Philip Liljenberg
- Text by Shelley Jones
- Photography by Philip Lijenberg
Philip Liljenberg is a photographer and painter based in Zürich, Switzerland, who embraces the texture and blur of analogue photography to capture his fast life skating, snowboarding and playing music in Scandinavia and beyond.
His stirring images of nomadic friends, stunning locations and playful objects – bikes, skateboards, paints and instruments – conjure a portrait of an on-the-go life lived to the full. Interesting compositions – often including close crops and off-kilter angles – add to a sense of urgency and intimacy that infers a sort of sideways approach to looking at the world.
When and why did you start shooting pictures?
I started shooting in my early youth around 2001/2002 with my dad’s old Yashica. But I bought my first DSLR on a trip to Canada in 2004 and that’s when I became more active on regular basis.
What is it you love about photography?
A lot. Pictures are in general very appealing to me. Pictures help me to remember stuff. This question is too complex to answer haha. I love photography! And I love light.
What are you passionate about – interests, hobbies outside of photography – and how does this inform the images you take?
I hang out with my friends a lot, playing guitar and drinking red wine. I started to paint a lot lately, mostly fishes and crabs. I like the sea. I guess lately I’m trying to seek some kind of authenticity in people and stuff. For example I’m going out with some fishermen later this spring in Varberg, Sweden, to take photos I can’t wait for that day. It’s gonna be sick.
Who or what inspires your work? Any other photographers?
Right now the sea and Scandinavia, in general skateboarding and music. I love and admire a lot of photographers. The first one that comes up in my mind is Jelle Keppens. He´s really cool.
What do you do for a living and how does photography fit into your life?
I’m fully employed by Skullcandy, and I work out of their Zürich office. I’m Swedish and work with marketing for nordic/eastern Europe. Fortunately Skullcandy work a lot with different musicians so I can shoot a lot of concerts, which I love. Other then that I’m painting a lot and I just had a exhibition in Zurich, which was pretty successful. So right now I’m working on a poster series and a catalogue for my prints so I can start selling those in shops. I already had a bunch of requests from various home interior/hipster shops. Stoked! Some are available on my online shop. Other than work work, I try to always bring a camera with me wherever I go.
How do you share your work? And what’s the editing process like for you?
I have a blog/portfolio. But I guess I’m an Instagram addict. I’m very active there. I love editing, I love cropping. I love raw editing. I guess you’re always trying to tell a story with some kind of feeling to it. It’s a bit different every time. Unfortunately I don’t think I get to think enough sometimes because I’m always stressed or under deadlines.
Are your photos staged/posed or documentary?
Ninety nine per cent I just take a photo, follow my guts. I did a lot of product photography back in the day, and that reminds me of staging all the time, so I try to avoid it when I’m out with friends or on events that feel more natural to me. I try to be spontaneous.
If you had to take one photo that summed up your view on life, what would it capture?
That would be a photo of someone or myself eating a really good salad sitting/laying on a sofa and at the same time playing guitar in our rehearsal space with friends writing songs. The rooms would probably be a big mess with different instruments, cameras and trash everywhere. Haha.
To see more of Philip’s work check out his website.
Are you a film photography fan? To be considered for a slot on the Huck site, send a folio of 10 analogue images to [email protected] using the subject line MY LIFE IN ANALOGUE.
The competition for the Lomography camera is now closed. A winner will be announced soon.
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