As the sun bleeds into daylight or fades toward night, AP photographer Michael Probst is often on the hunt for serene scenes near his home in Frankfurt, Germany that evoke a sense of wonder.
Nature comes alive in the vibrant yellow of a pollen-laden bee approaching a sunflower or a fuzzy-headed gosling poking from the plumage on its mother’s back. Two toothy Icelandic horses with shaggy manes playfully bite each other while their large eyes seem fixed on the camera lens.
Probst, who has worked for The Associated Press for 30 years, focused on finding a different perspective on life once his three children were grown up and he could work in the early or late hours of the day when the light is best.
“I thought there must be more in news photography than soccer, business and government press conferences,” Probst said. “With all the trouble in the world, I wanted to show the nice things.”
Among the many images he’s captured when not on traditional assignments: a wild boar bounds through a blur of deep grass; a nimble-footed hare turns tail and hops away; and a stork with its wings spread wide plunges from its nest.
His environmental images may show wildlife but the sign of humans is never far away.
A bee alights on a blood-red poppy with city skyscrapers looming in the distance. A closer look at fields under a gauzy amber mist at daybreak reveals a commuter train. A shot from a drone reveals a heart-shaped pond hidden by a row of trees from cars speeding past on the highway next to it.
It can take hours for Probst to get the right shot and and can require other challenges, such as acquiring permission from farmers and landowners to access private property.
Probst aims to rise by 4:30 a.m. in the summer to shoot sunrise. In the winter, he tolerates cold that can dip to minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit).
Whether a photo is good or not, he said, comes down to personal preference.
“I never thought about why photos work,” he said. “I like a picture or not without being able to explain why. I rely on my taste.”
