News

August 05, 2022
It's finally starting next Thursday! The photo trip to the Zimanga Game Reserve in South Africa planned for 2020 had to be postponed three times due to COVID-19. In the first week, I am allowed to accompany the well-known and award-winning wildlife photographer Hannes Lochner. I first came across Hannes Lochner in 2013 in a lodge in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. I saw one of his photo books there and was deeply impressed. A few years later I met him at an event at the Volkshaus in Zurich. And now I'm going to spend a week with him. The trip is organized by the photo tour operator Amazing Views Photo Tours in CH-Baar.

Charl Senekal - a very successful sugar cane farmer in South Africa - made the decision in 1998 to buy the land known as Mkuze Estates. The estate was bought primarily for sugar cane production as there was already 1000ha of established sugar cane but included in this estate was a piece of land known as the Hlambanyathi Game Reserve. Today the Game Reserve is called Zimanga. Zimanga is a place where everything is geared specifically toward photographers. It is a beautiful lodge in the middle of a private game reserve and there are 6 different photo hides. These hides were designed and built by Bence Máté. He is a professional photographer from Hungary, known as «The Invisible Wildlife Photographer».

I hope I can take photos that are as good as Charl Senekal's picture.

March 28, 2022

I start my trip to Namibia to visit the Himba communities in Kaokoveld, in the northwest of Nambia. The approximately 7000 Himba are semi-nomadic people. The men and young men roam about looking for forage for their herds of cows. The women and girls as well as the older Himba live in stationary communities. The Himba are a proud people and easy to spot. Their clothing – both men's and women's – is limited at first glance to tight loincloths made of calfskin and fur and occasionally self-made sandals (made from car tires). However, hairstyle and jewelry are of much greater importance to them. For example, you can tell from the leg dress how many children a Himba woman has. Some of the women wear brass rings on their wrists and ankles. Collars are also often worn, which have a symbolic meaning. Women with white collars are still without children, mothers wear brown ones. The women also wear shells that traders trade for meat or leather. They are passed on to the daughters.

As the owner of Belimago GmbH and as a nature and wildlife photographer, I am involved in a wide variety of social projects. One of these projects is a long-term project that aims to support the Himba and Zemba people in north-western Namibia. The north-west of Namibia, the Kaokoveld, is one of the driest areas on earth

By bringing them LUCI inflatable solar lights, they have in their home without electricity, light and can learn for school. Simply donating food to the Himba would not solve their problems. It is important that the Himbas send their children to school, where they receive education and food. Because it is precisely a good education that enables them to lead a free and better life in the future. In my long-term project, I support the schools with material and financial means and am now starting an Eco-Village project where the Himba can learn to use the limited resources (water, fuel, recycling of waste) better.

October 31, 2021

I spent three and a half weeks in Norway, including two and a half weeks with my partner Rita. We spent a large part of it in Lofoten.

September 5, 2021

Together with my partner, I experienced the CHASING STARS workshop on the Schilthorn. She was there as a stargazer and I as a photographer. When we took the cable car to the Schilthorn (famous as the location for the James Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"), it was raining and the Schilthorn was shrouded in clouds. At 6 p.m. the last tourists had to leave the Schilthorn and our group of 13 photographers and star gazers were alone. The workshop started with a theory block, followed by dinner. At 10 p.m. the sky was clear and we all went outside and started our first photo session. Around midnight we slipped into the sleeping bags. We were woken up at 2am for a second session and then again at 6am to be ready for the sunrise.

