TIFA 2022 Book / Nature

Cuejdel – A Tale From The Carpathian Wilderness

  • Prize
    Gold in Book/Nature
  • Photographer
    Gheorghe Popa
  • Agency / Studio
    Gphoto Gallery S.r.l.
  • Technical Info
    Canon 5d Mark 2, Canon 6d, Dji Mavic Pro 2, Sony A7r3
  • Photo Date
    2014-2021

The first major book of the award-winning photographer Gheorghe Popa is an ode to a unique nature reserve at Cuejdel, a lake hidden in the heart of the old-growth Carpathian forests in Europe. Cuejdel, the largest natural dam lake in the region, has a great ecological value. With his rare ability to engage meticulously with a place on a long term, Popa’s photographs allow the viewer to visualize a variety of unnoticed small details that lie within the untouched beauty of this place. The photographs and essay are accompanied by a foreword written by dutch nature photographer Theo Bosboom.

Gheorghe Popa is a pharmacist and a nature photographer by trade. He was born in 1982 in Aiud, a small town from Transylvania, Romania. Popa’s unique ability is his consistency to meticulously engage in his long-term projects, with environments and landscapes, often left unnoticed at first glance. His photographs create a monument to unique beauty that lies within untouched nature. Popa’s aim is to bring responsibility and attention to his viewers and encourage them to cherish and protect these environments. His imaginative photos of Cuejdel and Geam?na lakes gained him widespread recognition