DISCOVER MOLDOVA WITH #MOLDPRES: Stanislav Duduciuc – sailor, journalist, sculptor, nature photographer

Stanislav Duduciuc is maybe the best known nature photographer from Moldova. The surprising landscapes from Moldova’s Forests, a big collection of living beings shot by the photographic apparatus with a special ability and artistry, a family boarding house, where all people willing to take refuge in wood from the urban stress are welcome; everything with an unparalleled aura of talent, beauty, passion, professionalism and a great love for the country.   

Stanislav Duduciuc: I am from southern Moldova, from Cahul. After the secondary school, I studied at the Higher School of Civilian Marine from Baku (Azerbaijan), specialty of marine pilot.  

In 1983, I graduated from the Journalism Faculty of the Moldovan State University (USM). During more years, I acted as correspondent at the News Agency of the Soviet Union, Chisinau branch (ATEM). Yet, wherever the destiny led me, I was always attracted by the nature. And I always knew that I would spend my old in the wood.     

One can rarely come across such a love and passion for everything which is living, non-protected, dependent on the compassion of the man the technical progress, as one can find in Stanislav Duduciuc. But this is official, as he is just Uncle Stan for all close people. He is joyful, interesting, optimistic, artistic, spiritual, hospitable and with rare talent of narrating. One is just happy to listen to him under a branch of a tree.     

Stanislav Duduciuc: The love for nature comes from the childhood. The loitering about in wilderness brought be advantages as well. Reading everything about the life of wild birds and animals, I memorized: the magpie loves everything that shines, or rummaging curiously in nests, I found once a spectacle lens and a golden ear ring. Following a serious discussion with the parents, who accused me of theft, my mother sold the ear ring to a Jewish dentist from Cahul and bought a shirt with blue dots on it. At that time, I understood that the nature must be loved, as you can be the winner.     

Uncle Stan can speak endlessly about photographs. And he does this, so that a man who has no idea about the photographic apparatus, becomes interested in this.  

Stanislav Duduciuc: In the third academic year at the USM Journalism Faculty, I bought the first photographic apparatus – a gun with objective, identical to the one from the cartoon titled, a Vacation in Prostokvashino. I earned the money for the photographic instrument by working in a student team in summer. Already equipped and receiving piece of news that somebody saw a buzzard eagle in the forest of Truseni, I did not come to the exam in philosophy, leaving leisurely to look for the eagle. Nobody knew anything about me for three days; instead, a returned to the hostel with the bag full of photographs.          

The buzzard eagle was my first nature photo; also the eagle made me a string of problems, as I was taking the examination in philosophy during one year. Starting from 1980 so far, I have had more than eight million photos in my archive – prizes hunted in Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, Romania, Russia.    

Master Stanislav Duduciuc knows all expressions of face, or in other words, he ‘’knows all models of his photographs according to the eye’s expression.’’ He knows their bad habits and the character; he knows best of all what they need and what should they be protected from, where they should encouraged or motivated. As if he would speak about beings with intellect, as he namely thinks that the animals and birds are much wiser than the people. And he stays an obstinate enemy of poachers, whose ill-will intentions he destroys by all means possible.   

Stanislav Duduciuc: Several years ago, I witnessed a case which I remember now too and I don’t know if I will ever be able to forget it. After a horde of hunters, I came across a roebuck which had still umbilical cord, which was freshly cubed and its mother was killed. In despair, I brought it home, as I saw that it was alive, but I did not know what to do. Along with my wife Parascovia, for a long time, we fed this son of wood from feeding bottle, took care of it, protected it from evils and at a certain age, when its horns change, I set it free into the food. Yet, without closing its way back. I.E., it was able to come back whenever it wanted; its way was free and the plate full of food.               

The roebuck Miţu (I called it like this) gamboled for a long time in the forest and it periodically returned home and visited us, as some kind of parents. But the visited ended, after a while. I want to believe that it feels good somewhere, in another parts, but knowing the situation, I am inclined to think that it was shot and eaten. It’s a pity.    

„The man of wood”, Stanislav Duduciuc, is the man of passion. He now what he wants and also what he likes. And this because Uncle Stan has no measure. Following a nice life and career, he surely knows how he would like their end to be. And all these are nice things and can be given as example.   

