by Claire

I was very lucky to meet Herman Cater, who lives in Slovenia, in 2006 during a trip to Skye. He had travelled to the UK to spend a week photographing with us and invited us to spend a week with him in Slovenia. This trip took place in May 2008 and during this time I had the opportunity to interview him about his photography adventures in Siberia.

He has produced a fantastic book of over 100 images that record his experiences and anyone interested in purchasing this can contact him at his email address

More of his work can be seen here.

Claire : When did you visit Siberia?

Herman : The first visit was in April 2007 and the second in September of the same year.

Claire : How did this opportunity come about?

Herman : I was invited to take photographs of a region in Siberia by Mr. Nekir who is a hospital manager there. The images have been used for a book and were exhibited in an exhibition in Pit-Jah town hall.

Claire: Where were you based?

Herman : I took a flight to Moscow from Croatia and then flew for another 3 hours to reach Surgut, a further 120km by road took me to my base which is an oil town called Pit-Jah. From here I had access to a taxi and personal driver and covered between 200 and 500km a day.

Claire : What were your expectations before you went?

Herman: I had no expectations but was just interested to go. I imagined it would be flat and snowy and thought photography would be difficult.

Claire : What was the reality?

Herman : I was very impressed with the infinity of the country. The beauty is in the space. I found many subjects from landscapes to portraits and covered themes ranging from people at work to religion.

Claire : What time of the year would you recommend visiting?

Herman : In April the temperature ranged from 0 degrees to minus 20, this is still winter and if it is winter scenes you want this is a good time to go. The summers are short and hot and very humid with lots of insects. The autumn colours are short lived but stunning and I’d suggest mid-September to mid-October.

Claire : Where did you stay?

Herman: Pit-Jah being an oil town has some wealth but as yet no hotels. I stayed in what can be described as a container that the workers are housed in. It was warm and functional but not accessible to tourists. It is not a place where a visitor can just turn up; you really need the help of someone who knows the locality who can organise accommodation in advance for you. There are some agencies that do tours within Siberia but as you can imagine it isn’t really on the main tourist map.

Claire : What were the highlights of your trip?

Herman : Light after a storm. Big skies. Intense snowstorms.

Claire: What about lowlights?

Herman : I had been photographing some barracks and the police took exception and escorted me to the police station! Fortunately my driver contacted the main man at the hospital who explained the purpose of my trip and I was released.

Claire : Will you go again?

Herman : Most certainly. I’d like to visit more northerly regions and meet with the “indigenous” groups of people. These account for below 10% of the total Siberian population. Many of the individual groups are close to extinction, or in the process of assimilation (“Russification”).

Claire : Were you made welcome?

Herman : The people were initially suspicious. They really couldn’t understand what I was doing but this all changed after the exhibition and TV interview I gave. They were always helpful and following the interview showed great enthusiasm for the project. Some people definitely expressed surprise when they saw that there was beauty in their midst – it maybe helped them see their land with new eyes.

Claire : Thanks Herman for sharing your images with us, they are stunning and certainly have helped dismiss some of my preconceptions about this obviously fascinating region.

This final image shows Herman being interviewed  for a TV appearance with his images on show in the background.

Some facts and figures.

Siberia is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving as the massive central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation. Geographically, it includes a large part of the Eurasian Steppe and extends eastward from the Ural Mountains to the watershed between Pacific and Arctic drainage basins, and southward from the Arctic Ocean to the hills of north-central Kazakhstan and the national borders of both Mongolia and China. It makes up about 77% of Russia’s territory (13.1 million square kilometres), but only 30% of Russia’s population (42.2 million people).

Link to trip advisor

Claire: Herman you have had an exciting and busy year as your biography at the end of this interview shows. Amidst all this you took a trip to Gotland, can you tell us a little about this area and what attracted you to this location for photography?

Herman: I had heard that the light in this region is special and this made me decide to visit.

Gotland (which is an island) is in the Baltic Sea. The capital is Visby and you can reach it by boat in 3.5 hours from Stockholm. The island is flat on the east side and is perfect for biking,  on the west coast you will find steep cliffs and this helps to make it very interesting for photographers.

