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The Svalbard archipelago - sometimes referred as to Spitsbergen - is situated half-way between Norway and the North Pole. No other place in the High Arctic offers a comparable abundance of polar features and wildlife in such a limited area. The scenery of peaked mountains and huge glaciers under the Midnight Sun as well as the flora and fauna fascinated me any time I had visited this remote area. In 2003 and 2004 I took part in expedition voyages on board of the Russian vessel "MV Molchanov". Most pictures of the Svalbard main gallery and Svalbard wildlife gallery were taken with Canon 1Ds, 10D and 1V cameras. I mostly used the 16-35mm/f2.8, 28-70mm/f2.8 and 70-200mm/f2.8 zooms for photographing the landscape and the 600mm/f4.0 and 300mm/f2.8 lenses +1,4x converter for wildlife shots.
To view the two galleries, please click on the left or right part of the image - or on the thumbnails below !

In 1998 I visited the impressive country of Namibia. The roundtrip took me from Windhoek to the Fishriver Canyon, then back north to the overwhelming dunes of Sossusvlei. On a sightseeing flight from Swakopmund over the desert we passed the notorious Skeleton coast where many ships sank in the storm and fog. The wrecks gradually are covered by the dunes of the Namib now. Of course the visit of the famous Etosha NP with its exuberant wildlife was a highlight of the trip as well as the fly-in to the Kunene river where the native people of Ovahimba live. In the meantime their culture and the unique nature of the Kaokaoveld is threatened by a huge dam project . In 1998 Digital photography was not yet an issue. I used Fujichrome velvia 50 film and also Kodakchrome 64 because of its neutral colors and longlivity. The wildlife shots at that time were taken with a 4.0/300mm IS lens and 1.4x converter using Canon 1V/1N cameras.
To view the two galleries, please click on the left or right part of the image - or on the thumbnails below !

A voyage to Antarctica is truly a once in a lifetime experience. It offers nature and wilderness in its purest state. So in December 2004 a dream came true when I could join an expedition cruise aboard “M/S Bremen” to the southernmost and frozen continent. Though it was pretty obvious that this trip wouldn't be addressed to the special needs of professionals or serious photographers at the same degree as other expedition voyages, I was very happy to get this unique chance. After a short visit to the Tierra del Fuego National Park (Fireland NP) we embarked in Ushuaia, often regarded as “city at the end of the world” with the silhouette of the Andes Mountain Range as background. We travelled through the sheltered waters of the Beagle Channel and into the south Atlantic to the Falklands onto South Georgia, escorted by Albatrosses, Petrels and Shearwaters. Facing hundreds of thousands of King Penguins against the dramatic background of South Georgia’s snow covered peaks is an overwhelming and unforgettable experience. Gentoo, Chinstrap and Macaroni Penguins as well as various seals are abundant too. Passing huge icebergs we followed Shackleton’s route to Elephant Island and the South Shetlands before reaching the Antarctic Peninsula with its spectacular ice formations. We set foot on the famous Paradise Bay and other localities along the shorelines of the Lemaire Channel where we encountered Adelie Penguins, Shags and whales. Back across the famous Drake Passage we disembarked in Ushuaia. Serious Photography on regular Antarctic cruises often differs from taking pictures elsewhere since you're closely faced with a huge abundance of wildlife but you have to get the best motifs in the pretty limited time you're allowed to go ashore. I returned from the trip with more than 10000 photos, which mostly had been taken with f2.8/28-70L, f2-8/70-200L and 2.8/300L lenses (some with 1,4 converter) using Canon 1DsMk2 and 1DMK2 Digital Cameras. In addition I used Fujichrome Provia 100F for my Canon 1V film body.

