studied geology and worked as geological engineer in tunneling before changing direction and becoming a photographer. His unusual views of the earth, especially his seemingly abstract aerial photographs of the earth's surface, have caused international attention.
In 1998 he received the Kodak Photo Book Award. In 2001 he was honored with the prestigious Hasselblad Master Award.
In 2004, the renowned art book publisher PHAIDON Press (London/New York) released his photo book “Earthsong” in six languages.

... the science about the earth's physical structure and substance, its history, and the processes that act on it - forms the basis of his photographic work. His aim is to visualize the diverse colours, shapes and structures that the forces of nature alone - without man's interference - produce on the earth's surface. He specializes in aerial photography.

"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."

"Connecting geology and photography gives me the opportunity to enrich and expand people's awareness of the earth."

As his motifs – geological structures of the earth – are mostly very large, Bernhard 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. He mainly photographs with Hasselblad medium format cameras.

Driven by his perennial interest in natural phenomena, Bernhard 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.

Freelance science journalist who studied geology and has a doctorate in the history of natural sciences. Her work focuses on topics relating to earth sciences, the environment and climate. She writes for various newspapers (including Süddeutsche Zeitung, the biggest German daily newspaper) and magazines - and she writes books.
She has been working with Bernhard for over 30 years, planning photo projects with him, travelling with him, writing the texts for their jointly created photo books and supervising the photo exhibitions.