answers,

I'm feeling a bit better today, thankfully, and I just finished answering the questions you asked in this entry! If you've sent me some questions via email I won't include them here as I haven't been able to check my email properly lately. I will email you back when I can find the time :) Also, some questions were similiar or asked more than once, so I've tried to only answer those once. If you still have further questions, just ask. So, here we go;

Maybe you've written about your studies before but I wonder what it is that you're styding?

I study psychology, however it is just a small course that ends in about a month. I’ve applied for two new courses, european film and litterature & psychology that starts just a few days after my current course ends, but I’m not sure which one I should choose yet.

Do you yourself write? Poems or stories? Or just a diary for yourself?

I used to write a lot, mostly stories, when I was younger, and I have had quite a few diaries that I used to fill with a lot of text. I don’t really know when or even why I stopped writing. I would love to do it again, but I sort of feel like I can’t write at all anymore. Maybe I just need some practicing though.

Do you feel lonely sometimes?

Not that often, but yes, sometimes. Ironically I often feel lonely when I’m around other people (depends on who it is though), but I don’t know why - maybe because I’m too introvert or something. Sometimes I like being on my own though, it’s a nice feeling.



What are your favorite books and/or authors? Or are there any books you've read recently that you'd like to recommend?

I can definitely say that Haruki Murakami is my favorite author, and his 'Norwegian Wood' is probably one of my favorite books of all time. Other than that I enjoy reading Jeffrey Eugenides and other random authors. Lately I haven’t had much time to read anything other than my course litterature.

What about music?

I’m loving The Microphones and Mount Eerie right now. Other than that I guess I would have to mention The Radio Dept, Depeche Mode, Joy Division, The Smiths and Slowdive that basically are my favorite bands of all time. Though I’ve probably forgotten some.

How did you learn to take pictures? Did you go to a school? If yes what kind of school (art school, technical school, or other stuff)?

I’m mostly self-taught, but I did study photograhy in high school/upper secondary school. It was a media & communication programme in which I had photography as my main subject, and it was so much fun. I graduated in 2007, and someday in the future I would love to attend a real photography school.

What do you do in life? Do you study or are you working yet?

Right now I’m just studying psychology while looking for a job. It’s so hard to find something that feels right though!

What inspires you? Like music, films, books, images, people, weather, feelings, strangers, objects, etc.

Pretty much everything and anything. It’s always very different, most of the time it’s a mixture of all sorts of things. For example, if I’ve seen a photograph that I really liked I can combine the inspiration it gave me in the first place with something else – a scene from a movie, an emotion or even some simple words. I think clothes are really inspiring as well.



What is your favourite thing to do when you have nothing better to be doing?

Play with my cats! Or watch a good movie.


Who do you love?

Leo, my closest friends, my family and my cats.


What is it within you that comes through in your photographs making them seem so sad (but in a beautiful way of course)? I think your photographs are like the photographic version of Morrisey's songs.

I’m not really a sad person in general which some people seem to think (due to me not smiling in "self-portraits" often), but I don’t think that anyone who knows me well would say that I am. Maybe a bit cynical sometimes, but not sad. I have no idea where the sadness comes from, but it is probably because I like that kind of melancholic mood in photographs. However I see it more as a calmness and a quiet atmosphere rather than sadness. And thank you, that is such a nice compliment, Morrissey is so fantastic.

What moment is the most mystical in the whole process? I always thought it's the second when you're shooting or when the picture is emerging on a paper

I completely agree with you – the second right before you click the shutter. It’s like everything in the frame and its surroundings freezes for like one hundredth of a second. It’s been a few years since I worked in the dark room, but I really love that moment when the photograph is emerging on paper as well.

It'd be interesting to know how you work - how do you get an idea for a picture, and do you take a lot of photos before you are satisfied with the result?

