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Thomas Larsen
@2maslarsen
Landscape photographer based in Norway
I have been curious about the world as long as I can remember. I was always outside, exploring roads I didn’t know as well as places I hadn’t been before. First playgrounds and parks, later forests and other towns. Photography jumped in without really being aware of it; together with a friend we used to take photos of our cars, trying out the HDR which was popular at that time. It was only in recent years that I became more aware of the great things you can do with photography; Instagram influenced me a lot in this regard.
"My desire to photograph the outdoors has derived from seeing how others could capture the most beautiful landscapes of any kind in a real impressive way."
As I already loved to explore and to travel, I saw photography as an opportunity to make the most out of my travels and my memories, capturing in the best way possible what I was seeing and experiencing. I come from a small country and although beautiful, there’s a lot to see and experience beyond the borders. When crossing frontiers, a whole new world opens up. We learn about other ways of living and doing things, become aware of other perspectives on life and how to approach it. People define happiness in such a different way and we do not all have the same opportunities.
"Realizing this makes us more humble, which I believe is important. It is very enriching to truly become aware of the distinct ways of thinking and doing."
‘Capturing the best way possible’ is not as easy as it may sound. It involves a lot of work and continuous learning. The challenge to capture good photos is part of why I am passionate about photography; I enjoy it and it keeps me going. The creative part is probably what I find most challenging as you always have to be innovative, looking for newness. Finding that doesn’t happen automatically and you have to push yourself to overcome those moments when you feel like you’re lacking creativity. Also, if you want to keep creating and learning, you have to get out there with your camera, whether it’s raining, freezing or hot and humid, depending on where you are.
"I am pretty stubborn, so most of the time I don’t give up and succeed in finding the creativity, strength or knowhow to accomplish creating a photo I am happy with."
It helps that I basically never go outside without a camera whether we are doing hikes or just strolling on the beach nearby. I would regret if a really nice scene shows up and I don’t have my camera. You never know what triggers your inspiration out of a sudden, providing you with a creative boost.
I think that the more you spend outside, the more you feel inspired and thus the more chances of creating some nice shots. Also, by spending more time outside with the camera I really learned to open my eyes for details. I feel that I see so much more now. I often say “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” For example on Instagram, some photos get many likes and others don’t. People see things different from me, from you. We all have our own inner worlds. Even though the eyes see the same thing, the mind interprets its differently. I think that, to stay true to your passion, you need to post what you like and share your vision of what you see and not what you think others would like to see.
When I sit down and edit a photo, I want it to reflect how I saw it and what it felt like when I was there. It can be a great sunset with warm strong colors, or Lofoten, with thick dark clouds and rain. I guess the mood I felt when taking the photo is a part of my edits. That’s why there is a variety of colors and not a consistent dark or bright theme as you can see on so many feeds. It looks really nice though and it could be attractive to have a feed like that, but it doesn’t work for me. I feel like I won’t be able to express my feeling in a particular photo because it has to fit my other photos, which in my opinion interrupts the whole idea of ‘expressing yourself through photography.’
"Photography is a way for me to highlight my memories and store my emotions."
There have been so many good sunsets and trips that I truly enjoyed. Like last year we had this spontaneous trip for the weekend. My girlfriend, a good friend and me just decided overnight to do a little road trip through the southern part of Norway. These spontaneous moments are special; when things aren’t planned, you suddenly find yourself in a beautiful landscape or scenery that you otherwise would have missed. The most important ingredients for a good trip to me are good company, jaw dropping scenery and desirable weather conditions, for which you’d obviously need some luck…
"In Norway we have so much great nature and you don’t have to travel far to get yourself immersed in it. I’m really drawn to Lofoten, but in general I love sunsets, mountains and the ocean."
The mountains give you an ever changing scenery all the time, it is overwhelming and can be so rewarding to capture a great scene. On the other hand, the ocean can be so calm yet so powerful. You can either capture the feeling of a warm, long and calm summer during a sunset or a wild ocean with stormy weather and big waves, showing the brute force of nature. I love it all, each has its charm. Sunsets would be my favorite though, if I really had to chose. The colors, the light and the warm feeling it radiates makes it just so peaceful and extraordinary to capture it and it’s never the same… You are there, either watching it or capturing it. Then suddenly it is gone and it gets dark and cold.
Besides landscapes, I also try to photograph wildlife sometimes. There’s a different challenging aspect in wildlife photography as they don’t do as you say, so that’s could be a tricky part. What I particularly enjoy is that there is a story in their eyes, in how they behave and act. I can sit for a long time just looking at it and wonder what that animal’s life is like and what they think.
"They live a completely different life from ours, they are in a different world. It’s interesting to capture them on photo in their own habitat."
"The world is big, we have a beautiful planet full of opportunities. We just need to see them."
Since I started with photography I have been more present in the nature, opened up my eyes and made me be grateful for what I see. I pay more attention to how the nature creates the weirdest colors and shapes. I can just sit down, see how the sun hits the moss in the forest – lighting up branches and leafs, or how the sun rays warm up my face.
Photography rewired my brain and now I look at things in another way, being aware of the changes in lights and scenery over the different seasons of the year. It also made me realize that, even though people see the same thing, it doesn’t mean that they perceive the same as you. Or think the same as you do. And that is of course also applicable to our daily life.
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