Daily Inspiration: Meet Kristoff Druva

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristoff Druva.

Hi Kristoff, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
When I moved to Colorado in January 2019, I began camping and felt the need to get a camera that could capture all of the beauty here. I began shooting landscapes and working my way into astrophotography as well. I had built out a van into a camper/tiny house for weekend camping trips to the mountains so I could do longer stays easier.

When the Pandemic first began, my main work shut down which allowed me to take the van and travel the country. As my travels began to get me to Wyoming and Montana more, I began to fall in love with the wildlife there and it completely changed my focus from landscapes to wildlife.

After capturing raw and intimate moments with wild animals, I was in love with it. As my photography career has progressed, I take a lot of that type of thought for my shots into my portraiture work as well for a much more photojournalistic approach. For the summer of 2023, I lived in Alaska for 3 months in a school bus/tiny house conversion my girlfriend and I had built ourselves over the winter of 2022/2023.

This opened a whole new world for me with bears and close quarters with much larger animals. In the summer of 2024, I will be up in Alaska again to host some photography workshops and I’m so excited to help teach people the art of wildlife photography.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The people I’ve met along the way have made this journey so incredible. I’m thankful also to my work which allows me to travel and take time off whenever I need to go somewhere to photograph and follow my passion.

The biggest struggle overall I would say, is the constant pressure of social media. As with any art form, getting likes or not getting likes can take a big mental toll on me. But in the end, I absolutely love what I do and I’m so thankful I get to do it so much.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My main specialty is Wildlife. I hike, camp, and endure extreme weather all just for the possibility of seeing and photographing my subject. About 80% of the time, I don’t find what I’m out looking for, but that other 20% makes it all worth it when I finally get the shot I’ve been working for.

When I am in Colorado though, I do plenty of portraiture work, whether it’s events, families, pets, senior portraits, or brand work. I love that side of it as well! The best part about photography is that there are so many different ways to approach it!

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I absolutely love my time alone in the true wilderness among the wild animals. Whatever the weather is, there’s something so special about being vulnerable and watching the natural world around me unfold. Travel is necessary to access some of these places and lucky for me, I love to travel as well! I’m bad at sitting still or staying in one place very long haha.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kristoffdruvaphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristoffdruvaphotography
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kdruvaphotography