The Magical World of Altai
The official opening of “The Magical World of Altai” exhibition featuring works by renowned photographer Andrei Kamenev opened on Feb. 1 at the Lumiere Brothers Photography Center. The fascinating images were captured during a June 2011 expedition to Altai organized by Yves Rocher and National Geographic Russia magazine.
Altai mountains and valleys are famous for their herbs. Many serve remedial purposes, while others such as rhubarb, wild onion and rhodonite fern add variety to meals. Scientists also take great interest in the rare species of flora preserved in Altai as well as entire taiga and steppe plant communities that exist nowhere else in the world. Finally, the wild flowers covering vast meadows in thick blankets of brilliant hues present an incredibly beautiful picture of universal appeal.
Guests at the opening heard a welcoming address from Andrei Zhuravlev, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, member of the expedition and author of the “Rare Herbs” article that appeared in the October 2011 issue of National Geographic Russia. Zhuravlev shared his impressions of the trip and spoke about the difficulties the expedition encountered.
Jacques Rocher, son of company founder Yves Rocher, made a special guest appearance at the exhibition. He addressed the importance of such projects in Russia and the world and said that the Yves Rocher company is pleased to participate in them.
National Geographic Russia publisher Irina Kovalevich and Yves Rocher marketing director Maria Khokhlova also spoke at the opening. They shared their impressions of the expedition and its remarkable participants.
Photographer Andrei Kamenev — the recognized master of adventure photography who is widely known for his travel, nature and architectural photos — talked about the complexities of working in the 3D format and thanked the organizers for the outstanding expedition.
The exhibition will run through Feb. 15 at the Lumiere Brothers Photography Center at 3 Bolotnaya Naberezhnaya Ulitsa, Bldg. 1, in Moscow.
Exhibition hours are noon to 9 p.m. every weekday except Monday and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.
