Analyzing the tunnel scenes from The Great Escape sparked Yuri's interest in photography & cinematography at the early age of 7, and his father innocently fuelled that interest by bringing a glass light prism home that he had found. Thinking as a photographer, he began gawking at 35mm SLR (single lens reflex) cameras behind glass display cases, but that did little to convince his father to purchase one. Being raised in a poor immigrant family had far more pressing issues than high-end cameras; so, the Kodak 126 Instamatic had to do for a while yet. The high school years finally brought some practical photographic experience, which also strengthened his interest in motion picture photography.

Learning the film business from the ground up began by, literally, "sweeping the studio floor" as a P.A. (Production Assistant), but Yuri's enthusiasm quickly advanced him through to the Lighting Department. There he gained valuable experience on commercials, music videos and industrials which led to a Best boy Electric (Lighting Assistant) position on the popular CTV series "The Campbell’s". Subsequent work as a Gaffer (Chief Lighting Technician) honed his lighting skills to the point where he was ready to make the next logical transition.

In 1986, Yuri began to promote himself as a Director of Photography or Cinematographer. The year saw him photograph national commercial spots for La-Z-Boy Furniture and National Geographic, two short dramas, several music videos and a series pilot, "Notes from the Underground". Since then, Yuri has steadily increased his experience and portfolio to its current status.

His most recent completed projects include 3 seasons of the PAX/CTV hit, "Sue Thomas: FBEye", three seasons and a TV movie of the number one rated Disney Channel show , "The Famous Jett Jackson", "Missing" and "Til' Death Do Us Part" ("Love You To Death" in Canada). He is currently working on "Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning".

Yuri is also in the midst of rediscovering his passion for still photography and has been exhibited at various art shows... ...and the prism his father gave him, sits on his night-stand as a constant source of inspiration.

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