Sara is an up-and-coming actress from Malmö, who we first met and photographed in our studio back in January 2023. Studio images are always fun, but I remember hoping we’d get a chance to work with her in natural light as well. I was so happy when we settled on a Friday night in early June. Sara, Anna and I met up at Lilla Torg after I got off from my day job and basically wandered the streets, grabbing shots where we found them. I think this is the type of shoot I love the most, with minimal planning and a maximum of improvisation. I love the color contrast of the dress she chose against the backdrop of city surfaces.

Anna and I met up with Emily B (Nordic Model Agency) on the beach in Bjärred in July 2022, for a quick portfolio session in the warm evening light. Despite her young age she was a true professional and we banged out three different looks in 45 minutes. I’ve frankly never experienced anything like it. That session also was the true test of my then new Voigtländer 35mm/1.2 lens and when I looked at the images from it my infatuation grew to a roaring fire of love.

At the beginning of May, Anna and I met up with Selma (and her granddad) to do a small photoshoot in Söderto, a small community in Skåne where a farmer in the 1930s built himself a fortress to protect him from a Russian invasion. May was cold this year and you can almost see her shivering in the photos.

Despise tough odds, our family made it to Brač, Croatia, for a week-long stay just outside the small town of Supetar. Four hours prior to departure we realized out son’s passport had expired (he was very young when we all had them renewed, so his was only good for three years while they would last five years for the rest of us). My son and I had to stay behind until the next day, get a temporary passport for him, get two new flight tickets to Split, Croatia, get ourselves from the airport to Split harbor and take the ferry over to the iland of Brač. We arrived twelve hours after the rest of our family.

We had a fantastic week, with excellent food, perfect weather and nice swims in the ocean and the pool. The light in Croatia was stunning as well, especially the hour or so after sunset. That glowing sky light is unlike anything we have here in Sweden.

Here’s a batch of vacation pics, in no particular order. All are from the Fujifilm X-T2 with the Voigtländer 23mm/1.2 lens.

It’s soon Christmas Eve, and my world is winding down. I always find myself in a pensive mood this time of year. The Holidays lend themselves well to taking stock of the year that has passed, I suppose. What went well and what didn’t? What would you like more of next year, and what would you like less of?

2022 was a tumultuous year for me, in a quiet way. I changed jobs and in a sense started my career over. I photographed a lot and I believe I’m finally getting closer to finding my voice there. I discovered the art of Swedish photographer Walter Hirsch, whose 35mm work from the seventies and eighties had a huge impact on me. That, together with rediscovering the Fujfilm X-system (with a six year old Fujifilm X-T2 and brand new Voigtländer lenses) has led me down a path of less technical perfection and more emotion and expression that I find thrilling. I can’t wait to see where it leads.

Here a few frames from Copenhagen, captured a short while ago with a Fujifilm X-T2 and a Voigtländer 23mm/1.2 lens.