Sharing a landscape with wild animals
Born to be wild is a wildlife photography exhibition by Christine Sonvilla and Marc Graf for participants of SGEM Vienna GREEN 2026. It explores a question that runs through their work: how can people and wild animals share the same landscapes?
Sonvilla and Graf have pursued that question for years in Central Europe. Their long-term project The Wild Heart of Europe follows the return of large carnivores and explores how people live alongside them. Their photographs place the animals in their habitats, as in the image of a lynx against the mountains of Austria’s Kalkalpen National Park.
SGEM Vienna GREEN 2026
Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna · Conference: 2–5 December 2026
From the photographers’ portfolio
Three projects from the photographers’ official portfolio show how they photograph wildlife in its habitat.
The Wild Heart of Europe
A lynx in Kalkalpen National Park. This long-term project asks what the return of large carnivores means for the people who live alongside them.
Image source · Bear Me In Mind Productions ↗
Brown Bears in Central Europe
A brown bear in fresh snow. The project follows the species’ return in densely populated Central Europe.
Image source · Bear Me In Mind Productions ↗
Croatian Griffon Vultures
Two griffon vultures on a cliff. In northern Croatia, the colony nests on cliffs directly above the sea.
Image source · Bear Me In Mind Productions ↗Behind the camera
Christine Sonvilla studied biology and German studies. She brings conservation stories to the public through photography, film, writing and talks. For the Luchstrail film she walked 220 kilometres along a route linking the Kalkalpen and Gesäuse national parks with the Dürrenstein wilderness area. The film follows her hike and considers the future of the lynx in Austria.
Marc Graf studied conservation biology and wildlife ecology. His long-term projects use techniques such as wide-angle camera traps, underwater photography and time-lapse. His photographs have been highly commended several times in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
Together they have contributed photography and writing to more than 200 stories about nature. Their work has appeared in National Geographic, GEO and BBC Wildlife Magazine, among others.
