Q: Where are you from and where do you live now?
A: I’m from Hinna, but I live in Sola now, near a beach called Solastranden. I love this place – I can see the sunset over the ocean from my living room window.

Q: What is your current job?
A: I’m an advertising photographer, and I’ve been doing that for my whole career. I started my company 17 years ago and I still love my job as much as I did then.

Q: As a photographer, what are your aspirations?
A: In the future, I hope to work more with the things I’m passionate about – nature and the marine environment.

Q: What do you love about Rogaland?
A: Rogaland is amazing because it has both mountains and ocean. The landscape is very inspiring. You have the beautiful Jæren beaches with minimalistic views, and the mountains and the fjords that are so majestic and magnificent.

Q: Where is your favourite place in the region? What makes it your favourite?
A: My favourite place that I go to whenever I can is the sound around Askje/Åmøy. It’s beautiful under the water there – there are many different species and plenty of room for fishing, collecting scallops and taking photos. (I free-dive.)

Q: How did your interest in photography start? What type of photography gives you the most joy?
A: I’ve wanted to be a photographer since I was little. There’s something about capturing a moment, the light and the beauty of the world that fascinates me. Being a photographer is a continuous journey. I learn something new every day and no two days or assignments are the same. What gives me the most joy is to take photos of passionate people, or when I’m out taking photos and the light is just perfect. That’s very satisfying.

Q: What kind of gear do you use? Do you have a favourite lens?
A: Canon, Olympus for underwater photos and Mavic Pro 2 drone. My favourite lens is Canon’s fixed 50mm 1.2 because it’s very versatile.

Q: If you could photograph any person or place, who or what would you choose and why?
A: I would love to photograph whales for National Geographic. I find a certain calm under water that doesn’t exist on land, and when I meet large sea creatures, I feel a happiness that can’t be described. If I can also photograph them, it’s perfect.

Q: Out of all the places you’ve visited, which was your favourite?
A: It’s hard to choose one place, I love to travel. In Norway, there’s Engeløya in the north, where we usually go to free-dive and catch fish. When I travel abroad, I go to places where it’s nice to free-dive. The Comoros, a small archipelago between Mozambique and Madagascar, with the world’s largest lagoon or Phú Quoc island outside of Cambodia are some of the nicest places I’ve been.

Q: Is there a place you dream of visiting?
A: A dream destination of mine besides whales is Lofoten. It’s also a place with mountains rising from the sea, which is my favourite scenery.

Q: When did you feel you were most out of your comfort zone? What did you learn from that experience?
A: Five years ago, we were chased by a rhino in the jungle of India. We had to climb up a tree to save ourselves. That was definitely out of my comfort zone.

I’ve been out of my comfort zone many times when I travelled to India, Nepal and other non-Western countries. It was very valuable for me. These experiences taught me that the world and our emotions are much bigger than we think. In everyday life, I’m pretty much out of my comfort zone every time I fly a drone. I’m scared that it will crash, that someone will yell at me or that it will be attacked by birds.

Q: If you could have dinner with one person, past or present, who would it be? Why?
A: Mahatma Gandhi, because he had the wisdom that every leader and politician should have. I try to live by his ‘laws of life’ as best as I can and I would love to talk to him about world politics.

Q: Is there anything you would say to your former self?
A: Focus more on what makes you happy, forget about other people’s opinions and society’s expectations of you. I wish I had started with that earlier.