January 12, 2020

On December 27, 2019, shortly after Christmas, I started my trip to Norway. From Zurich via Oslo I flew to Kirkenes. Kirkenes is located in the very north of Norway and only a few kilometers from the Russian border. Kirkenes is also the last stop on the famous Hurtigruten The Original Norwegian Coastal Express. But before I got on the Hurtigruten ship, I spent a day dog sledding with Alaskan Huskies. At the turn of the year the sun never rises above the horizon and dawn sets in at 10 a.m. and dusk at 2 p.m. Due to the Gulf Stream, the sea along the Norwegian coast is free of ice up to Kirkenes. This enables the post ships to have a regular service along the coast, which locals as well as tourists like to use.
The first part of the trip went from Kirkenes past the North Cape to Tromsø with the ship MS Finnmarken. In Tromsø I left the ship to experience New Year's Eve in this nordic town. Then I continued my voyage with the oldest still operating Hurtigruten ship, the MS Lofoten. The next destination was the Lofoten and more precisely the port in Stamsund. However, due to the 6 meter high waves, I had to leave the MS Lofoten in Stokmarkenes on the Lofoten, as the ship could not call at Stamsund. On my own, I traveled on to Stamsund by bus and taxi. After one night in the hotel, I took over my rental car the next day and continued my photo tour in West Lofoten. Short daylights and changing wether condition happend all days, but cozy accommodations compensated.

August 18, 2019

Back from two incredibly good weeks in the Masai Mara in Kenya with professional photographer Uwe Skrzypczak. We used every minute to take the best photos. Uwe can count on the best drivers in the Masai Mara and thanks to his off-road permit we can also follow the predators across the savannah. The drivers have the necessary experience to anticipate what the animals will do and because they know the terrain so well, we are always in the right place to take the best photos. Like last time, there are simply too many vehicles in the Masai Mara and in the neighboring Serengeti. So it can happen that at one of the big crossings of the wildebeest herds through the Mara River, up to 100 vehicles stand on the banks of the river and wait for the spectacle. The two weeks were very intense and we had some predators in front of our lenses every day.

July 6, 2019

As an enthusiastic ibex photographer, I was once again drawn to the Niederhorn in the Bernese Oberland. Until the last evening light I climbed over the rocks in search of ibex and chamois and in the light of my headlamp I returned to the mountain inn on the Niederhorn. After a short night the alarm rang at 4 o'clock and before the dawn of the day I was already on my way again in the direction of the Gemmenalphorn in search of ibex in the beautiful warm morning light.

November 30, 2018

We have spent two weeks from the 12th until 25th November on a photo tour in Myanmar. It is the Golden Land with all the phantastic golden pagodas and stupas. It is a land of many, many friendly people and if you send a smile you will receive a smile back. We started in the largest city Yangon with the impresive Shwedagon Pagoda. Next important stop was the Golden Rock, one of the three most important pilgrim site. After a flight to the north of Myanmar we have taken pictures of the one leg fishermen at the Inle Lake. The Inle Lake with the floating gardens and the villages on the lake have much more interesting photo motives. Next stop was in Mandalay with the King palace and other large pagodas. For sure Bagan was the highlight with its full moon festival, the ceremonies at the Shwezigon Pagoda, and last but not least the balooning over Bagan with its more then 3800 pagodas and stupas. Our trip ended in Yangon and we say thank you to Jenny from Amazing Views, Min Min the local guide and the two professional photographers K.K. in Yangon and Ko Thet in Bagan.

April 29, 2018

On March 2, 2018 we started our six weeks trip to New Zealand. Three and a half weeks on the South Island and two and a half weeks on the North Island. We started in Christchurch, where we took over our campervan from Wilderness Motorhomes. The next stops were Castle Hills, Arthur's Pass and then at the west coast the Pancake Rocks. Then the journey went south on the west coast to Fox Glacier. Here we did a hike around Lake Matheson as well as a helicopter flight to the Franz-Josef-Glacier. The trip to the Franz-Josef-Glacier was particularly impressive: View from a wonderful glacier over the rainforest to the sea. The journey continues south to Lake Moeraki and the Wilderness Lodge there. Since it is a place without light pollution, you can see the Milky Way in all its glory when the sky is clear. From Lake Moeraki we went via Blue Pool over the Southern Alps to Lake Wanaka. A must for a photographer to shoot the Lone Tree of Lake Wanaka.

