Devoting nearly all his spare time to nature and wildlife photography, he first started to explore the deserts of the Southwestern states in the US before he paid his first visit to Namibia in 1997.

Namibia, formerly called South West Africa, located north of South Africa and south of Angola, is the last country in Africa which became independent in 1990. Magnificent sunrises and sunsets, the play of light and shadow on its austere desert landscapes, unforgettable impressions of game sightings in their natural habitat and the seemingly infinitely wide and rough mountainous country make Namibia the dream of every nature photographer.

Helmut Gries, having been infected by the "virus namibiensis" has been travelling regularly to the "Diamond of Africa" since his first visit. His extensive slide library contains thousands of photos of landscape, animals and the people of Namibia. Since 2001 he publishes an annual calendar featuring a selection of his photographic work.

All of his photos are taken with 35 mm Nikon cameras and lenses from Nikon, Sigma and Tamron with focal ranges from 17 to 400 mm. For animal photography he sometimes extends this range by using a Soligor 1.7 teleconverter. Due to the specific light conditions in Namibia all lenses are equipped with an UV-filter which also protects them against the omnipresent dust and sand.

Helmut’s preferred choice of films are Fuji Velvia for landscape photography and Fuji Provia 100F for wildlife. Working with the slow speed film he always uses a wooden Berlebach tripod.