As a “slow traveler,” I predominantly explore the Alps-Adriatic region. My specialization lies in creating portraits of regions and places from my personal perspective. Some of my photo series have been featured in magazines such as Pictures-Fotomagazin, Eye-Photomagazin, Kwerfeldein, Get inspired Magazin, and most recently, in the English and Italian-language book titled “Visual Culture.”

In these galleries, I present a curated selection of my photographs captured in Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto - two of my favorite regions in Northern Italy. These images should encapsulate the essence of these beautiful areas.

Completing this travel portfolio are photos from my home region of Styria and my hometown city Graz.

I am always open to inquiries regarding the commercial use of my images. Additionally, I would be thrilled to create portraits of your region, town, or city if you express interest. Over the past years, I’ve developed a deep appreciation for and knowledge of regions near my home, including Friuli Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Tuscany, Slovenia, and Istria.

While I predominantly explore my Styrian homeland with my camera, I also gladly accept photographic assignments in the neighboring Austrian states of Carinthia and Burgenland. 

Furthermore, I’ve included a small selection of my recent work in my other specialized areas, particularly reportage photography. This includes documenting projects, capturing people at work, and showcasing various companies.

During my photographic tours, I always have a few photo projects in mind that I am currently realising. I present a small selection here.

The region "Friuli Venezia Giulia", is the easternmost region in Northern Italy. It stretches from the Adriatic Sea to the Dolomites and Alps, bordered by Austria to the north and Slovenia to the east. This diverse region is characterized by its rich cultural heritage, stunning landscapes, and culinary delights.

In Friaul-Julisch-Venetien, you’ll find charming villages, small towns, and captivating landmarks waiting to be explored. Whether you’re drawn to the historical sites, picturesque countryside, or delectable local cuisine, there’s something for every traveler.

I’ve personally captured small villages and details from this region through my lens, and I’m excited to share a curated selection of my photographs with you. From the rolling hills of Collio to the coastal beauty of Trieste, Friaul-Julisch-Venetien offers a tapestry of experiences waiting to be discovered.

Venice is always a focal point for me when I’m in this region. I love exploring the neighborhoods of Cannaregio, Dorsoduro, Castello, and Giudecca, where you can find quieter streets and squares away from the tourist crowds. “Street photography” is an integral part of my travel photography, and Venice offers endless opportunities for capturing unique moments.

As Alex Webb aptly put it, “Color is about atmosphere, emotions, and the feeling of a place.” Two places where all of this holds true for me are Burano (Venice) and the seaside town of Caorle. Of course, its charm unfolds much better outside the peak tourist season.

My photographic forays always take me to the area near my hometown around Graz, to eastern, south-eastern and western Styria. I don't need to travel far to find interesting places.

For my photo project "minimal scenery", which I have already been able to present in international magazines, I always find motifs not far from my front door.

For tourism and travel photography "at home", I am interested in authenticity and that beautiful places can also be found away from the well-known "hotspots". 

With my Graz photo project, my aim is not just to take pictures of the classic sights or just take street photos, but to develop a personal view of this city. This idea came about during the pandemic, when travelling was very limited or not possible at all. I'm always travelling around parts of the city, wandering through individual streets or squares and looking for interesting motifs. I try to find subjective details worth seeing, interesting lighting situations or new perspectives on well-known points of attraction, which in the best case reflect the character of the city or show the many facets of my great hometown.

"The historic centre of Graz belongs to the elite circle of around 900 World Heritage Sites. Graz was European Capital of Culture in 2003, is a UNESCO City of Design and is a very lively city thanks to its many students", wrote the photography magazine "Pictures" about "my" Graz. The magazine featured my project about my home city in a multi-page spread entitled "Seeing your own city with different eyes". Graz is always worth a visit.

"Bernd is from Graz, Austria, and in his photography he aims to show his city in a different light from the usual “classic sights” Graz is known for. He wants to show its diversity". 

(Spectaculum Magazine, 10.03.2021)

I have named my main photography project "Minimal Scenery", which in my opinion represents my photographic signature in the field of landscape photography.  These are photographs, but also sometimes "urban or village scenes", which are characterised by a simple and clear composition. The "Minimal Scenery" project is divided into colour photographs and black and white images.

