Born in 1953 in Berlin, he has worked since 1981 as a DOP for cinema, documentary films, feature films, and television films. In addition, he works as a co-director for documentaries. He studied camera at the Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen in the GDR in Potsdam-Babelsberg. Until 1990, he worked as a DOP at the DEFA studio for feature films. Since 1992, he has worked worldwide as a freelance DOP. 

He taught cinematography from 2007 to 2019 at the Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen „Konrad Wolf“. From 2006 to 2024, he worked at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, focusing on documentary cinematography. Besides his work as a DOP, he is a curator for photographic exhibitions. His films received multiple awards, including the German Film Award, the German Documentary Award, the Grand Prix at FID Marseille, and the Caligari Film Prize. They premiered at the Berlinale, FID Marseille, DOK Leipzig, and Visions du Réel in Nyon. 

His most important works with Thomas Heise were Material, Mein Bruder. We’ll meet again, Vaterland, Neustadt. Stau - Der Stand der Dinge, Barluschke, Volkspolizei 1985, Das Haus 1984, and Erfinder '82.