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Taking the Southwest Challenge: Swedish
Photographer Tore Nilsson Adds a Bit of Southwest Flair
to Southwest Sweden See The Looks:
pg2
pg 3
pg 4
Recently we asked Swedish photographer, Tore Nilsson, to
take the Southwest Challenge. What is the
Southwest Challenge? Using limited resources in a
geographical location far removed from the southwest
U.S., the photographer wants to try his or her best to
create a look with a bit of southwest flair.
Swedish Photographer
Tore Nilsson
Nilsson's photo for our cover
Tore Nilsson, a
forty-year-old photographer from southwest Sweden, has
worked as an engineer in the automotive industry for the
past ten years and in order to gain a balance between
work and leisure, began to shoot pictures eight years
ago.
Says Nilsson, "I've
always been fascinated with images and advertising; how
images can influence and attract the viewer. I was
really inspired by fashion magazines covers and wanted
to learn the technology behind them. My hobby grew into
a passion and I started to do some freelance work and am
where I am now. I jumped on this challenge because it
was a mission that seemed fun to try to do, I chose a
model with a somewhat Scandinavian look and a very broad
range of styles in her closet. Sweden has a lot of lakes
in my area so I chose Sweden's largest freshwater lake
as one of the environments." (for more info on this area
of Sweden
http://swedentravelnet.com/lake-vanern.html ).
Nilsson's second choice of
environment was Kinnekulle, "a small mountain," Nilsson
says, "in comparison to American measure, but a
beautiful environment and typical of the Swedish
countryside." According to Nilsson on that day's shoot,
"Unfortunately the wind blew too much; typical Swedish
autumn weather so I could only use the mountain's red
rock as background." (for more info on this area of
Sweden visit
http://lackokinnekulle.vastsverige.com/templates/article____14243.aspx
)
Nilsson’s choice of model
was Nicole Schelin, for as he mentioned above, he felt
she had a wardrobe broad and versatile enough to
champion our needs. Schelin states that she had great
fun doing the shoot and was kind enough to take a moment
for a few questions.
When asked how she
selected the clothing for the shoot, and what made her
specifically choose those pieces, Schelin says, "Fashion
has been running in my blood since I learned how to
walk. It's my biggest hobby for the moment, so whatever
you want, I think you can find it in my closet. I saw
your brainstorming and tried to pick out a little
something from every category and then I made outfits
from it. Tore and his wife were involved in the last
process: choosing what outfits to wear . . . "
Nilsson tells us that he
sent a description of the style to Schelin and the
fashion links we had suggested, along with some typical
Southwest fashion ideas, saying that Schelin showed up
at the meeting point with her whole car full of clothes.
Nilsson adds that he quickly checked the pieces she
suggested before each change and noted that she has good
taste and that she understood the task well.
We asked Schelin if she
tried to imagine herself here in the southwest U.S.
during the shoot. Shelin says, "Well, both yes and no.
When I picked out the clothes, yes, I did try to imagine
me being in the southwest environment, and I have to say
that I was stunned when Tore showed me the places we
were to shoot at because they didn't give you the
feeling that I was still in Sweden. But during the photo
shoot I didn't think too much, just being me."
On imagining being in the
southwest U.S. during the shoot, photographer Nillson
said, "Yes and no. To meet this challenge, I tried to
choose the Swedish nature, which is typically Swedish,
but still not deviate too much from your typical
environment in order not to lose the style of the
southwest."
Of all the clothes
Schelin choose to create a southwest look, our choice
for favorite was the black and gold dress which had a
resemblance to a tribal print and the ring she wore with
it. When asked about these pieces, Shelin told us the
dress and ring were from the same Swedish brand called
Ginatricot, "a really girly boutique" and is appreciated
by many women in Sweden for their affordable prices and
high couture. Schelin says that she did however change
the dress a little to be more like "Nicole" style
because she doesn’t like wearing the same clothes as
everyone else. Just the kind of fashion sense it takes
to create your own style, and in this case a style with
a bit of southwest flair.
We asked both Nilsson and
Schelin what their feelings were on being featured in a
southwest U.S.-based magazine and if they had any
knowledge or impressions of our "southwest"
before-hand; perhaps through books, movies or magazines,
or their own travels. Schelin replied that she thought
it great fun and has always loved a challenge so she is
really excited and looking forward to the outcome.
She also tells us it was interesting doing something
different. As to any preconceptions, she says, "Well of
course, I read too many fashion magazines and there you
pick up everything in style, and I like to mix different
styles together. I absolutely pick up impressions from
movies and my own journeys . . "
When posed the same
questions, Nilsson says, "I think it's great fun to make
the cover; my main references are from photos taken of
US photographers, but also from the movies. The American
film industry is huge and dominates the film supply in
Europe as well. I've been to the USA two times, but it
has been with my work as an engineer and not as a
photographer, so I have not been able to choose where to
go. You have beautiful environments over there, I'll
will try to come there at some point and make a photo
trip."
It was an honor for
Nilsson and Schelin to accept our challenge to add a
little southwest flair to their part of the world and we
feel they did a marvelous job. Choosing environments
that could depict the Southern California coast or a
mountainous cliff in New Mexico, combined with Schelin’s
choice of clothing, they did indeed create not only a
look, but a mood, with a feeling of the southwest. Hats
off to Nilsson and Schelin in southwest Sweden from
Southwest Flair!
More of Nilsson's work
may be seen at
www.modellfoto.net
See The Looks:
pg2
pg 3
pg 4
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