I travelled to Kappelshamn, about 40 km North of Visby and stayed in a cottage there. The name of Kappelshamn is said to come from an old chapel (Swedish kapell)  and “hamn” is Swedish for habour.

The Gotland bedrock is limestone. It was formed during the selurian period 400 million years ago. The earth plate, of which Gotland is a part, was then close to the Equator and corals were built up in the warm sea. The plate has then, during millions of years, drifted north and formed The Baltic sea with Gotland as the former coral reef.

Further north there is an island called Fårö where Ingmar Bergman settled in the sixties. When he saw the place and the light there he fell in love with it and he said it was like magic, because of his life on the island he put Fårö on the map throughout the world.

Claire: Can you talk more about the light and what makes it special?

Herman: The light on the island is a very interesting experience and gives many possibilities for a photographer. The air is very clear on the island, as there is no industry on it. In some places there is limestone on the coast and the clear sky, the sea and white rocks reflect the light.

The sun rises at half past four and sets at ten in July. Sometimes the northern lights can be seen there. The light was the best in the evening.

Claire : What were the highlights of the trip?

Herman: The trip by boat was comfortable and fast. The people were very kind and helpful; on a farm where we wanted eggs and vegetables there was no one to take our money, only the price list and an honesty box.

The island is flat in parts so there are many people travelling by bike. You can camp free for one night. There are some tourists but the places are not crowded.

The light is very special and the coast is different every few kilometres. The temperature was about 20 degrees when I was there in July. It is possible to swim in the sea at this time of the year, but the water was colder than normal  this year.

I saw many foxes and rabbits and in July there are many strawberries. They have smoked fish that are excellent to eat.

Claire : If our readers were planning to travel here what advice would you give about locations to visit?

Herman: The capital, Visby, would be ideal for young people in summer and also for photographers who like architecture but going along the coast is very interesting and I would recommend the island, Faro, as well.

I saw only the north part of Fårö and they say the south is even more interesting and beautiful.

About travelling in Sweden, they give 30% reduction on the cost of travelling for retired people and also for strangers. I got a ticket for one day (bus train, underground) for five euros but you can pay only with their money.

Claire : What time of the year did you travel and would you recommend this season to our readers?

Herman: I was on Gotland from the 8th to 15th of July and the weather turned from rainy and cool to sunny and I was told that it is the best time to go. After the longest day in June the weather becomes more stable and warmer and the days are still long but people usually have their summer holidays at this time so it can be busy.

If someone wants to travel to Gotland, the boat should be booked far in advance, especially in Summer.

Claire: Do you recommend any places to stay here?

Herman: I met Mr. Alf Westoo who has rooms to let about 20 km North of Visby. His home page has an option to translate the text into English.

Claire: You have had an incredible year, winning many awards and staging exhibitions. Can you share with us some of your successes and give us links to your work where possible?

Herman: This year was very successful. I got many awards on world photo salons, but will mention only a few:

The best author;  FIAP salon in Italy.

Nomination award for two photos;  International Master Cup in USA -

Amongst winners in the Black & White Magazine Porfolio Contest. Herman B&W article and biography (PDF)

Herman’s photographs have been exhibited in Europe and the United States, including about ten shows per year throughout Slovenia. His work is held in both private and public collections, such as The Arhitekturni Museum in Ljubljana, the Slovene capital.

He has published several books: The Touch of the Light (2006), landscapes from his travels; Maribor with Jure Kravanja (2006), a book of the town in Siberia (2007); and Portrait of a Photographer (2008) an extended photo essay on photographer Stojan Kerbler.

CONTACT INFORMATION

website:  Herman Cater

email:    herman.cater@t-1.si

Claire: We thank Herman for sharing this journey with us and wish him continued success and we look forward to welcoming him to Scotland next year for what we hope will prove to be another successful PTR tour. His previous PTR article about Siberia can be seen here and our shared trips to Slovenia here and here.

Claire Carter