Ideas come to me quite randomly, for a lot of different reasons. Sometimes I see something that inspires me to create something of my own, and at other times ideas can come out of some current feeling that I’m having. If I shoot digital then I usually take a lot of photos before I’m satisfied, but when I’m shooting film I shoot one or two frames. Sometimes neither of the two frames turns out the way I planned though, but I would still never waste film by shooting too many frames that basically are identical. When it comes to polaroids I just shoot one frame and try make sure that everything is as I want it to be.

Where do you live?

I live in the southern parts of Sweden.

How did you meet Leo?

The first time we met was underneath a large tree by the train station in the city where I attended school at the time, we sat quietly next to each other for a few hours, listening to Cursive and Desaparecidos on his mp3 if I remember it right, and neither of us barely spoke a word. Before this we had talked on the internet and phone for a few months, and after a while we realized it was time for us to meet. I’m so glad we did.

What is your favourite cake?

Black forest/Schwarzwald!

Why didn't you want to go study photography?

I actually did study photography for two years in secondary school, and in the future I would love to attend a school that is devoted to a higher level of photography than those courses I started with in 2004.

Do you love travelling ? If so, where did you go ?

Traveling doesn’t really fit into my budget at the moment (and almost never has), but when I can afford it I want to travel to so many different places. I would love to further explore Europe.

What did you study in high school/secondary school?

Media & communication/photography (2004-2007).

What are your favourite films/tv series?

My favourite film of all time is Blade Runner, and some other favourites are The Double Life of Veronique, 2 Days in Paris, Last Exit to Brooklyn, The Dreamers, The Return and Lost in Translation. When it comes to tv series some of my favourites are Twin Peaks, Six Feet Under, Big Love, Weeds and Californication. Tell Me You Love Me is really nice as well, too bad that it’s only one season though.

Do you collect anything?

Not really. Records and dvds, but I don’t think that counts as collecting. When I was younger I collected all sorts of things – stickers, stamps, bookmarks, candles, porcelain animals and things like that. I remember driving my mum crazy every time we went to a store where they had something I wanted, if there were more than one item I could never decide which one I wanted to buy. I could stand there looking at the things for more than an hour sometimes while my mum was beginning to tear her hair out.

Do you have any (good or bad) moments of your life that you will never forget?

The first thing that comes to mind is the first time I met Leo, and the first time we slept in the same bed together. Another more sad moment that I will never forget is when a cat of mine was hit by a car almost two years ago and injured one of his paws – we took him to the vet and I was so sure that everything would be ok, since it was only his paw and he seemed to be doing rather well otherwise. It turned out that his paw was really seriously injured and that they couldn’t fix it, so he had to be put to sleep that day. I’ve never felt such pain in my entire life, even though I knew that it was for the best. I loved that cat so incredibly much. He was like my best friend.

And last, why are you so awesome?

Haha, I don’t know, I don’t think I’m that awesome.. but thank you! :)

What is your favorite songs?

Joy Division - 'Love will tear us apart'
And that’s the only one I can think of right now.

What camera do you have?

For film:
Zenit-B with a Helios 44-2 58mm/2 and a Pentacon 29mm/2.8 (35mm)
Photina Reflex TLR (medium format)
and a few point-and-shoot cameras.

For polaroid:
Polaroid sx-70
Polaroid Colorpack II
Polaroid Image System
Fuji Instax 210 (wide format)

For digital:
Canon 350d
Nikon d70
but I rarely shoot digital these days.

What film do you use? ( I'm just so in love with the tone!)

I mostly use Fuji Superia, Kodak Gold, Kodak Portra or Kodak ColorPlus.

When did you cry the last time?

When I watched an episode of The L word (the one where Dana dies) a few weeks ago. A little silly, but it was so emotional.

I've always wondered what a typical day is for you.

Right now my days aren’t very exciting. I usually sleep until noon (unless I have plans, an appointment or a meeting of some sort before lunch), get up and eat breakfast, check my email/facebook and so on, study the entire afternoon, make dinner, study some more if needed, and I usually end my days with watching a movie or two with Leo while eating lots of dessert, and going to bed around 3AM. This routine pretty much goes on during the weekend as well, since the studying takes up so much time. Heh, this must sound really boring. Sometimes I ignore the studying after breakfast and go out and do something else though.

