Fine art prints of Ingo Arndt’s photographs are sold only as limited editions. They are available in different sizes and versions. All prints are numbered, signed, and delivered with a certificate of authenticity. Please note that the prints are available exclusively through the SmithDavidson Gallery. For further information and requests, please contact the gallery directly. More information here.

Black Sand Series

After photographing glacial rivers from airplanes and helicopters in Iceland for my series »WaterShapes«, I looked at the volcanic landscape from the ground and I hiked into the island‘s countless lava fields. Some were covered with moss, others still showed the structures of the viscous lava as it flew through the landscape. What impressed me most was the monochrome surfaces that had crumbled into black sand over thousands of years due to erosion. The constantly blowing wind in Iceland sometimes creates a wavy structure on the surface of the sandy areas. Rain and wind conjure up a black-grey mosaic of dry and damp areas. Where the few plants were able to conquer the barren habitat, splashes of color shine from the seemingly endless sandy desert. After sunset I waited on the coast at »Black Beach« for the right wave for my long exposures and spent days photographing »Diamond Beach«, a black beach where chunks of ice wash up that glitter like gems and are washed by the waves of the roaring North Atlantic. A selection of the best pictures from my sandy adventures became this series of photographs, »BlackSand«.

Water Shapes Series

I have always been fascinated by the aerial view of our unique planet. During countless photo flights from the ice fields at the South Pole, to the savannas of Africa and the glaciers of the Arctic, I particularly noticed the patterns created by water on the earth‘s surface. After working more and more artistically, I started photographing these shapes at different locations. Working with drones was no option, I wanted to take photos from airplanes and helicopters with the highest possible resolution digital medium format cameras to capture every little detail. Over the years, a series of pictures have emerged that show the shapes created by water in an abstract and documentary way at the same time. Sandbars of the North Sea at low tide, a river delta between white dunes in Brazil, or glacier water that finds its way over volcanic ash in Iceland. Minerals, sediments and even aquatic plants create an almost inexhaustible play of colors.

Animal Masses Series

Why do animals aggregate? Every year, millions upon millions of animals gather together all over the world. They congregate in order to spend the winter together, to mate, to migrate as a group, or to occupy new habitats. Some animals can only survive as a group, in effect forming super-organisms. Four years of intense photography and research were necessary in order to bring this project to fruition. The greatest animal spectacles our planet has to offer take place where animals aggregate. In our long-term project, ANIMAL MASSES, we present the complexity of animal gatherings in a way that has never been seen before.

Starling Series

Every year, two to three million starlings meet in the Italian city of Rome to spend the winter. It is slightly warmer in the city than in the surrounding countryside, which is why the birds fly toward the city center each evening to roost. During the day, they forage for food around town. Peregrine falcons hunt the starlings as they circle over their roosting site before dusk in huge swarms, called murmurations. To confuse the predators, they twist, turn, swoop, and swirl in spectacular flight formations. Ingo captured the rapidly changing shapes within aesthetic images.   

Ice Series

Measuring more than 31,000 square kilometers, Lake Baikal in Siberia is the largest freshwater lake on earth. During the long winters, which last from November to March with temperatures reaching –50 °C, a thick sheet of ice covers the water. Ingo braved the bitter cold to capture the multifaceted structures etched into the ice in his pictures. Cracks in the 70-centimeter-thick ice and frozen air bubbles create abstract patterns that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. 

Musk Ox Series

Amid sixty-mile-per-hour winds and subzero temperatures, Ingo captures ethereal images of musk oxen in Dovrefjall National Park, Norway. These animals are built for this environment, with thick fur covering a layer of wool to help them endure the bitter cold. It is exactly this adaptation that puts the oxen at risk. As temperatures rise, the skies in the Nordic latitudes produce rain during winter warm spells. When the rain freezes, a sheet of ice buries lichen and moss, which represent essential food for the herds during the barren winter months. This loss of fodder can be a death sentence.

Puma Series

Almost twenty years ago, Ingo observed his first wild puma in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. One morning, on the way back to his campsite, a female puma crossed the road in front of him with her two cubs. It all happened so quickly that he did not even have time to take a snapshot. But he had seen “the ghost of the Andes.” This brief sighting burned itself deep into his memory. He fell in love with this wild landscape at the end of the world and with the majestic and elusive pumas. Years later Ingo traveled back to Patagonia for a puma story, on assignment for National Geographic Magazine. Over a period of two years, he spent a total of seven months with the pumas and was able to create the first complete photo story on wild pumas with many spectacular pictures.

Grizzly Series

For a number of years, Ingo regularly photographed the mighty grizzly bears of Lake Clark National Park in Alaska. Due to their unusual habitat directly on the coast of the North Pacific, the bears there are also known as “coastal bears.” The rich supply of food allows the animals to grow to record weights. Mature males can weigh in at more than 700 kilograms. Ingo visited the grizzlies during different seasons, staying on the ground for extended periods of time. This was the only way for him to capture extraordinary photographs.

Landscape Series

Over the last 40 years, Ingo has primarily photographed animals. But every once in a while, he avidly pursues landscape photography as well. He enjoys photographing untouched wilderness in particular. His landscape photos aim to uncover the magic of primal nature, as if our planet were devoid of human life.

Animal Architecture Series

We are all familiar with architecture designed by human beings. Yet animal architecture for the most part goes unnoticed, although animals were building nests, dams, and huts when we were still dwelling in caves. From the tiny caddisfly case to the largest structures created by animals, the coral reefs, these structures continue to amaze us to this day. Over a period of two years, Ingo traveled around the world in pursuit of his images. His pictures from the wild are supplemented by a selection of studio photographs whose detailed views reveal a world that otherwise remains hidden. The complex papier-mâché structure of a wasp nest, the spiral of a nautilus shell, or the artfully woven basket of a moorhen nest—all displayed in this art series.

Butterfly Pupae Series

The journey from an egg to an adult butterfly is long and arduous. The animal has to undergo various stages of development. A caterpillar hatches from the egg, it then spins a cocoon and becomes a chrysalis, and finally a butterfly emerges from the cocoon. The fully developed insect usually gets all the attention, but its precursor in particular—the chrysalis—is fascinating, taking on bizarre shapes and color combinations. From unassuming brown to vibrant golden, they can be found in almost any color imaginable. For this series, Ingo photographed chrysalises from around the world against a neutral black background to make sure nothing distracts from nature’s little works of art.