The last male descendent of a traditional aristocratic German family (468 years old), Bernd ... Volker Heinrich Henning … von Berg,
 is the only son of a well-to-do businessman. Henning was born and raised near Hanover in north Germany. 
He came out at the tender age of 11, and did his first nude photo shoot at 12.

After studying architecture, Henning worked as a civil engineer for Germany’s leading electric company for more than a decade. During the weekends he tossed away his tie to live the wild side of live in the cultural metropolises of Europe. He became a known gay activist, and then his colleagues find this out, they caused him to loose his job. Then his family broke with him. Henning was now free to live his real identity, the second half of his astrological sign, Gemini.

In 1996, at the age of 34, he moved to Cologne to start a new career as a political writer/activist and organizer of benefit-events. The muscular 6’5" Henning has had experience on both sides of the camera, taking pictures and modeling (i.e. for the famous German-American painter Salomé in Berlin; the painter and best-selling author Clive Barker in L.A.; and the San Franciscan politician and photographer, Greg Day).

At the same time, Henning made his former hobby, photography, into his second profession. Quickly he became a well-known photographer. His specialties are combinations of bodies with buildings, unique outdoor locations and bizarre group-shoots with up to 37 (!) nude models. To date, his material has been published in all the gay German periodicals and even a variety of high-profile straight magazines (such as MAX, COSMOPOLITAN, and PLAYGIRL). You can find his photographs on posters for non-profit benefits, as well as on flyers for kinky S/M-parties, in serious commercial advertisements, on erotic postcards, on cover of magazines, in fashion catalogues and in art books.

Henning has organized a group shoot in July 1999 with totally naked models in the center of Berlin, to show the liberal attitude in the modern democratic reunited Germany. The men were photographed naked on public streets and in the new glass dome of Germany’s main parliament building, the historical "Reichstag"!

That became THE scandal of that summer, at home and abroad. Front pages of 26 international newspapers had documented the whimsical idea. The happening was also published in magazines and a book with a retrospective of male modeling. The German issue of PLAYGIRL featured this incident as its title story (10/99) and later presented his photos in their special jubilee edition "10 Years Of German PLAYGIRL". There were no repercussions for this spectacular happening because Germany is a very liberal country. It created a lively discussion about nudity in the arts.

After showing his creativity in 32 exhibitions in northern Europe, Henning felt he needed a change of scene. Since every European dreams of the wonderful California lifestyle, Henning decided to travel overseas to find new inspirations. In August 1999 he arrived in Los Angeles with a 10-year visa. A short time later, he had his first American exhibition in the Tom Of Finland Foundation’s International "EROTIC ART FAIR". He had success getting in contact with publishers, curators and collectors who liked his "European Style". He presented 60 examples of his photography, followed by articles in magazines, participation in photo-books, and offers to do cards, covers and calendars.

With European fame under his belt, American publishers producing posters, greeting cards and photo books will find a wealth of exiting material in Henning von Berg’s portfolio. His unique photography is excellent for eye-catching advertisements! Signed original prints can be acquired by contacting his team via mail or e-mail.

(Text: Ron Richardson, San Francisco, and Ron Anderegg, Los Angeles)

www.Henning-von-Berg.de