Due to the weather forecast, we spontaneously changed the route. From Lake Wanaka we went to Hampden with the Moeraki Boulders (see picture) and via Dunedin to Te Anau and further into Milford Sound in Fjordeland National Park. From Milford Sound the journey continued to Glenorchy at Lake Wakatipu. The east side of the Southern Alps is characterized by many beautiful lakes. So we past the turquoise-colored Lake Pukaki to Lake Tekapo with the Church of the Good Shepherd. On the way to the next highlight with the whale tour in Kaikoura, we made a stop in Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula. Banks Peninsula was formed by a former volcano and Akaroa has a natural harbor. Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate and we did the whale tour in rough seas and still we saw whales and many dolphins on the way back.
Blenheim in the wine region Marlborough was the next stop. We did wine tastings on several wineries. From Blenheim we continued our journey to the Abel Tasman National Park. After a few days there we have left South Island in Picton and traversed Cook Strait to the North Island and to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand.

The last two and a half weeks have started and we're starting with a wine tasting in Martinborough on the way to Napier. Napier is known for its Art Deco style buildings. For the Easter days we switched from the city to the nature around Lake Waikaremoana. On the way to Lake Taupo we visited Mataatua Marae (Maori meeting house) and during our stay at Lake Taupo we did the Tongariro Alpine Crossing (a total of 21 km / 7 hours). Our journey continued to Rotorua, visiting the Thermal Wonderland, visiting Whakarewarewa - The Living Maori Village and visiting Tauranga with a hike to Mount Maunganui. The next stops on the trip were: Hot Water Beach, sunrise at Cathedral Cove (see picture), Waitangi Treaty Grounds (cradle of New Zealand), until we reached Cape Reinga, the northernmost point of our trip. Now we went south again on the North Island with stops in Waipoua Kauri Forest, Muriwai Gannet Colony (gannet colony) and finally in Auckland. From here we started our return flight via Singapore to Switzerland.

January 1st, 2018

I wish all visitors of my web pages a wonderful and peaceful year 2018.

This year I will start my first trip to New Zealand and I will spend some days in the Bernese Oberland, taking pictures of the Alpine Ibexes on the Niederhorn (the picture shows me close to an Alpine Ibex).

Since end of November 2017 my first picture book "Steinböcke auf dem Niederhorn - Alpine Ibexes on the Niderhorn" is available and can be bought via E-Mail under Contact, or you will visit the Niederhorn.

December 26, 2017

We are back from a four weeks trip to Cuba. Start and end was in Havanna. We have seen the impresive Mogotes in Viñales, spent two nights on Cayo Levisa, took pictures of birds in Las Terrazas and night pictures of the pitoresk Palacio del Valle in Cienfuegos, have visited the old town of Trinidad, went via Camagüey and Bayamo to Santiago de Cuba and have visited the the grave of Fidel Castro, hicked with Dr. Alberto Garcia González through the National Park Alejandro de Humboldt in Baracoa and enjoyed a few beach days in Guardalavaca.

July 23, 2017 Circle of Life

It is sad to see a Leopard playing with a young Reedbuck before the Leopard will kill the young Reedbuck. The Reedbuck does not understand what is going on. It does not realize that a Leopard is a predator and not is its mother. But this is the circle of life. It is also the circle of life, when five cheetahs kill a Eland calf, to satisfy their hunger or when white-bearded Gnus, Topis and Zebras crossing the Mara River and were killed by Nile Crocodiles or get injuried while they jump into the river.

May 26, 2017

10,000 years ago, 10 billion cubic metres of rock thundered into the valley. Known as the Flims Rockslide, this event created the Ruinaulta, a canyon-like gorge in the Anterior Rhine Valley that can be reached on foot, over water, by train or by bike.

I spent four days in the Flims, Versam and Vals region to photograph the breathtaking landscapes of Lake Cauma, the Ruinaulta and the Mount Zervreilahorn.

