SUBJECT

Whatever you are interested in, be it nature, people, cityscapes or seascapes, there’s a type of photography appropriate for that specific subject matter. The photography genres that inspire me to capture pictures is primarily:

Landscape photography

My landscape photography journey has been a big learning curve and I have complemented my skills so much during the last twenty years. One of the reasons why I fell in love with photographing landscapes and cityscapes is because it is a fantastic way of showing people that the beauty around us is tremendous but also very weak and volatile. The nature together with man-made objects can also be considered a form of landscape photography. I am also fascinated of the contradiction in images showing both landscape beauty and building decay.

Cityscapes and architectural structures

I am heavily motivated to capture buildings but primarily the front part or exterior of a building. Cityscape photography is to me about how to showcase the interesting vantage points of capturing urban landscapes anywhere from street level to the top floor of a tall building. Abandoned buildings can be a great source of images that portray broken emotional connection and also the power of time.

Street photography

I like this genre of photography that records everyday life in a public place, capturing life in a bustling market to a scene from a local park. It is my ambition to explore this genre in a greater extent in the future. To me is Street photography about life, but it doesn’t have to have people in the frame. It is to Slow down and focus your camera on your surroundings and question - what is unique about them?

Black-and-white photography

I have realized the world looks different in black and white, which means that I can think about tone, texture, and light in new ways. The emphasis of a colour image naturally shifts to other compositional elements, which I like and utilize in my pictures.

PLANNING APPROACH

As mentioned, are many of my pictures captured on travel events either together with my family or as part of a travelling group. This means that I have to be flexible and react to different weather and lighting conditions. I am aware that I might miss some good combinations of light and composition but most likely will capture a greater variety of pictures.

PHOTO EQUIPMENT

I am used to work with Nikon DSLR cameras, at present a Nikon D750 camera. Shooting both with a allround zoom lens and a wide-angle zoom and four prime lenses ranging from 24mm up to 500mm.

LIGHTING

As many of my pictures are captured on travel events either together with my family or as part of a travelling group, I am not bound by the golden hours nor a tripod despite I would love it. I prefer sidelighting to backlighting. I have experienced that it is possible to make good images even under “poor light” conditions, in particular on structural subjects.

EXPOSURE

Most of my pictures are taken without a tripod using a shutter speed between 1/30 and 1/1600 seconds. When shooting landscape photos in broad daylight I tend to set the aperture around f/8 to ensure a certain depth of field, and the ISO between 100-400 to ensure that I have no digital noise. I normally use Aperture mode or if I am short of time for thinking through all my options, Program mode. Program mode allows me to change shutter speeds or aperture in an easy way.

FRAMING

I normally prefer a traditional style of composition giving balance. If possible I use foreground elements to create a literal frame. For example, positioning my subject so trees or branches surround the edge of the photo, or using a doorway or window as a natural frame. I prefer vivid colours and black-and-white for special subjects like mountains. I favour guiding lines and curves creating a strong sense of perspective.