My photography evolves around composition, artistic subjects, and creative storytelling. Let's call it it personal view with a particular focus and multifaceted perspectives on life. - Nicola Jaeger
I am delighted to see how far I have come already and how much more there is to learn and explore. Curiosity and creativity are two of my core values and driving forces. I am enthusiastic, after all, we are on a mission.
* Running for best German Photographer of the Year 2019
* Winning picture (jury) May 2020 in Tauchen
* Overall winner of the competition “Capture Statia’s Beauty” as well as the People's Choice Award in 2022
Work for others
We are currently creating content for the St Eustatius Tourism Development Foundation, where we combine film, photography, and writing to promote Statia’s beauty, as well as link the work of other organisations and initiatives such as WOW!
As volunteers at St. Eustatius Animal Welfare Foundation, we present our furry friends in the best light to help them find homes.
Over the years, I photographed at conferences, weddings, birthdays, excursions, and tours. On request, I created custom-made invitations and cards for such events.
In 2015, a network of German NGOs based in Berlin hired us to photograph and film stock images and footage. After using the city as our muse, we travelled through Germany to Brussels creating a solid and varied amount photographs (access only for members).
Panglao, Philippines: While living in Alona Beach, I photographed resorts and dive centres (2011-2013). Understandably, their websites changed over the years.
My photography
I love composition, unusual themes or subjects, and, of course, storytelling. Together these aspects form the base of my photography to open hearts and create interest in exploring new horizons – physically or virtually. My photos support my writing and vice versa.
Both are rooted in the desire to create awareness for the beauty and weirdness of our (natural) world, introducing species and their habitats as well as destinations, piquing interest in diving and the protection of fragile ecosystems, highlighting connections within these systems as well as to human behaviour and other stressors. We form nature, yet we are part of it.
Travel, nature, and wildlife photos are integrated into the English as well as the German blog (see entries listed at the bottom of the page). Underwater photography is a special passion requiring combined skills. I started to set up collections featuring photography on land as well as underwater which I add to from time to time:
Background: My love-affair with photography
Photography fascinated me already early on in life. I loved the old black and white photos of my parents and oldest brother and got my first camera when I was nine years old. I mainly remember running after butterflies and harassing my family. Together with my best teenage friend, I explored the possibilities to stage and present ourselves in a different light. However, we didn't even think of sharing the results with others! I joined the photography club in school and learnt how to use a SLR and how to develop pictures in a dark room. Pretty motivated I bought my first SLR camera, an Olympus - second-hand, of course. National geographic and other magazines as well as travel and nature documentaries on TV created a longing to see the world and bring stories home. Travelling and working abroad opened up new horizons and stay one of my inspirations until today, but was also separated me from my love affair for a while (more in My long way to underwater photography).
Only when I had finished my studies and worked at the NGO with the beautiful name WEED (World Economy, Ecology and Development e. V.) I started to take some classes at the Photo Centrum in Berlin Kreuzberg. It felt so good to get back in touch with that part of me and highly motivated I bought my first DSLR camera (Pentax KR1) and managed to integrate some photography into my following NGO work and simply enjoyed playing around and discovering the possibilities of digital photography for myself.
When I started diving in the tropics in 2011 it felt like a whole new universe or maybe another dimension revealed itself (My long way to underwater photography). I followed my heart and used photography to illustrate the stories I was sending home to let family and friends see what our lives looked like on land. To take them with us into our underwater realm I luckily could share Yoeri's beautiful clips.
My photography with focus on composition and creative storytelling is also embedded in other parts of the website.
Selection of blog entries
in English as well as in German featuring picture galleries from around the world.
Frei wie ein Vogel: Warum das Glück abseits der Straße liegt
Diesen Monat hatten wir das Privileg, etwas Neues erleben zu dürfen. Nach über zwei Jahren auf der Insel in unbekanntes Terrain vorzudringen, ließ unser Herz hüpfen. Wir lieben wir es ohnehin, neue Wege zu gehen. Wenn Yoeri dann noch nach einer Tour, die mehr aus Klettern und Balancieren als Wandern […]
And then along comes Smokey – How we foster failed and adopted a rescue dog
Trigger warning: This is a love story. It even has one of these cheesy happy ends. Therefore, to all those of you looking for some sad news, drama, or despair: keep on reading. As that is how it all began. After all, “Life is what happens when you are busy […]
Statia: Plan and book your personalised island exploration
From August 2023, we expand our services on Statia and give you the opportunity to plan and book your personalised island exploration with us. These guided island excursions are designed for anybody interested in photography and filmmaking while diving into the nature and history of St. Eustatius (Go Statia! Why visit […]
Animal shelter in Statia: Adopt a dog
Adopt don’t shop: Adopt a dog from the animal shelter in Statia (St. Eustatius, Caribbean Netherlands). There are regular posts on the Facebook page of the St. Eustatius Animal Welfare Foundation (SEAWF) to connect you to the animals and the work around the shelter. However, we want to take the […]
Why we love Statia, Caribbean Netherlands
Some months ago, we started to collect small and big reasons to explain why we love Statia, Caribbean Netherlands, on social media. As slowly but surely these posts get buried deep down in all the newer postings, we decided to bring them back to life on our blog. Hence, we […]
Statia‘s sea turtles 1: Species, sex & individuals
Our first article about Statia’s sea turtles focuses on how to identify turtles, from species via sex to individuals, and how to support science and conservation regarding sea turtles around St. Eustatius (Caribbean Netherlands) and beyond: Turtles are among the favourites of many divers around the world. Before explaining how […]
Living together: Teachings of an Antillean Bullfinch
Observing animals and learning not only about but also from them and finally interacting with one another is what we love most in diving. However, our passion for nature doesn’t end underwater. For starters, we present you with our personal view on the teachings of a Lesser Antillean Bullfinch (Loxigilla […]
Go places, meet people, do things
What comes to your mind when you hear „go places, meet people, do things“? Possibly, this slogan used by PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) left diving students all over the world way more confused than inspired to continue their diving education. Or is it just our imagination running wild […]
Spring to action: Vom Bild zur Karte mit Affirmation
Da ich es liebe, Karten zu versenden – und zu erhalten – , schaue ich mich immer gerne nach guten alten Postkarten um. Doch viel zu oft finde ich leider nicht, was ich suche, und schreite daher selbst zur Tat. „Spring to action: Vom Bild zur Karte mit Affirmation“ zeigt eine Auswahl […]