Photographers

Olaf Otto Becker (born 1959 in Lübeck‑Travemünde, Germany) is a German photographer known for his large‑format landscape work documenting the fragile balance of remote ecosystems and the impact of climate change. He studied communication design with a focus on photography in Augsburg from 1981 to 1986, followed by studies in philosophy and political science in Munich. His practice combines an artistic sensibility with documentary intent, often produced during long expeditions to the world’s most isolated regions.

His first major project, “Under the Nordic Light,” photographed in Iceland between 1999 and 2011, was nominated for Best Book at Rencontres d’Arles in 2006. Becker’s acclaimed Greenland series “Broken Line,” created during a 4,000 km journey along the west coast in a small inflatable boat, won the 2007 German Photo Book Prize. He later continued documenting the melting of Greenland’s inland ice in “Above Zero,” working alongside climate scientists to photograph glacial rivers and rapidly changing ice formations.

Between 2008 and 2014, Becker produced “Reading the Landscape,” an ambitious global project examining the destruction of primary rainforests and the broader reconfiguration of natural systems driven by human activity. His work is characterized by a precise large‑format technique, a deep attention to natural light, and a commitment to revealing visible signs of climate transformation across landscapes from the Arctic to the tropics.

Becker’s photographs have been exhibited internationally at leading museums and photography festivals, and his work is represented by Galerie f5,6 (Germany), Galerie Ruzicska (Austria), and Wouter van Leeuwen Gallery (Netherlands). His images invite viewers to contemplate the accelerating environmental changes of our time and to “read the landscape” as a document of both beauty and warning.