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Jun 22 2025

Marian Kraus: Colours & Forms

Marian Kraus: Colours & Forms

Reverence and presence

“Seeing mindfully is seeing deeply with your heart.”

WITHIN THE REFINED realm of commercial photography, Marian Kraus has established himself as a master of capturing the spirit of interiors, architecture, industrial environments and product design. Based in Chicago and serving clients across the United States, Marian’s work transcends mere image-making—his keen eye and camera become instruments of visual storytelling, revealing the character, energy and quiet vitality of every space he encounters.

With over 25 years’ experience as a full-time freelance photographer, Marian brings to his craft a rare fusion of precision, artistic intuition and heartfelt dedication. Raised in Slovakia and Germany, he carries with him a profound respect for classical aesthetics and enduring values, qualities that resonate throughout his portfolio. His photographic journey—shaped by both his European heritage and his extensive travels at home and abroad—continues to evolve, reflecting a lifelong commitment to excellence and a genuine sense of wonder in all that he sees.

Together with his wife, Gaby, Marian also offers guided sound-bath meditations that utilize the power of the audio realm to facilitate deep relaxation, emotional wellness and personal growth via their initiative, Delamora Transformational Experiences.

The following interview is reproduced with kind permission from the Colours & Forms issue of SOULFUL PHOTOGRAPHY No. 9 (May/June 2025) by the magazine’s founder and editor, Kedar Misani.

Marian Kraus, Colours and Forms - The Culturium

© Marian Kraus, Colours and Forms

My journey began behind the ‘Iron Curtain’ and at a tender age, my family emigrated to ‘West Germany’ during the Prague Spring Revolution in ‘68. When I was 14, my Dad gifted me a camera and I began to visually capture my utter fascination with nature. Ten years later the winds blew me to Chicago, IL, as part of a job transfer I had applied for during my 20-year corporate career with a German Industrial Conglomerate.

Marian Kraus, Colours and Forms - The Culturium

© Marian Kraus, Colours and Forms

Consciously spending time in nature changes your nature of being. According to Zen, the only life we have is that which is found in the present. Everything else is memory or anticipation. We must be awake and conscious to really live, and truly sensitive to the unique visual offerings around us. Seeing mindfully is seeing deeply with your heart. This realization led me to depart my business career in 1999 and pursue a new path as a full-time professional commercial and fine art photographer.

Marian Kraus, Colours and Forms - The Culturium

© Marian Kraus, Colours and Forms

A quiet mind is able to respond and convey the intuitive and spontaneous reactions of our inner being as it responds to the awesome beauty and wonder of nature and life. This is what is called ‘feeling’. In a fraction of a second, this can be expressed in a photograph.

Marian Kraus, Colours and Forms - The Culturium

© Marian Kraus, Colours and Forms

By approaching each photographed subject with reverence and presence, I hope to convey the energy of the moment in its most authentic and non-homogenized fashion. I view my nature photography as a timeless imprint of a mindful meditation each time a photograph is created. A reflection of an inner process that distills millions of years of evolution into a split second, while conveying the aesthetic appeal conceived by the conscious eye.

Marian Kraus, Colours and Forms - The Culturium

© Marian Kraus, Colours and Forms

Nature is a miraculous, wondrous and healing environment. It provides facets of boundless beauty and harmony in their most essential and perfect forms and endless manifestations. Allowing oneself to see, to truly see and perceive the miracles, which the natural world provides us with each moment and each season, is a direct manifestation of the miraculous world we all live in. It also attests to the degree of our awareness and mindfulness.

Marian Kraus, Colours and Forms - The Culturium

© Marian Kraus, Colours and Forms

Different terrains, never-ending bouquets of colours, shapes, and convergence of light, shadow and other elements, provide a wonderfully rich visual playground. When coupled with my appreciation for aesthetics, architecture, fine art, design as well as a profound fascination with life, being in a forest, desert or the mountains, is like being a little kid in a candy store.

Marian Kraus, Colours and Forms - The Culturium

© Marian Kraus, Colours and Forms

A truly mindful approach to fine art photography entails breaking through involuntarily acquired stereotyped and habitual perception. The artistic photographer places continuous attention to the first phase of perception, when the mind is receptive rather than reactive, which offers unexpected views of familiar objects that encourage open-mindedness and inspiration. Such sensible approach ensures the application of the same principles to all of my commercial photography.

Marian Kraus, Colours and Forms - The Culturium

© Marian Kraus, Colours and Forms

Extraction of intricacies and energies that shape complex yet harmonious arrangements from the ‘obvious’ is what I wish to convey with my photographs. They are my interpretations of the natural and select manmade environments, with their vibrant magnificence. For those who understand beyond understanding, who see beyond seeing, the ceaseless process of nature and life’s evolution is everywhere, enriching everything. ‘Life is a ticket to the greatest show on earth’ is my mantra. Enjoy.

For further information on his photographic work, visit Marian Kraus’ website.
For more details on transformational experiences, visit Delamora.
Single issues and subscriptions of SOULFUL PHOTOGRAPHY
are available from Kedar Misani’s website.

Soulful Photography, Colours and Forms - The Culturium

More Information

Post Notes

  • Feature image: © Marian Kraus, Colours & Form
  • Marian Kraus Photography
  • Delamora: Transformational Experiences
  • SOULFUL PHOTOGRAPHY website
  • Kedar Misani: SOULFUL PHOTOGRAPHY
  • Michael Kenna: Buddha
  • John Devitt: Cloud Illusions
  • Tobias Wilkinson: German Forest Primer
  • Danila Tkachenko: Escape
  • Ron Rosenstock: The Invisible Light
  • Ansel Adams: The Search for Beauty
  • Roy Whenary: Open Awareness
  • Jerry Katz: Let the Scene See You
  • Andy Richter: Serpent in the Wilderness
  • Laura Emerson: Deep Sea Contemplation
  • Gabriel Rosenstock & Ron Rosenstock: Haiku Enlightenment
  • The Culturium uses affiliate marketing links via the Amazon Associates Programme

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Written by Marian Kraus · Categorized: Visual Arts · Tagged: colours and forms, guest post, kedar misani, marian klaus, photography, soulful photography

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