About Me

Photograph by Klaus Fischel

I grew up in the northeastern hills of Hungary. Those days I spent most of my time fishing on river Bodrog’s oxbow lakes and walking in the woods of Zemplen observing wildlife and landscapes I still consider the best in my country. Sometimes I snapped away with a Ricoh and a 55mm lens, but my primary interests were astronomy and computers – with a dream that someday I will have a telescope attached to a computer capturing and processing images digitally.

Later on, computers took over in my life, and I spent all my time on them. I learned computer science, joined a few commercial and research projects and finally joined Microsoft Consulting Services. One day, standing in the shower, I realized that something is missing from my life: being close to nature. My plan was to buy a digital camera and go back and photograph my homeland. Fortunately the digital SLR prices started to get affordable at that time, so I started this project with a Canon D60 and a 28-135 IS zoom.

As time passed my interest in photography and nature deepened. Digital image processing was a familiar territory for me as well as optics and the technical aspects of photography. I really enjoyed being able to concentrate on the subject matter and being out in nature.

Since then I was fortunate enough to visit some of the most beautiful places of this planet from Iceland to Antarctica. Yet it also has been my misfortune to see wonders of nature falling victim of human shortsightedness. I have made it part of my life’s mission to share the beauties and fragility of our planet, hoping that I can convey that it is the responsibility of everyone to preserve and protect the miracles of Earth.

I enjoy printmaking as much as taking the photographs. Aspects such as color management excite the scientist in me, but nothing compares with the feeling when I finally see my work on paper.

Since 2009 I work for my own company, DIRE Studio, and spend most of my time on creating photographic tools.

Laszlo Pusztai
Pomaz, Hungary