Bernhard Edmaier
From Geology to Photography
Biography
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For more than 25 years, the photographer Bernhard Edmaier, who initially studied geology, has been very deeply dedicated to photographing the surface of our planet – the forces of Nature which form the Earth. His seemingly abstract aerial images, in which high quality photography and science unite, have caused international sensation and have been received with great excitement by international audiences.
Bernhard Edmaier’s magnificent aerial images won him a renowned Kodak Photo Book Prize in 1998. In 2001 he received the Hasselblad Master Award.
His art photography is firmly rooted in geology. It is his aim to present the manifold colours, forms and structures which the Earth has created without man’s interference. In order to achieve this aim, Bernhard Edmaier uses aerial photography as his medium.Driven by his perennial interest in natural phenomena, Bernhard Edmaier travels extensively to deserted and still untouched corners of the globe to gather material for his books and other photographic projects. On his trips, he is accompanied by Angelika Jung-Huettl, PhD. - his partner, fellow geologist and science writer for prominent German newspapers and popular science magazines, who in close co-operation with the photographer, works on book projects and provides scientific commentaries for his photo book editions.
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Artist's statement
Aerial photography is my instrument enabling me to take pictures of vast areas of the Earth’s crust, which is so abundant in colours and rich in structures.
I view my work as a continuous expedition to explore the surface of our planet, especially in places where it was formed by the external forces of nature such as water, wind or ice or by its internal forces such as tectonic movements, volcanic or orogenetic activity.
Each photograph is an arrested moment in the perpetual process of shaping and re-shaping of the Earth’s internal and external structures by the forces of nature for millions of years. Nothing on the surface of our planet is permanent and static - it is an ongoing interplay of coming into being and passing away.
Imaging technique
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From pressing the button to the final print
Bernhard Edmaier works exclusively with Hasselblad cameras. Until 2007 he used analogue medium-format Hasselblad cameras with Fuji-Velvia films (50 ASA) and with various Zeiss lenses. Then he changed to a digital Hasselblad camera. The first had a 39 megapixels resolution, and the current one has a 100 megapixels resolution.
As his motifs – geological structures of the earth – are mostly very large, Bernhard Edmaier needs to shoot his images from a greater distance. He manages this by using a helicopter or a small plane and directing the pilot to an exact point where, in accordance with his idea, he is able to focus his camera on the object. 90 percent of his images are aerial images.
All his images, analogue or digital, are taken without any filter. Bernhard Edmaier personally prepares his photographic data to be printed in books, magazines or as large format FineArtPrints on his Mac computers. Analogue images are digitalised with a Flextight 949 scanner. During data preparation, Bernhard Edmaier follows his principle of stricktly sticking to the true image of the objects he photographs – he declines any form of digital manipulation of his images.
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TV REPORT
Short film about the photo project "Colours of the Earth", it shows Bernhard working above Chile and Siberia
Length: 4:35 minutes
Farben der Erde - Alaska ist türkis
(Colours of the Earth - Alaska is tourquiose)
Press comments
„The print of time on the skin of the earth. Splendid.“
GEO Paris, Frankreich
„Bernhard Edmaier raises the art of aerial photography to new hights. His images are hauntingly impressionistic, even as they display a clarity of tone and texture that recalls the sharp-focus realism of Eliot Porter ... “
Natural History Magazine, USA
" .... Edmaier’s work reveals the diverse colours, forms and structures of the Earth photographed from the air at the height of 50 – 4,000 metres. However, this is just a part of his photographic style, more than that, he continues the stylistic tradition of New Objectivity by incorporating the notion of scientific and thematic correlation in his texts and images, similarly to Albert Renger-Patzsch. In this way, the functional principles of our planet are translated into aesthetically perfect images."
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie (German Society for Photography)
Team
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Together with two freelancers
Angelika Jung-Hüttl, PhD
An independently working science journalist who studied geology and obtained a doctorate in natural sciences. The focal points of her work are subjects such as geoscience, climate and environment.
For the past 20 years Angelika Jung-Huettl has been working together with Bernhard Edmaier planning and organising his photo expeditions, travelling with him, writing texts for jointly created picture books and supervising photo exhibitions.
Additionally, Angelika Jung-Huettl writes articles for many renowned German daily newspapers such as the Süddeutsche Zeitung and magazines such as Geo. She has also written a book entitled „Feuer gefangen - Meine Reisen zu den Vulkanen der Erde" published in German 2005 by Frederking and Thaler. It is a collection of essays based on personal experiences Angelika Jung-Huettl made during her numerous trips and expeditions to the volcanic regions of our planet.Susanne Meidl
A certified photographer, who specializes in portrait photography and runs her own photographic studio (Susanne Meidl – Fotografie und Design). She supports Bernhard Edmaier in processing his images and gives new concepts a perfect form. -
Contact
For further information
If you require more information about Bernhard Edmaier’s work, press material, documentation related to his exhibitions or fine art prints, please contact:
Angelika Jung-Huettl, PhD.
info@bernhard-edmaier.de
Tel. +49 (0)8636 7580