw a kingfisher at a pond, even though it was cold, and they usually aren’t around by then. There are also swans here — two pairs with their young. They fight for dominance on the lake: the stronger one chases off the weaker. There’s also the night heron, or kwak, named after its call: “Kwak! Kwak!” I’ve photographed water voles, muskrats, ducks, coots, and herons — both red, white, and gray.

— I heard you have a heron friend?

— Yes, I’ve been photographing her for many years. She lets me get very close. I’ve named her Marfa.

Marfa always arrives at the same spot first, as if to say, “This is mine, and I’m not letting anyone else in!” If I get too close, Marfa scolds me too. One eye keeps an eye on the fish, the other watches me. She sets a certain boundary, and if you cross it, she flies off, returns, and just yells at you. Then you take two or three steps back and sit in a blind, chest-deep in water.

— Isn’t it cold and wet?

— That’s what waders are for! I put on my waders, get in up to my chest, and move through the water. Above me, I have a little shelter shaped like an upside-down “U.” I made myself out of foam, plywood, and aluminum poles from an old cot. On top, there’s a canvas cover. Birds are afraid of humans, but if something non-threatening moves through the water, they’re wary at first, but they get used to it.

It’s morning, it’s foggy, and you’re in your waders, chest-deep in water, waiting for about an hour for them to arrive. The camera is mounted on a tripod. You are holding it like a machine gun.

Once, I fell in. I was photographing frogs in Polovetske, a village in the Zhytomyr region. It was their mating season, and I wanted to get as close to the water as possible to make the shots more impressive. Well, I fell into the water! Thankfully, my equipment wasn’t damaged, but I got soaked. I even got a funny photo out of it, which I titled A Male Dilemma: the frogs are mating, and the male is watching a mosquito with one eye. You can almost see him thinking, “Should I keep mating or grab a snack?”

Armed with Knowledge and Lenses

— What do you need to carry when you go on a trip?

— A bunch of lenses, tripods. You can’t do without them; they’re your tools.

— Have you ever weighed all of that?

— I don’t want to scare myself! I have three standard lenses: one with a long focal length, a macro lens, and a landscape lens. I don’t use ghillie suits much. I bring a mat, sometimes a cushion for the camera. When I prepare a blind, I want it to be comfortable because you might need to sit there for 3–4 hours. Birds can fly off and come back, and you have to wait. When I was photographing black storks, a car passed by — they flew away but returned later. Sometimes they get scared of me too. They got close to me. A stork came within six meters of me. It was too close to fit in my lens. The moment I moved, all the storks took off.

— Are there any animals that seem to want to be photographed?

— There aren’t. If you’re photographing a snail, it doesn’t care where it’s crawling. Though snails also have character. In good weather, they sleep, in damp weather, they crawl — early in the morning or late in the evening when the dew is heavy. But even then, it’s not always guaranteed you’ll catch them out.

— How do you entice a snail to pose?

— That’s a secret. I share those nuances during workshops. These are discoveries I’ve made through work, dreams, and curiosity.

— Have you learned anything about animals that you didn’t know before?

— Everything was new to me. I’ve photographed bugs whose names I didn’t even know at first.

I’m not a biologist! I didn’t know all the birds either. But when you photograph something for the first time, you get curious about what it is.

Whether it’s a ladybug or a praying mantis, it’s good to read up on them. It helps with photography. The same goes for mammals — deer, foxes.

— Do you have favorite locations?

— Over 15 years, I’ve explored various places. I know where to go for dragonflies, snails, grebes, or where a heron is waiting for me. It makes photographing easier.

Last fall, I went to Dzembronya. I wanted to photograph a bird that lives only by mountain rivers (the white-throated dipper, Cinclus cinclus). I took plenty of shots, but not the ones I wanted. You walk along the mountain river searching… but it’s fruitless. That’s what happens when the area is unfamiliar.

— What makes a photo stand out?

— The first thing that draws attention to a photo is the story. When there’s some action happening. It’s not just a snail — it’s a snail reaching for a droplet of water, or with a spiderweb in the background, or with an insect or a frog. And if the shot also has beautiful light and a captivating color palette, then you get a masterpiece.

— Do you follow any principles when photographing wild animals?

— The main thing is not to harm or disturb the animals. Nature is so fragile, it needs to be protected.

I’m against any kind of hunting. These animals — they’re miracles created by nature.

By the way, hunting is banned during martial law. And there are more wild animals now! I’ve never seen so many as I do now. In Bystryk, I’ve seen roe deer, even though there’s no large forest there. But I think that once the war ends, they’ll all be killed.

