# Pia Parolin

Dr. Pia Parolin (born 24 August 1965 in Castelfranco Veneto, Italy) is a biologist and tropical ecologist, council member of the Society for Tropical Ecology (gtö) and active member of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC). She is also a photographer, member of the German Society for Photography (DGPh) and Leica Akademie Deutschland. And she is a book author with the German dpunkt Verlag. and the French Baie des Anges Editions

## Career

Her scientific work is focussed on tropical forests and wetlands, mainly the Amazon River floodplains and the Pantanal. She holds a PhD in tropical ecology, biological conservation and climate change. Her work was based at the Max-Planck-Institute for Limnology (Germany) and the National Institute of Amazonian Research in Manaus - INPA (Brazil). She was later based at the Université Côte d'Azur (France) and Institut Sophia Agrobiotech (INRAe) (France). Today, she is based at the Max-Planck-Institute of Animal Behavior (Germany).
As a book author, she has published several books on photography and biology. She gives workshops and talks at festivals and conferences. She is a street photographer and member of Collectif Photon, Nice, France. She was convened to the German Photographic Association (DGPh) in 2021 and to the Leica Akademie Deutschland in 2024.

## Projects and artistic statements

Having worked all her life in wetlands and with people and water, she started documentary work by merging her two professions and passions: ecology and photography. The documentation of environmental changes with scientific data complements well with the emotional visualization through her photographs. Her aim is to illuminate the fragile connection between humans and nature in a variety of ways, and to stimulate thought. She created the project Water People Stories to explore the importance of water in our daily life. She tells the stories of people whom she encounters along her journeys around the world. The aim is to understand and transform how societies see, value and impact freshwater in rivers and wetlands. The project was launched in 2023 at the BioClim-Wetlands Conference in Bonn, Germany. It was later shown in Portugal, the Netherlands, and Brazil.
Another important project is Promenade Moments, her reply to the terror attack that occurred in Nice on July 14, 2016. This series shows "ephemerid encounters of people passing by, instants of joy and relax for family and friends. Tourists enjoy the spectacular colours that even the rain cannot delete. Soldiers have become part of the promenade where children play happily. People stop to look into the infinity of the blue sea. Moments and movements surround us in a place where the evil tried to take grip, but the freedom of everyday life full of ease and light prevail." Her photographs and conceptual work are exhibited worldwide. She shares her thoughts and knowledge in numerous books and lectures.

## Publications

* Pia Parolin / Siegfried Hansen (2024): Praxisbuch Streetfotografie. Von der Szene zum Bild – wie kreative Streetfotos entstehen dpunkt.Verlag, ISBN 978-3-98889-017-7
* Pia Parolin / Martin U Waltz (2022): https://dpunkt.de/produkt/mit-offenen-augen/ Next Level Streetfotografie. Starke Bilder gestalten und klare Aussagen treffen dpunkt.Verlag, ISBN 978-3-86490-953-5
* Siegfried Hansen / Pia Parolin (2021): Mit offenen Augen. Wie du deine künstlerischen Ansprüche verwirklichst dpunkt.Verlag, ISBN 978-3-96910-587-0
* Pia Parolin (2021): Entwickle deine Fotografie! Eine Wahrnehmungsschule für die Streetfotografie dpunkt.Verlag, ISBN 978-3-86490-836-1
* Pia Parolin (2020): Flow – Fotografieren als Glückserlebnis ("Photography as a happiness experience") dpunkt Verlag, ISBN 9783864907838
* Pia Parolin (2020): 100 Photographers’ Words Maison Editrice Baie des Anges.
* Pia Parolin (2019): Un dimanche matin à Nice Maison Editrice Baie des Anges.
* Pia Parolin (2018): Promenade(s) Rencontres éphéméres de passants Maison Editrice Baie des Anges.
* Wittmann F., Schöngart J., Brito J.M., Oliveira Wittmann A., Parolin P., Piedade M.T.F., Junk W.J. & Guillaumet J.-L. (2011): Manual of tree species in central Amazonian white-water floodplains: Taxonomy, Ecology, and Use. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia - INPA, Universidade Estadual do Amazonas - UEA, Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá - ISDM. Editora Valer, Manaus, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
* Junk W.J., Piedade M.T.F., Wittmann F., Schöngart J. & Parolin P. (eds.) (2010): 'Amazonian Floodplain Forests: Ecophysiology, Biodiversity and Sustainable Management'. Ecological Studies, Springer Verlag, Heidelberg.
* Pia Parolin (1997): Auswirkungen periodischer Vernässung und Überflutung auf Phänologie, Photosynthese und Blattphysiologie von Baumarten unterschiedlicher Wachstumsstrategie in zentralamazonischen Überschwemmungsgebieten. Dissertation, Universität Hamburg, 156 pp.