For many years Norway has been one of my favourite destinations. The impressive sceneries and the changing light in the tranquillity of nature provide great fascination at every season. On my voyages along the Norwegian coast I travelled more than 10 times on board of the classic Hurtigruten vessel MS Lofoten which was built in 1964 and has a unique atmosphere of privacy. For some years this ship has been only used in winter on the regular coastal route and must give way for the rest of the year to the big modern luxury liners. In the summer of 2005 special cruises aboard the old ship were offered for the first time. I spontaneously decided to participate in a one-week trip around the Lofoten archipelago in combination with a connected tour southbound to Bergen via the Sognefjord, which is known to be the longest and deepest fjord in the world. Outgoing from Bodø we dropped anchor at many places along the Helgeland coast and the Lofoten and Vesterålen Islands, which are not scheduled on the regular Hurtigruten trip. Whalewatching, boat rides to the sea eagle cliffs, hikes, a visit to the Svartisen glacier and many other scenic and cultural attractions made this trip an unforgettable experience. The selection of photos shall provide an impression of the diversity of this tour of which I hope that it will be offered furthermore in the future. Most of the pictures were taken with f2.8/28-70 and f2.8/70-200 IS lenses on Canon 1DsMarkII and 1DMarkII cameras. For some indoor shots the f1.4/35mm lens was used. The photos of the wildlife were taken with f4.0/600 IS and f2.8/300mm IS lenses. I also used 100F Provia film for my Canon 1V camera.

On the Isle of Mainau in Lake Constance you can visit Germany's biggest butterfly house which is opened all year round and is a real highlight of the region. There are more than 25 exotic varieties of butterflies from 3 continents (Asia, South America and Africa) which roam freely in a natural enviroment between tropical plants, completed with a waterfall, bridges and small lagoons. With some luck you can watch them emerge from their cocoons. I visited the butterfly house which was established in 1996 several times between 2004 and 2006 in order to take pictures of these colourful insects. The photos of this gallery were mainly taken with the f2.8/100mm Macro lens using the Macrolite MR 14-EX flash on Canon 1Ds, 1DsMarkII and 10D cameras.

In the summer of 2006 I took part in 2 consecutive voyages aboard “M/V Polar Star” to Greenland and Baffin Island. Both trips were not primarily adapted to the special interests and the timing of serious nature photographers but had a strong historical focus. So a lot of compromises was required. Nevertheless, it was an impressive experience and the only chance for me to get to these remote places in the limited period I had available.That’s why I had decided to join. On the first trip, we set off from Svalbard and sailed west across the Demark Strait to East Greenland trying to reach land as far north as the sea ice allowed. We travelled down the remote coast of Greenland entering a landscape of dramatic fjords, endless tundras, glaciers and icebergs By Zodiac rides we visited places of interest relating to exploration and settlement. Before sailing back to Iceland we entered the well known Scoresby Sund which is the largest fjord of the world and with its huge walls and towers of ice was one of the most impressive places on the trip. We encountered several species of wildlife such as seabirds, musk oxes, seals and some whales too. Sadly enough, we could see the retreat of the glaciers and dramatic melting due to the global warming in many places along Greenland’s coast. So I’m glad I once could visit the vanishing beauty of this unique landscape which still is one of the last pristine enviroments of the world.

Located between Mora and Sveg in Orsa Finmark, Hamra National Park with its size of only 28 hectares (0,3 square kilometres) is the smallest national park of Sweden. It was founded in 1909 and forms a pretty untouched oasis of forest in the midst of a managed area, - with wind-fallen trees, snags, vast amounts of beard lichenes, boulders and a small lake ("tarn"). Some firs are over 300 years old. The landscape is shaped by two low morraine hills. Apart from its richly varied insect life which counts about 450 species of beetles, the park is not known for a great variety of wildlife. However, when I was there in April 2007, it was a great experience photographing the early morning displays of the male black grouse (blackcocks) as well as taking pictures of cranes, barnacle geese, whooper swans and various species of ducks in this beautiful unaffected and silent nature. I stayed with a German couple who lives in the area for a long time and is well known to the community of professional and amateur nature photographers for their great hospitality and knowledge. They're organizing trips in the park, providing several watch shelters and huts for photography. We went to the locations ('leks") early before dawn so that we could watch and photograph the arising activity of the birds. Unfortunately I had to leave before the mating season of the shy capercaillie but I surely will return to this amazing place once again. We also visited the well-known Järvzoo in Järvsö, which has a large collection of Nordic animals, including the four major carnivores of Sweden: the wolf, bear, lynx and the wolverine. However, at this time of the year, the bears were not yet active. On the way back, we stopped at Hornborga Lake which is located between the two large lakes Vänern and Vättern north of Gothemborg and which is famous for the cranes dancing spectacle yearly taking place in April. Around 8000 to 10000 cranes are gathering here every day to dance and mate before leaving for their final summer destination further north in Norway and Sweden. The wildlife shots were taken with the 600mm/f4.0 IS, 400mm II/f2.8 and 300mm/f2.8 IS tele lenses on Canon 1D Mark II/ 1Ds Mark II cameras. If necessary, the 1,4x or 2x converter was used additionally. For capturing landscapes, I went with the 24-105mm/f4.0 IS, 24-70mm/f2.8, 70-200mm/f2.8 IS and 35mm/f1.4 lenses.

