German photographer Bernhard Lang (Bernhard Lang) photographed fish farms in Greece from a bird's-eye view. Lang is passionate about aerial photography and uses his work to address questions of ecology and humanity's impact on the environment.
Inspired by the snow-white landscapes glimpsed through the porthole window, he later returned to the skies — this time with a camera in hand
Lang was born and lives in Munich, Germany. He began his career in commercial photography until, in 2010, a chance encounter prompted him to change direction. Lang was travelling to Japan, crossing the Siberian expanse by plane. Inspired by the snow-white landscapes glimpsed through the porthole window, he later returned to the skies — this time with a camera in hand. From that point, a series of projects emerged, touching on tourism, industry and transport: mineral extraction, tulip fields, cattle farms, beaches, ports and irrigation fields.
His aerial photography creates an illusion of abstraction. At first glance, some images are difficult to read: they seem to be abstract, geometrically precise paintings. Only on closer inspection do individual objects and landscape details become apparent. Lang's photographs invite the viewer to see familiar, everyday things differently — ordinary beaches or landscapes appear strange and new. Even industrial terrain looks aesthetic from this vantage point.
Bernhard Lang shoots at a 90° angle to the ground, which requires him to lean out of the plane or helicopter as he flies over the landscape
Bernhard Lang shoots at a 90° angle to the ground, which requires him to lean out of the plane or helicopter as he flies over the landscape. At times the altitude reaches 1,000 metres — an approach that carries its own risks. Lang is consumed by the search for the perfect distance: the point at which people and nature can coexist in flawless balance.
Much of Lang's work is concerned with the impact of industrialisation and human activity on nature. Through it, he seeks to prompt in the viewer a sense of what would need to change in order to improve society and the environment. The relationship between humanity and the natural world is the central theme running through all of Lang's projects — one that underscores the extent to which people have appropriated their surroundings.
The project 'Fish Farms' is one of his works, in which he photographed fish farms from a bird's-eye view. Aquaculture is generally considered safer than catching wild fish from the sea — yet fish farms raise their own environmental concerns. Fishing is vital to the Greek economy: sea bass and sea bream are among the country's largest export commodities. Even so, fish prices have fallen significantly in recent years.
In the photographs — if you don't know what you're looking at — it is hard to recognise fish farms at all. Uneven circles and ovals arrange themselves into a strange pattern, at times orderly, at times chaotic.
New York-based photographer Brooke Holm also has a series of aerial shots. Losko has written about her difficult yet successful journey into a career in photography. And if you enjoy this kind of imagery, we recommend our piece on Chinese photographer Chen Di and his observations of life among firefighters.
