Sweden took me, shook me and made me a better photographer
This is a story of how one trip to Sweden changed me profoundly as a photographer.
Quick trip back to 2012
To properly introduce you to my work, I need to take you back to the summer of 2012 when I fell in love with southern Sweden and perhaps discovered my voice as a photographer.
Five years earlier I had gotten my first DSLR, and five or so years prior to that, a camera that created a blurred background. So many things in life look better on a blurred background.
In the beginning, I carried my camera everywhere. I shot everything, all the time, and made family and friends frustrated lurking from behind the black box. Afterwards, I uploaded the photos to my computer and studied them. I learned to polish them in Lightroom and Photoshop and created my unique style; a bit warm, a bit candid and somewhat minimal. To this day, I love a good foreground.
Off the hamster wheel
But back to 2012. I had left my day job in an NGO and hopped the wagon of a full time photographer. I shot everything, said yes to every inquiry, from newborns to funerals to families and dogs. I love dogs.
I still don’t have any formal training, and I’ve learned everything I know through trial and error and googling. The lack of education won’t give me many benefits, but after completing a Master’s degree in Theology, I just didn’t want to apply to another school.
Since childhood, I’ve been drawn to photography and thought it could be my medium. But writing was my first love, and I am first and foremost a writer. Even now, after creating photos for more than 20 years and considering myself as a fairly good time stopper, I’m not fully comfortable with calling myself a photographer.
Happy accident?
My first six months as a full-time photographer were coming to an end, and it was time to have a break. After some of our plans fell through, we found ourselves from Southern Sweden, Skåne.
Before I go on, you need to know something about Sweden. Sweden is our most beloved rival and we Finns often joke that everything is better in Sweden. I’d like to say it’s not true, but as we know, there is a hint of truth in every joke. So yes, it’s always good to return.
We - two people, two dogs - planned to drive from east to west and spend the nights in a tent. I can’t recall why we chose the southern part, but if I were to bet, I’d put everything on my mastermind husband who has dedicated half of his life to maps. (Also, Jonas Peterson might have had something to do with it, but that’s a story for another time.)
Sweden and me, friends with benefits
My good friend Sweden turned into a lover on the first leg from Kapellskär to Vättern and the tiny town of Gränna. Before this trip I had only visited Stockholm and Uppsala quite quickly. It’s safe to say that I’d only seen what was shown to me. This time I was able to search and find for myself.
We pitched our tent in Öninge camping (RIP), close to some raspberry bushes to make our first campsite breakfast that much better. The day was nearly over, but I had an urge to explore. Having dogs is always a good excuse for a stroll, so I picked up the camera and headed out to the wild (which, of course, wasn’t that wild since we were in the Swedish countryside).
After 12 years, I still remember how that walk felt. Sun was setting in slow motion, as it does during summer in the Northern Hemisphere. The golden hour(s) caressed the storyteller in me and made me think this is something I was made to do, I want to do more of this. And it was then and there that I heard my own voice as a photographer clearly for the first time.
But was it really Sweden that got me? Or could it have been any other country, anywhere?
Double yes
I say yes, it was about Sweden. The scenery of southern Sweden is something to die for. The serene atmosphere combined with vivid small-town life (Ystad! Trelleborg!) is a winning combo. And like a cherry on the top, the Nordic summer. As a Finn, it felt like home but with a twist. (Like a new home you moved into but didn’t have to pack or unpack any of your stuff. Didn’t have to lift a finger! The kind of move I always swear I’m going to invest in next time.)
But then again, yes, it could’ve been any other place. Five years later I fell for Denmark (ok, the best part might’ve been the drive through Sweden, but anyhow…) and in 2018 I experienced one of the most creative time periods of my life in Italy. That repeated itself in Germany a year later.
It could’ve happened anywhere. But it happened in Sweden.
Me as a photographer
In the end, yes, we are nearing the end, it’s all about travelling. The photography, the work, the life. To properly introduce you to my work I need to tell you this: I see photography and writing as travelling, literally and figuratively.
When I say literally, I mean moving my body to a place I’ve never visited before. The same sort of things that would look dull close to home suddenly come to life. Meeting new people, dogs, alpacas, and taking pictures of them is travelling. When I’m at a new place, I always think I travelled to meet it, meet them.
I love the cliché “the world is my studio” but the coin has two sides. Since that road trip to Sweden, my relationship with travelling has changed. Nowadays I see it as a luxury, and for example, try not to showcase flying in my social media.
This change in my thinking has made me more of a mental traveller who sees all the encounters with anything breathing as road trips. Heck yes, I’m on a journey even with the plants from my Moody Plants series. Taking a photo is saying yes to an RSVP, welcome to my personal space.
At the same time, it has everything and nothing to do with Sweden. That southern coast showed me my voice, but everything after that taught me how to use it. It’s about travelling to the core of oneself and one another, trying to look and see something that is universal.
What binds us together.
You and I, and the alpacas.
Camera: Nikon D700
Lenses: Nikkor 85/1.4G & Nikkor 35/1.4G