August Kreyenkamp had originally started his apprenticeship as a painter but had turned to photography as his preferred medium. He first received recognition for his photographs in 1908 at the International Photography Exhibtion in Amsterdam. He received further international success in 1910, 1912 and 1914 following his exhibtions in Köln, Berlin and Kontanz. In 1927 he was the recipient of first prize for his contribution to photography from the 'Deutschen Fachverbandes'. Soon afterwards he began to experiment in scientific photography and in 1935 at the age of sixty started his series of micro-photography. These were studies from nature, usually the crystalized resin in microscopic detail. Within the field of scientific photography he quickly became well-known and was to work with the University of Oxford and the German Society of Photography.