April 22, 2016
Twenty-three years ago, German photographer Bernhard Edmaier was working as a geologist. He was fascinated with the Earth and its ever changing structures, but something about spending his life doing research underground just didn’t sit right. Edmaier decided to combine his burgeoning love of photography with his obsession with crust, mantle, and core. His solution? Aerial photography.
Comb Ridge, Utah. These jagged sandstone layers have been tilted and eroded by water.Launch Gallery
“From the aerial perspective I can most effectively tell the narrative of a landscape,” he says. “When it comes to large structures such as mountain ranges or a chain of volcanic cones on a fissure in the Earth’s crust, it is much better to shoot them from the air than from the ground. So it is a really reasonable practice to get airborne and direct the pilot to the right position for my aerial work.”
Landeyjarsandur, Iceland. The water moving across the moor lands is bright yellow as a result of dissolving iron minerals out of the dark volcanic soil which it transports to the coast.Launch Gallery
Edmaier approaches his work meticulously, using his geologist smarts to research and stake out a location for the perfect shot. Instead of spending hours in the air looking for the right location or composition, Edmaier already has his photographs planned out. He uses tools such as Google Earth and satellite images and reaches out to local scientists and commercial pilots.
Huns Mountains, Namibia. The dark Huns Mountains, cut by deep canyons, are situated in south Namibia.Launch Gallery
“Quite often, I already have the eligible picture of the selected motif in mind, which also means that I do not shoot hundreds of photos with the option to select one good shot among the unusable ones,” he says. “So I think many of my images are somehow anticipated compositions.” Whether his compositions are expected or not, the sheer impressiveness of the landscapes is enough to make you stop in your tracks.
Having a detailed plan also helps the project in other ways.
Searles Lake, California. Masses of red, salt-loving algae live in the swamps on the banks of Lake Searles, a salt lake in the Mojave desert.Launch Gallery
“Knowing the ‘right’ location allows me to keep the flight time as short as possible—an important aspect, as my photo projects have been predominantly self-financed so far,” he says. “Especially since the charter rates for helicopters are enormous. During my photo flights there is something like a running counter in my brain.”
Nizina Glacier, Alaska. Huge chunks of ice interspersed with moraine rubble float in the muddy meltwater lake at the front of Nizina Glacier.Launch Gallery
As to why Edmaier thinks aerial photography matters, he says that for him it is “thetechnical means to create a better understanding of natural processes on our planet. Only from a bird’s eye view I can manage to depict these phenomena accordingly to my vision of an ‘ideal’ composition.”
Long Island, Bahamas. As the tide recedes, the clear blue water gathers in tidal inlets carved in the limestone sediment, and flows into deeper basins.Launch Gallery
He hopes that his work will help people see the Earth’s shape and structures in a new light.
“Generally speaking, my photo projects have always been supposed to provide a window to geological processes,” he says. “In our imagination, the Earth or the Earth’s surface is something eternal or with very little changes. But the opposite is true. Infinite processes are continuously remodeling the surface and interior of the Earth.
Lava skylight, Hawaii. A hole in the roof of a lava tunnel is called a skylight by volcanologists.Launch Gallery
“In showing fractures, rock folds, erosional patterns, coastlines, and of course volcanoes and glaciers, etc., I have been trying to visualize these geological and geomorphic processes and make them a bit more comprehensible to all.”
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