Sandra Linnell OM magazine

Sandra Linnell
Using her OM-D E-M1 series cameras, Sandra captures
the delicate patterns created in nature, documenting
them in her beautifully whimsical photographs
How did you get into nature
photography?
I don’t have any formal education in
photography, I’m self-taught. I think
I’m a creative soul in general; I had
planned to do something in music but
instead I took a Bachelor’s Degree in
textile design and hand weaving. Not
long after graduating I got pregnant
and gave birth to my son, Anton, who
has a rare disorder called CHARGE
Syndrome. This changed my life
completely and nothing would ever be
the same again.
When Anton was six months or
so, I downloaded this little app
called Instagram. This was ten
years ago and almost no one had
heard about it back then but I was
instantly hooked. I started shooting
anything and everything and spent
many hours per day photographing;
something I still do. I guess I had
undergone some form of personal
crisis – although I didn’t understand it
at the time – and photography was a
way of processing my new role as a
mother of a sick child (we spent a lot
of time in hospitals) and as an outlet
for my pent-up creativity. I still use
photography as some kind of therapy
and my main source of creativity.
I like to take photos everywhere and
of everything but I spend a lot of time
in nature so I guess it’s natural that
most of my photos are nature photos.
What are your current main bodies
and lenses?
Carrying the M.Zuiko 12-40mm F2.8
PRO and M.Zuiko 40-150mm F2.8 PRO
with me means that I have the ability
to shoot in a range of 12-150mm.
Normally I carry two cameras with
these lenses attached because I want
the flexibility to choose and shoot with
them both at all times, without wasting
time changing lenses. People have
asked me why I don’t use the M.Zuiko
12-100mm F4.0 IS PRO instead of
two lenses but the truth is I want the
F number as low as possible, and I
really love the bokeh in my 40-150mm
F2.8 PRO.
I also carry the M.Zuiko 60mm
Macro lens with me because I never
know when I might get the urge to
shoot something close; plus it weighs
practically nothing so it’s no problem
Photographer bio
INTERVIEW
OM | ISSUE 001 | JAN-MAR 2021

Country: Sweden
Speciality: Patterns in nature
printler.com

Läs på Svenska

2

3
4
with these autumnal moths. As I
walked over a small stream I noticed
the moths floating on the water and
it felt like a moment of seasonal
melancholia: the circle of life (2). I
shot using my E-M1 Mark II and 40150mm F2.8 PRO.
After an unexpected snowfall in
early November in Stockholm the
snow stuck around for a while – at
least on the ground – and on a day
when the fog came rolling in I knew I
had to get out and catch whatever I
could before sunset (which is just after
3pm). My eyes caught these willows
and I’m so happy that I walked
around and found this composition (5).
I call it ‘One, Two Tree’. Shot on
my OM-D E-M10 and 12-40mm F2.8
PRO.
And finally, water, patterns, trees
and reflections; everything I love, and
this place has it all. It is the water
surface of Agnåa, a small stream in

(1) OM-D E-M1 Mark
II | M.Zuiko
12-40mm F2.8 PRO
0.6s | F10 | ISO 200
(2) OM-D E-M1
Mark II | M.Zuiko
40-150mm F2.8 PRO
1/125s | F5.6 |
ISO 320
1
at all to carry.
Talk us through some of your
favourite photographs.
I just want to say that asking me
to pick out just three or four of my
favourite photos is a task that I find
almost impossible!
But one photo lies very close to
my heart. After a long and incredible
day of photographing in Svalbard
I stood on a boat and watched the
velvety smooth water passing by,
as I was summing up the day in my
head with a smile on my lips. The sun
had just gone down and the water
started to turn pink (1). I wanted to
capture the moment but it felt like
it was getting too dark to shoot;
032
especially on a moving boat. But the
stability in Olympus cameras never
ceases to amaze me so with my OM-D
E-M1 Mark II and 12-40mm F2.8 PRO
attached I took this shot (on a moving
boat!) at a 3/5sec shutter speed.
During a small hike with my little
family up north in Sweden, the
September air and ground was filled
(3) OM-D E-M10 |
M.Zuiko 14-42mm
F3.5-5.6 EZ
1/320s | F10 |
ISO 200
(4) OM-D E-M1
Mark II | M.Zuiko
12-40mm F2.8 PRO
1/320s | F4 |
ISO 500
(5) OM-D E-M10 |
M.Zuiko 14-42mm
F3.5-5.6 EZ
1/15s | F8 | ISO 200
5
33
Norway close to my mother-in-law’s (4). I
captured this on my OM-D E-M1 Mark
III and 12-40mm F2.8 PRO.
Has your photography changed
since travel restrictions have been
in place?
I’ve been doing more long exposure
photos, but I think that’s more a
symptom of the in-built ND filters in
the OM-D E-M1 Mark III, rather than
an effect of travel restrictions. I’ve
actually found myself with less time
on my own to experiment much at
all, unfortunately.
What is the first thing you would
like to photograph or a place you’d
like to visit when moving around
gets easier?
I had booked a trip to Svalbard, and
was supposed to leave the very week
the restrictions started. I had so much
excitement built up for that trip where

Paperturn flipbook