My passion for nature finds its outlets in my work as a sculptor ( www.thomasbergersculpture.com ) and landscape designer, in pencil drawings and in photography.

With the latter two I have an opportunity to observe, meditate, compose lightly and intuitively - the perfect balance to sculpting granite, where every work step requires thorough technical planning and physical effort.

I have a love and admiration for Insects, flowers, and other creatures and shapes provided by nature. As nature is slowly vanishing from our planet, I feel we need to document what is still there - also it doesn't help! Perhaps it's a form of grieve?

Sometimes it takes me an hour to go 60 ft. through the garden with my camera in hand, discovering here and there small things that become big as I look closer. Compare that to a landscape photographer who has to walk many miles to get a good frame! A slow walk through the garden is as exciting as a safari through Serengeti. Woodlands and natural habitats offer even more wonderful opportunities. I like to bring a small object in close with good clarity, while still having the surrounding environment in the picture as well. For this I use wide-angle close-focus lenses like the Sigma 24mm 1:3.5 DG DN on one of my mirrorless Sony cameras. With the help of simple adapters, I also like to use my 40 years old vintage OM lenses like the Olympus 75-150mm F4 Zoom or my old Sigma 90mm F2.8 Macro for OM.

In those photos where I aim at documentation (and identification of the species), I usually follow guidelines used for old fashioned scientific illustration (light from top left, etc) Many of those images are on iNaturalist.com under 'Thomasbumblebee'.