Helmut was born in 1967 and raised in a small town in Transylvania, Romania. He has lived in Germany since 1988, after an adventurous escape from Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe by swimming across the Danube River by night, aged 21.
Fascinated by the underwater world, as a young boy, Helmut painted underwater landscapes with watercolours, although he had never seen them with their own eyes. These painted pictures won school competitions.
Later in life, he owned several ornamental fish aquariums, which he watched with fascination and motivated him to take up diving. In1998 he learned scuba dive, and quickly qualified as a divemaster, together with his wife Hedda. Not long after that in 2004, Helmut bought his first underwater camera, a Sea&Sea MX10, to capture the underwater world to show his family and friends.
He works full-time in a Mercedes-Benz factory near Stuttgart, and it is only during his vacations that he gets underwater with his camera. Helmut is a huge fan of macro photography, most of his diving time is spent around Southeast Asia, with his wife. They spend 2-3 weeks in Thailand, Indonesia or the Philippines, depending on the season, and Indonesia’s Lembeh Strait remains their favourite destination.
Helmut’s images are frequently seen in various underwater competitions and publications. Most notably winning first place in the conceptual category at the USA Scuba Diving Magazine International Underwater Competition ‘Through your Lens’ in 2017, and being runner-up in the PADI DUP category at the British Underwater Image Festival (BUIF).
Yellow pygmy goby Anilao, Philippines
Leaf sheep nudibranch Bali, Indonesia
Pink-eyed goby Lembeh, Indonesia
Whip coral shrimp Anilao, Philippines
Seahorse on sea pen Sabang Beach, Philippines
Squid Anilao, Philippines
Sheep nudibranch Bali, Indonesia
Peacock mantis shrimp Lembeh, Indonesia
Porcelain crab Lembeh, Indonesia
Nudibranch Anilao, Philippines
Juvenile frogfish Bali, Indonesia
School of jackfish Bali, Indonesia
Hairy shrimp with eggs Anilao, Philippines
Goby in sea pen Anilao, Philippines
Cuttlefish Mabul, Malaysia
Coconut octopus Lembeh, Indonesia
Bobbit worm Lembeh, Indonesia
Find more from Helmut on his Instagram @ht_impressions
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