Vít Lukáš is a zoologist, member of National Geographic Society, who has been involved in nature conservation and photography for more than twenty five years.
He lived in Chile for ten years, where he worked for zoos, founded one successful natural science station, taught at two universities and led several research projects. Thanks to his participation in various international projects, he was able to travel almost all of Latin America. He has completed over 150 expeditions, roughly a third of which have been to tropical rainforests. In 1997, he fell under the spell of macro photography, which he continues to do today. In his pictures, he tries to capture animals and plants in their natural environment and at the same time document details that cannot be seen with the naked eye. His macro photographs were presented in a number of magazines, books, and at exhibitions in Czech Republic, Chile, Colombia and Canada.
In recent years, in addition to macro photography, he has also focused on photographing and videographing larger animals, including humans :-). Similar to macro photography, when photographing larger objects, the focus is on details that may escape to the eye. He looks at them with the eye of an observant zoologist, he enjoys capturing situations from new and unusual angles.
After returning from South America (2011), he worked as a curator of primates at the Prague Zoo. In the years 2020 – 2022, he worked at the National Museum, where he was in charge of creating photo and video content for new natural science exhibits. His photos of animals regularly appear in different media, magazines, on billboards and citylights. Since 2023, he is working as a freelance photographer, filmmaker and zoologist. In the same year, he became the ambassador of OM System photographic technology.
EQUIPMENT
Since his photographic beginnings, he has worked with Nikon. In 2023, however, he switched to OM System, of which he also became an ambassador.
Cameras:
2x OM-1 (main and backup body)
Lenses:
- Olympus M.Zuiko 8-25mm/4
- Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12‑40mm F2.8 PRO II
- Olympus M.Zuiko 40-150mm/4
- Olympus M.Zuiko 60mm/2.8
- M.Zuiko ED 90mm F3.5 Macro IS PRO
- Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 150‑400mm F4.5 TC1.25x IS PRO
Flashes:
- Olympus FL-700WR
- commander Olympus FC-WR
Partners and collaborations
AWARDS
European Wildlife Photographer of the Year (GDT) 2023 – category MAN AND NATURE
The photo of nutria “Ecologist’s bane, tourist’s delight” received the Highly Commended award
WildArt Photographer of the Year 2023 – category COLOUR
The photo “Beautiful predator” won the Founder’s Choice Award Winner
WildArt Photographer of the Year 2023 – category COLOUR
The photo “Resting” received the Highly commended award
Czech Nature Photo 2023
Winner of the category “Invertebrates” with the photo “Snail in the rain“
Winner of the category “Award for the best photo of Czech nature” with the photo “Reversed role“
Winner of the “Reptiles, Amphibians and Underwater Life” category with the photo “Distressed Female“
Second place in the category “Animals in human care” with the photo “Stick insect“
Second place in the category “Invertebrates” with the photo “Cycle of Life“
Close-up Photographer of the Year 2022
“Desperate female” mating toads photo made TOP 10 of over 9,000 photos in category Animals
Czech Nature Photo 2022
Overall Winner. Photographer of the Year with the image “Tadpoles“. The same photograph won first place in the category Award for the best photography of Czech nature, as well as the Readers´ Award of People and Earth magazine.
First place in the Invertebrates category went to the photo “Disappearing Pollinators“
Czech Nature Photo 2021
“Animals in Humane Care” Category Winner with Photo “Egg Check“
Second place in the category “Award for the best photo of Czech nature” with the photo “Under water, above a leaf“
Third place in the “Invertebrates” category with the photo “Endangered King of the Oak Forest“
The photo “Endangered king of the oak forest” won the Readers’ Award of People and Earth magazine
WildArt Photographer of the Year 2021- kategorie WET
Two photos received Highly Commended award (“Proboscis monkey” and “Noack’s Roundleaf bat“)
The photo “American crocodile” received a Commended award
Czech Nature Photo 2020
Winner of the category “Invertebrates” with the photo “Crusader on the hunt“
Second place in the category “Invertebrates” with the photo “Night grasshopper“
Third place in the category “Reptiles and amphibians” with the photo “In the treetops“
Czech Nature Photo 2019
Winner of the “Nature in Prague” category with the photo “Hitchcock at the Charles Bridge“
The photo of nutria “Ecologist’s bane, tourist’s delight” was nominated for 1st place in the same category
Czech Press Photo 2018
Nominated for 1st place in the ‘Issues of Today’ category with the photo ‘Oil Spill Selfie‘
In addition, the author’s series “Beasts for Sale” was presented as part of the final exhibition
Czech Nature Photo 2018
6 out of 10 submitted photos were selected for the final exhibition of the Czech Nature Photo competition
I AM | Nikon in nature 2017
1st place in a national competition organized by Nikon
Czech Press Photo 2017
As part of the Czech Press Photo journalistic competition, 3 photos from the author’s series “Punk is not dead” were included in the exhibition
Czech Nature Photo 2017
For the final exhibition of the zero year of the Czech Nature Photo competition, 8 of the 10 submitted macro photographs were selected
PUBLICATIONS
The author’s photographs regularly appear in various magazines or digital media, at exhibitions, but also in teaching materials of universities. If you are interested in any of the photos, please write to info@photolukas.cz
