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Tommy Persson
@tommypson
Landscape photographer based in Sweden
The desire to venture out in the world was instilled in me through movies like Indiana Jones, James Bond, Jurassic Park and some other classics. My appreciation for film and adventure has its roots there, and it grew further when I was in middle school. A friend of mine told me that he could create short cartoon movies in a program called Macromedia Flash, so I looked it up and started using it. After making some short clips and searching the net for tutorials I stumbled upon VideoCopilot, and that’s where it took off. I borrowed my moms old 3,2MP digital camera and went out filming – my passion for making movies was born.
Let’s move forward in time, where I bought my first own camera (Canon 6DMKII) after this passion had been given little priority for a few years. I did some shots just to see if I still had it in me and I noticed this forgotten urge for being creative had awoken. My friend and great photographer Alexander Neimert stimulated me to shoot and edit. The first images were terrible; when I look back at them I think “Did I really create those? What’s wrong with me?” But as time passed my skills grew and so did my interest in photography. The feeling of capturing a landscape you have been gazing at for minutes, seeing it on the screen of the camera and later bringing that image to life with the editing as how it was in your memories is just incredible.
Bearing in mind that my home town (Idre, Sweden) has wonderful nature and mountains around, I had now many places to photograph. I never felt the need to travel as I had so much to enjoy in my direct surroundings. Njupeskär, Sweden’s highest waterfall, is just an example.
"That’s my favorite spot because of the impressive nature and the power of the water as it comes down from the cliffs."
"However, when I lost my job due to the pandemic (the ski resort Idre Fjäll is the main employer, and they laid off the majority to survive the pandemic), I decided to finally join my friends on a trip."
Friends I had been saying no to most of the other times when they asked me. I don’t regret it at all; I could take some amazing pictures of new locations, find new perspectives and obtain inspiration from all the newness. It took me three months to find another job, so in these months I leveled up my photography skills. It allowed me to evolve and develop a certain style and vision – spending time on something is the greatest strategy to become better.
The most inspiration during this period and still today, I obtained definitely from my dear friend Alexander, whom I just mentioned. His pictures and his ability to convey emotions through his images are impressive to me. He always tries to do better for every photo and has that effect on me too. He pushes me to go outside and just shoot, instead of sitting inside thinking of doing it. He helps me to sharpen my skills in editing and to understand my camera thoroughly. Then there’s @airpixels, @viggo_lundberg, @peterlindgren, @petermckinnon, @samoetker, to mention just a few examples. The motivation to photograph gets bigger every time I see some of these guys’ posts on instagram. Worth mentioning is also Nomadict, to see the posts and read their captions about other photographers are a huge source of inspiration to me – a bunch of inspirational travelers and creators put together.
So, these three months before starting at my new job were characterized by intense learning. However, once I started, it soon became clear that this job in Gävle wasn’t the correct direction for me either, which motivated me to move home and pave my own path. I started at my brother’s company as a carpenter while focussing more on building my own photo and film company, which is starting to take off slowly. Meanwhile, I continue learning and adding work to my portfolio. I am really into Adobe Suit now; there is a lot to learn and there’s always something new. There are so many tools in an editing software that it takes some time to master it and understand it throughout. And then every picture is different…
That’s why I fade away a lot of colors in my latest images – It’s almost only the blues and the oranges that are left. Aside from that I love macro photography. The textures of landscapes pop more and become more abstract when you don’t see the bigger picture. Whatever photography I do, fundamental for me is to enjoy what I am doing and that I am happy with the results I achieve. It takes some practice, but I don’t bother what people think of my art now. The only opinion that matters is your own. It is your art, a demonstration of what you see and feel.
"Above all, it is your adventure. My most memorable experience was in Lofoten, when two friends and I went on a road trip."
I saw some seagulls out in the bay, so I took my drone out to see what the fuss was all about. There they were, a whole group of killer whales! It was such an epic moment. It felt like these incredible animals just wanted to show off their beauty and grandeur to us. They were about 20 meters from land at its closest moment. The images I took at that moment are my favorite; they are very special to me because it’s a once in a lifetime experience. Every time I look at them I feel the adrenaline and excitement rushing through my body, which is exactly the power of photography and why I love this craft that much.
"The wales were the highlight of the entire trip, which was quite an adventure with ups and downs."
The old camper van we had borrowed to drive from Sweden to Norway challenged us several times, having to look for solutions to solve the technical problems it had. As the car workshops were either closed or didn’t have time we had to work it out ourselves with remote assistance the first time and the second time, after three workshops didn’t have time to help us, we ended up buying a new alternator belt to replace it ourselves even though we had no idea how. When a man saw us struggling, he recommended us to go see an old man at the boatyard who supposedly knew a lot about cars. When we got there, a little desperate after so many issues, he said: “Three Swedes who screw on a motorhome, that can never end well!” And laughed. Together we repared the camper van and even though it had brought us so much stress, it was part of the adventure. We created imagery for a brand in Henningsvær, went to the mythical Kvalvika Beach, climbed Ryten to be soaked by the rain and be rewarded for our effort by seeing those killer whales, and hiked to the top of Reinebringen during a gorgeous sunset. A story we will be telling for the rest of our lives.
"On this trip I realized that, whatever you do, anything can happen."
We plan a trip in our head but, there’s hardly something that we can actually plan. You never know what to expect around the corner. And even if you stay home and think everything will be the same, you will find out that you were wrong. Of course you have to look for it, move around, be open minded. There are so many unexplored gems all over the world that people haven’t photographed yet, maybe even a few kilometers from where you used to go. Just head out and see what you find.
"As Wayne Dyer said: “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
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