Yuri Kozyrev Photojournalism original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/noor-ambassador_yurikozyrev_header--original.jpg original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/noor-ambassador_yurikozyrev_profile--original.jpg Photography. It’s a very incredible language. It’s universal, you can express yourself, you can tell your story visually. yuri_kozyrev_link original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/thumbnails/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_09_thumb--original.jpg original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/stories_to_be_told/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_09--original.jpg <p>Röszke, Hungary, August 2015<br>A group of Syrian migrants prepare to cross into the European Union by crossing the border between Serbia and Hungary. © Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR</p> <p><a href="/EU/product/digital-cameras/slr/professional/d810">Nikon D810 </a> | <a href="/EU/product/nikkor-lenses/auto-focus-lenses/fx/single-focal-length/af-nikkor-35mm-f-2d">AF Nikkor 35mm f/2D </a></p> original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/thumbnails/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_03_thumb--original.jpg original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/stories_to_be_told/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_03--original.jpg <p>Lesbos, Greece, September 2015<br>Refugees are helped by volunteers and tourists in Skala Sikamineas on the northern tip of Lesbos. Thousands of migrants have come ashore this summer on the Greek island of Lesbos, a popular tourist destination. © Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR </p> <p><a href="/EU/product/digital-cameras/slr/professional/d810">Nikon D810 </a> | <a href="/EU/product/nikkor-lenses/auto-focus-lenses/fx/single-focal-length/af-nikkor-35mm-f-2d">AF Nikkor 35mm f/2D </a></p> original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/thumbnails/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_02_thumb--original.jpg true true original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/stories_to_be_told/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_02--original.jpg <p>Lesbos, Greece, September 2015<br>A man holding a child comes ashore near the village of Skala Sikamineas, on the northern tip of Lesbos, after navigating the 6-mile crossing from Turkey on an inflatable raft. The next destination for migrants arriving from Turkey is a 34-mile walk to Mytiline, the capital of Lesbos. © Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR</p> <p><a href="/EU/product/digital-cameras/slr/professional/d810">Nikon D810 </a> | <a href="/EU/product/nikkor-lenses/auto-focus-lenses/fx/single-focal-length/af-nikkor-35mm-f-2d">AF Nikkor 35mm f/2D </a></p> original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/thumbnails/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_07_thumb--original.jpg true true original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/stories_to_be_told/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_07--original.jpg <p>Lesbos, Greece, September 2015<br>Migrants rest aboard a government-chartered cruise ship to transport them to Athens from the Greek island of Lesbos. The regular ferry service on this route could not withstand the huge influx of migrants travelling through Greece to Western Europe from conflict zones across the Muslim world. © Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR</p> <p><a href="/EU/product/digital-cameras/slr/professional/d810">Nikon D810 </a> | <a href="/EU/product/nikkor-lenses/auto-focus-lenses/fx/single-focal-length/af-nikkor-35mm-f-2d">AF Nikkor 35mm f/2D </a></p> original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/thumbnails/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_13_thumb--original.jpg original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/stories_to_be_told/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_13--original.jpg <p>Szeged, Hungary, August 2015<br>A Syrian migrant bids farewell to the Hungarian volunteers who welcomed him upon his arrival in the European Union. Hungarian authorities use passenger trains to transport incoming migrants from the border regions to registration centres in other parts of Hungary. © Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR</p> <p><a href="/EU/product/digital-cameras/slr/professional/d810">Nikon D810 </a> | <a href="/EU/product/nikkor-lenses/auto-focus-lenses/fx/single-focal-length/af-nikkor-35mm-f-2d">AF Nikkor 35mm f/2D </a></p> original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/thumbnails/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_01_thumb--original.jpg original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/stories_to_be_told/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_01--original.jpg <p>Lesbos, Greece, September 2015<br>Volunteers and migrants help an elderly Syrian woman off the rubber dinghy used to cross from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos – the first piece of European land she and the other migrants reached on their journey to claim asylum in Germany or other wealthy European nations. © Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR</p> <p><a href="/EU/product/digital-cameras/slr/professional/d810">Nikon D810 </a> | <a href="/EU/product/nikkor-lenses/auto-focus-lenses/fx/single-focal-length/af-nikkor-35mm-f-2d">AF Nikkor 35mm f/2D </a></p> original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/thumbnails/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_04_thumb--original.jpg original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/stories_to_be_told/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_04--original.jpg <p>Lesbos, Greece, September 2015<br>A beach on the Greek island of Lesbos is festooned with orange life jackets and deflated rafts abandoned by migrants, who are coming ashore near the village of Skala Sikamineas, after navigating the 6-mile crossing from Turkey on