One of the most prominent features in biology is the photosynthesis process, where photons are transferred into chemical energy. The distinct steps of photosynthesis involve photon transport, charge separation and chemical reactions on time scales between a few 100 femtoseconds up to minutes. In this talk I will concentrate on the initial steps following photon absorption, photon transport and finally separation in the reaction centre. The main emphasis will be on optical techniques. A special topic will be the artificial photomimetic systems and their implications for photonics and photovoltaic applications.