Karl-Einar Lofqvist

Photography, when it comes to documentary and travel, is a question about meeting people, learning to know each other and spending a lot of time together.

While traveling, I think I have spent more time talking, drinking tea and giving a helping hand during harvest than using my cameras. It’s all about the meeting.

At the age of 20 I started to trek in the Swedish mountains and got interested in the Sami culture and other cultures in mountain regions. The fact that I was born in Lapland perhaps also influenced me.

After five years as a chemist, I left my work in 1977, for a work as an aerial photographer. Since 1980 I have worked as a freelance photographer.

In 1986 I began to travel in the Himalayas and for some years I combined my photography with work as a tour guide, trekking with groups in Ladakh.

When not traveling I work with magazines and companies with everything from portraits to outdoor activities.