BECKER, Olaf Otto - Under the Nordic Light. Island 1999-2011

Background information

"Photographs of the Icelandic landscape between nature, civilization and globalization - For over ten years, photographer Olaf Otto BECKER has been traveling the far north. In search of the yet unseen image of the primeval landscape, where the eye reaches the limits of habitual vision and nature becomes a mirror of the soul, he observes geographic features and waits for optimal light conditions. Only then does he set out, often in the middle of the night, with a heavy large-format camera, in order to capture nuances even in soft light and to achieve maximum technical quality - Otto Olaf BECKER's consciously subjective gaze goes beyond the depiction of reality and creates images of great clarity, expansiveness and concentration.

Content

Meanwhile, after the books 'Broken line' (2007) and 'Above zero' (2009) Olaf Otto BECKER proceeds with a further sharpened eye for the more visible effects of the overexploitation of the earth. Green Iceland shows the wounds that man has torn in the meantime. The book, or rather: the trilogy of all titles Otto Olaf BECKER published on the subject, is - despite all the beauty of the pictures - especially a reminder.  Otto Olaf BECKER uses the established landscape photography and the imposing format of the coffee-table book as a back door to reach the intellect and the conscience through the romantic beauty.
"'Under the Nordic Light' brings together previously published and new photographs of Iceland that show traces of civilization as well as economic crisis alongside pristine landscapes." (© Hatje Cantz Publishers, 2011)

In the Press / Additional Information

The photo book 'Under the Nordic Light. A Journey through Time. Iceland 1999-2011' represents the expanded edition of the highly traded photo book of the same title published by Schaden Verlag in 2005.

About the German photographer, Olaf Otto Becker (b.1959, in Travemünde)

Photo books by Olaf Otto Becker