We are products of our environment. Some have the influence of the city to shape how they see the world and others, like Lucas Nilsson, grow up with the power and scale of mountains to form their perspective. Lucas was raised in northern Sweden where the seasonal changes in daylight due to its proximity to the Arctic Circle leave its residents with days of sunlight, along with days of darkness. Thus, he has been able to fine-tune the use of light in his photography, mastering flash setups and achieving phenomenal exposures with medium format cameras. The images he selected for Focal Point are honest, raw and have minimalist characteristics, traits that are captured in his practice of black and white film. Sometimes it’s not always about making the features look huge, it’s just creating images that display snowboarding in a way that reflects its soul. That’s what sets Lucas Nilsson within a group of the most talented lensman in snowboarding.

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About Focal Point:

This photo essay series was designed to exhibit the countless photos that do not make it into the incredibly competitive pages of snowboarding magazines. Photos can be published or unpublished, taken 10 years ago or last season. Photographers are given up to 17 photographic categories to meet, each with the goal of showing a different aspect of life in snowboarding. All captions are written by the photographer.