Making the Minerals shine

Photographing minerals is an art in itself. Over the years, most of the photographs of my collection were taken by some of the most respected photographers in the field, including Albert Russ, Malte Sickinger, Benjamin DeCamp, Jeff A. Scovil, Thomas Spann, Joaquim Callen, Federico Picciani, Anton Watzl Sr., Paul Rustemeyer, Joe Budd, Mark Mauthner, Andreas Schmid, Martin Gruell, Olga Kaspera, Mia Dixon, and Laszlo Kupi.

Capturing the beauty of minerals through high-quality photography has fascinated me for decades. I began my journey in 1992, making more mistakes than progress at first. Over time, I picked up tips and techniques from professionals in the field, and—after many lessons learned the hard way—I recently returned to photographing my mineral collection myself.

Mastering light, reflections, and color temperature, along with the right equipment, focus stacking, and post-processing in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, all play a crucial role. Most of all, it takes time, patience, and a focused mind. Mineral photography is a discipline that demands both technical skill and artistic vision—but when everything comes together, the results can be truly stunning.

In the end, collecting beautiful photographs of my specimens—whether taken by renowned professionals or captured by myself—has become a passion in its own right.

Below is a small selection of fine photographs featuring specimens from The Wildfang Collection®.

Click on any of the images below in order to start the slide-show ... or watch the video clip further down the page.