Antelope Canyon, located near Page (AZ), is like nowhere else in North America: Wind and water have eroded the Navajo Sandstone into remarkable forms of complex walls and twisted towers which ascend from a crack in the Colorado Plateau producing narrow defiles, often only a few feet wide.The play of reflected and overhead light across the sculped sandstone walls of the winding passageways inspire an exceptionally abstract photography. It was my long-time wish to visit this unique place and my main motivation of joining the one week photo excursion to the Slot Canyons and Monument Valley, scheduled in March 2008. The spectacular rock formations of Monument Valley probably are the most familiar and recognizable scenery of the Southwest - renowned from its use in John Ford's Stagecoach, starring John Wayne, and from numerous advertisings. For the first time, I had visited this place in the summer of 1993 on my roundtrip through Arizona and Utah and I was looking foward of seeing this symphony in stone again. We photographed at sunrise and sunset on this memorable photosafari, - not only in this Tribal park and the Slot Canyons but also went to other photogenic locations around Page.
After these shootings I had the chance of a short revisit of Bryce Canyon (UT) with its famous spires, called "hoodoos" which are formed when ice and rainwater wear away the weak limestone. The park elevation tops out at 9115 feet (about 2780 metres). That is why there was still some snow at this time of the year, turning the amphitheaters with their red glowing towers into a scenery beyond imagination at sunrise. Next stop was at Arches NP which contains the world's largest concentration of natural stone arches surrounded by other oddly eroded forms. After a short visit of Canyonlands NP I went back to Las Vegas, passing the massive sandstone towers of the Zion NP and Capitol Reef NP with its great geological diversity of sedimentary layers.
The photographs were taken with Canon 1Ds Mark III and 1Ds Mark II cameras, just a few with the 1D Mark III. I mostly used the 24-105mm/f4.0 IS and 70-200mm/f 2.8 lenses. The visions of the unique natural phenomenons of the Southwest and the chance to capture some of them stand out in my memory.

In the summer of 2008 I had joined an expedition cruise to Franz Josef Land onboard the vessel M/S Polaris. Situated east of Svalbard at latitudes between 80.0° and 81.9° north, the Russian archipelago is the northernmost land mass in the Eastern Hemisphere and located only 900 – 1100 km (560 to 690 miles) from the North Pole. Franz Josef Land consists of 191 islands with an area of 16,134 km², 83% of them covered with permanent ice and for the most part unaccessible. The volcanic and nowadays largely inhabited group of islands was discovered in 1873 by the Austrian - Hungarian polar explorers J. Payer and C. Weyprecht who named it in honour of the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I. Trying to find a north east passage, their ship “Admiral Tegettoff” was locked in ice for two winters. Since the expedition was private sponsored, the archipelago never had been part of Austria, though. In the late 19th and early 20th century, several polar explorers used the islands as a base for expeditions to the North Pole. So the remains of the camps and huts can still be found there. In 1926 the archipelago was taken over by the Soviet Union, and a few people came for research and military purposes. Now the Islands are abandonded and given back to nature - with exception of one small Russion military base in the utmost West.
Leaving from Longyearbyen (Svalbard), our voyage was offered on the occasion of the total solar eclipse which could be observed on August 1st 2008 in the Far East and Northeast. We could watch this astronomical phenomenon nearby FJL at our position at 79° 51.60' N, 42° 04.2 ' E at 09:50 UTC. Though this rare event undoubtably was one of the highlights, it orginally had not been the main reason for me to take part in the trip. It rather was a unique chance for me to visit one of the rare wild places left in the High Arctic. However, as our ship obviously was not in perfect condition and maybe also in order to save time because of the focus on the eclipse, they mostly stayed away from the packice at a considerable distance. That is why our wildlife encounterings, i.e. regarding polarbears were more limited than I had hoped for. Despite these drawbacks and the fact that the voyage to JFL was not scheduled as a special photo expedition, it was an impressive and unique trip to a very remote place I probably won’t be able to visit again in the near future. So I’m glad that I had joined.
The photos displayed in the gallery were shot with Canon 1DsMarkIII/II cameras, mostly using the f2.8/24-70mm, f4.0/24-105mm IS, f2.8/70-200mm IS, f2.8/16-35mm and f2.8/14mm II lenses. For photographing wildlife, I oftenly used the f 2.8/300mm IS including the 1.4x or 2.0x converter mounted on the 1D Mark III. The closeups were captured with the f2.8/100mm macro lens. For the first time, I had also used the WFT-E2 transmitter with diGPS connected for geotagging my photos. I’m planning to map some of the pictures to google maps later.

