About
I am a biologist (PhD in molecular genetics), gardener, traveler, musician, horse breeder, mother and wife, who tries to combine and reconcile all her interests and passions in her photographic projects. I love photography for its ability to connect with people close and far and inspire dreams and imaginations.
My photography started at a very early age when I was given an old Agfa Gevaert box by my grandfather. When I was 14, I continued with my first all manual Nikon that I still have. Nowadays I use the very versatile, fabulous, sturdy D500 and D810, phantastic instruments that allow me to do whatever I want.
Travel
I grew up in a vicarage in a small German town. My father apart from his duties as reverend taught ethics and philosophy at the local engineering college and our house was often full of Lebanese, Kurdish or Vietnamese students, refugees, supported by church means and seeking a good German education. When I was six, my mother's sister moved to Kathmandu in Nepal for a few years to work there as a pediatrician. In her letters home she sent stories of children carrying their siblings on their backs, photographs of temples decorated with colourful wimples and reports of travel through beautiful Kashmir, Bengal and Ceylon. These are my earliest recollections of distant and foreign countries and they inspired my love of travel and interest in different cultures with their individual pursuits of happiness. Ever since that time I have brought photographs home with me and I still get restless if I have to stay home for extended periods of time or have no travel planned in the near future.
Arts and Music
Music has accompanied me all my life. When very young I wanted to be a singer and I still sing or hum all day. As a child I learned to play the piano for many years and contemplated a career as a pianist. As piano playing can be a very lonely business, I took up cello lessons as an adult. I love its beautiful warm sound and the opportunity to play in orchestras. Most instruments are aesthetically pleasing and natural objects for photography.
From My Garden
I am a keen gardener. In my photography I try to give plants a character and something more than the sheer beauty of a blossom.
Animal Life
Wildlife photography is probably the one that I like most - sitting on a safari vehicle somewhere in Africa in the very early morning and waiting for a lion pride to take action or following a bird of prey circling up in the air and looking for food, is most inspiring for me. But as I cannot spend the whole year on safari, most of my pictures here in this section are from animals close by, horses, birds and other "home safaris".
At Home
These are images that I have taken when I could not go out or that simply don't fit into any of the other categories ! Enjoy!
Blog
My images are accompanied by my blog (see links) where I write updates, explain background, reason and other bits of information concerning my pictures.