About me
My name is Unai Larraya, photographer, videographer, travel guide and instructor. I was born in 2000, in Pamplona, Navarra, where I currently live. My great passion is to photograph and record the natural landscapes of the world and its wildlife.
Navarre is one of the regions with most biodiversity and different biomes concentrated in such a small area, which is partly why I have always enjoyed nature and fought for its conservation.
For as long as I can remember I have been in contact with nature, hiking in the mountains, bathing in high mountain rivers, getting lost in the forests, climbing...
I now travel the most spectacular and magical natural places on the planet with my faithful partner, my camera, in search of taking the most stunning and impressive photographs in the world.
About me
My name is Unai Larraya, photographer, videographer, travel guide and instructor. I was born in 2000, in Pamplona, Navarra, where I currently live. My great passion is to photograph and record the natural landscapes of the world and its wildlife.
Navarre is one of the regions with most biodiversity and different biomes concentrated in such a small area, which is partly why I have always enjoyed nature and fought for its conservation.
For as long as I can remember I have been in contact with nature, hiking in the mountains, bathing in high mountain rivers, getting lost in the forests, climbing...
I now travel the most spectacular and magical natural places on the planet with my faithful partner, my camera, in search of taking the most stunning and impressive photographs in the world.
My story
My parents have always been mountaineers, so since I was very young I have grown up in nature. When I was born, a few months later, I had already climbed my first mountain on my father's back, in a kind of backpack in which I was carried. In that backpack I climbed many of the mountains of Navarre and the Pyrenees, which I now revisit with the intention of photographing them. This was the beginning of my love and respect for the mountains and nature, and the reason why they are a big part of my life today.
Once I grew up a bit, we started to do longer and more demanding routes in the Pyrenees, which captivated me forever. Those huge snow-covered stone walls, the meanders of crystal-clear water, the forests in autumn, the enormous waterfalls...…
My parents have always been mountaineers, so since I was very young I have grown up in nature. When I was born, a few months later, I had already climbed my first mountain on my father's back, in a kind of backpack in which I was carried. In that backpack I climbed many of the mountains of Navarre and the Pyrenees, which I now revisit with the intention of photographing them. This was the beginning of my love and respect for the mountains and nature, and the reason why they are a big part of my life today.
Once I grew up a bit, empezamos a realizar rutas más largas y exigentes por Los Pirineos, los cuales me cautivaron para siempre. Esos enormes muros de piedra cubiertos por la nieve, los meandros de agua cristalina, los bosques en otoño, las enormes cascadas…
Photographs taken by my father with a Canon 500N analogue camera.
My father always carried a Canon camera with him, an old analogue SLR, with which he had photographed all his adventures since he was young. Whenever we went anywhere he always took the camera with him, simply because he liked to have memories of the places we visited.
When I turned 15, I became obsessed with the idea that I wanted to have a camera, and I bought a Canon 600D, and it was at this moment that my obsession with photography began. I had no idea how to take a picture, I took them all on automatic, but I was passionate about seeing the world through it.
Over time I started to look more into photography: into the parameters of the camera, the focal lengths or the importance of the tripod and, in turn, I started to be more selective when choosing the time of day and the conditions. Little by little I was getting better results and I thought I was taking good photos, until Instagram came along.
In this social network I discovered that I still had a lot to learn and that I really didn't have any idea. I discovered the immense amount of landscape photographers with a high level that there are and I started to meet people. There were many photographers who gave me advice and corrected my mistakes, with whom I now have a great friendship.
A year after I got the camera I became very interested in wildlife, and I took advantage of the fact that I dropped my camera in the river to upgrade to a Canon 7D II and got a Canon 400mm f/5.6.
After all this, I decided to get involved in the audiovisual field and I did a superior degree in ESCIVI, thanks to which I started working in a production company where I had the opportunity to make a documentary series on environmental education called "REYNO NATVRA".