Stanislav Duduciuc: Everything I did was to satisfy the will of the passion. I never thought about exhibitions, contests, albums. After being retired, I deliberately bought a vacation house nearby the wood. I arranged here a canteen for birds and other beings of the wood. For years, I shared my modest pension of 2,100 lei (a bit more than 100 euros), purchasing them food for the cold season. Sunflower seeds, apples, maize, nuts. Due to the fact that they have food, for the moment, about 25 species of birds nestle nearby the vacation house. Wild boars, hinds, badgers, foxes come to the wood canteen.   

I have special relations with squirrels. I learned their way of being and now I get quite funny photos. The photos posted on my Facebook page have been appreciated ad various bids came from here: a proposal came from Bucharest to edit a book for children, where the principal hero is the squirrel. A request came from Italy to cooperate with a magazine about nature. A have a lot of invitations to collaborate with many photo clubs from Sofia, Vienna, Minsk, Kiev, Vladivostok.     

Stanislav Duduciuc, who is less known in Moldova, is already a name of reference in the world. And he is appreciated maybe because all his projects are like his children, whom he gives life, loves them, values them and can never choose a favourite one.  

Stanislav Duduciuc: Which photograph would be dearer to my soul? I think that all of them, as the nature photographer is a special profession, which demands patience, vast knowledge about the photo model you present, physical fitness, special tools and much love. A photo put on matrix requires also much time for preparation. Sometimes, being on the watch in the tent lasts for days, weeks and sometimes in a heat of +40 Celsius degrees or vice versa, in cold, so that the photographic apparatus refuses to work.  The loitering about in wilderness also has unforeseen meeting and adventures. I saw everything. Face-to-face meetings with herds of wild boars, unexpected attack by an owl and eagle, snakes coiled up on leg, falling down from boat with apparatus.    

The protagonist of our text has a CV worth being envied. It has  everything. He has what other people never even hoped. Nevertheless, master Duduciuc does not hurry to sum up his work, as his arguments are with long perspective, new plans and projects.     

Stanislav Duduciuc: What dreams do I have? To talk my wife into persuading her that it is worth paying 3,000 euros to buy a Canon R6 photographic apparatus. I hope that I will succeed, as I have a kind wife, I have a persuasive power worth being envied. What are my plans? Recently, a good friend of mine, well-known collector Petru Costin gave me from his collection a wonderful machine, used by military scouts in order to move on water unnoticed – a very good set also for a nature photographer to take pictures of water birds. And so, I am prepared for hiking to the Beleu lake (Slobozia Mare village, Cahul district) and then to the Danube Delta (Sulina, Romania) and for the editing of the book titled, Beyond the silence of nature.        

To write a book for a true man of art and with love for everything beautiful, as well as unusual is, in fact, a climax of a career of great value and content. A kind of Book of Life. And this book signed by Stanislav Duduciuc would be an example.   

Stanislav Duduciuc: I see this book with real stories and events from the life of birds and wild animals from the area of our country, accompanied by photographs from my archive.  

If the aforementioned facts were a few, one should know that Uncle Stan is sculptor as well.  

Stanislav Duduciuc: Another passion – sculpture, triggered by the loitering in the wilderness. Back from hiking, I was always bringing home a root, an interesting branch, which after working with chisel I was turning it into a funny personage from fairytales. Meanwhile, more serious thoughts appeared. I tried to set forth my thoughts in more original shapes, experimenting with various essences – tougher wood, softer wood. Presently, I work more in oak-tree wood.      

In 2019, I had an idea to organize a sculpture camp. By inviting to Condrita several well-known fine artists, such as Dumitru Verdianu, a Bessarabian sculptor, who moved to live in Vienna, masters Ion Zderciuc, Mihai Damian from Moldova, Nicolae-Ovidiu Popa, Laurențiu Mogoșanu from Romania, the International Stone Sculpturing Cam was a success. Afterwards, at a request and with the financial  support of decision-makers of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the government of Switzerland, I was the  organizer of two editions of the International Sculpture Camp from Ciuciulea, Glodeni district.        

On 20 August this year, the third edition of the International Sculpture Camp from Ciuciulea titled, Ciuciulea, home of legends, financed also by UNDP, will be held. I am self-taught man in sculpture and this is a passion which has occupied and embellished my time given me by God since the retirement till present.   

Correspondent Lilia Grubi; Photo Andrei Mardari