inflatable rafts. Between 2,000 and 3,500 migrants now reach the island daily, coming in on around 100 inflatable rafts. © Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR</p> <p><a href="/EU/product/digital-cameras/slr/professional/d810">Nikon D810 </a> | <a href="/EU/product/nikkor-lenses/auto-focus-lenses/fx/single-focal-length/af-nikkor-35mm-f-2d">AF Nikkor 35mm f/2D </a></p> original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/thumbnails/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_05_thumb--original.jpg original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/stories_to_be_told/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_05--original.jpg <p>Lesbos, Greece, September 2015<br>An Afghan migrant shaves with the help of a traffic mirror by the side of a highway on the Greek island of Lesbos. © Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR</p> <p><a href="/EU/product/digital-cameras/slr/professional/d810">Nikon D810 </a> | <a href="/EU/product/nikkor-lenses/auto-focus-lenses/fx/single-focal-length/af-nikkor-35mm-f-2d">AF Nikkor 35mm f/2D </a></p> original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/thumbnails/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_06_thumb--original.jpg true true original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/stories_to_be_told/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_06--original.jpg <p>Lesbos, Greece, September 2015<br>Migrants come aboard a cruise ship chartered by the Greek government to transport them to Athens from the island of Lesbos. The regular ferry service serving this route was unable to cope with the unprecedented influx of migrants travelling through Greece to Western Europe from conflict zones across the Muslim world. © Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR</p> <p><a href="/EU/product/digital-cameras/slr/professional/d810">Nikon D810 </a> | <a href="/EU/product/nikkor-lenses/auto-focus-lenses/fx/single-focal-length/af-nikkor-35mm-f-2d">AF Nikkor 35mm f/2D </a></p> original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/thumbnails/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_11_thumb--original.jpg true true original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/stories_to_be_told/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_11--original.jpg Röszke, Hungary, August 2015<br>A group of migrants take a break from their walk before crossing into the European Union via the border between Serbia and Hungary. © Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR</p> <p><a href="/EU/product/digital-cameras/slr/professional/d810">Nikon D810 </a> | <a href="/EU/product/nikkor-lenses/auto-focus-lenses/fx/single-focal-length/af-nikkor-35mm-f-2d">AF Nikkor 35mm f/2D </a></p> original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/thumbnails/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_10_thumb--original.jpg original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/stories_to_be_told/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_10--original.jpg <p>Röszke, Hungary, August 2015<br>Migrants wait behind a police line for Hungarian authorities to register their arrival in the European Union. © Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR</p> <p><a href="/EU/product/digital-cameras/slr/professional/d810">Nikon D810 </a> | <a href="/EU/product/nikkor-lenses/auto-focus-lenses/fx/single-focal-length/af-nikkor-35mm-f-2d">AF Nikkor 35mm f/2D </a></p> original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/thumbnails/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_08_thumb--original.jpg original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/stories_to_be_told/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_08--original.jpg <p>Röszke, Hungary, September 2015<br>A group of migrants walks towards a Hungarian detention centre for migrants arriving in the European Union. © Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR</p> <p><a href="/EU/product/digital-cameras/slr/professional/d810">Nikon D810 </a> | <a href="/EU/product/nikkor-lenses/auto-focus-lenses/fx/single-focal-length/af-nikkor-35mm-f-2d">AF Nikkor 35mm f/2D </a></p> original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/thumbnails/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_12_thumb--original.jpg original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/stories_to_be_told/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_12--original.jpg <p>Budapest, Hungary, September 2015<br>Thousands of migrants stranded at Keleti railway station in Budapest, Hungary – blocked from onward travel to Austria, Germany and destinations in northern Europe where they hoped to seek asylum. © Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR</p> <p><a href="/EU/product/digital-cameras/slr/professional/d810">Nikon D810 </a> | <a href="/EU/product/nikkor-lenses/auto-focus-lenses/fx/single-focal-length/af-nikkor-35mm-f-2d">AF Nikkor 35mm f/2D </a></p> original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/thumbnails/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_14_thumb--original.jpg original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/stories_to_be_told/yuri_kozyrev_stories_mass_immigration_crisis_14--original.jpg <p>Budapest, Hungary, September 2015<br>Makeshift sleeping areas for the thousands of migrants stranded at Keleti railway station in Budapest, Hungary. They are blocked from travelling to Austria, Germany and destinations in northern Europe where they hoped to seek asylum. © Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR</p> <p><a href="/EU/product/digital-cameras/slr/professional/d810">Nikon D810 </a> | <a href="/EU/product/nikkor-lenses/auto-focus-lenses/fx/single-focal-length/af-nikkor-35mm-f-2d">AF Nikkor 35mm f/2D </a></p> Q: Why was this a story you needed to tell? <p>The refugee crisis dominated the news in 2015. Almost three million people claimed asylum in the European Union in 2015 and 2016, but the manner of their arrival was chaotic and thousands died in the attempt.