In June 2016 I unexpectedly received the award "Nature Photographer of 2015" from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency who has been handing out the price for the past 26 years.
It was an unexpected yet fun award to receive although controversial. How can a Photoshopper become the nature photographer of the year? The biggest misconception with my work is that I create something in the computer, everything I do, every little detail is photographed and just combined together in the computer. To me the computer is just a way to put the pieces of the puzzle together and it requires a lot of planning.
The nature and northern European landscapes has always been important in my work and something that I constantly come back to. I understand that not everyone think that I deserve this price, I therefore decided to donate the entire price money of 25 000 SEK to The Swedish Cancer Society. An independent non-profit organization with the vision of finding cures for cancer. The overall aim of the Society is to achieve a higher survival rate and a reduction in the incidence of cancer.
A big thank you to all of you who follow me and thanks to the
Environmental Protection Agency for this prestigious award!
Link to the Environmental Protection Agency press release (in Swedish).