My name is Volker Fäßler, and I am a passionate nature photographer with a particular fascination for plant galls and the remarkable organisms that cause them. But my interests extend far beyond cecidology: I am fascinated by the entire diversity of the natural world around me, including plants, fungi, insects, spiders and many other forms of life. Whenever I explore forests, meadows and parks, I use my camera to document the organisms and natural phenomena I encounter. You can find my most interesting and memorable photographs in my extensive photo gallery, which has continued to grow over the years.

Why did I create this website?

Quite simply, I wanted to share my hobby and my photographs with other people. Perhaps you have noticed all kinds of living things while out walking or hiking – conspicuous growths on leaves, a bird’s nest containing eggs, a beetle buzzing loudly across your path, or a bird visible for only a fleeting moment. Afterwards, the same question often remains: What exactly was that, and where can I find out more about it? There are, of course, countless books on natural history. Yet when it comes to unusual organisms, plant galls or other remarkable natural phenomena, even books often have their limitations. This is where I hope my website can help. Here you will find photographs of a wide variety of organisms, detailed descriptions and numerous macro photographs that reveal even insects only a few millimetres in size in remarkable detail. Some may look unusual or even a little frightening at first glance, while others fascinate with their shapes and colours. Many of these details remain hidden during a fleeting encounter in nature. That makes it all the more fascinating to examine them up close and learn more about their way of life.

Where did my love of nature come from?

I was born in 1966 in Jena, in the beautiful region of Thuringia. The city is surrounded by an attractive landscape of Muschelkalk limestone slopes, hills and forests. From my earliest years in kindergarten and throughout my school years, we regularly went on excursions into the countryside, where our teachers introduced us to the local flora and fauna. Nature also played an important role in my private life from an early age. On some weekends, I would go mushroom picking with my grandfather, neighbours or friends. In the process, I learned which mushrooms were edible, which were poisonous and which were best left untouched. I also spent a great deal of time in various clubs and activities, including racing and keeping homing pigeons. After some time, however, I left the club because I did not enjoy keeping the birds in that way. Instead, I developed an increasing interest in ornithology. I wanted to know which bird species occurred in our local countryside, how they lived and which habitats they preferred. As a result, I spent almost every free moment outdoors, watching birds and discovering their nests and eggs. Over the years, I became familiar with more and more plants, trees and animals, gradually building up a broad knowledge of their way of life and of the relationships between organisms in nature. In 1991, I moved to Saarland. In the 2000s, I joined the Pilzfreunde Saar-Pfalz e.V., the largest mycological association in south-western Germany. There, together with like-minded people, I was able to explore nature, expand my knowledge of fungi and plants, and make many new discoveries. Over time, I built up an extensive specialist library, supplemented by countless sources of information from the internet. During excursions with the mycological association, I eventually discovered the conspicuous plant galls that increasingly captured my attention. Little by little, fungi moved somewhat into the background as I devoted more and more of my time to plant galls and their fascinating inhabitants. Nevertheless, I have never completely abandoned mycology. It was during this period that I also created my first website about fungi. The photo gallery continued to grow and, over the years, developed into the extensive nature and plant-gall website you are visiting today. Since 2022, I have no longer been active in the mycological association. Nevertheless, I use every spare moment to get out into nature, discover and photograph new plant galls and other interesting organisms, and take a break from everyday life. I hope you enjoy exploring my website. Perhaps my photographs and information will inspire you, too, to discover and appreciate the fascinating diversity of the natural world.