Do you want to know what got me into animal photography? Sit tight and read on:

I started to take my first pictures when I was a little boy, about five or six years old. My father was a hobby photographer at the time, so I sometimes \"borrowed\" one of his cameras and took photos of random objects around me.

Going through my teenage years I lost most of my interest in photography, instead my interests laid in sports, especially diving. Which still is one of my passions to this day.

In my late years of high school, I started to get into underwater photography and cinematography, driven by my passion for diving. Slowly my interest in photography rose again, partially caused by my starting education in graphic design, and I started to gain interest in other motifs. And with the help of my girlfriend, I started to photograph objects above the water. It didn't take long for me to realize my passion for photographing animals, which don't only swim in the water all day. I started visiting wildlife parks in my area and photographed the different animals living there. With my rising skills in the field of animal photography, I began to seek new challenges. So I started to leave the controlled environment of zoos and parks, where animals are easily spotted, and headed out into the wilderness, challenging myself to find wild animals and photograph them in their natural environment.

And that challenge became one of my big goals in photography:

To go out into the wilderness, enjoy its beauty, enjoy its residents, to capture these sights and share them, to inspire, to raise awareness.

...because our nature and its residents are not only astonishing to look at, but are crucial for our survival. Nature also is a very unique environment, that needs to be protected. With my pictures, I want to help you to open your eyes to a world, away from our concrete jungles. Let yourself inspire through my pictures and my personal view of the world and its nature.

Do you want to talk with me about some topic or would like to commission some pictures or prints? Feel free to contact me on Instagram or by sending an E-Mail to info@yannicmatt.photography.