Uwe Zimmermann Nature Film and Photography – Moved by nature in still and motion pictures

Film | Camera | Photography

I am a photographer and filmmaker telling stories of the natural world that explore our relationship with it. Through my work, I aim to inspire a deeper connection with nature – encouraging curiosity, appreciation, and a stronger commitment to a sustainable future.

When green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) hatch, they orient by light to find the sea. However, with streets and houses often illuminating the backsides of beaches, hatchlings are lured into the wrong direction, away from the sea into almost certain death. Sadly, after following the deceitful lights close to Al Hadd beach in Oman, these ones got entangled in a fishing net left to dry. In the attempt to get free, the fight against the strings and meshes only got them even more entangled. Finally, unable to move, the hatchlings died of suffocation or exhaustion in the heat of the sun.

When I came across this scene I was shocked to see the fight for survival still visible from the stretched out strings and the desperation written in their faces. Green sea turtles celebrate a sad anniversary of 40 years of being listed as endangered on the IUCN red list. However, during all this time threats like the loss of nesting sites, poaching or accidental bycatch have only increased. The overall population trend nowadays is still decreasing. As beaches around the world are built up more and more with hotels and residences, this image may demonstrate one of the downsides of our increasing desire for summer vacations at the beach.

The fate of Sea turtles depends entirely on how we reconcile conservation needs with fishery and tourism, but also plastic pollution and other threats. Strong effort is needed by everyone of us, on beaches and beyond, to ensure that more hatchlings reach the sea - and survive their first day of life.

black bear in a river on Vancouver Island

Ein Seehund (Phoca vitulina) genießt die ersten wärmenden Sonnenstrahlen auf Helgoland.

Vancouver Cherry Blossoms Photo Workshops - Registration now open

Each spring, Vancouver’s cherry blossoms transforms the city into a landscape of colour, light, and texture.
This five-hour creative photography workshop is designed for everyone who wants to move beyond conventional images and explore more artistic, expressive ways of nature photography in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

See all infos here…

Now available: full film "Animal Tracking: On the Trail Back to Nature"

"The Wolf in Bee's Clothing" Wins Special Prize

My film “The Wolf in Bee’s Clothing” got awarded with one of three special prices at the European Film Festival in Göttingen! The film tells the amazing life story of a rarely known species: the bee wolf. See the festival review.

“Der Wolf im Bienenpelz” gewinnt Sonderpreis

Mein neuester Kurzfilm “Der Wolf im Bienenpelz” wurde beim Europäischen Filmfestival in Göttingen mit einem von drei Sonderpreisen prämiert! Der Film erzählt die beeindruckende Lebensgeschichte eines für viele unbekannten Insekts: Zum Festivalrückblick geht’s hier.