Ernst Haas was born in Vienna on 2 March 1921. He studied medicine initially, but after World War II his interest in the arts led him to take up photography. His first one-man show was held in Vienna in 1947. Unlike many other great photographers who rely upon the black and white medium for their more personal and expressive work, Haas was very much a color photographer and had imposed his own individual way of seeing upon the color process. His interest was very much based on the wonder and beauty of natural things, but he had no inhibitions about using photographic techniques to manipulate the image. His choice of camera was the 35mm and his transparencies were of impeccable technical quality. Haas’s work was used widely in glossy magazines and has produced picture stories for publications such has Life, Holiday, Paris Match and Look. He also applied his skills to advertising assignments and film publicity.
Many of Ernst Haas’s most compelling images were used in a collection of photographs entitled The Creation, published in 1971, in which the acute observation of often quite ordinary natural forations and objects transforms them into mystical images of vivid visual impact.
Ernst Haas died on 12 September 1986.