Now I dedicate 90% of my free time to nature photography and filming, it is something that I am passionate about and that makes me escape from reality and problems. When I'm photographing a landscape it's as if time didn't pass, I could go for hours and hours without eating or drinking anything and I wouldn't even notice, and the excitement and tension you feel when you have a wild animal in front of you is something unique that makes me immensely happy and that I hope to continue doing all my life.
My father always carried a Canon camera with him, an old analogue SLR, with which he had photographed all his adventures since he was young. Whenever we went anywhere he always took the camera with him, simply because he liked to have memories of the places we visited.
When I turned 15, I became obsessed with the idea that I wanted to have a camera, and I bought a Canon 600D, and it was at this moment that my obsession with photography began. I had no idea how to take a picture, I took them all on automatic, but I was passionate about seeing the world through it.
Over time I started to look more into photography: into the parameters of the camera, the focal lengths or the importance of the tripod and, in turn, I started to be more selective when choosing the time of day and the conditions. Little by little I was getting better results and I thought I was taking good photos, until Instagram came along.
On Instagram I discovered the immense amount of high level landscape photographers out there. I started to meet people, and there were many photographers who gave me advice and corrected my mistakes, with whom I now have a great friendship.
A year after I got the camera I became very interested in wildlife, and I took advantage of the fact that I dropped my camera in the river to upgrade to a Canon 7D II and got a Canon 400mm f/5.6.
After all this, I decided to get involved in the audiovisual field and I did a superior degree in ESCIVI, thanks to which I started working in a production company where I had the opportunity to make a documentary series on environmental education called "REYNO NATVRA".
Now I dedicate 90% of my free time to nature photography and filming, it is something that I am passionate about and that makes me escape from reality and problems. When I'm photographing a landscape it's as if time didn't pass, I could go for hours and hours without eating or drinking anything and I wouldn't even notice, and the excitement and tension you feel when you have a wild animal in front of you is something unique that makes me immensely happy and that I hope to continue doing all my life.
My father always carried a Canon camera with him, an old analogue SLR, with which he had photographed all his adventures since he was young. Whenever we went anywhere he always took the camera with him, simply because he liked to have memories of the places we visited.
When I turned 15, I became obsessed with the idea that I wanted to have a camera, and I bought a Canon 600D, and it was at this moment that my obsession with photography began. I had no idea how to take a picture, I took them all on automatic, but I was passionate about seeing the world through it.
Photograph of my father in The Pyrenees
Over time I started to look more into photography: into the parameters of the camera, the focal lengths or the importance of the tripod and, in turn, I started to be more selective when choosing the time of day and the conditions. Little by little I was getting better results and I thought I was taking good photos, until Instagram came along.
In this social network I discovered that I still had a lot to learn and that I really didn't have any idea. I discovered the immense amount of landscape photographers with a high level that there are and I started to meet people. There were many photographers who gave me advice and corrected my mistakes, with whom I now have a great friendship.
A year after I got the camera I became very interested in wildlife, and I took advantage of the fact that I dropped my camera in the river to upgrade to a Canon 7D II and got a Canon 400mm f/5.6.
After all this, I decided to get involved in the audiovisual field and I did a superior degree in ESCIVI, thanks to which I started working in a production company where I had the opportunity to make a documentary series on environmental education called "REYNO NATVRA".
Now I dedicate 90% of my free time to nature photography and filming, it is something that I am passionate about and that makes me escape from reality and problems. When I'm photographing a landscape it's as if time didn't pass, I could go for hours and hours without eating or drinking anything and I wouldn't even notice, and the excitement and tension you feel when you have a wild animal in front of you is something unique that makes me immensely happy and that I hope to continue doing all my life.
Photograph of my father in The Pyrenees
Technique and post
All my photographs start from a high quality RAW, taken correctly, with the best light conditions. Always trying to get the best out of the location and conditions, searching for the best composition and even waiting many hours to get the desired light.
The RAW is the basis of all my photographs, it is the one that will decide how I am going to edit my image later on, because with a poor quality RAW, no matter how much we edit the photo, it will never become a great image. I always say one thing, with a bad RAW, with poor composition, bad light, in an ugly location... with a very good editing you can get an acceptable final result, but to end up with the great photo you were looking for you have to start from a very good RAW.
