My name is Floris van Breugel, and I am a California based nature and wildlife photographer. I was born in the Bay Area, California, in 1986. My parents took me on frequent trips to the Sierras and the Southern California Deserts for extended camping and backpacking trips. This early introduction into nature has stuck with me, and it is my first and primary interest when it comes to photography: simply being out there in the wild beauty. I have always had a passion for art, but it wasn't until I got my own digital camera that my passion really took off in 2006. Unlike many photographers, who focus on just wildlife, landscapes, abstracts, etc. I strive to expand the diversity of my work with every image I make, all while maintaining a style of elegance and refreshing creativity I have cultivated since the beginning of my photography career. In much of my work you will find abstract components being placed in the environment where I found them, in addition to some pure abstract scenes.
When I’m not out photographing, I am busy being a graduate student at Caltech studying insect flight dynamics. I am interested in understanding how the brain of a fruit fly, among other insects, is able to take in and process all the sensory information it receives, and is then able to control itself to achieve various behaviors. My motivation is to apply the findings from this experimental research to that of micro air vehicles, which I can then use for remote science and photography. After all, somehow I have to combine my passion for science and engineering with art and photography!
