Endangered Paradises 03

Island vacations are the stuff of dreams for tourists of all kinds, from adventurous backpackers to families to retirees. Places like Bora Bora, Tahiti, the Maldives, and the Seychelles hold a fascination for travelers who are drawn by the natural, unspoiled beauty.

But these island paradises are under siege as human-caused climate change has lifted ocean temperatures, raised sea levels, and intensified storm severity. As a result, many of these islands could become partly submerged and uninhabitable within a few decades.

The rise in sea level varies from place to place. It depends on water temperature (hot water has more volume than cold); the effect of wind; the direction of oceanic currents; and even the contours of continents and the shifting of tectonic plates.

The severity may vary locally, but it is a global issue nonetheless.

"See the world from a different perspective — an unusual one. The view from the air is fascinating. In my work, however, photography does not merely document our environment from this atypical perspective; it is much more a (creative) representation of conditions such as structures and forms in their uniqueness. Since nature is in a constant state of change, be it short or long term, each of my works captures a moment that will never happen again. Often the places shown in my works surround us directly, but due to our close proximity, they can hardly be perceived the same way. Whether it is nature or our human influence on it, the result is abstract, partly geometric, but also surreal worlds, which I want to make accessible to everyone."


Kevin Krautgartner is a German architectural and landscape photographer, best known for his aerial images of urban and large ground spaces highlighting the aesthetic value of colors, lines and geometric patterns in them. His oeuvre has been awarded at international contests, and featured in mainstream media.

Krautgartner currently lives and works in Wuppertal, Germany. He graduated from the Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts with a degree in photography and graphic design. Digital photography is the basis for his work today. He uses helicopters and light planes to capture his objects -architectural interiors, urban skylines, remote landscapes- from different perspectives which he later uses to digitally select and frame aesthetically appealing views. His landscapes include icy mountains, volcanoes, glaciers, fjords and salt fields in many countries.

Kevin Krautgartner