How was the place where you was born and where you grow up?

I still live in the same place where I was born and raised, it’s on the countryside and I’ve always thought that the nature here is beautiful, even though it can be quite tedious to see the same views over and over again.

What's the sweetest memory of your childhood?

It has to be all the summer roadtrips with my family. I miss that so much.

Wondered what started you to get more into taking photographs and if it is something you want to do as a career.

I’m not sure, it’s just what I love doing. And I got my first camera when I was rather young, so that might have had something to do with it. I would definitely want to have a career in photography, but I think it could be quite difficult to live on, unless you’re having a lot of clients on a fairly regular basis which makes a steady income. On the other hand I don’t know that much about the photography business, and in the future I will probably do freelance commissions while having another job.

Currently, what is your favorite movie, band, food, etc?

Leo and I watched Fantastic Mr. Fox a few nights ago, and I loved it! My favourite band at the moment is The Microphones and my favourite food right now has to be a casserole with a base of red wine, beer and tomatoes along with some kind of meat, chorizo, mushrooms, onions and carrots (and maybe some other vegetables as well, I can’t remember right now). We had homemade pasta along with this about two weeks ago, and it was so so delicious.

Who is/are your biggest inspiration?

I don’t think there’s anyone specific that always make me feel inspired, but if I were to mention a few photographers that I find really inspirational I would have to say Nan Goldin, Anton Corbijn and David Hamilton.

How would you define your photographic style? What mood are you looking for?

Calm, quiet, intimate.

Where do you buy your polaroid film? Something I’ve been wondering about for a long time..

I buy most of my polaroid film on eBay, and I’ve bought from the impossible project once. I have had quite a large stock of 600-film in my fridge for a few years (I bought them all on eBay), but now I only have two packs left, and the film is getting more and more expensive.

How old are you, and are you a student?

I’m 22, and yes, I’m a student at the moment.

Which part of sweden would you recommend for a road trip? (and where do you always find those mystic/foggy places? they look exactly like where i'd like to go right now, because i feel that i can't find anything like that here.)

That’s a difficult question, but I think any part of Sweden would be great. The northern parts are probably the most beautiful, though I’ve never been there. I find those foggy places here and there, it’s basically random places that we’re driving past every now and then, and some of them are not far from where I live.


If you were a given a free journey to any place in the world - where would you go?

Somewhere in the US, probably.


What are the names of your cats?

Mumin, Lilla My, Sylvester, Tiger, Fanni, Kasper.

What do you see yourself doing in ten years?

I really don’t know. Hopefully living in another city, working with something I enjoy that is at least somewhat related to photography. And maybe I will have a kid. Haha.

How much collaboration do you and your boyfriend do? How much does he inspire your photos?

We help each other out with settings and things like that when needed, but other than that we don’t do much collaboration really. He does his thing and I do my thing, and we probably inspire each other at a pretty mutual level. Sometimes he does something that I want to evolve further, and sometimes I do something that he wants to do in a different way.

What are your plans for the future?

Traveling a lot first of all, when I can afford it!

Which is your favourite type of film?

Not sure what kind of film you are referring to - movies or the film I use in my cameras, so I’ll answer both! When it comes to movies I mostly like drama, preferably foregin films. But I basically watch and like any genre. As for my favorite film for cameras I think it’s Fuji Superia. It’s cheap and gives great results if the film isn’t too outdated.

What do you like doing during the weekends?

Going on road trips to discover new places, meeting friends, shopping, etc, or just take it easy if that’s an option.

Do you develop the photographs yourself?

No, I don’t. I develop black and white film sometimes though, but not colour film.

I really adore your relationship with Leo, therefore one of the questions I would want to ask you is how are the things between you two? I know you two currently have celebrated your 5th year anniversary. What makes your love so strong? What is it you like/love about him the most?

