TITLE: The B-Sides

The B-Sides project emerged naturally from my ongoing Botanical Studies series, which explores the overlooked. Shapes, lines, and structures that often remain unnoticed in everyday life. Inspired by Kunstformen der Natur and early scientific illustrations, this work has evolved into a continuous exploration since 2016.

At its core, Botanical Studies follows a minimalistic high-key monochrome approach. Botanical objects are isolated against bright backgrounds, reduced to their essential forms. Light becomes a tool of clarity. It reveals structure, rhythm, and subtle detail. Yet not every subject responds to light in the same way.

Some plants resist this approach. They do not unfold their presence in brightness. Instead, they reveal their character only in darkness. These are what I call the B-Sides.

The B-Sides shift the visual language of the series. The bright, almost weightless atmosphere gives way to depth and contrast. Forms emerge slowly from shadow. Details become quieter, more introspective. The images feel less descriptive and more interpretive.

Each photograph is reduced to its essence. What remains is a dialogue between light and shadow, between presence and absence. The focus is not on representation, but on perception.

While the A-side images seek clarity and reduction through light, the B-Sides explore the same ideas through darkness. They are not opposites, but counterparts. Two ways of seeing the same world.

The B-Sides are an integral part of the larger body of work. At the same time, they stand on their own. More silent, more restrained, and perhaps more intimate.

They invite a slower way of looking.

AUTHOR: Matthias Conrad (Germany)

Nature and landscapes have always played an important role in my life. I was born in the mid-1970s in a small town in Thuringia, on the edge of the Hainich National Park, in the middle of Germany, where I grew up very close to nature. Trips and vacations with my parents and grandparents often led to nature. I discovered photography very early on in my childhood when I was playing around with my parents' and grandparents' analog EXA and Praktika cameras, which were made in the GDR.

What started as a small hobby has developed over the years into my profession and my passion. My love of traveling also arose during my business studies. My fascination for landscape photography began with various stays abroad in Canada, Mexico, and the USA and their diverse landscapes.

In the meantime, this type of photography also plays a decisive role in my professional life. In addition to workshops and photo trips, I often travel to Switzerland, Austria, and southern Germany to produce work for commercial projects.