Håkan Ludwigson is one of the worlds most well known travel and advertising photographers. He has reached levels of professional accomplishments few in his profession has enjoyed. He has won prestigious awards, shot advertising campaigns for big clients, he has had solo exhibitions of his work and published a monograph with the most famous publisher of photography books, and all along traveled to more then 85 countries in the world.
However, he believes that for him personally photography not is an art form – rather he sees himself as a problem solver. The lovers of his work may disagree, of course, his work is extraordinary, artistic and dedicated to an art form. The pure quality that is hard to call anything but beautiful is ever present in Håkan´s photographs.
Håkan makes his work look exactly what is is not – effortless, light, poetic. It is quite the contrary to what is going on behind the camera – a minute, laser focused drive to capture every scrap and fiber of the soul of a landscape, a person, a situation, a visual problem. It is the equivalent of seeing without looking, to catching without holding fast.
Håkan shoots like a block of granite moved by evening clouds, rain on an open road and sunshine on a little boys cheek. You do not look at his images, you feel them. He might ultimately be wrong about his role as a problem solver – his images enter and linger in the tenderest part of your being, the part that catches the evening clouds in a glance over the shoulder and marvels.
Condé Nast Traveler, Volvo Trucks, Volvo Cars, Aqvavit, Fritidsresor, Elisa, Frälsningsarmén, If, Radiolinja, GP, RES, GEO, Oprah Magazine, Toyota, Audi, Riksutställningar, Skut.