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.
Warum ich tauchen liebe
Ich war mir sicher, dass ich tauchen lieben würde, denn nur im Wasser könnte ich das Gefühl des Fliegens aus meinen Träumen erleben (Wie ich zum tauchen kam). Davon war ich überzeugt und so ist es gekommen. Seitdem ist es nur noch besser geworden. Die Sucht des Tauchens Schwerelosigkeit und […]
Road trip to capture the highlights of East Bali
Once upon a time, before the corona virus had officially reached the local population of Bali, there was a window of opportunity to explore spots usually overrun by tourists. That’s why in mid March we went on a road trip to capture the highlights of East Bali. It’s all about […]
Devil scorpionfish: Sinister style with venom
Our next candidate of the group of ambush predators presented in “They got the look” is the devil scorpionfish a.k.a. false stonefish presenting its sinister style with venom. In general, we don’t think it is very nice to call somebody or something false. This fish is pretty real and has […]
Let’s talk scientifically! Pictures and marine ID
Over the last weeks, we posted pictures with scientific explanations on classifications of marine life on Instagram and Facebook. As not everybody is (regularly) on social media, I am happily putting it all together in one post now: Let’s talk scientific! Let’s talk scientific! Tiger cowrie When looking only at the […]
Keep your plastic and clean up the rest
Plastic is on our minds. Every high tide leaves behind a line of plastic on the beach of Amed. Every heavy rain shower washes half-burned or openly collected rubbish from the settlements and streets into fields and streams, distributed by the wind, animals and more rain, eventually, most of it […]
Muck diving: Schätze im Schlamm und Müll
Spielen im Schlamm ruft bei mir nicht nur freudige Kindheitserinnerungen wach, sondern wird mit mit „muck diving” gerade glücklich gelebt. Während die balinesischen Kinder lachend und kreischend in den riesigen Pfützen neben und auf der Straße herum planschen, legen wir dafür jedoch unsere Tauchausrüstung an, um nach Schätzen im Schlamm […]
Underwater carnival in Amed, Bali
It is Rose Monday: Alaaf! As that’s the expression, sort of hurray, that is used in the area around Cologne in Germany as well as Maastricht in the Netherlands, we stick to that regional greeting. Even though we are not big fans of the actual celebrations, we celebrated our very […]
Pictures as cards: Thoughts, quotes and affirmations
The collection „Warm regards“ keeps on growing and is featuring pictures that have been turned into cards (greeting cards, postcards or whatever else you’d like to call them) featuring my own words and thoughts as well as quotes and affirmations to inspire and reinforce positive thinking. Pictures as cards I: […]
Im Rhythmus der Tropen
Dem frühen Vogel seien alle seine Würmer in der Morgenstund gegönnt, direkt nach dem Aufstehen ist mir weder nach Essen noch Goldsuche zumute. Morgens brauche ich meine Ruhe, um gut in den Tag zu starten. Dabei war mir die tatsächliche Uhrzeit lange Zeit ziemlich schnuppe. Wenn der Morgen graut Der […]