The colour photographs were mainly taken in my immediate surroundings, in eastern and south-eastern Styria. I always enjoy taking short trips to this region, which is practically on my doorstep. The project was created in 2017 because I didn't focus on the classic sights when looking for motifs, but instead tried to discover the unknown in the familiar and pay more attention to the details that characterise this region.

More and more I have found my personal style in a kind of minimalist landscape photography, in which I am interested in an image composition in which usually only one motif is in the foreground.

Images from the "Minimal Scenery" series have already been featured in several international photography magazines and also in the English/Italian-language book "Photography in the Visual Culture" (2023 edition). In addition, some of the pictures have been honoured with awards in various competitions (Tokyo Awards/ Monochrome Awards/ Chromatic Awards...).

This photo project was inspired by the global hit of the same name by "Simon and Garfunkel".  Many of the pictures in Edward Hopper's oeuvre also continue to inspire my search for motifs.

Are the people in the pictures lonely or just alone? As street photographers, we are usually travelling alone with our cameras, but we are not usually lonely. As a condition, the sound of silence is deafening and painful. Loneliness is also very different from being alone, which is often important. I, too, am always looking for places to be alone in order to recharge my batteries and recharge my batteries for all the challenges that life presents. And it boosts my creativity when it comes to rest a little... .

As an outsider, I can't judge whether people who look lonely are actually lonely. I leave this interpretation to the eyes of those who look at my pictures; ultimately, it is always the viewer who decides what they see.

The "Sound of Silence" series was recognised in the "Street" category at the 2021 Annual Photography Awards and there are already several blog posts about this series.

Today, "reading" takes place in many places and with different media. As part of my street photography, I keep "stumbling" across people "reading". Each of the people depicted here is engrossed in their medium, be it a book, a mobile phone, a newspaper or a magazine, and seems to have detached themselves from their surroundings, just as I feel when reading an interesting book. The result is a gallery of people reading, in different places, situations and lighting moods.

Urban daily life" is one of my photo projects in the context of street photography. It is a collection of urban snapshots or everyday situations that I track down when I am out and about in an urban space with my camera. For me, a person does not always have to be depicted in order to characterise "daily life".

This photo project was inspired by the song of the same name by Cat Stevens, which was released over 50 years ago. Even back then, the message of this song was environmental pollution. "We are destroying our environment through over-development and children's playgrounds are being cemented in cities. "And you go on and it seems like there's no end..." is one line of the lyrics.

On my forays with the camera, I keep noticing playgrounds that seem uninviting to me. They are not the open spaces that children and young people need to let off steam; these places are not in an appealing, age-appropriate environment. My photo project is a photographic journey that aims to awaken a longing for nature and space to play. A longing that has not changed in recent decades. Let's think about our children, let's give them the spaces they need so that we don't have to ask ourselves the question: "Tell me, where do the children play?"

"My home, my place, my island" is my photo project in which I want to put "islands" created by residents centre stage. Sometimes they are just "places to sit and lie down", sometimes they are homes that are characterised by strong individuality or monotony. 

They are places that I discover with my camera, created "in the ordinariness of their surroundings". They are usually unspectacular places that serve as a retreat from the uniformity of everyday life. In doing so, I always come across nice, sometimes curious details from the everyday lives of the inhabitants.

My key activities in my photography are:

• people at work
• accompanying projects photographically
• creating memories with my camera at events and celebrations.

My personal aim is to make the photos as unobtrusive as possible so that the people involved forget that I am there. I try to take photos that capture the atmosphere that prevailed at the time the photo was taken as well as possible. 

I reduce the equipment I use for my reportages to a minimum depending on the assignment. In my experience, the less equipment I have in my hands, the more authentically I can capture situations. Currently (for anyone interested in cameras) I shoot my reportages with the Leica M11, Leica Q3 and, if more equipment is required, also with the Sony A7r iii. 

Every good story has a theme. With my pictures I want to tell the respective topic and the experience in visual stories.

I show a few of my stories in this regard here (more at any time in a personal conversation with my portfolio):

For readers of my german guest blog for the Austrian newspaper “derStandard.at,” I invite all readers who would like to see more pictures than have been shown in the individual articles to continue the picture journey here.

Photographic expeditions through villages that have something special to offer, through culturally and historically interesting district towns that you have perhaps only travelled past far too often and of well-known places at a time of year when you can also enjoy their uniqueness. A blog for people who are travelling to the Alpe Adria region "consciously", who "take" photos rather than "shoot" photos.