Sometimes, extraordinary photography projects emerge from the most unexpected moments. For photographer and long-standing Bookfactory customer Markus Bendler, the journey began with a spontaneous decision shortly before an operation and took him all the way to the icy tundra of the Yamal Peninsula. There, he spent two weeks living with the Nenets, sharing their daily lives and capturing life in the Far North in striking black-and-white photographs.
His photo essay «Staying with the Nenets» won the IPFO SWISS Award in 2026. In this interview, Markus shares how this extraordinary journey came about, what fascinates him about the wilderness and its people, and how he selects and composes his images. He also reveals why he believes photographs only reveal their full impact once printed and offers practical tips to help amateur photographers develop an eye for exceptional subjects.
Winning the IPFO SWISS Award 2026
Where does your passion for photography come from, and which subjects appeal to you most?
Ever since I was young, I’ve been drawn to untouched, wild nature. I love spending time outdoors, whether hiking in the Alps or sailing on the water. I’m fascinated by places where you can still experience the elements directly and where human beings feel incredibly small.
In my photography, I seek precisely this sense of authenticity: rugged landscapes, vast horizons and unfamiliar cultures that live in harmony with nature. From an early age, I was inspired by the accounts of pioneering polar explorers such as Nansen and Amundsen. In recent years, the powerful work of Sebastião Salgado has also become a major influence. I’m drawn to taking my camera to places where conditions can be uncomfortable, capturing real, unfiltered life.
How did your award-winning series «Staying with the Nenets» on the Yamal Peninsula come about?
I owe this journey to a rather crazy twist of fate. After a serious e-bike accident, I ended up in hospital with a complicated comminuted fracture of my elbow. Shortly before surgery, I was scrolling through Instagram to distract myself when I came across a post by a Russian photographer looking for companions for a winter expedition to visit the Nenets. I immediately thought of Sebastião Salgado’s impressive images – a world I had always wanted to see with my own eyes. Despite not knowing whether my arm would ever fully recover, I spontaneously signed up before the operation.
A few months later, the adventure began. I travelled via Moscow to Salekhard on the Arctic Circle, then continued deep into the tundra by snow vehicles and sledges. I was able to stay with a family in their chum, a traditional tent, and share their daily routine – melting snow, chopping wood, catching reindeer with a lasso and ice fishing. The photo essay emerged from this shared everyday life, through close encounters and on equal terms.
What made you choose these particular photographs for your submission?
These six images offer an authentic insight into the lives of the Nenets:
- Winter camp on the Yamal Peninsula
- The herd – the pulse of the Arctic
- Child of the Far North
- Faithful guardian of the chum
- Ice fishing on the frozen river
- Indigenous people of the tundra
The photographs are currently available to view and purchase as prints at IPFO Photoville 4600.
You didn’t really expect to win. Why was that?
Winning came as a complete surprise to me. Even the news that my work would be exhibited at IPFO Photoville 4600 felt like a tremendous honour and recognition. Unfortunately, I couldn’t attend the official award ceremony in person because I was on a sailing trip lasting several weeks around Svalbard at the time. However, I was able to join at short notice via a video message.
Photography
What do you pay particular attention to when composing your images?
Graphic simplicity & negative space: In the vastness of the tundra, I use the snow as empty space within the composition. I radically simplify the frame, reducing it to clean lines and striking silhouettes of the Nenets and their reindeer.
Eye level & proximity: I consistently photograph people and animals at eye level, often crouching down. This creates an immediate sense of intimacy and respect rather than the distance of looking down on a subject.
Horizon & scale: I deliberately position the horizon line at extremes: low to convey the vastness of the sky and the sense of isolation; high to concentrate the movement of the herd within the snowy landscape.
Black and white as a control tool: I switch both the screen and viewfinder to black and white. Without the distraction of colour, I can immediately assess contrasts, edges and tonal values in the dazzling white surroundings.
Pragmatism in Arctic temperatures: when the metal threatens to freeze against my cheek and the viewfinder fogs up, I compose my shots from a distance using the screen. With thick gloves and glasses, it becomes a pure exercise in intuition.
What criteria do you use when making the final selection for your photo series?
Gut feeling & emotion: I rarely make decisions based on rigid photography rules. An image only makes the final selection if it immediately brings back exactly what I felt out there on the ice – the cold, the silence or the warmth of the people.
Real life rather than clichés: It’s important to me to show the Nenets as they really live. Not romanticised or staged for the camera, but honestly: the demanding daily routine with the animals, as well as the warmth and comfort inside the tent.
Variety & curiosity: I don’t want the series to become monotonous. I deliberately mix things up: an endless, expansive landscape in one image, an intimate moment by the stove in another, and then the bustling herd.
A consistent atmosphere: Because everything is in black and white, I lay the images side by side and simply see whether they work together. The lighting and shades of grey should feel as though they all belong to one long winter’s day.
Bookfactory
Your photographs are created digitally. How important is it to you to be able to hold your photographs in your hands as physical prints?
Holding something real in your hands: on a screen, it’s just a file. Only with the right paper and a tactile, matt surface does it become something real that suits the rugged subject matter.
The true scale: everything looks small on a phone. Only in a large format do you really appreciate just how vast and endless the tundra was.
Softer black and white: without reflective glass, the subtle shades of grey in the snow and the deep blacks look much more natural and velvety on a textured surface.
Stopping instead of scrolling: a print makes you pause. You simply take more time to appreciate the image and the people in it.
Which products do you have made at Bookfactory, and what do you use them for?
- Photo cards for special occasions
- Photo prints to give as gifts
- And, of course, photo books in a wide range of formats and paper qualities
What matters most to you when choosing a supplier of high-quality photo products?
- A wide range of formats and paper types
- Helpful instructions and support throughout the design process
- Knowledgeable local support by phone or in person (regional proximity)
- Convenient collection options
- A flexible, solution-oriented approach to quality concerns
- Seamless integration of different creation workflows
Tips for our customers
What advice would you give our customers and amateur photographers to help them take better photos using simple techniques?
- Keep your eyes open in everyday life: the best photograph is often right in front of you, not at the end of the world. Don’t just look for picture-postcard scenes; seek out small details, patterns and amusing moments.
- Make the most of bad weather: rain, fog and cold often produce the most interesting images. Head outside precisely when everyone else would rather stay on the sofa.
- Change your perspective radically: don’t just stand there and press the shutter. Crouch down, lie on your stomach or get really close. Moving just a metre lower can completely transform an image.
- Think less, experiment more: don’t be afraid of getting the settings wrong. It’s better to get it wrong ten times while trying something crazy than to always play it safe and photograph the same things.
- Set yourself limitations: try spending an entire day shooting with just one fixed focal length or exclusively in black and white. It forces you to move around and greatly develops your photographic eye.
Markus Bendler – Technologist by profession, explorer by passion
For decades, Markus Bendler led research and development teams in the field of high-precision measurement technology. Today, in a new chapter of his life, he is increasingly devoting his passion to the untouched beauty of our planet.
His enthusiasm for photography began in his school’s darkroom. It was there that he discovered black-and-white photography as a visual language that focuses on the essentials and draws its power from contrasts and emotions.
As an offshore sailor and enthusiastic hiker, he is drawn to the remote regions of the Far North – from Greenland and Svalbard to the Siberian tundra. There, he explores untouched landscapes and documents the lives and resilience of indigenous cultures.
When he’s not at sea or out with his camera, he enjoys exploring nature and the mountains on foot or by bike, working with wood and immersing himself in new technologies and strategic consulting.
