Nature photographer Maks Kunc | Koroški Pokrajinski Muzej

Permanent Exhibitions Mežica

The museum safeguards a collection of nature photographs taken by Maks Kunc (1930-1996). His excellent close-ups of nature, especially of regional flora, define him as a first-rate nature photographer, and the exhibition offers a glimpse into his work and unique life story.

In his old age Maks Kunc lead a secluded life, and only a handful of select friends were allowed access to his photographic oeuvre. He was born in Mežica where he trained to become a miner, and then at the beginning of the 1950s immigrated to Canada, where he worked as a miner from 1952 to 1965. In Canada he became acquainted with photography and later took it up more seriously. He bought a Hasselblad photo camera and started taking pictures, especially of nature motifs. He then returned to Mežica and got a job at the mine. He was dedicating more and more time to photography, and was especially interested in nature photography. In the thirty years of active photography he also upgraded his craftsmanship with an excellent knowledge of natural science, which he attained through studying professional literature. His main focus was micro photography of flora, indigenous species of orchids, fungi, butterflies and bugs, birds, amphibians, reptiles and small mammals. His photographic research was limited to Mežica and its surroundings, and to the Dravograd accumulation lake at the hydroelectric power plant. His entire photographic legacy represents an important contribution to the study of local flora and fauna. He was very systematic in his work, which is reflected in the fact that he kept a detailed log (written in English) for more than fifteen years. In this log he recorded the weather on a daily basis and described his observations regarding the events and changes in plants and wildlife throughout the seasons and in different environments. His entries are a superb source for studying micro locations and various natural phenomena.

The exhibition has a slightly different approach to presenting first-rate nature photographs, taken by a mechanical camera: enlarged photos, photographic equipment and logs (diaries) are exhibited. Exhibition was accompanied by the publication of a catalogue that tells Maks Kunc’s life story, and offers an evaluation of his natural science and photography efforts as seen by his friends, acknowledged experts in fields that Maks Kunc was interested in as a nature photographer.