Robert Oelman

“What I am about,” says Robert Oelman, “is a dedication to seeing all there is to be seen.” That dedication takes him through a broad range of subjects — from contemporary cityscapes, to remote rainforests, to images that bring some of the smallest living creatures spectacularly into view. Regardless of scale, his images all share an elegant sense of composition and an expert ability to manipulate light and shadow.

In all of his work, Oelman employs cutting-edge technology, but does so in a way that brings the physical and natural world closer to us. His panoramic landscapes are so vivid that we feel as if we could step into them. And his photographs of insects, taken in collaboration with entomologists from such organizations as the Smithsonian Institution, work as science (showing animal specimens that would otherwise have been left unseen) and as art (highlighting nature’s colors and patterns). The photographer has embraced the world’s diversity in his life as well as his work, having lived in inspiring locales ranging from Big Sur to India to Colombia, his current home.