APERTURE: F/3,2

SHUTTER SPEED: 1/180 SEC

CAMERA: HASSELBLAD X1D-50C

FOCAL LENGTH: 90MM (XCD 3,2/90)

© BJÖRN CEDER

WEEKLY WINNER

Björn Ceder

Jönköping, Sweden

What made you become the photographer you are today?

After 20 years working as an art director, I have picked up inspiration and techniques from leading photographers directing large shoots, including fashion, lifestyle and interior. Five years ago, I had enough of directing others and started to shoot professionally on my own. Photography is a passion beyond being work. It's my go-to medium since forever. Creating beauty in a world that is becoming more and more ugly is my contribution. Mixing my fashion and design background with other types of photography creates my unique look, for example trying to use grading and storytelling in travel and nature photography.

What does the X System camera do for your photography?

It makes it possible for me to deliver medium format quality and depth without bringing too much equipment. I can travel easily and reach remote locations.

Tell us the story behind how you created your image.

Two years ago, I spent my summer vacation in Canada where I flew to the Great Bear Rainforest from Port Hardy with a sea airplane. I wanted to explore the temperate rainforest and found this amazing floating lodge where you made daily bear excursions with guides. One early morning rowing through the river delta in this unique Canadian environment, we found this bald eagle guarding his territory. It was a truly majestic nature experience that the X1D helped me capture. All the people in the boat were using extreme telelenses to get really close to the animals but I wasn’t interested in photographing the animals this way. It’s in the context of the nature and the weather that makes the shot special. I ended up photographing bears, dolphins, eagles and other animals on this trip. When adjusting the focus of the X1D in this quiet surrounding, the minimal noise the camera makes is really rewarding, almost like cracking the code on a safe. You really experience the quality of the camera in the moment and it’s special when you end up with a shot like this.