Un/Taken ep. 1 Rikard Landberg

A new topic within Darkrooms. Yeah. This item is about the photo you didn't take. Whether you had your camera with you or not, you saw an opportunity for a photo but did nothing.

Nov 03, 2022

The photo you did not take. You had the opportunity but did not act. Afterwards you feel you had missed a chance in getting this photo. Is there another possibility to capture the moment or the situation? What have you learned from this experience?

On the other hand, you might have taken a photo that you did not expect. Unplanned, unprepared but one that makes you very proud. The photo that is – in the words of Cartier-Bresson – the decisive moment.

In this first episode the Swedish photographer Rikard Landberg tells us about the photos he did and did not take.

Let’s go.

Untaken

Which photo was untaken and why did you not take it?

I had been working on a project where I lived with monks in a monastery. The story was about a young man who was in the process of becoming a monk. The process takes about five years. I wanted to document his path and his life in the monastery. I was supposed to be there on the day he took his monastic vows. Sadly Covid-19 came in the way and I was not allowed into the monastery on that day. Without those pictures the story does not work. I have some really great shots from my stay in the monastery, but no story. That haunts me.

Taken

Which photo that you did not expect to take surprised you the most?

I have never been interested in landscape or wildlife photography. I honestly don’t understand that genre of photography. But then my father passed away about two years ago. As part of my grieving I started to document the place where he grew up, “Kinnekulle”.

Kinnekulle is the name of a small mountain in Sweden with a lot of nature and wildlife. I want a special look and feel in my images so I only go there when the weather is bad. One time when I wasn’t prepared I saw this deer down the road. My camera wasn’t ready at all. I grabbed it and managed to get my settings right for one shot. The deer must have heard the shutter release and ran away. But I got the shot. I still don’t see myself as a landscape/wildlife photographer.

My name is Rikard Landberg. Born in Sweden 1986. I’m the last person on earth that has no problems at all with Instagram ;). I don’t see myself as a photographer or an artist. I just take pictures. I shot analog for a long time. Not because it was cool, I just wasn’t interested in learning something new. But when the film photography hype came I couldn’t afford it anymore (I can’t believe the money people spend on film and analog cameras nowadays). So I traded my three film Leicas for a digital Leica M, and you know what? It was shit;). I sold it and bought a Ricoh GR point and shoot. Sticking to one camera, one focal length and one medium (in my case B&W) is the best decision I have made. It forced me to find a certain style, my style. The GR is still my main camera.
You can find my photos on Instagram: @landberg

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New interviews for ‘The Darkrooms Of…’ or the topic above ‘Un/Taken’ are coming soon. Hope you like it. Please let me know in the comments.
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Till next time!

Marcel Borgstijn