— Have you encountered poachers?

— It happened in Brody. We saw a car in the forest. I took a picture of the license plate and gave it to the forester. They investigated it, but I don’t know the final result.

Life Full of Adventures

— What are the most interesting moments you’ve witnessed?

— So many! This year, I captured a fox trying to hunt a hare. That area was also frequented by marsh harriers, particularly young birds. The harriers hunt and then land in the fields to eat. But foxes can smell food from half a kilometer away, so this one liked to drive the harriers off and take their meal.

A marsh harrier, a fox, and a hare — all in one photo. It’s incredibly rare for everything to align like that: the weather, the presence of these birds and animals in the same spot, and me being there! In 15 years, it’s the first time I’ve gotten such lucky shots.

There are plenty of failures too. My dream is to photograph a capercaillie and a crane. I’ve already made two trips near the Belarusian border to capture the capercaillie but haven’t succeeded yet. In spring, during their mating season, I traveled over 200 kilometers, spent two days there, and came back empty-handed.

— Don’t you feel like saying, “Forget it!” and giving up?

— Haha, that’s what makes it fun. It’s wonderful to have a dream.

I have so many photos of the white heron Marfa — a million of them! Yet every time she comes, I dream of capturing a shot I haven’t taken before. The fog, the splash of her wings…

— Which animal was the hardest to photograph?

— Deer in June in Bilokorovychi (Korosten District, Zhytomyr region). That shoot was tough. The area is swampy, and there were so many horseflies and mosquitoes, and they were huge! I thought they’d eat me alive. I brought repellent, but you can’t use too much because deer can smell it from afar. And if the wind blows their way… So you just lie there in the swamp, not moving.

Last spring, I had a similar experience photographing buzzards. There were lots of mosquitoes, and it was very hot. Inside the tent, I was sweating buckets!!!

Then the bird comes closer — five or ten meters away. Mosquitoes are sitting on your fingers, on your nose. But you can’t move. You just endure for the sake of a successful shot! Afterwards, you’re so bitten up it’s hard to look at yourself in the mirror.

— Do your colleagues and patients at the hospital know you’re a photographer?

— Most people at the hospital know. Although, earlier, I was better known abroad than in Ukraine.

In 2014, my photo of a snail won the International Photography Awards in the “Wildlife” and “Discovery of the Year” categories. That same year, a book featuring my snail photos was published in Japan. Japanese author Hisui Kotaro wrote Haiku is a genre of Japanese poetry.haiku to accompany each of my images.

“This warm photo book reminds those of us who rush and bustle daily of the importance of pausing for a moment and feeling gratitude for every day,” reads the book’s description.

In 2015, I attended the International Nature Festival in Namur, Belgium. Filmmakers, amateur naturalists, foresters, and photographers from various countries gather there. That year, King Philippe of Belgium also attended the festival!

— Don’t people ask, “How can you be both a dental technician and an artist?”

— They say, “How do you find the time? Here you are photographing animals and insects, and here you’re off to work.” Almost every day, I leave at 5 a.m. to catch the sunrise. By 7 a.m., I’m back home, because at 7:45 I head to the hospital.

I really dig it! When the sun rises, everything awakens, birds sing… Once, a herd was passing by… Mornings are great. I’ve been living this way for many years.

— Do you still paint?

— Painting is in another life now. But I’ll return to it because I’ve taken so many beautiful landscape photos of the Zhytomyr region, Dzembronya. It’s the highest-altitude village! There’s an enchanting forest there. I visited it in the fog — it was magical! I’m setting aside photos that I want to turn into paintings. There are so many amazing places, and I want to immortalize them on canvas.

There’s a persistent stereotype that swamps are nothing but rotting, darkness, and treacherous bogs that will immediately swallow you whole. I only agree with the last part: swamps do pull you in—you can’t help but want to explore their unique features more and more. This exploration is both desirable and necessary for preservation.

First, let me clarify: in this text, for simplicity, I refer to wetlands as “swamps.” Wetlands are divided into five categories: marine, estuarine, lacustrine (lake), riverine, and palustrine (marsh). All of these types are carefully protected and studied globally because they are incredibly valuable.

In fact, as far back as 1971, world leaders established the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. The countries that ratified this convention committed to creating nature reserves to protect swamps. To date, 172 countries have ratified this convention—Ukraine joined in 1996. Unfortunately, not all significant wetlands have yet been designated as Ramsar sites.