In March 2009 I took part in a photo expedition to the Galapagos Archipelago which lies some 600 miles west of mainland Ecuador. Its six major islands and broad scattering of smaller islands are set along the equator and constitute what early sailors called Las Islas Encantadas, the Enchanted Island. Our 2009 cruise aboard the aptly named M/V Evolution commemorated the bicentennial of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book The Origin of the Species The volcanic Galapagos Archipelago is without doubt a crown jewel of the natural world and one of the best locations for nature photography I’ve visited to date. The abundant and photogenic wildlife allows human approach within few meters. As known, the islands are home to extraordinary tortoises, iguanas, sea lions, fur seals and the famous Darwin’s finches, alltogether with thousands of seabirds and other species. We went ashore on 8 islands throughout the archipelago for extensive shooting sessions in the early morning and late afternoon light. Inbetween we took time to snorkel and to explore the tropical underwater world, looking for sea turtels, rays and coral reef fishes. The organization of the phototours was excellent and the local guide of the National Park was very competent and cooperative, too. The day we arrived in San Cristobal, we got the information that the La Cumbre volcano on San Fernandina had just begun of spewing lava. During our stay on this island, we unfortunately could not convince the captain to circumnavigate the island for a view of the spectacular eruption. So we could only see the smoke coming up from behind the mountains and get a glimpse of the red skies atnight. Missing this unique event was the only drawback of our otherwise excellent trip.

Before we left for Galapagos, I had the chance of a short sightseeing in Quito, the historic main capital of Ecuador. Since Ecuador is famous for countless species of orchids and tropical birds, I additionally had booked a day trip into the primeval cloud forest of the Tandayapa Reserve to see some hummingbirds, including a short stop at the Pahoma Orchids Reserve. Focussing mainly on Galapagos, I had no multiflash setup brought on this trip which is needed to properly capture the humms in flight. In the limited period of our stay I could only get an impression of the seemingly endless species there and capture some basic shots by just using a single o580 EX II flash with fresnel adapter. In any case, this area is well worth coming back one day. On our return from Galapagos we stopped over in Guayaquil, the second largest town in Ecuador. We bridged the time gap by a short city tour.
All photos of the galleries and slideshows were taken with Canon 1DsMarkIII, 1Ds MarkII and 1D MarkIII cameras. The latter was mostly used for photographing wildlife on Galapagos with the 300mm Is/f.2.8 (some with the 1,4x or 2x converter mounted). Many wildlife shots were captured with the 70-200mm/f 2.8 IS, too. For landscapes I preferably used the 24-105mm/f 4.0 IS, 16-35mm or 24-70mm/2 2.8 lenses, while the macros were taken with the 100mm/ f.2.8 prime and ring flash. For the underwater photos I used my old 10D and the 24mm/f 1.4 in a EWA marine housing.

