About Zoya Shu & how she got these pictures
Editor’s Note: Nobody knows better than photographers about the importance of being in the right place at the right time. Zoya Shu has been taking photographs professionally for more than 10 years. She has traveled to 17 nations, but mainly splits her time between her native Ukraine and America. Her business website can be found at Photography by Zoya Shu at www.zoyashu.com. The photo on the right is the only one of her “naked skakeboarder” series that could be suitably published in the Kyiv Post. But more revealing ones can be found at: zoyashu.wix.com/nakedonsnowboard.
In her words, Zoya Shu describes herself and how she captured the moment on March 25:
“It is always exciting to find something interesting to shoot, especially if you do street photography, which is spontaneous and full of surprises.
“I have traveled a lot, but Kyiv is a special place for me, not only because it is my home. Things you can see here you won’t see anywhere else. I always take my camera with me when I go for a walk and always stay attentive to details.
“In the case of the naked young woman on a snowboard, it was just plain coincidence for me to be there. I stayed home during the snowy days, while others endured harsh weather conditions and took a lot of those wonderful pictures of snowboardists at Andryivsky Uzviz. So I decided to catch up on March 25, even though I knew all the great shots were already taken while I procrastinated at home.
“By the time the young woman showed up, I already was heading home, but I saw a laughing silhouette drawing the attention of passersby and walked back towards her. I thought she had on some tight uniform and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that she was naked. I rarely see naked girls… especially snowboarding ones.
“So I was stunned and had only seconds to change the settings in my camera. She was moving. It was already dark. I was glad I still managed to capture her, but really did not expect the pictures would go viral. I do not know who she is, probably one of very well-weathered ‘winter swimmers.’
“It is not the first time I got to capture something peculiar. Probably I am just a lucky photographer.”