I feel like we really know each other and that we can read each other’s minds, basically. Of course we have our differences every now and then, he can be annoying sometimes and I’m sure he finds me annoying quite often as well. But in the end, it doesn’t matter. Five years is quite a long time, and by now we both know how the other person works, and I think this is a really important aspect in a good relationship. I think I’m more in love with him now than I was in the beginning, and that is probably a good thing, and it’s such a nice feeling to know that I don’t feel any different about him. I just love everything about him, how he talks, how he moves, how he touches me, his peculiarities and the little things that makes him him. From the start I’ve thought that he and I fit together like two pieces in a puzzle.

I would love to hear more about your hobbies, how long you've been taking photos, and who are your favorite photographers.

Besides photography I don’t really have any other hobbies, but I like painting and drawing (I’m not very good though, and I don’t paint often), and just keeping myself busy with little things. I’ve been photographing seriously since I started secondary school in 2004, but I’ve been around cameras and have used them ever since I was seven years old, so that would mean that I’ve been having a camera in my hands since 1995. I have a lot of favorite photographers, they’re too many to mention really. I did mention Nan Goldin, Anton Corbijn and David Hamilton in an answer above, but besides them I love Lina Scheynius, Alison Scarpulla, Helen Korpak and Johanna Wallin, amongst others.

Tell me what your favorite breakfast food is. You photograph food so beautifully, you should more often.

Yoghurt, preferably blueberry flavoured, with fresh berries and toast with sunny side up eggs. Pancakes are a delight as well. I pretty much love all breakfast food, however I often think it’s hard to get out of bed and eat just like that, I need to be awake for at least half an hour or so before I can eat. And thank you! I love to photograph food, but I think it’s quite difficult. The light needs to be just right in order for the food not to look weird.

I am wondering wat role nature plays to you and what role it plays in your photos. I am asking this because I think that Scandinavia exists for an important part of very beautiful nature. It's also the reason I often visit Sweden or Norway.

I would say that nature plays a fairly important part for me, I love incorporating landscapes with portraits, and I especially aim to find those open, lonely and a little bit eerie places. And I agree, there’s so much beautiful nature in Scandinavia.

I am curious to know how do you keep your polaroid photos?

Right now I’m keeping them in a box, and some of them in a photo album. I’ve been wanting to do something else with them instead of having them just lying in a box where I can’t see them, but I don’t know what. A wall with polaroids, somehow.

What camera you like using most?

The Zenit-B is probably my favorite. There is just something special about it.


I think somewhere in this blog I read that you are studying psychology! Is that your major in college? What made you pick that major? What do you want to do with it/how much do you plan to pursue the study of psychology?

It’s not my major, it’s just a course I’m taking at the moment (it ends in January), and I chose it because I’ve always liked the subject. It’s interesting and it’s easy to incorporate psychological aspects into your own life. So far I can definitely say that it has given me some new insight in myself. I might want to continue studying it sometime after this course ends, but I’m not sure yet.

How did you start working with film? I mean, did you shoot film before the "digital boom", or did you start doing digital and then switched to analogic?

When I was younger (seven-ish) I used film cameras, I got my first digital camera at age 12 or 13, and I was given a Canon 350d for my 18th birthday. I mostly shot digital during secondary school with a few exceptions, but analogue photography became more and more tempting to go back to after I graduated. I really love working with film, it is so much more fun than digital.

Do you have any siblings? If yes, why havent you taken/posted any photos of them? If not, would you want to have any?

Yes, I have an older brother! He’s soon-to-be-32, and I actually think that I have posted a few photos of him here, but they’re probably way back in the archive.

In your photographs with leo, do you two set up the camera before hand and then "pose", or are all those just natural?

Well, I have to set up the camera before in order to take a photo of us together, but I think the "poses" are rather natural. A hug is a hug and a kiss is a kiss - it can't really be posed in my opinion.


How do you take these photos of yourself & your lover? Also, do you plan them in advance?

I use a tripod and self-timer or a shutter cord, depending on what camera I'm using. I don't really plan them in advance, I usually just say 'let's take a picture!' and place Leo somewhere, make all the necessary settings and set off the timer.

Thanks for all the questions!