So why is it so important to care about swamps? Because they are natural reservoirs of fresh water. Contrary to popular belief, the water there is not stagnant or rotten. Thanks to special soils—peats—water in swamps is naturally filtered, and the vegetation on their surface slows down evaporation under the sun.

Swamps also absorb seasonal water surpluses, protecting people from floods. They act as local temperature regulators during particularly hot periods, which is why they are so crucial in our era of climate change.

Moreover, swamps are hubs of life and species interaction. About 40% of Earth’s living organisms reside, reproduce, and feed in wetlands. Each finds a safe and comfortable niche within the waters. For example, birds like the Eurasian penduline tit, the aquatic warbler, the marsh warbler, and the great reed warbler build their nests in the heart of swamps, where it’s moist and out of reach for predators.

The Ramsar Convention particularly focuses on protecting waterfowl. And it was through birds that I became involved in wetland research. Completely by accident.

It all started with a childhood dream of buying a house by a lake. In 2019, I made that dream come true, and by the spring of 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I had settled near Lake Supii. The village I moved to has only one street, with gardens that lead straight to the water. This is how I became a constant spectator of nature’s theater and one morning, I witnessed something extraordinary: about 100 mute swans filled the sky and then descended onto the lake. Until then, I had only seen such sights on National Geographic. This sight moved me so deeply that I started to explore our swampy surroundings more actively. Eventually, I registered a civil society organization to study and protect the local environment.

Since then, I’ve learned that our region has a long history of swamp destruction for agricultural achievements. During the Soviet era, drainage systems were built on the Supii and most small rivers in this part of Ukraine, and the rivers themselves were straightened and channeled. Their natural winding courses were redirected through canals, and the areas where the rivers used to flow were planted with sunflowers. In this way, wetlands were industrially converted into arable land, disrupting natural processes.

I’ve met with the Ukrainian scientists who planned and implemented these drainage projects. They told me their intentions were positive: to increase crop yields and boost the country’s economy. Now, they acknowledge that even if we restore all the rivers “broken” back then, only about 20% of the ecosystem would recover. The rest is lost. Forever.

Still, agricultural machinery continues to plow closer and closer to the edges of the swamps near Lake Supii each year. To understand how this affects nature, our organization constantly monitors local biodiversity. Almost daily, we record the flora and fauna in the same areas using the iNaturalist app by National Geographic. We also track bird populations with the Merlin Bird ID app by Cornell University.

For instance, this summer, we noticed that due to plowing near the swamps, the population of the aquatic warbler has decreased. This is a vulnerable species listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.

To preserve our vulnerable bird species and their habitat—the swamp—we need to create Ramsar sites on Lake Supii and other wetland areas. The Ramsar Convention must not just remain a signed piece of paper—it must be actively implemented. As an activist, I believe that what helps the most is raising awareness and fostering a sense of responsibility for nature in each of us. That’s why I never tire of explaining: swamps are valuable ecosystems, meticulously designed by nature, and our task is simply to study them without interfering.

The texts in the Columns section reflect only the author’s opinion and do not necessarily align with the position of UAnimals media’s editorial team.

A meeting with Viktor Shelvinsky, the owner of Free Wings rehabilitation centre for birds in the village of Kozhychi in the Lviv region and this year’s winner of the All-Ukrainian Animal Protection Award, begins with a bird rescue: 

“Now we are going to visit Mrs Nina. She called and said that she had an injured bird —  a small sparrowhawk. If the bird cannot escape, it means it is helpless and needs help. We have to take it away.” 

Viktor is regularly asked to help with birds: four times this day alone. He has a degree in veterinary medicine, so he provides the necessary assistance himself, taking the birds to his place. However, if necessary, he can consult by phone or video. 

Animals should live in dignity 

When we arrive at Nina’s place, Viktor examines the hawk: it turns out that it has a fracture of the right wing ulna. Later, Viktor tapes the bird’s wing to prevent it from getting even more damaged on the way. And then he puts a special cap on the hawk’s head that covers its eyes called a klobuk. Such caps were once used to calm game birds during transportation and hunting. Nowadays, the klobuk plays the same role for an injured hawk. 

Next, the bird will undergo tests, treatment and rehabilitation. If everything goes well, the hawk will soon be back in the sky, free to fly. 

According to Viktor, the most commonly injured birds are corvids, Accipitriformes, geese, ducks and owls — the most common species that live close to humans. They usually get injured because they collide with power lines, cars or windows. 

Injured birds are given first aid and, if necessary, taken to a clinic. After treatment, their fate depends on their condition. Completely healthy and viable birds are released into the wild. 

