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Vincent Skoglund
- Location: Stockholm, Sweden
- Occupation: Photographer
- www.vincentskoglund.com
Ransom: Who are you and what do you do?
Vincent Skoglund: I am a man living in Sweden. I work as a photographer, filmer and creative person in general.
R: For those that are unfamiliar, can you give us a bit of insight in to where you are from and where you call home?
VS: I grew up in the countryside in Sweden outside a small mining town called Falun. Deep into the sticks really — gravel road for a couple of miles. I loved growing up there, I used to get lost in the woods trying to find my way back. Since then I have been living in a lot of different places and countries. A few years back I found my way back to Sweden and settled in Stockholm. Its great here with the water just outside. I live central but still, yesterday I went swimming around the small island were I live.
R: Did you study photography in school or was it a self-taught activity that led to a career?
VS: I went to study photography and film for 2 years, but I would say that I am mainly self taught. I have this passion of learning new things, so I dove straight into it and read many books &mdashl; no internet back then, kids. Around the same time I was doing lots of snowboarding, so that became a natural scene to portray. It was a really exciting period in the history of the sport (maybe like punk in '76 and techno early 90's). I got sucked into the circus and went on to travel and shoot the life of snowboarders for over 10 years, living out of a bag. Really an amazing time. All passion.
R: What are your first memories of photography and what initially captured your interest in images?
VS: I remember my grandmother always shot a lot of pictures of me and my sister. She had one of those nice flashes that looked like a cube and rotated. When I was in school I was into moving imagery more, music videos, stuff like that. After a while I really got affected by the shorter creative circle of still photography. An idea would come, I would shoot it, develop the film in the lab, do a black and white print on paper and see the result straight away. That was great. Film was a group effort that took months and was always, at least then, a big compromise.
R: You got your start in photography documenting snowboarding. Was photography just a means to record the sport that you loved or were you already interested in photography prior to documenting the sport?
VS: It was different interests I had that naturally merged together. I was shooting all kinds of stuff bringing my camera everywhere. It was a great thing combining the two, worked out perfectly. Can’t complain about timing either.
R: As your career progressed into fashion photography and more commercial work, did you find it was challenging to shift away from your base or has it been a logical progression?
VS: The last 10 years have been so exciting because of this constant shift into new things. I guess it always is, but it takes a lot to keep progressing all the time. For me its the essence of working creatively.
R: Working as a commercial photographer, do you find a need to separate work from your own personal projects or are they one and the same?
VS: Each project has it's natural way of separating themselves. Some of the projects I do are very different in nature. In the commercial work its more of a group effort and a little compromise, all ideas that the team might have. For my personal work it is a different process. They are quite different
R: You’ve worked with some exciting clients in various projects. When you're working with these clients do you always find ways to work in your own style and ideas? Or do most typically come to you with a specific vision you're expected to execute?
VS: In most projects I am a part of taking the ideas to a new level visually and a lot of times even changing existing ideas or creating something loosely based on initial ideas. Sometimes also doing art direction. It is great to work with other creative minds to shape something new.
R: On off days between commercial shoots do you still like find time for your own work? What kind of direction is your personal work taking? What do you enjoy shooting the most?
VS: I work all the time. Commercial shoots are a part of what I do. But I do so much other stuff too. I’d say it is a 50/50 split. I do lots of set up landscapes and photography in nature. It is like I am trying to connect images to my memories and feelings of getting lost in the woods as a kid. The magic, awareness and excitement you can feel as a child.
R: You're a creative individual, so often you see artists veering into new territory, new mediums. We've already seen you collaborate on a shoe with adidas for their adicolor campaign, do you have any interest in moving into some other creative fields such as film or design?
VS: I am focusing on being creative and open to what feels right. In photography my language is so strong that it will be the base for future endeavours. I would use the thought process I am used to with photography to do film. I have been doing some smaller moving image projects and it has been really exciting.
R: Recently you shot our Spring/Summer 2011 campaign in Sweden. After you saw the product and met with the Ransom crew what approach did you decide to take, how did it all come together?
VS: After meeting with the crew earlier this year I knew that we had the same mind set and that we had a good shot at starting a great collaboration. Since the products are interesting and based on an outdoor culture it is a great fit. I knew that it would be a project that was beneficial because of an open approach — partly due to time constraints ‐ but also because Ransom gave me all the creative room that I needed. A lot of times there are just too many people involved. For this project we were a really small crew so travel was easy and fast to the different places. I like that.
R: If you’re not on the mountain, not shooting pictures, and not on the road, what do you do with your free time?
VS: Swimming around the island, off climbing, drawing, online activities, playing chess, reading, socializing.