<br />It is one of the greatest humanitarian crises the globe has ever known, and one of the largest mass migrations into Europe since World War II. For as long as wars continue, people will continue to flee them. And others will continue to try to migrate even when other countries don’t want to accept them.</p> Q: What surprised you most about what you were shooting? <p>The pace and scale of the migration is staggering and the boats keep coming every day. The Greek islands have borne the brunt of an overwhelming wave of smuggling rings from Syria, yet the coast guard never turns back an incoming boat. They try to bring the refugees safely to shore, but that can quickly turn dangerous as the traffickers can become hostile when the coast guard approaches.</p> Q: Which imagery encapsulates this story for you? <p>Nothing quite captures the scale of that summer’s migration crisis in Europe like the fields of deflated boats and life jackets scattered along the eastern islands of Greece. The beaches where tourists would normally sunbathe are practically coated with these items, sometimes stacked in mounds that could fill an Olympic swimming pool. Stare at them long enough and it’s hard to avoid an unsettling thought: someone somewhere is making a fortune selling these things.</p> Q: What struck you most about the migrants and refugees you were photographing? <p>Despite the extraordinarily difficult conditions, they never seemed to give in to despair. You might expect people to be broken by this point – after walking for days in the blistering heat or travelling a thousand miles by land and sea – but they are smiling. They are happy. The transition may be gruelling, but they’re headed to places where they can find safety and rebuild their lives. That’s what drives them: hope.</p> Q: How long were you in the field and which equipment were you using? <p>From the end of August through mid-September 2015, I followed the migrant trail from Turkey through Greece, the Balkans and Hungary, on assignment for Time magazine. I’ve been shooting with Nikon since 2008, and for this shoot I took the Nikon <a href="/EU/product/digital-cameras/slr/professional/d810">D810</a> and my favourite <a href="/EU/product/nikkor-lenses/auto-focus-lenses/fx/single-focal-length/af-nikkor-35mm-f-2d">AF Nikkor 35mm f/2D</a> lens.</p> Q: What concerns do you have about covering emotive stories like this? <p>When there is a major disaster, the understandable response of journalists is to rush in and find the most urgent stories as quickly as possible. It serves a necessary purpose – to tell people what the problem is, who is affected, and what help is needed. But these stories also have the potential to alienate.  At some point, people can feel overwhelmed and start to switch off. Some may even start to feel hostile, asking ‘why are we constantly being told to feel sorry for these strangers’?</p> Q: What would you like readers to understand about this story? <p>By reporting on the refugee crisis, journalists are helping to give migrants an identity. We’re helping to remove the perception that the crowds are an ‘unnamed threat’ reaching European shores. Each of the people in this mass migration is a human being. They each have their own individual stories and have gone through any number of traumas back home.</p> DISCLAIMER <p>NOOR photographers are authorised by Nikon to demonstrate to the public and professional image makers the capabilities and use of Nikon imaging products, but the expressive content of their work is solely their own. NOOR photographers are independent contractors and visual artists and are not employees of Nikon. NOOR photographers are responsible for the content of their photographs, websites, exhibitions, and visual images and the manner in which such content and images are obtained. Any messages, beliefs, or viewpoints expressed in the photographers’ photographs, websites, exhibitions, or visual images do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs or viewpoints of Nikon or any Nikon employee.</p> stories_to_be_told original /imported/images/web/EU/ambassadors/noor-ambassadors/yuri-kozyrev/noor-ambassador_yuri_kozyrev_stories_masthead--original.jpg By reporting on the refugee crisis, journalists are helping to give migrants an identity. We’re helping to remove the perception that the crowds are an ‘unnamed threat’ reaching European shores. <p style="text-align: center;font-weight: bold; font-size: 40px">About The European Mass Migration Crisis</p> <p>We are witnessing the largest movement of people since the Second World War. Although many are migrants seeking a better life, most are refugees escaping persecution in their own countries in the Middle East and Africa. Following the migrant trail from Turkey through to Greece, the Balkans and Hungary, Yuri Kozyrev documents their resilience in the face of demeaning hardship as they travel for over a thousand miles by land and sea.</p> I AM KADIR VAN LOHUIZEN Photojournalist & Lecturer Menu DAVID YARROW Wildlife & Fine Arts OVERVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS Photography Tips SPECIAL PROJECT About the Special Project BIOGRAPHY Biography GALLERY Gallery WHAT’S IN MY BAG What’s in my bag? Read more Read less Find out more View Camera View Lens Meet the other Nikon ambassadors Close STORIES TO BE TOLD Stories to be Told /EU/learn_explore/ambassadors/europe_ambassadors/europe_ambassador_landing.page LOAD MORE LOAD MORE View All Lenses View All Cameras Lens Cameras [host] = [abf.nkisc.eu] [X-Forwarded-For] = [52.22.87.224] [connection] = [close] [accept-encoding] = [gzip,deflate] [user-agent] = [Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; Amazonbot/0.1; +https://developer.amazon.com/support/amazonbot) Chrome/119.0.6045.214 Safari/537.36] learn_explore/ambassadors/europe_ambassadors/yuri_kozyrev/overview

Yuri Kozyrev

Photojournalism

Photography. It’s a very incredible language. It’s universal, you can express yourself, you can tell your story visually.

Meet the other Nikon ambassadors