I spent three years on an island, in the middle of what the Siberians call “sea”: Lake Baikal. From December to May, landscapes of ice as if from another world appear and change. If winter is a spectacle, spring is an indescribable apotheosis. My link with the population was privileged and I obviously drew photographic testimonies from it as close as possible to shamans and Orthodox rites. I have published several photographic books but most are out of print.
In Buryatia – the eastern province of Baikal – the Ivolginsk datsan is the center of local Buddhism.Nerpas, the only species of freshwater seals in the world, are endemic to Baikal.A shaman at the start of the ceremony. Shamanism is very present and alive in Siberia, especially in Lake Baikal and in the republic of Tuva.A ship leaving for the last fishing trip of the season on December 27, a few days before the appearance of the pack ice.Sergei, a Cossack veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Chechnya.A sand dune at the mouth of a river in the Barguzin valley.Spring swimming when the water is around 5-7°C. The water will be at its maximum (16°C) at the beginning of September.Taking a tour of Olkhon Island in an Antonov-2, a mythical Soviet-designed biplane.Picnic on the ice, at the foot of the cliffs on the wild, northern coast of the island of Olkhon.The pack ice, between 70 and 110 cm thick, is lined with faults often hidden under the snow: creating traps for vehicles.In early May, the “Little Sea” sees its frozen mantle suddenly crack. The ice flow confetti is then rocked by the slightest breeze.In March and April, the sun begins to melt ice randomly (and sometimes miraculously) sculpting interesting outgrowths in the pack ice.Young Buryats in traditional costume during a celebration.The wonderful summer colors and the extraordinary transparency of some of the purest water in the world.During the coldest days of winter, an interminable dawn affixes its fiery colours to the blocks of ice, shattered by the tectonics of the ice.A wild landscape typical of this region. Most of the coastline is mountainous and accessible only by water.A typical small Siberian house.On January 19, Siberians engage in the Orthodox ritual of theophany, a remembrance of the baptism of Jesus Christ in the waters of the Jordan.The wild coast of Olkhon and its last memories of winter finery.The iconic “shaman’s rock” is both sacred and photogenic.The azaleas of June.The spray from autumn storms freezes with the first frost, in this case in a cavern at surface height.
