#fromkurilswithlove was a coincidence, in many ways. A photographer (Renan Ozturk) does a commercial shoot for a company (Kaspersky) and they find a common interest (The Kuril Islands). The photographer finds a group of people that is as passionate about the idea as himself, and a year later they all board a boat.

Chris Burkard was one of those people and in this video he explains how this random mix of people ended up being a perfect crew.

Chris Burkard – Breaking Monotony

If you are a surf fan you probably heard of Chris Burkard. By breaking out of his daily routine he became not just one of the most famous surf photographers but also nature photographers. Neither he nor his parents thought so when Chris decided to quit his job at 19 to pursue his dream career and travel to exotic touristic destinations taking pictures of surfers in front of blue skies. Chris was seeking adventure – but all he got was a monotonous routine. The more he travelled to overcrowded places, the more he craved secluded wide and open places. And so began, as he calls it, his personal crusade against the mundane by searching for destinations that seemed too cold, too remote, and too dangerous to surf at.

Chris' first trip took him to Norway, where in-between of harsh conditions and frozen chunks of ice he found exactly what he was looking for: the perfect surfing place in a naturally beautiful landscape. And he connected with the world in a way, he could never do on a crowded touristic beach. Validated by this experience he travelled all over the world to Alaska, Iceland, Norway, Russia, as well as the Kuril Islands, where he was part of the #fromkurilswithlove expedition, to seek the beauty and adventure the world has to offer and by this inspiring us to appreciate nature and ideally create a world where the environment doesn't need protection.