October 26, 2016

The first few new pictures from my trip to southern Africa are now published on www.belimago.net. In the next few weeks more pictures will follow.

October 17, 2016

Just this morning in Zurich landed, after a six-and-a-half-week trip through Namibia and South Africa.

It was fantastic to be two weeks with the Himba in Kaokoland in the north-west of Namibia.
We have been there far away of the usual touristic pathes and we have met wonderful people. With a few Otjiherero words and my body language I was able to go into interactions with the Himbas.

September 1, 2016
I am starting my trip to Namibia and South Africa. The first two weeks I am traveling and take photos in the Kunene region. Together with my Namibian guide Dijongo Zaire (Famous as "Bahee" from Tommy Jaud bestseller "Hummeldumm") we are visiting several Himba communities.
The second two weeks I spend in the southern part of Namibia, in the South African Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (KTP), in the Augrabies Falls National Park and in the Namaqua National Park (hopefully to see the blooming wild flowers).
For the last two weeks I am flying over from Windhoek to Johannesburg. I will attend the EcoQuest 14 days course with EcoTraining in Makuleke section on the most northern part of the Kruger National Park.

July 5, 2016

I am back from my short trip to the Niederhorn in the Bernese Oberland. It was great, to see so many Alpine Ibex at one place. And as you can see on the picture, it is spring time and the young Ibex males are fighting against each other. They do this on smallest cliffs, where they can fall up to 100 meters deep.
At sunset I enjoyed the wonderful view to the famous mountains Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. It was so peaceful.

July 1, 2016

I have spent a day in the Wildlife Park Zurich Langenberg (Switzerland). When you arrive in the Park at Sunrise you can feel and enjoy the awakening of nature. Some wildlife is active like the grey wolves and the lynx, while others are laying around like the Elks and the Alpine Ibexes.

March 30, 2016

We are back from Costa Rica. Three and a half weeks we have travelled from the Central Valley to the shore of the Caribbean Sea, north to the Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge, to the shore of the Pacific Ocean and through the high mountains back to the central Valley and San José. Wonderful landscapes, from beaches to volcanos, from lush greenery to dry brown, from Sea level to high mountains. We have seen a colorful birdlife and a very interesting wildlife with mammals and reptiles.

November 10, 2015

What a colorful and beautiful marine life. We have spent three weeks in North Sulawesi (Indonesia) with Scuba Diving.

A short story from the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park:

I was on the return journey from Kata Tjuta (Olgas) to the Uluru. There was something on the road. I stopped my SUV, ran back and there it was. The Thorny Devil. It crossed the street. I layed down on the road. Keeping one eye on the Thorny Devil, the other eye I have directed on the road, so I will not get hit by another vehicle.

The Painted Desert is an ancient Inland Sea bed where the hills are the result of rain, weather and erosion. The slopes and shapes include many different colours and shades of orange, yellow and white, and it is the coloured shale on the faces of the hills from which the name “Painted Desert” came. The various shapes are formed when the top layers of soil dry out and fall away to reveal the beautiful rich colours underneath.

There is no possibility to drive to the Painted Desert. So I have rent a pilot and a plane and flew over the Painted Desert in the early morning hours. Unfortunately the sun did not show up and the sky was cloudy.

25. Februar 2014

Seit vier Tagen sind wir wieder zu Hause. Im Gepäck mehrer Tausend Bilder und viele Erlebnisse. Nun geht es ans selektieren und ausmisten, denn dafür war auf der ganzen Reise zuwenig Zeit. Erste Bilder werden bald auf www.belimago.net veröffentlicht.

April 6, 2013

It was one of the highlights during my studies of photography. With our teacher Andy Muller, we had the opportunity to work as an accredited photographer in the SFL Super League game between FC Zurich and GC Zurich. This photo was taken by Andy Muller as a reminder of a great class on a great evening.