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Mattias Sjolund
Biography Mattias originates from Sweden and has an inherent passion for photographing and hiking in nature. He is the founder of Foto Magica, a phototour organizer that offers adventures in both Scandinavia and Europe.
Michéla Griffith
In 2012 I paused by my local river and everything changed. I’ve moved away from what many expect photographs to be: my images deconstruct the literal and reimagine the subjective, reflecting the curiosity that water has inspired in my practice. Water has been my conduit: it has sharpened my vision, given me permission to experiment and continues to introduce me to new ways of seeing.
There’s an inevitability about the fact that, sooner or later, the photography bug gets you. For Mattias Sjölund it took a while, like water wearing away stone, and it was the images he saw online that finally transfixed him. From a passion for music, he found himself approaching and conversing with the rock stars of landscape photography. Coming online as a tour operator just as the pandemic broke could have spelt disaster, but Mattias was able to continue with his plans in his home country of Sweden.
Would you like to start by telling readers a little about yourself – where you grew up, your education and early interests, and what that led you to do?
I spent my childhood in what I presume would be best described as a classic countryside village with all its charm and challenges. Originating from the inner city, I was somewhat of a stranger to the environment as well as the locals for the first few years and I didn't really make a lot of friends until I turned double digits. As a kid, we had a second home up in the Swedish north and I have only fond memories of the beautiful environments that the Arctic presented. I can only presume somewhere in that age I also grew a love for nature and especially the one of the north.
As I grew older we moved back to the town of Uppsala, a place I very much like to call home, although a few years in Stockholm, as well as Los Angeles in my late teens and late twenties, became a fun and exciting break as I was both a student of and a professional in the vivid music industry of the late nineties. I’d never been good at school; despite that my parents always encouraged higher education but my university experience ended before my first semester in the law program was over. Starting new business ventures somehow was always more appealing and has taken me places I hardly could have imagined as I made my way in both the airport sector, the communication industry as well as a few odd ventures in the creative industry including music and photography.