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Oskar W. Profos grew up in his native Switzerland, graduated in Engineering, followed by jobs in the nuclear power and chemical industries, which brought him postings in Paris in the 60’s, in Tokyo in the 70’s, and in many parts of East and South East Asia in the 80’s and 90’s.

While enjoying his life as a travelling engineer, Profos never moved without a camera. During the war in Vietnam, the people of the country caught his special attention. That is where his camera took in those images which later became indelible icons to him: the youthful beauty of the people eerily in contrast with the scene of a war, a contradiction of sorts never forgotten.

His camera became his way of life. College girls in white ao dais cycling through busy Saigon, women replenishing their clay pots on the banks of the Irawadi river, columns of beggars milling along the lahar-dusted highway in Pampanga, they all became "his" people, their images his view of the world.

At around age 60, Profos decided that traveling had been plenty. By then settled in La Union, he turned to studio-based work dedicated to the human figure. A group of female nude shots were shown in his first solo exhibition in Basel, Switzerland. He experimented with movements, with bodies contorted under load. He painted figures with light - a sculptor with camera. The human figure had become to him the supreme source of all forms.

Given his interest in human motion, it was natural for him to look for dancers. In 2005 he invited a ballet group from Manila to his La Union studio to shoot their choreographic repertoire. His involvement with dancers then prompted him to abandon his provincial retreat altogether, and return to active photography in Manila, where he now works for Ballet Philippines.