Questions for Sophia Bergholm:

Name: Sophia Bergholm, 29 years old from Linköping Sweden.

If I use any filters or special effects:

I do not use any filters or special effects in-camera, I do all my edits in adobe Lightroom and sometimes I do smaller things I Photoshop. Sometimes I use presets I’ve made, for inspiration and do some extra edits on top of that, but mostly I edit my photos from scratch. I think it’s a fun process.

How I choose a subject:

Often, I see something on my way from work and I get an idea of how I want to compose it, then I wait for the right conditions to make that idea into a photo. Other times I just take my car and drive and hope to get inspired on the way. I know it when I see it. Another thing I do sometimes is to check maps, I like to check my surrounding area for possible aerial shots.

Where do I take most of my photos:

I’m mostly close to Linköping and south of Linköping, I usually don’t drive more than an hour from home. Östergötland county is a beautiful place with changing scenery and a lot of photo opportunities

A lot of space without people in Sweden:

Yes, absolutely. When you say Sweden, people mostly think “forests”. And that’s true. Östergötland have a lot of open fields and a great agriculture, but also many forests.

The heart shaped lake:

I first saw it on Instagram. I saw it was located in Östergötland and so I tried to google it. It’s very hard to locate cause it’s not written anywhere but I knew it was outside of Linköping. I actually got in touch with another female photographer who gave me the location of the lake. It is hard to reach and is best appreciated from above. I think it’s man made, it’s too perfect not to be, and it’s quite small.

I do have video of it from this summer, but I only have photos from summer, fall and winter.

Is this my full-time profession?

No, at the moment this is just a hobby, but it would be fun to have as a bigger part of my income.

Do I photograph people?

Unfortunately, I don’t, I mainly do nature photography. I love portrait photography but it’s a whole other technique and I haven’t been brave enough to get into that. I also like the fact that it’s just me and my camera out in nature, it’s not the same pressure.

What’s my motivation?

I’ve always been very creative, all my life I’ve been focusing on music, but I’ve also lowkey loved photography. A few years ago, I got my bachelor’s degree in classical music, but I decided to focus on other things. When I got married 2017, I got my first camera, and I took up photography. To be able to capture, create and share my work so easily on the internet gave me a rush of happiness. That people actually liked what I do felt amazing, and I wanted to be better, take more photos, edit more, share more. I love to watch other photographers on YouTube and Instagram, you can learn so much from other creators. And you’re constantly chasing a better photo, better subject and inspiring compositions, to be a better photographer.

How do I capture rainbows?

I would say it’s mostly luck, I’m not actively seeking out rainbows. But if you head out on a rainy day with a chance for sun, there’s a good chance you’ll see a rainbow. It’s always a pleasant surprise when you see one. On a good winter day, you sometimes see a halo around the sun, ant it’s truly amazing.

Antelope Canyon:

It’s a slot canyon located in Page, Arizona. It’s actually two separate canyons, Upper and lower Antelope Canyon, and it’s on Navajo land. The rocks are sandstone and was formed by flash floods. I went there as a part of my honeymoon and I visited both canyons. This was midday in springtime, so I did not get so see the famous sunbeams. But I wasn’t sad about that, the experience was incredible. everywhere you looked was like a painting. The sun hitting the red sandstone and the dust moving when you walked, incredible. I would highly recommend visiting this place, but if you do, please do not touch the stone, every touch effect the stone and will cause it to erode.