This week we sat down with a man who moves easily between worlds — from the dense, humid jungles of Central Africa to the quiet corners of European forests, from remote herpetological observation to the heart of educational publishing. He’s a photographer, a naturalist, certified jungle guide and a lifelong explorer of the small and overlooked. Through his lens and his stories, he invites us to pause, pay attention, and reconsider how we relate to the life that surrounds us — especially the life most people never see.

*Photo: Tree Frog - Image: Norbert Schmoll*

In an age where digital noise often drowns out the natural world, Norbert Schmoll is a quiet voice calling us back to it.

A photographer, publisher, and lifelong naturalist, Norbert has spent decades immersed in wild landscapes—from the depths of Central African jungles to the quiet forest edges of Eastern Europe. His life’s work orbits a single driving force: a deep, attentive curiosity for the living world and our place within it.

What makes Norbert’s story so compelling isn’t just the breadth of his experience—it’s the way he sees. His camera lens is never passive. It is not simply a tool of observation, but of reverence, wonder, and, above all, listening.

For many, the jungle is a place of overwhelming scale — thick vegetation, distant howler monkeys, and towering trees that disappear into clouds. But for our guest this week, the jungle is also a place of intimacy. His gaze is often directed downward or at eye level: to the shimmer of a snake’s scales, the impossibly vivid colors of a tree frog, or the micro-world that exists beneath a single bromeliad. These quiet, often feared, and easily overlooked creatures have not only captured his scientific attention — they’ve shaped his worldview.

From Curiosity to Reverence

Asked where his fascination with reptiles and amphibians began, his answer is as poetic as it is personal. “It started with the microcosm in the grass,” he says. “The insects and the entire web of life beneath my feet.”

As a child, snakes represented both mystery and fear. They were part of the folklore that surrounded him — creatures to be respected, if not outright avoided. Yet he found himself drawn to them, fascinated by how different they were from the world of domestic animals he was familiar with. Insects, snakes, and lizards — these were not the animals of farms or household pets, but of untamed places. Places he longed to understand.

Today, his interest has expanded to include top predators of all kinds — both in the jungle and the savanna — but snakes continue to hold a special place in his imagination. “They are some of the most highly adapted hunters,” he explains, “with unreal beauty and mind-blowing capabilities.”

He speaks at length about pit vipers — a subfamily of snakes that he finds particularly remarkable. “They can see in infrared, detect vibrations from far away, and even ‘taste’ the air around them to sense what’s going on. They climb, swim, camouflage — they are perfectly built for survival.” That blend of function and elegance is what draws him in again and again.

Amphibians also captivate him. He describes them almost with awe, noting their brilliant coloration, delicate ecological roles, and extreme specialization. “Some species live only in the water-filled cups of bromeliads, high up in the canopy. Others exist only in a single patch of forest, with ranges of just a few dozen meters. They’re rare, vulnerable, and irreplaceable.”

*Photo: Searching for creatures in the dark usually proves the most successful - Image: Norbert Schmoll*

Encounters That Leave a Mark

But not all encounters in the wild are planned — and some change everything.

At the age of 14, he was in the forest filming a roe deer when he suddenly found himself face to face with a mother bear and her three cubs. The situation was tense. She hadn’t noticed him yet, but he knew that with her being young and this being her first litter, a defensive charge was likely.

Sure enough, when he tried to step away quietly, she heard him. What followed was a series of mock charges — heart-stopping moments where the bear would rush toward him, stop just short, retreat to her cubs, then charge again. “She didn’t want to hurt me,” he reflects. “She was scared, unsure. But she was also powerful and protective.”

That day left a permanent impression. “It shaped the way I see nature, and especially animals that are feared. After that, I didn’t avoid bears — I sought them out. I wanted to understand them better.”

These moments, he says, are not just about adrenaline or storytelling. They’re about connection. Looking into an animal’s eyes, being close enough to sense its fear or confusion — those are the experiences that foster respect. “There was a kind of communication between us,” he says. “And I’ve never forgotten it.”

*Photo: Norbert’s’ search takes him well off the beaten path where pushing his limits is a regular occurrence - Image: Norbert Schmoll*

Fear, Fascination, and Misunderstanding

Few animals are as misunderstood as snakes, he argues. “Don’t get me started,” he says with a laugh — but then proceeds to offer a powerful reflection on why our fear of reptiles and amphibians is so persistent, and often so damaging.

“In many places, there’s no such thing as a ‘non-venomous’ snake. For most people, a snake is a snake — and that means it’s dangerous. It must be killed. The same goes for lizards. It’s safer, people think, to eliminate the unknown.”

