Heaven and earth in view
Marcus Krechel is a TÜV NORD member of staff who keeps his eyes trained on both the earth and the sky. As a passionate amateur photographer, he captures the beauty of nature and the universe. But Marcus Krechel’s mastery of precision and detail is not limited to his free time. In his professional life at TÜVIT as Head of Business Entity Evaluation & Validation, he works to ensure that IT security products meet the highest standards.
Even as a child, Marcus Krechel was fascinated by photography. His journey, which now takes him to impressive landscapes and produces images of fascinating animal behaviour, started with a simple pocket camera. “Photography also acts as a counterbalance to my working life,” he explains. “I find peace in nature and can also pursue my hobby at the same time.” With subjects ranging from puffins off the coasts of Iceland to majestic whales in California’s Monterey Bay, Marcus Krechel knows how to capture those special moments.
One particularly exciting aspect of what he does is astrophotography. With good planning, a lot of patience and a telephoto lens, the craters of the moon come into sharp focus as photographic subjects; swapping in a wide-angle lens allows him to capture images of the Milky Way. “It’s an incredible feeling to stand under the stars at night and have your camera capture the beauty of the universe,” Marcus Krechel enthuses. These moments of peace are the perfect counterweight to his demanding job.
At TÜVIT, the trained physicist heads a team of around 50 employees who deal with cybersecurity and the testing of IT security products. “We make the world a more secure place by getting our experts to analyse the source code of IT security products, messing about with bits and bytes during testing, and looking at processes all the way through to secure delivery – in Germany and around the world, for leading technology companies in a wide variety of industries. Our work makes a significant contribution to the IT security of data and critical infrastructures,” says Marcus Krechel. He cares a great deal about not only carrying out tests according to existing state-of-the-art standards but also helping shape the standards of tomorrow. “We’re working closely with the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) to define the IT security requirements of the future, including for the energy transition,” says Marcus Krechel proudly.
It’s an incredible feeling to stand under the stars at night and have your camera capture the beauty of the universe.
The connection between his professional life and his hobby is also evident in the field of space. At work, he keeps an eye on cybersecurity, which tends not to be visible, whereas his hobby is concerned with what can be seen in space and the natural world. And the way Marcus Krechel archives his photos is also relevant to his professional environment. He uses AI-supported programs to organise his extensive photo collection and can search specifically for individual motifs. “It’s fascinating to see how technology can help us bring order to a large number of photos,” he explains. This makes it easier to search for specific motifs. “For example, if I’m looking for photos of my children taken with their grandma and grandpa in a certain year in which everyone is smiling, then I get the AI to do it,” says Marcus Krechel.
He always used to hold slide show evenings to inspire his friends, but nowadays he “scrolls” through the images with a click or voice command on a smart TV or using a video projector. Marcus Krechel’s appreciation of encounters with other people is not limited just to looking at the results. He’s not always alone when he is taking his pictures, when those special moments get captured. His wife often goes with him and has discovered the delights of shooting videos for herself, while Marcus takes pictures. “It’s nice to share these experiences,” he says. He also sometimes goes out with friends to capture the unforgettable images in which he specialises. But not everyone in the family fully shares his enthusiasm. His son has been heard to jokingly remark that he can no longer stand hearing the constant “click, click, click”. With more advanced technology, the clicks have become quieter anyway. And it is at the cutting edge of technology that Marcus Krechel is to be found: He has a full-frame digital camera with various lenses with focal lengths ranging from 12 mm to 600 mm, and for those more elevated perspectives he uses a drone with different lenses and filters. But his camera collection also includes memorabilia from analogue times – fully functional and ready to be pressed into service at any time.
Whether he’s in the office or out under starry skies, Marcus Krechel is always focused on the quest for the perfect moment.
