About me
About Me
~ Finding the extra-ordinary in the ordinary ~
From a very young age on, I was fascinated by all 'creepy crawlies'; In spring times I kept frog spawn in an aquarium and watched the tadpoles develop. In summer, I went out catching beetles and butterflies and in autumn and winter I tried to attract hedgehogs and birds to our garden.
At the age of ten I clicked my first wildlife image with a point-and-shoot camera; and at the age of 17 I bought my first SLR camera. From that point on, there was no going back - a completely new world opened up in front of me. I now pay much more attention to details, light and shapes- basically composing a picture in my mind already. Fast foreward 20 years and I am still fascinated to explore and share the wonders of nature.
My interests have extended beyond nature though, including also travel and street photography, family and kids and architecture.
I love photography as it is a never ending journey full of miracles.
Patience and Perseverance
What have dirty boots to do with this? Well, first and foremost they are my most important accessory to my camera gear when I'm out and about in the field. In addition they remind me that I should always 'go the extra mile' and work hard for every single image even if it means crawling through mud or climbing that steep hill just to get the extra vantage point. The extra effort also means getting up at ungodly hours and being outside in inclement weather until I get the imageI had visualised. It gets tougher the older I get though...
International Awards and Recognitions
- 2011, Travel Photographer of the Year Competition, Highly Commended
- 2010, Overall Winner of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Photo Competition
- 2009, First Place at the Cambridge Graduate School of Life Sciences Photo Competition
- 2009, Associateship with the Royal Society of Photography
- 2008, Cover of the Journal of Comparative Physiology (A)
- 2006, Cover of the Journal of the Royal Society (Interface)
- 2005, BG Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Highly Commended in the categories 'Gerald Durell Award, 'Animal Behavior: Mammals' and 'Wild Landscapes'
- 2005, European Nature Photographer of the Year, Highly Commended in the categories 'Plants' and 'Landscapes'
- 2003, Sientific Photo Award 'Visuell', Runner-up
- 2003, European Nature Photographer of the Year, Winner of the Category: 'Animal Behaviour: All Other Animals'
- 2000, 2001, 2003, BG Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Highly Commended in the categories 'In Praise of Plants' and 'Animal Behavior: All Other Animals'
- 2001, European Nature Photographer of the Year, Highly Commended in the categories 'Urban and Garden Wildlife' and 'Animal Behaviour: All Other Animals'
- 2000, 2003, International Photo Contest 'Glanzlichter', Highly Commended
- 1999, BG Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Winner of the Category:'Animal Behavior: All Other Animals'
- 1999, Austrian Super Circuit, Bronze medal
- 1998, First International Super Circuit, Mention de Honneur