Like countless others before him, photographer, artist, and filmmaker Karsten Staiger fell in love with New York City the moment he arrived.

Seduced by the beauty of NYC’s skyline, Staiger has since adventured and scaled more than 100 buildings, risking his life to capture the City’s magnetic personality through photography and film.

Born in Germany, Staiger launched his career at the forefront of the digital revolution when it first emerged in the 1990s, achieving success as an artist and commercial photographer for luxury brands and major corporations.

With Staiger regularly retreating to the rooftops for creative refuge, his growing fascination with the City’s dynamic skyline would eventually evolve into a primary pursuit for discovering those hidden, unexplored angles of the city – views unseen from the street-level.

Already a master of complex lighting and technology, his obsession with the extreme juxtaposition between light, weather patterns and the textured cityscape revealed at dizzying heights ultimately led him to shift his lens towards the City.

His accomplished body of work has attracted collaborations with notable New Yorkers, among them John Varvatos, Misty Copeland, and Living Colour. In April 2016, the German Consulate General celebrated New York Love Story, his ode to the city he now calls home. Shortly thereafter he launched his From New Heights digital installation at 1 World Trade Center at the John Varvatos opening reception, marking the first time an artist has exhibited inside the Oculus.