Cape Verde – the islands of Saudade, of longing. For Stéphane and Richard it was a journey full of adventure, unforgettable encounters and magnificent photographs. Director Christian Schidlowski and his team accompanied them on their trip.
Along with photographer Rui Camilo, we travel to the West African island nation of Sao Tomé and Príncipe - in search of images that will capture the soul of this small and beautiful country.
Spirits, Kings, Lemurs – Madagascar treats Ami to a multitude of new impressions and spectacular pictures. Director Christian Schidlowski and his team accompanied her on her trip.
The vast Delta of the Mississippi River is the gateway to the South of the United States. It always has been. This is where our journey begins: through Louisiana along the banks of the mighty river, to the big inland city of New Orleans, founded long ago by the French. Further inland, sugarcane plantations and the villas of their former owners stretch as far as the eye can see. To the north, we leave the river and, taking spectacular roads, we pass through the swamplands of the Mississippi, which were once impenetrable, serving as the ideal hideout for many a runaway. Bordering Texas, where the swamplands end, is the beginning of the vast cattle country. This is home to the last remaining cowboys in the United States who, still today, maintain their French cultural heritage.
It's a dream route leading from the casino metropolis of Las Vegas, to Salt Lake City, the Mormon capital. It is a journey that follows the footsteps of the first settlers: the Mormons. They came to this desert belt of the United States during the second half of the 19th century to escape persecution and in search of the promised land. Some of them founded Las Vegas. Others moved through the canyons and over the mountains of the colossal Colorado Plateau, where they found water and pasture, to establish many small settlements. The landscapes through which they trekked, had and still have, a breathtaking and bizarre majestic beauty. Bryce Canyon, the hogbacks and the Escalante Staircase plateau are dramatic scenes of wonder formed from rock. The Pajute Indians once described Bryce Canyon as: “red rocks standing like men in a basin”.
The Dordogne consists of a visible and an invisible system of flowing water. Caves and basins under the earth's surface store the excess water and return it to the river when it is dry. A perfect management of a precious resource, not invented by humans, but by the complex nature itself. The result is an ever life-giving river.
The Gironde is the largest and most powerful tidal current in Europe. When the Gironde flows into the Atlantic, it is 15 kilometers wide and in the rhythm of the tides, it brings the waters from the Pyrenees and the Massif Central into the ocean. This often pushes its waters far out into the Gironde at high tide.This creates a world of its own that has shaped everything uniquely and intensely for tens of thousands of years. The water surface of the river is so large that the evaporation has created its own microclimate, which is stable and, together with the brackish waters, has influenced flora and fauna on the right and left of the bank for a long time.
Moors and peatlands are oases in the cultivated landscape of Central Europe.
Mighty and mysterious, King Watzmann sits above Germany's only alpine national park.
The moon disappears behind the horizon and the stage is set for a new day in the Alps of Berchtesgaden.
Almost unnoticeably, spring turns into summer. The days become longer and longer, with a never-setting sun. People who have spent their winter and spring working hard can finally enjoy their own nature, even though the temperature is only slightly warmer. Lofoten is sparsely populated, just 24,000 people live here. Unstad is one of its smallest communities with only 15 inhabitants, but despite that, it has become a hotspot for arctic surf and is host to the northern-most surf center in the world. Surfers from all over the globe come to surf in the arctic water.
Winter means more than just the beginning of the year for the people of Lofoten: For more than a thousand years, Lofoten has been a hub for cod fishing, with seasons lasting from February to April as huge shoals migrate from the Barents Sea to these waters. During these hectic months, more than 65,000 tons of fish are brought to shore, securing the income for the whole of Lofoten for years to come. Around a quarter of the fish caught ends up on lines to dry upon racks. From a young age, the children from the fishing villages get to earn some pocket money by cutting cod tongues and selling the produce as a delicacy appreciated by the locals.
The Great Lakes are among the most mythical landscapes of North America: endless water, endless forest. Many Native American peoples lived there later European settlers followed on the heels of the white hunters and trappers. They hunted in the forests and transported their furs and other goods across the water to the south where a small river situated at the southern tip of Lake Michigan flows onward towards the southern states. The settlement that sprung up there was called Checagou by the Indians. Much later, the settlement was to be the first skyscraper city in the world: Chicago, the megacity on the Great Lake.
The vast Delta of the Mississippi River is the gateway to the South of the United States. It always has been. This is where our journey begins: through Louisiana along the banks of the mighty river, to the big inland city of New Orleans, founded long ago by the French. Further inland, sugarcane plantations and the villas of their former owners stretch as far as the eye can see. To the north, we leave the river and, taking spectacular roads, we pass through the swamplands of the Mississippi, which were once impenetrable, serving as the ideal hideout for many a runaway. Bordering Texas, where the swamplands end, is the beginning of the vast cattle country. This is home to the last remaining cowboys in the United States who, still today, maintain their French cultural heritage.
It's a dream route leading from the casino metropolis of Las Vegas, to Salt Lake City, the Mormon capital. It is a journey that follows the footsteps of the first settlers: the Mormons. They came to this desert belt of the United States during the second half of the 19th century to escape persecution and in search of the promised land. Some of them founded Las Vegas. Others moved through the canyons and over the mountains of the colossal Colorado Plateau, where they found water and pasture, to establish many small settlements. The landscapes through which they trekked, had and still have, a breathtaking and bizarre majestic beauty. Bryce Canyon, the hogbacks and the Escalante Staircase plateau are dramatic scenes of wonder formed from rock. The Pajute Indians once described Bryce Canyon as: “red rocks standing like men in a basin”.
In the far west of India, unexpected predators roam: lions. Living freely in a human-inhabited area without fences, they occasionally prey on the livestock of the indigenous Maldhari people, who nevertheless take pride in sharing their region with these lions—a unique coexistence of humans and predators. In northern Gujarat, desert landscapes dominate, where semi-nomadic communities breed a unique camel breed capable of swimming: Karai camels swim up to 3km daily to mangrove islands for grazing.
Moors and peatlands are oases in the cultivated landscape of Central Europe.
Mighty and mysterious, King Watzmann sits above Germany's only alpine national park.
The moon disappears behind the horizon and the stage is set for a new day in the Alps of Berchtesgaden.
Proud elegance, silky-shiny coats and a graceful, powerful physique – the supreme Marwari horses have been worshipped in India as magical creatures for thousands of years. People say they descended directly from the Gods, that once when the Gods were sitting round the fire, there was so much soot that one of the Gods had to cry. One of the tears from his right eye changed into a stallion, and one of his tears from the left eye produced a mare. Ever since, the people in Rajasthan have believed that horses are Gods. Maharaja – palaces, temples and citadels, women in colourful saris and men with bright turbans – the land of the Rajas, the king's sons, arouse fantasies reminiscent of One Thousand and One Nights. Lively trading and war-related incidents from the past have led to the emergence of a unique horse culture in the region: Marwaris are the proud horses of the Indian Rajas. Each year in November, the small, barren desert oasis of Pushkar is transformed into a place of pilgrimage for millions of Indians. Everybody who is anybody on the horse scene in Rajasthan - Maharajas, breeders and horse masters - meets at the Pushkar Mela, the turbulent market for over 50,000 horses and camels. Pushkar is the place where the legendary Marwaris are bought and sold.