The magnificent photography of Nik Daum will have you dumbstruck with awe

Sometimes you stumble across a portfolio so good it makes you wonder if it might be some sort of hoax. Has the person behind this beautiful body of work actually just trawled National Geographic and presented the work of ten photographers as their own? No, they have not, they’re just so good at what they do that your mind won’t let you believe it for fear of shrivelling with inadequacy.

Nik Daum has one such portfolio, and it’s dense with photographs that are not only highly technically accomplished but also very, very engaging. The San Francisco native travels the world with his camera at his side, photographing everything from vast panoramas of sprawling landscapes to close-up chance encounters with animals that afford only an instant to be captured. Both circumstances are tackled with the utmost skill, utilising a compositional eye and understanding of colour that is utterly enviable. What’s more Nik’s website shows off his images in large format, allowing you to enjoy them as large as your monitor will allow – so you won’t miss even the slightest detail.

Sit back and allow your mind to shrivel.