This fear, he believes, is deeply rooted in our biology. He references the historian Yuval Harari, who wrote that humans reached the top of the food chain too quickly — without the psychological tools to handle the power we gained. “We still carry our primal fears,” he says. “Snakes, spiders, insects — we don’t understand them, so we fear them. And that fear leads to violence.”

But he’s optimistic. “If we can just pause, tolerate their presence, watch them with curiosity instead of panic — that’s the first step. Curiosity breaks down fear.”

*Photo: Snake Macro - Image: Norbert Schmoll*

Stories Over Statistics

Although he spends much of his life in wild environments and works professionally as a publisher, he doesn’t yet consider himself a writer. “I think a lot, but I don’t really write about it,” he explains. “I don’t keep journals either.” For someone so immersed in the natural world, this might seem surprising — but his focus has always been more on experiencing than recording.

What he does believe in, passionately, is storytelling. “Taking photos, and then telling the stories behind them — especially to friends or people who care — that’s how we change perceptions. That’s how we make people care.” He sees storytelling not as a form of self-expression, but as a tool to connect people with the world around them in meaningful, personal ways.

He notes that while social media has made it easier than ever to share images of nature, much of that sharing happens without context. “We feel informed, but we’re not necessarily connected,” he says. “A face-to-face story, with emotion and personal meaning — that’s where real change begins.” For him, the value of storytelling lies not in reaching large audiences, but in creating moments of reflection — moments where people feel something real and lasting.

*Photo: Norbert in the Darien Gap, Panama - Image: Norbert Schmoll*

Publishing with Purpose

The connection between his experiences in nature and his work in publishing is clear and direct. As the founder of a publishing company, he views the role of books not just as conveyors of information, but as a source of wonder — especially for young people.

“Publishing is not just a business to me. It’s a form of education — real education. Not memorizing facts, but connecting deeply with the world,” he says. “I want our books to awaken wonder. If we can spark curiosity, we can inspire care. And care leads to action.”

The books his company supports often reflect this philosophy. They’re designed to be engaging, visually rich, and grounded in real-world experience. Their goal is not just to inform, but to invite the reader to see the world differently — to notice what might otherwise go unseen.

His time in the jungle has shaped his editorial vision. “You can’t spend time in a rainforest and not be changed. Everything about it — the smells, the sounds, the complexity — it rewires your brain. It makes you want to protect what you love.” That sense of wonder, and the desire to preserve it, sits at the heart of the work he publishes.

*Photo: Listening to birdsong in camp - Image: Norbert Schmoll*

Looking Ahead

Asked which parts of the jungle still call to him, he names several regions without hesitation.

“Central Africa. The Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Uganda — the forests there are extraordinary. Remote, wild, largely inaccessible. The kind of places that still hold mystery.”

He also mentions the ancient table-top mountains of South America — the tepuis of Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana. “They’ve fascinated me since childhood,” he says. “Completely isolated ecosystems. You find species there that exist nowhere else on Earth.”

What draws him most to these regions is the sense of discovery. These are places where the ecosystems are still relatively intact, where species remain undescribed, and where simply being present can feel like a privilege. They offer a kind of quiet, immersive challenge that is increasingly rare in a rapidly changing world.

A Final Invitation

When asked what he hopes people take away from his work, his answer is simple.

“I hope it stirs something. Curiosity, especially. I hope it reminds people that life is everywhere, all around us — even in the cracks of the city sidewalk, in the trees we pass every day. We’re not separate from nature. We are nature.”

He continues: “Maybe someone picks up a camera, or a magnifying glass, or just takes a walk a little more slowly. Maybe they stop and look, really look. That’s how it starts.”

His focus is not on directing others, but on inviting them to pay closer attention. To begin with wonder. To learn through experience. To allow a quiet moment with nature to reshape how they see the world — and their place within it.

As for where to follow his work, he says: “I’m a private person when it comes to these things. I don’t share much. I do post photos on Instagram now and then, and I’ve been meaning to make a proper website for years… but I haven’t gotten around to it.”

The absence of an online presence is not a strategy — just a reflection of priorities. His time and energy are focused elsewhere: in forests, swamps, and mist-covered hills. Watching, listening, and reminding us — without fanfare — that there is still so much in this world worth noticing, and protecting.

To finish this article, we thought it best to share with you the remainder of Norbert’s incredible photography that he so kindly provided for this article - a little bit more of an insight into his world, that he so hopes to spark curiosity within you. More of his photography can be viewed on is Instagram account @schmollnorbert

Norbert Schmoll: Eyes Wide Open in the Wilderness