Born in northern Germany in 1953, Norbert Rosing is a passionate nature and wildlife photographer with a special dedication to the Arctic, North American landscapes, and the national parks of Germany.
In 1980, Rosing published his first photograph in a German photo magazine. Since then he has travelled extensively to the Canadian Arctic, the landscapes of the U.S. Southwest, and to the romantic landscapes of Germany’s national parks and Africa’s savannas.
A member of several photographic associations, he has won several awards for single images as well as for books and magazine articles in Germany and the United States. His images have been published in magazines all over the world, such as GEO, Terre Sauvage, BBC Wildlife, Sinra, Terra, Naturfoto, and Photo Technik International.
Rosing’s first cover story in National Geographic magazine, “Bear Beginnings: New Life on the Ice,” was published in December 2000. Since then he has also covered musk oxen, walruses, bald eagles, and snow foxes for the magazine, among other subjects.
Rosing`s images were used to create nine stamps for the German Mailing System (Post.)
Rosing has published many books, including Cheetahs, The World of the Polar Bear, UP HERE (Photography adventures in the Canadian arctic), WILD GERMANY (about the German National Parks, Yellowstone: Land of Fire and Ice, and Yellowstone: America’s Playground, FACE TO FACE WITH POLAR BEARS by NG, and the new Trilogy: WILDNIS, VERBORGEN (Hidden) The wonders of the Franconian caves in Bavaria, WILD WEST (about the US Southwest in b/w.
Norbert started off as a typical amateur photographer – with the love to take images of natural beauty. His professional carrier started off with a lifelong story: The world of the Polar bear. For more than 20 years, he travelled to the Canadian Arctic, especially Churchill, Manitoba, and Svalbard in Norway and Greenland.
When in his home country of Germany he documented the “Silverware” of the German National Parks and travelled to the parks in East Germany, newly created since the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. Norbert still works on this subject matter until the present day.
Another major story for Norbert became the photographic exploration of the Yellowstone National Park in the United States of America, a 3,500-sq.-mile wilderness recreation area atop a volcanic hot spot. Mostly in Wyoming, the park spreads into parts of Montana and Idaho too. Yellowstone features dramatic canyons, alpine rivers, lush forests, hot springs and gushing geysers, including its most famous, Old Faithful.
After Rosing fell in love with the American West he started documenting some of the most beautiful landscapes on Earth, located in the US South West. This long-term project also continues until the present time. Norbert’s images are represented by the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.
Rosing has won the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition several times, in categories, one time at the World Press Photo Award and several times at the GDT Competition (German Ass. of Wildlife Photographers).
Norbert Rosing has appeared several times on TV Talkshows in Germany, Canada and on CNN/US.
He acted as patron for huge photo festivals in Germany like Horizonte Zingst (on the Baltic Sea) and Oberstdorfer Fotogipfel (in the town of Oberstdorf). Here 17 huge images got exhibited on Nebelhorn Mountain.
In 2020 he travelled to the Monarch Butterflies in Mexico, one of the most impressive moments in his life.
Norbert Rosing was the patron of two major photography festivals in Germany: HORIZONTE Festival / Zingst & Oberstdorfer Fotogipfel / Oberstdorf, Bavaria Rosing has been using Leica Camera Equipment for 30 years analogue & digital.
Norbert has been supported by his wife Elli since 1976.
BOOKS:
Norbert Rosing published more than 20 coffee table books during his carrier, including:
Wild Germany (Best seller) (NG)
Eye to eye with polar bears (NG)
A trilogy: Wilderness, Hidden, Wild West
Several books on the German natural parks
The world of the polar bear (Germany, Canada)
Polarbaeren (Germany)
Yellowstone (Germany, Canada)
Geparde (Cheetahs) (with Fritz Poelking)
UP HERE (Best of Arctic, Germany)
ZEN The Magic of the Moment (Germany)
EXHIBITIONS:
Norbert’s images have been presented in exhibition shows in Leica Stores, Photo festivals, exhibits from National Geographic
During his career, he published many stories for major magazines like National Geographic (worldwide), GEO Germany and many others worldwide.
He used to be nominated as “UN-Decade-Embassador-for-Environment-Protection”
Nine of his images were used for stamps for the German Mail (Post)
Norbert’s work is represented by the National Gallery of Fine Art in the US