“If a bird has an injury incompatible with its vital activity, for example, it has no legs, the only option is euthanasia. Because this animal will not be able to live decently even in artificially created conditions”, says the veterinarian.

A home for yourself and the birds

Free Wings Rehabilitation Centre for birds has been operating for 22 years. It is arranged around Viktor’s house. When the head of the centre was choosing a place to build the house, he also took into account the fact that birds should settle there for treatment and rehabilitation. 

Birds recovering from treatment need more space, so they are transported, for example, to the Galician National Park or to the Roztochia Biosphere Reserve. There are all conditions for different species of birds there: there is a ban on hunting and, in general, there is almost no human influence. There are also lakes for waterfowl and flight aviaries for the red-listed birds with disabilities.

“If I had, for example, 36 hectares, I could turn all this into a large, full-fledged complex that provides assistance, from veterinary to post-rehabilitation. But this is unrealistic because there is no such resource. That’s why we cooperate with ornithologists, biologists, national parks and so on,” says Viktor. 

The rehabilitation centre operates on a volunteer basis: Viktor maintains it with his own money and charitable donations. Recently, thanks to UAnimals, the centre received food from its Czech colleagues. The ornithologist says he is happy to receive such help because birds need a lot of food and it often costs a lot of money. Viktor invests about 48 thousand hryvnias in the centre every month. 

Schoolchildren are frequent guests of the centre. Other people also come to see the birds. It happens that, after a visit, they take a bird that needs constant care. Viktor gives them only when he realises that it is a balanced and conscious decision. Emotions can play a cruel joke in this case, since caring for an animal and living with it are the responsibility that not everyone is ready for. And of course, to keep a bird at home, you need to create appropriate conditions. 

Illyusha, Lokhudra and Taziks

There is no quiet place in Free Wings — you can hear the birds singing, which does not stop for a moment. Currently, 63 species of birds live there. Some of them walk freely on the territory. Others have not yet fully recovered from their injuries, so they live in aviaries for now, but will eventually go outside as well. 

The birds at Free Wings include goldfinches, siskins, turtledoves, jays, barn owls, jackdaws, bullfinches, waxwings, various types of parrots and more. There are Nile or Egyptian geese, who came to the Lviv region from the Askania-Nova Reserve after rodents in the fields had been poisoned there; two long-eared owls with amputated right wings, they lost the ability to hunt and will not survive without human help; 21-year-old parrot Mark, who lived all his life in the same family and was abandoned because of the war; two peacocks that guard the territory of the centre no worse than a dog — an English setter. 

There are also three ravens in the centre: two of them live together as they were able to establish communication, and one more, a new arrival, is currently in a separate aviary in quarantine. All the ravens in the centre are called Taziks and given serial numbers, like in royal families. For example, Tazik XVII is currently in quarantine. His predecessors have already been cured, and 14 of them have even been released. 

In addition, Phaps bronzewing pigeons from the Kharkiv region live in the centre. According to Viktor, they are already set up for family life, so the males start building nests to win over a female. They are not limited to one — they have to build 5 to have a choice. 

Svayno, a pheasant evacuated from the zoo in Mykolaiv, lives in the same aviary with Kharkiv pigeons. These birds were placed together because they coexist without any problems. Other residents of the rehabilitation centre are settled according to the same principle. 

Svayno, Mark and Tazik XVIII are exceptions to the rule because most of the birds at Free Wings have no names. 

“I call only those who are many years old by name,” explains Viktor. “This parrot is 38 years old and he has been Ilyusha all his life. This is important for him because Ilyusha is an intelligent bird. He builds a bridge of trust to me because he hears his name. All the others — falcons, owls, and so on — do not need this.”

There is also Valera and Lokhudra, a pair of parrots that used to live in the Donetsk region. They are long-time residents of the rehabilitation centre. Viktor was forced to take them, like many other exotic birds: 

“I didn’t want exotics. I used to work at the National Academy of Sciences, ornithologists and I dealt exclusively with Ukrainian wild species. It seemed to me that exotics were the responsibility of people who had got such pets. But exotics came just like war: if it already exists, you are faced with the fact.” 

According to Viktor, unlike Ukrainian species that are adapted to living in our nature, keeping each exotic bird requires huge resources: houses with constant heat and ventilation have to be built, specific food is needed and much more. In his opinion, you should not revolve around keeping such birds only in a cage — you should help them adapt to living in the wild. 

The best and most pleasant thing, Viktor says, is to release a bird when it is ready. That is why the head of the rehabilitation centre does not get attached to birds. 

“You cannot love this bird. You can only do your best to return it to its environment,” he emphasises.