Arnold Odermatt (born in 1925, Switzerland) was a police officer in the Nidwalden canton, who as a passionate photographer preferred this medium over the customary sketches used for accident reports.

For more than sixty years, he photographed the canton police’s daily life, which he captures with a singular vision. He produced the series Karambolage, a sequence of photographs of accidents, where humor replaces tragedy, and composition replaces information. The lines on the road, tracing the cars’ trajectories prior to collision, illustrate Odermatt’s discerning eye in the framing and composition of his pictures.

 His photographs were revealed in 1990, when they were discovered by his son, Urs Odermatt.