Tjörnekalv

 

Tjörnkalv, tiny island of barely 2 square kilometers along the coast of Bohuslan in western Sweden. Impressive and typical rocks formations of several hundreds millions of years dominate the geology of that region, smoothly carved by the sea, the elements and most recent ice periods.
A pebble where I spent 3 weeks with my wife and my daughter, stopover during a longer stay in Scandinavia during the Summer of 2019.
A rare opportunity to be forced to develop a deep connection with an unkonwn place that doesn't seem "extraordinary" at first sight. To engage a dialogue with the rocks, the elements. To rediscover the simple pleasure of the irrepressible photographic act: to freeze a fragment of time, a glimpse into the long history of planet earth, to visually interpret the fundamental character and soul of a specific place at a given time.
As a daily routine, an outing every evening for a return after sunset; with one strange but imposed rule to give a larger place to creativity and imagination: a single camera and a unique lens for each outing (between my personal favorite 80-400mm, 16-35mm, 24-70mm, 70-200mm, 85mm 1,8, 200-500mm or 105mm macro) completed by an essential tripod, trigger and filters for landscape photography.
These cherished moments on Tjörnkalv offered me a dream opportunity to take the time again to be fully focused on the very essence of what drives me as a photographer, hunter of the useless: introspection, personal vision, getting out my comfort zone, the pleasure of discovery, the quest of all this hidden beauties, the unexpected.

And finally, a backpack usually full of photographic equipment is the best companion I've found to justify this desire and necessity to escape outside whatever the vagaries of the weather, breathing fresh air, feeling the strength of the elements, in order to simply feel fully alive...