Tag Archives: Photos

Photography: Killian Schönberger’s Morning Fog & Frost In Germany

Kilian Schönberger – I’m a professional photographer & geographer from Germany; born in 1985. My aspiration was always to cut my path as a photographer with an own creative perspective – despite beeing colourblind. I recognized that I could turn this so-called disadvantage into a strength, too and developed my own unique photographic view: E.g. while getting a picture of a chaotic forest scene, I can’t clearly distinguish the different green and brown tones. Brushing aside this “handicap” I don’t care about those tones and just concentrate on the patterns of the wood to achieve an impressive image structure. Currently I have two residences: One in Cologne and one near Ratisbona in Bavaria. My photographic work concerns the whole range of topics from natural landscapes to cityscapes. Remote rural areas are photographically as interesting as the lifestyle and architecture of urban melting pots. Both worlds fascinate me and so I try to capture my individual view of these changing and challenging environments. For landscape photography I prefer temperate and high latitudes and alpine landscapes. I like the harsh beauty of those areas and the peculiar melancholy that surrounds them. Regions which I am interested in are Norway, Iceland, the Alps, Scotland, the Pacific Northwest, Saxon Switzerland, Kamchatka, Patagonia, New Zealand, the Altai Mountains, Canada and Siberia. After a dozen years in the Rhineland (Bonn & Cologne) I’ve moved to the Bavarian Alps close to Lake Chiemsee in 2021. So large parts of the Alps like the Dolomites, but also my home region in Eastern Bavaria is easier to reach for me now.

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Photography: The ‘Micro-Beauty’ Of Plankton

Plankton form the base of marine and freshwater food webs. They consist of phytoplankton (plants) and zooplankton (animals). Their name derives from the Greek word for “drifter”, since they are too tiny to fight tides or currents. Phytoplankton oxygenate the ocean through photosynthesis, enabling marine animals to thrive, and produce about half the world’s oxygen.  Yet despite their abundance and fundamental role for life on Earth, their microscopic nature makes them easy to ignore. 

“The most exciting thing of the whole project was the discovery of this parallel, beautiful, strange, complex world, ” says photographer Jan van IJken, “there’s so much beauty around the corner that you’re not aware of”. Inspired by the microscopic beauty of plankton – and their predators, van IJken embarked on a photo and film project called Planktonium.  Over a year, he collected a diverse array of species from various Dutch waters, including puddles, lakes and seas, “Every time it was [a] new discovery”, he says. “There’s such a diversity, it makes you humble”. 

Back in his studio, Van IJken used various microscope and photography techniques, including dark field microscopy and timelapse photography to capture the “beauty, fine detail and incredible shapes” of his subjects. To add impact to the film, he commissioned Norweigan musician, Jana Winderen to create a soundscape, made using aquatic audio recordings including of fish, icebergs, small crustaceans which made a crackling sound and even the sounds of “fish howling to the moon”.

Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/…

Photo Contests: 2021 RHS ‘Flowers And Gardens’

Dreamlike flowers, a dragonfly with ‘invisible’ wings and a startlingly geometric overheard view of a garden were among the winners in the 2021 RHS Photographic Competition.

The overall winner was Oliver Dixon for his image of the flower garden at Loseley Park, Surrey, taken with a drone. It’s an image which really captures the mix of Man and Nature which goes in to a great garden.

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