Recently, Ulla has been documenting the changing world of indigenous tribes and photographing erupting volcanoes. She even climbed down, with her Canon EOS 5D Mark IV in tow, into an active volcano in one of the South Pacific islands in Vanuatu. There she captured shots of it venting molten lava – making her the first woman on the planet to set foot there.
But she's not just facing danger for kicks. She explains: "I didn't only take photographs and video there to show the power and beauty of nature, and how small we are as human beings. I also led an expedition team to help study this volcano complex, which is the biggest emitter of volcanic gases worldwide."
She regards the most outstanding achievement of her career as gaining the trust of a tribal elder in Papua New Guinea who agreed that she could photograph him after his death, when he got mummified according to tribal traditions. Ulla reveals: "When he was still alive, he even adopted me as his daughter. Gemtasu wanted me to tell his story to the world so he could help people overcome their fears about death, because Gemtasu strongly believed that the dead are still part of the world of the living."
Her film projects have been widely praised, with Lost Mummies Of New Guinea winning an Emmy for cinematography in 2011. Her project, Adventure Europe: 47 summits, 47 countries and 470 days, saw Ulla and her team climb the highest summit in every European country. The project aimed to show the adventures available on our doorstep and to raise awareness about how climate change can impact fragile mountain environments.
In addition to photography, she is also exploring DSLR and drone filmmaking with her husband Basti, who, like Ulla, is also a passionate adventurer. Together they bring the world closer to us.