Photographing at Ground Level With Sweden.se

Photo + Video + Film Miscellaneous
by Lola (Akinmade) Åkerström Feb 1, 2011
Photography by Lola Akinmade-Åkerström

All photos courtesy of Lola Akinmade-Åkerström.

On Feb 1st, I start as the photoblogger for Sweden.se – the country’s official publicly-funded English-language website managed by the Swedish Institute.

While this site differs in mission from VisitSweden, the tourist board, Sweden.se is a public agency that “promotes interest and confidence in Sweden” globally by showcasing various aspects of the society through facts, culture, music, film, traditions, food, and a variety of topics, and is backed by various government departments and agencies.

The Challenge
Photography by Lola Akinmade-Åkerström

My role as photoblogger will be to show viewers daily life in Sweden by visually documenting it through ground level photography. In essence, I need to communicate a sense of place and lifestyle as transparently as possible through a series of 3-5 snapshots you won’t find in a glossy travel brochure, all the while “promoting interest and confidence in Sweden” abroad.

Here at Matador Network, we advocate ground level reporting using new media as well as teach it through our award-winning MatadorU courses. While in the past, we’ve focused heavily on travel writing, we’ve also been dialoging internally about bringing this same raw and honest coverage to photography.

Working with tourism boards and other agencies
Photography by Lola Akinmade-Åkerström

Developing mutually beneficial relationships with organizations within the travel industry is another way for writers and photographers to, not only provide high quality work and generate additional income, but to also advance the dialogue of travel blogging (writing and photography), moving these discussions beyond traditional travel clichés and the status quo.

So I am beyond stoked to be able to collaborate with Sweden.se in this manner for the next two months. If all goes well, I’ll be contributing a lot more. Matador Network

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