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Thea Brønlund
@theabronlund
Landscape photographer based in Norway
There comes a time in your life where you are forced in opposite directions. The direction that you have always headed, the confirmed route forced upon you by society, the environment you grew up in or simply your own heightened expectations of yourself. I didn’t think photography was a proper profession, I surely thought I couldn’t succeed in something so creative. But then life picked me. Life pushed me so far into the dirt; privately, health wise and professionally, that the creative being that I had been all along had no other choice than to come out.
"I had to create; I had to feel; I finally made the choice to live for myself, and I haven’t looked back since."
My journey started at the very beginning as all good stories do. A little girl driving around Scandinavia gazing with wonder at the world outside the glass window. And so my favorite photo in the whole world was created. My grandfather and I lay on a meadow together by the roadside in Denmark. Always exploring and enjoying nature, and I am glad that he passed this on to me. I love looking back and connecting the dots to where I am today.
I have always been curious and I think it has served me well. When the time came to me being able to travel alone I watched a documentary called Mugabe and the White African. I was absolutely stunned by the tense situation and hatred that had developed in a country that used to be the thriving food basket of Africa. So I decided like I often do, on pure emotion, that I was going to travel to Zimbabwe. I needed to educate myself and get some perspective on life. I found a conservation project called Antelope Park and flew out to volunteer in a maternity clinic and with rescued lions. With me I brought my first ever DSLR, a Canon 500D with two lenses. I documented everything from the spiders in the shower to the brave women coming into the clinic on a daily basis, often having walked for miles to get the medical help they needed.
I came back and pursued a degree in business and economics in Scotland, still doing what I thought I had to do in life to get ahead and not being brave enough to listen to my heart. Meanwhile I met people from all over the world and got to know different cultures. Some of these people are still my closest friends to this day, and I am so grateful to have them in my life.
One day we had the opportunity to do a personal development module. I decided to interview and photograph students from 72 different nationalities to highlight diversity and inclusion, quickly learning that despite the cultural differences and various background; in the end we all struggle with the same issues and personal experiences in life. It was so powerful to highlight these stories – we truly are one.
"The project developed into my first photo exhibition and was printed as a book by the university. This was a defining moment on my path to becoming a professional photographer."
During these years I also had the opportunity to live in San Diego, working with a company developing electrical vehicle charging stations with solar panels. Somehow I turned my economics degree in the direction of learning about energy and environmental economics, and also won the economics dissertation of the year award highlighting these subjects. This followed me as I started to apply for jobs after university. I got hired by a major finance and media company in London who has their own energy division. I focused on wind energy development specifically in the Nordics highlighting data trends and financial movements within the market. Eventually I started working with equities and marketing, and developed experience working with TV and video teams.
"I learned everything about editing and video production in my role, and it has helped me to this day."
When I look at life through a camera I feel like I can finally see it, the world makes sense. I belong, and my goal is always to capture the subject as naturally and raw as possible. Hence I do not use Photoshop in my work. When I look at a picture series in Lightroom, or edit a video in Premiere Pro I feel truly inspired to communicate the real story of the subject or person, and my ultimate aim is to become better at this.
"The summer of 2019 I was caught up in the fast phased life of London, feeling worn down and generally unwell. Something was not right, but I thought it was down to working too much."
I went back to my family home in Norway to relax for the summer and one evening discovered a lump on my neck. The sad thing is that it must have been there for a while, but I was so caught up in being busy that I didn’t even have time to check in on my health or look at myself properly in the mirror. It turned out to be Follicular Thyroid Cancer and I had surgery to remove half my thyroid and the tumor in September last year. It shook up my life and turned it upside down. I think of it this way; I had to get cancer to get rid of the cancer I had in my life. A life that didn’t serve me, that wore me down and was accompanied by an unhealthy relationship.
"I used the newly acquired positive energy and I worked even harder on myself; I succeeded to establish a wedding photography and videography business capturing authentic love between people."
For the first time I did something purely for me. I thrive when I am behind a camera, and my favorite is film. Film is so dynamic, it’s the ultimate expression of art, and the creative possibilities are endless. I am a storyteller and this is my favourite tool to use. Cancer was my catalyst and continues to push me forward because it reminded me that I only have one life to live. So if I am going to live, I am going to do it my way, and I am going to continue to be curious about people, animals and the environment. Why? Because this is the most valuable thing we have.
Someone once told me that I have to choose one subject to photograph. I don’t believe in this, and I never intend to limit myself to a box that was created by another person. I capture love, I capture places, and I capture wildlife.
"Everything has its time and place. And everyone has something that makes them thrive. You choose."
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