For many photographers, a camera is a tool for recording what they see. For Swedish photographer Erik Malm, it is also an instrument for creating something deeper. Drawing on his background as a symphonic musician and conductor, Erik approaches photography much like a composer approaches music, blending emotion, atmosphere, movement, and rhythm into images that often feel more like paintings than photographs.
Best known for his distinctive camera movement techniques and abstract interpretations of nature, Erik has spent decades developing a visual language that challenges traditional ideas of what nature photography should be. In this interview, he discusses his photographic beginnings, the connection between music and imagery, his ambitious photo-musical project Dedicated to Life, and why he believes photographers should work harder to find their own creative voice.
Erik, what first drew you to creating images?
When I was 12 years old, my school organised a week-long trip to the famous Swedish island of Öland, a place known for its unique nature and excellent birdwatching opportunities.
My teacher was very interested in birds, and one of his friends, who joined the trip, was a nature photographer. On the last evening, they asked if any students would be interested in getting up very early the next morning for a birdwatching excursion. Only two of us volunteered, and I was one of them.
That morning awakened both my interest in birdwatching and my passion for photography.
Your photographs often feel abstract and painterly, what first attracted you to this style of photography?
It happened entirely by coincidence.
I had been photographing in the Norwegian mountains and was nearing the end of a roll of film. I only had two frames left. Earlier, I had been working with the camera on a tripod using longer exposure times. Before sending the film away for development, I decided to use the final two frames quickly. I took the camera off the tripod and, without any real intention, moved it slightly while making the exposures.
When I later received the developed film, one of those final images looked remarkably like an impressionist painting. That was the beginning.