In August 2010 I had joined an 11 days trip to Kamchatka,- a 780-mile (1250 km) long peninsula located in the Russian Far East, which separates the Sea of Okhotsk from the Pacific Ocean and equals the size of France, Belgium and Luxembourg combined. Lying on the Great Pacific “Ring of Fire”, Kamchatka Peninsula is one of the most outstanding volcanic regions in the world, with its high density of more than 160 volcanoes 29 of which are active. There is a multitude of thermal and mineral springs, geysers and other phenomena of active volcanism. Consequently, 19 volcanoes with their kaleidoscope of unusual landcapes, including the famous “Valley of Geysirs” located in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, constitute the "Volcanoes of Kamchatka" UNESCO World Heritage Site. Furthermore, Kamchatka is home to the densest population of brown bears in the world. From a photographer’s perspective this was one of my main motifs to travel there. The exceptionel concentration of bears is related to the fact that Kamchatka produces over a quarter of all wild Pacific salmon. Its river system hosts the greatest diversity of salmonid fish on Earth. The Kamchatka Brown Bear is a very large subspecies, with a body length up to 3 metres tall on hind legs and a weight of 650 kg (1433 lbs) or more. It nearly has the size of the Kodiak Bear. Normally, the bears are not so aggressive and predatatory as their Grizzly counterparts. That said, the known Japanese photographer Mishio Hoshino had been killed in 1996 when camping overnight close to the Kurile Lodge. Despite its great size, the peninsula is home to just 400,000 people of which half live in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. As such, the peninsula is vastly uninhabited, still untamed wilderness and many parts are only accessible by helicopter. Arriving in the capital after a 9 hours flight from Moscow in fact takes you to another world. Due to the weather conditions, we had to stay in Petropavlosk for another 2 days, visiting local museums,a Salmon farm in the Paratunka area and went on a boat ride in the Avacha Bay, which unfortunately was affected by the bad weather. The helicopter flight to the Kurile Lake and the 3 days stay there for photographing numerous bears from a pretty close distance definitely was the highlight of the tour and in this respect surpasses all other locations in the world that I know, including Katmai. Of course, we also visited some other places and attractions shown and described in the gallery, such as the Valley of Geysers, Uzon Caldera, Koduktka Hot springs.
It was a great trip and the local guide did an excellent job. From my personal view, the only disappointment was the fact that we didn’t encounter Stellar’s sea eagles and had not enough time to look for them intensively, because the itinary had also scheduled a visit to the rendeer herds and locals in the Esso region some 500km north of Petropavlosk. Stellar’s Sea Eagle is the largest sea eagle and another unique attraction besides the Kamchatka brown bears. So I hope I can come back some day to photograph these amazing raptors. The wildlife shots were taken with the 500mm/f 4.0L IS, 300mm/f 2.8L IS, 100-400mm/f 4.0- 5.6 L IS and 70-200mm/f 2.8 L IS II on Canon 1 D Mark IV, 7D and 1 Ds Mark III cameras, some by using 1,4x and 2x converters. The landscapes photos were captured with the 24-105mm/f 4.0 IS, 24-70mm/f 2.8 and the 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II lenses.

For many years, Patagonia has been top on the list of places to visit once in my lifetime. Around Christmas 2010 I finally could fulfill the dream and went on a private trip for 19 days. Located in the southern Andes mountain range straddling the border of Argentina and Chile, Patagonia’s breathtaking scenery of mountain icons, azure lakes and glaciers have attracted countless nature photographers. However, travellers can also face some of the worst and probably most variable weather in the world making photography potentially impossible - unless you like hiking and taking pictures in 90+ km/h wind and horizontal rain. Quite a few photographers returned back home without having seen the motifs they had come for. Therefore I was very lucky with the weather since it was sunny, very warm and pretty calm almost every day. Within the limited time available, the trip was primarily focused on the three famous highlights of southern Patagonia: Torres del Paine NP in Chile and Los Glaciares NP including Perito Moreno Glacier, located in Argentina. Flying in from Santiago the Chile I arrived in Punta Arenas on Christmas Eve and drove to Puerto Natales which is situated 250 km northwest of Punta Arenas and is the gateway to TDP. Parque National de Torres Del Paine with its array of world renowned granite Torres and Cuernos peaks, glacier-fed turquoise lakes, meadows, Magellanic forests, rivers and waterfalls was declared an UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1978 and offers a gentler experience than Los Glaciares NP, also for those not willing or capable of backpacking and overnight camping. Parque National de Los Glaciares with the panoramic Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre massif forming shark-tooth summits is also included on UNESCO’s Biosphere List and is the mountaineering mecca of Patagonia. In the southern sector of the park and among the earth’s most dynamic and largest icefield outside the polar regions, the famous 30km long Glaciar Perito Moreno is one of only a few advancing glaciers in the world and the main tourist attraction. Proceeding up to 2m a day and rising 60m above the level of water, the 5km long glacier front offers outstanding views of the ice towers collapsing from time to time.