The Photographer
Who am I? Well, first of all I don’t like labels. People around see me different depending on who you ask – like for the most of you. For some I am the photographer who sees details and provides perspectives that no one else has been able to see, for others I am the modern designer who delivers complete solutions that provide added value with everything from websites, copywriting, SEO, SEM, images and photos etc. For some I am the true poet and lyricist who delivers magical texts and lyrics that touches you deeply. Or the artist who delivers unique works adapted to your own feelings or space where they would be placed.
Of course, it is always wonderful to see and hear such positive things about oneself. But I’m bad at receiving compliments and mostly see what I can do better. I find it much easier to take criticism. I am a perfectionist right down to my fingertips when it comes to professional issues. However, something that really warms the heart is when the daughter says, “You’re the best dad in the world!” But I still think, what can do to be a better father. Regardless, I feel it is an evolving way of thinking.
Something that I don’t like is lack of time.
The Style
I haven’t analyzed my own photographic style, but for technical reasons, stationary objects are preferable. I love to shoot buildings, products, nature in general and also people of course. Preferably in a bit odd situations. Even though natural situations where the person is unaware of picture taken can be incredibly beautiful or interesting. I actually see constant objects everywhere to photograph where the end product would be suitable for different purposes. I see different emotions everywhere. In a twig with gray or blue sky. A stone. A perfect wave. A bumblebee. A child jumping in the water.
What my photos and art have in common is a certain feeling, beauty, depth and a special clean dynamic. I want my photographs and art to bring emotions to life, to be interesting – make you ask questions. Make you think.
The fatal diagnosis
I was born as a scorpio on a Monday, 1975 in Bollnäs, Hälsingland, Sweden and I was suppose to die three years later. I lived my first two years at Akademiska Hospital in Uppsala where they tried to keep me alive. My diagnosis wasn’t good. One of my kidneys didn’t work at all and the other one only function to 20% of its full capacity. The ureter between the functional kidney and urethra was in very bad shape. It was going to collapse any time.
However, in early 1977, Dr. Anders, surgeon at Akademiska, came up with a suggestion to try an operation procedure that have never been done before. Said and done. It was working – how well or how long was anyone’s guess. Now I only had one kidney and one that might work.
The New Family
After couple of months I was left, together with my four year older brother, with a family in Hälsingland as “summer kids”. My father left my mother and she had problems taking care of me and my asthmatic brother. Suddenly my brother and I was in a new family.
Later that year, when I was on a regular checkup at Akademiska, my brother had a severe asthmatic attack. He survived but at the same time dr Anders prepared my summer-mother that I was not going to survive my third birthday. She left the hospital for Hälsingland with a bunch of pills for me to take.
The Pills
When I was five my brother and I still lived with the summer family and we moved to Uppsala. We were now a new family – a single mum with three boys and a daughter who was 16 years older then me. My new brother was two years older then me so I was the youngest in the family.
The years went by with regular visits to the hospital and when I turned 10 I was declared perfectly healthy. A couple of day later my new mum came up to dr Anders and gave him two big plastic bags. I was full of pills. My pills. The doctor was shocked. My mum never gave me my pills as she was told. At the time, she was confident that healthy food would be enough for me to get healthy or at least that all the pills is not a good idea for such a small child. I was raised on vegetarian food with no salt.
At the age of 10 my interest was: hanging out with friends, drawing, photograph, music (Vivaldi, Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk, Cornelis Vreeswijk, Twisted Sister – to name a few), the Swedish language, non-fiction books, psychology, sports, experiment (both chemicals, electronics and mechanical) – an ordinary boy like everyone else. Friends, music, sports, drawing and was really important in my life as well as my family.
The Therapist
I was eight years old when I photographed for the first time on a summer vacation when we traveled around southern Sweden. People said that I should be photographer, that I was a natural with a very good eye. My new grand mother said that I was going to be an artist (she was quite sure) and my mother thought that I was going to be a designer or an architect. But I felt that I could not make a living from these professions and may not challenging enough for me. I wanted to be a fighter pilot flying Viggen (we lived quite near the air flotilla), an inventor or a neurosurgeon. I really loved heights and science.
However, when I was in ninth grade I suddenly got ill watching operations procedures, I still have no idea why, I didn’t had any problems with that before. And I coulden’t apply to the Airforce due to the fact that I only had one kidney. I really didn’t know what to do. Friends and some of their parents said that I should be a therapist or psychologist. That was a thought. I liked psychology and – later on – I helped some younger girls from committing suicide. So maybe that would be an area to work in for me? Still thinking about being a psychologist, therapist or life coach from time to time. But I still help a people without working with it.
The Turn
In Sweden when you are in nineth grade you already have to choose what you want to work with – choose the right high school. I chose the most boring one. Three years of social science. I still liked being there and learning new things. It was a good education when applying for the University.
After three years of boredom and military service directly after that, I was quite puzzled. I remember thinking what my swedish teacher Håkan Nesser – now famous author, told me: “Andreas, you have great writing skills, but everything that comes up in your mind is not always worth writing down.” Hm, maybe I should try to be an author like him?
I had several, and still have, novels in mind. But for that I really have to learn to write more effective, more concise. First I tried to study up to a higher level of math, physics and chemistry, but I was lucky. At the same time I applied for a Advertising and Marketing education but wasent’t approved – until six weeks later. It was a very good education where I learned a lot and got, a more, deeper understanding about photography, filming, film editing desktop publishing, advertising, marketing and of course copywriting. (we made a commercial spot that was shown on channel 4 in Sweden, several marketing and advertising campaignes for different businesses, logotypes and more).
I loved it all. But even though I won a couple of internal photo competitions I still thought that it would be to uniform and not challenging enough – even though I’ve always loved taking pictures and it came natural to me. Maybe to natural.