About
Cas Bochner’s intuitively aesthetic and emotional photography focus around the topics of cultural change, hidden history and the vanishing connection between humans and nature.
Bochner travelled extensively and created photo series that highlight these topics in several countries including Sri Lanka, Cuba, Vietnam and Morocco. His 2018 work “Ceylon Black” documents the state of Sri Lanka after the civil war and the effects of the emerging tourism industry. With the 2023 series “The Fallen”, Bochner presents an alternative view of the historic German military place Wahner Heide . In this project he creatively retraces its bleak history and revives the ghosts of the fallen. The photos blend the present with the past, showing how intrinsically intertwined they are.
Since 2024 Bochner is working on a photo series roaming the forests, fields and settlements close to his small home town in Rhineland, Germany. In this project he aims to provide a sustained look at the ever changing connections between man, culture and nature, examining our complex and paradox relationship with the natural world.
Furthermore Bochner currently develops a long-term project documenting the conditions of shepherds in Germany, reflecting on the challenges induced by the wolf reintroduction, economic imponderables and changing landscapes.
Bio
Cas Bochner (*1978) grew up in the Ruhr area, Germany where he discovered his passion for photography. At the age of 12 he started photographing and video filming, mainly using compact cameras and VHS camcorders at families events and holiday trips. During the next 5 years Bochners photographic journey got more and more serious and he finally received his first 35mm film SLR camera. At this time he photographed daily and studied nature photography masters like Ansel Adams (1902-1984) or Edward Weston (1886-1958) and the photojournalism of the Magnum photographers. Their influence can clearly still be seen in Bochners work today. He often approaches a scene with an almost analytic framework based on the ideas of Adams and adds a story like a photojournalist. Intertwining his deep-rooted curiosity with a persuasive storytelling result in stunning and emotional images that yet still feel authentic.
Bochner continued to pursue his artistic ambitions through photography, while building a background in computer science, multimedia and web design at the University of Applied Science Bonn-Rhein-Sieg. He received his Masters degree in 2008. After his studies Bochner travelled extensively and created comprehensive photo series in countries diverse like Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Cuba, South Africa, Iceland, Canada, Morocco and more.
In 2018 Bochner started to offer freelance photography work, mainly capturing photographic memories of animals and their owners; e.g. illustrating the special emotional bond between a working sheepdog and a shepherdess or the last days of a senior horse and his poignant rider. Working with different kinds of animals resulted in many unforeseeable scenes which often required Bochner to work in the spirit of a wild life photographer. This allowed him to gain considerable photo-technical skills in fast-paced environments, a valuable capability that enabled him to push his limits and expand his artistic concepts further.
Today Cas Bochner practice revolves around creating extensive documentary series during long-term photo projects, blending artistic and journalistic approaches.