@ jrs.fcs

@jrs.fcs

Johanna Salenfalk lives in Sweden. She has been interested in photography as long as she can remember. She got her first camera when she was around 5-6 years old. “Believe me... I snapped everyone around me! “ At the age of 16 she totally fell in love with black and white photography. But, she never took her "snapping around" seriously until a couple of years ago and now she only shoots with her iPhone.

What does photography mean to you?

Hm. It's kind of a tricky question because it means so many different things. Looking back at my pictures that I took in my childhood I see that I always took pictures of people in different situations. It's the same thing now. I love taking pictures of people. Their expressions, when they don't know they are being watched, are so very very interesting. Photography is important to me. I see pictures everywhere around me, even when I'm not taking photos. All the time. Pictures are everywhere and the best ones are the ones I have missed snapping!

A street story that may have had an impact on your work?

I'm not sure I have one specific story to be honest with you... The pictures, when I look at them, have an impact on my work though. I see sadness, loneliness, happiness etc in the faces on my pictures and that inspires me to see behind people's " scene masks".

Are you a professional photographer?

Not at all! I've never earned a dollar of my photography work. Also I have no education whatsoever in photography.

How do you see things in your country ?

Wow! That's a big question! I see good and bad things in my country. I see beautiful things in my country but I also see a growing right wing political movement. This scares me because I see this overall in Europe. Very happy for the election in France though. I'm fortunate enough to live in Sweden with food on my dinner table, a warm bed to sleep in, a house of my own to call home, I don't need to be afraid of bombing and such. I'm grateful for these things.

But I also see a Sweden different from what it used to be. Many people aren't as generous as before. Sure, schools, healthcare aren't as good as they were some years ago but if you ask me we do have a responsibility to help everyone. We share this world with all the people in it.