The Concept of Umwelt and Photography
We like to think we see the world as it is. But we don’t.
We see the world as we’re capable of seeing it.
In the early 1900s, biologist Jakob von Uexküll introduced a word that reshaped how we understand perception: umwelt. It’s a German word that roughly translates to “surrounding world.” But in Uexküll’s use, it doesn’t mean the world around us. It means the world as experienced by us, or by any living creature.
Each Creature Has Its Own Reality
Every animal, every insect, every organism lives inside its own sensory universe. A tick navigates its world through just three cues: the smell of butyric acid (a compound found in sweat), the temperature of mammalian blood, and the feel of fur. That’s it. For a tick, the entire world is reduced to those three signals. Everything else simply does not exist.
That’s the essence of umwelt - each species exists in a bubble defined by its senses and instincts. A bat’s umwelt is shaped by echolocation. A bee sees ultraviolet patterns on flowers that are invisible to us. Dogs smell emotions we can’t detect. And humans? We see a narrow band of visible light, hear a limited range of frequencies, and are influenced by our memories, culture, and emotions.
Our umwelt isn’t just biological. It’s personal.
Umwelt and Photography
As a nature photographer, this idea got me thinking. My camera doesn’t just record light. It records the way I interpret that light. What I choose to notice. What I choose to frame. Every image is filtered through my own umwelt, the way I feel, what I value, what I’m sensitive to in that moment.
No Two People See the Same
It’s humbling to realize that no two people will ever truly see the same landscape the same way. Even standing side by side, looking at the same mountain or wildflower, we’re each filtering it through our own sensory history and inner world.
And here’s the thing: that’s not a limitation. That’s the magic.
How Umwelt Can Deepen Our Connection to Nature
Umwelt invites a shift in how we relate to both nature and each other. It asks us to slow down. To notice not just what is in front of us, but how we’re experiencing it. What am I tuned into today? What might I be missing? What is this bird, or tree, or beetle sensing right now that I can’t begin to fathom?
Sometimes, when I’m sitting in the woods, I’ll wonder what the world feels like to a nearby animal. How does the breeze register to a dragonfly? What does the scent of moss mean to a fox? These questions don’t have answers. But asking them opens up a kind of reverence for lives that are lived right beside ours, in completely different worlds.
The Beauty of Many Worlds
We often think we need to seek out grand vistas or dramatic wildlife encounters to feel something profound. But often, the most meaningful moments come from noticing what’s already here, when we allow ourselves to see with the senses we do have, rather than the ones we wish for.
Photography becomes not just a way to document the world, but a way to express our own umwelt. It becomes personal. Intimate. Honest.
And most importantly, it reminds us that every being we encounter is doing the same, navigating their own world with their own set of truths, shaped by their own perception.
There’s a kind of beauty in that. A shared mystery, even if we never quite overlap.
Let’s Keep Exploring
If this idea of umwelt sparked something for you, I’d love to hear about it.
Leave a comment and share how it’s changed the way you see the world or the way you photograph it.
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