Once we have this base, by editing in Lightroom and Photoshop I try to get the most out of that image, playing a lot with the lights and shadows, trying to create that atmosphere of fantasy so characteristic of my images, always without separating myself from reality and the conditions I experienced at the time of shooting.
Technique and post
Technique and post
All my photographs start from a high quality RAW, taken correctly, with the best light conditions. Always trying to get the best out of the location and conditions, searching for the best composition and even waiting many hours to get the desired light.
The RAW is the basis of all my photographs, it is the one that will decide how I am going to edit my image later on, because with a poor quality RAW, no matter how much we edit the photo, it will never become a great image. I always say one thing, with a bad RAW, with poor composition, bad light, in an ugly location... with a very good editing you can get an acceptable final result, but to end up with the great photo you were looking for you have to start from a very good RAW.
Once we have this base, by editing in Lightroom and Photoshop I try to get the most out of that image, playing a lot with the lights and shadows, trying to create that atmosphere of fantasy so characteristic of my images, always without separating myself from reality and the conditions I experienced at the time of shooting.
All my photographs start from a high quality RAW, taken correctly, with the best light conditions. Always trying to get the best out of the location and conditions, searching for the best composition and even waiting many hours to get the desired light.
The RAW is the basis of all my photographs, it is the one that will decide how I am going to edit my image later on, because with a poor quality RAW, no matter how much we edit the photo, it will never become a great image. I always say one thing, with a bad RAW, with poor composition, bad light, in an ugly location... with a very good editing you can get an acceptable final result, but to end up with the great photo you were looking for you have to start from a very good RAW.
Once we have this base, by editing in Lightroom and Photoshop I try to get the most out of that image, playing a lot with the lights and shadows, trying to create that atmosphere of fantasy so characteristic of my images, always without separating myself from reality and the conditions I experienced at the time of shooting.
Awards and mentions
Awards and mentions
Honourable mention – «FIO» 2023
3 honourable mentions «Canarian Photo Awards» 2023
1nd prize - « «Conocer Navarra (youngs)» 2022
2nd prize - «DBF Photo Contest« 2022
2nd prize - «Concurso de fotografía de naturaleza GOROSTI» 2022
1st prize – «Concurso fotográfico Findango» 2022
1st prize – «Conocer Navarra» 2021
1st prize – «Conocer Navarra (youngs)» 2021
1st prize – «Calamonte joven (photography)» 2021
Semi-finalist – «Lumix G Photographic Challenge» 2021
2nd prize – «Lux splendida» 2020
3rd prize – «100 Años de Picos y Ordesa» 2019
Accesit – «100 Años de Picos y Ordesa» 2019
Navarre representation – «Lumix G Photographic Challenge» 2019
1st prize – «Paisajes y Naturaleza: Revelando el ecosistema» 2018
3rd prize – «Concurso de fotografía de naturaleza GOROSTI» 2018
2nd prize - «Concurso de fotografía de naturaleza GOROSTI» 2022
1st prize – «Concurso fotográfico Findango» 2022
1st prize – «Conocer Navarra» 2021
1st prize – «Conocer Navarra (youngs)» 2021
1st prize – «Calamonte joven (photography)» 2021
Semi-finalist – «Lumix G Photographic Challenge» 2021
2nd prize – «Lux splendida» 2020
3rd prize – «100 Años de Picos y Ordesa» 2019
Accesit – «100 Años de Picos y Ordesa» 2019
Navarre representation – «Lumix G Photographic Challenge» 2019
1st prize – «Paisajes y Naturaleza: Revelando el ecosistema» 2018
3rd prize – «Concurso de fotografía de naturaleza GOROSTI» 2018
MY EQUIPMENT
Cameras
Canon EOS R6
Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Lenses
Canon RF 15-35mm F2.8L IS
Canon EF-S 10-22mm F/3.5-4.5
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L
Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II
Canon Extender 1.4x III
Drone
DJI AIR 2S
