The mind-broadening photo art of Bernhard Lang

For a decade and a half, German-based photographer Bernard Lang’s aerial depiction of aesthetically pleasing patterns and shapes has come with one primary reminder — humanity’s impact on our planet is highly unsustainable.

WORDS: Megha Prakash 
PHOTOGRAPHY: Bernhard Lang

How did you get into photography?

“After finishing my A levels I took several jobs to make a living but eventually came to the decision to learn a profession that combined creative work with technical and manual skills. I thought photography combined all these aspects so I took an apprenticeship as a photographer at a studio that specialized in advertising photography in Munich. In the beginning I was not really sure if it was the right thing but I learned step by step and luckily figured out that I am a visual person. From there I generated a strong interest in photography and developed a passion to create imagery by myself.”

When did you start photographing aerial views? Do you remember the specific moment you wanted to make it your expertise?

“I started photographing aerial views back in 2010 and I’d always been fascinated by the vistas outside the window during passenger flights. I remember being particularly captivated during a flight from Munich to Tokyo when we flew over Siberia.

My passion for aerial photography developed quickly and the interest of the public was immediately high. I won several awards with different series of my Aerial Views project, for example the Sony World Photography Awards 2015. Seeing these sceneries from 10,000 meters above is breathtaking for me. I recognize structures, patterns and shapes, which sometimes reminds me of abstract paintings.“

“Seeing these sceneries from 10,000 meters above is breathtaking for me. I recognize structures, patterns and shapes, which sometimes reminds me of abstract paintings.”

How do you find the places to shoot? Do you perhaps wander around a location and think ’this will look great from above?’

“It sometimes happens when I am visiting a place, I think that it would look even more interesting from above. Like when I had seen the countless rows of sun umbrellas at the Adria coastline in Italy. Besides that I am constantly looking for places that could be interesting for an Aerial Views Project and I am trying to find locations which have visually interesting graphic structures, richness in details and interesting colors. Next to the aesthetic aspect, I try to find places which cover global and environmental relevant issues.”

Interesting. What stories can a landscape tell?

”From above, out of an aircraft and flying over our “civilized“ world, it is easily noticeable that nearly everything is completely formed by humans, even the forests and meadows. I think this transformation of original nature is better recognizable from the elevated view than from the ground. The guiding idea of my work is to display this transformation or sometimes even destruction of original nature, caused by human impact - so my imagery is my main way through.”

“Everything is completely formed by humans, even the forests and meadows. I think this transformation of original nature is better recognizable from the elevated view than from the ground.”

Have you seen any place from above that has shocked you?

“In 2017 I traveled to Manila in the Philippines to capture a series about overpopulation from above. The amount of garbage in the slums was shocking, large parts of the city looked like a huge garbage dump from above. I remember the night before the photo flight I saw from my hotel room a huge fire in the city and the next morning we flew over the area and saw that the quarter was completely burned down. It was dramatic to see people crawling through their destroyed homes, trying to find their belongings.”

“I was photographing a huge open pit coal mine near Cologne in Germany in 2014, which is known to be the biggest man-made hole in Europe. It was a completely transformed landscape, with its huge excavators that reminded me of sceneries of barren, exploited planets out of science fiction movies.”

“The guiding idea of my work is to display this transformation or sometimes even destruction of original nature, caused by human impact - so my imagery is my main way through.”

Is there a place you’ve seen that is the most beautiful from above?

“This is hard to say. For me each series has its own beauty. Even if it shows transformation or destruction of the original nature, there’s a formal beauty or pleasant order in there.”

In a dream scenario of any place in the world during any time, is there a place or view that you haven’t shot but would want to?

“Shooting aerial views of the planet Mars or the Moon would be it!”