Lola A. Åkerström takes you through one of Stockholm’s most anticipated autumn expos – Fotomässan.
All photos by author.
Over three days (Friday through Sunday), Stockholm’s Fotomässan (Photo Fair) is the largest of its kind in Scandinavia and it brings out thousands of photographers, both amateur and professional, to check out some of the latest photographic gear in the industry as well as listen to presentations and quick tutorials by both Swedish and international photographers.
The first Fotomässan launched in 2006 with 7, 000 visitors. Ten years later and its attendance has grown to approximately 12,000 visitors.
Held at Stockholmmässan in Älvsjö which is a quick 15 minute train ride from T-Centralen, the photo fair is a mix of vendors pushing their latest cameras, lenses, and accessories, coupled with local photographers displaying work in curated galleries and three live stages where speeches and demonstrations were being held covering everything from fashion photography and lighting to photo editing and video skills.
One of the vendors on display this year was Sony which debuted a new Sony RXiR camera which also had a cameo in the new Bond movie, Spectre.
Founded in 1952 as the Stockholm Leica Club initially, the Stockholm Fotoklubb was initially an association exclusive to photographers with Leica cameras. After changing its name in 2008 to be more inclusive, the club is a regular at Fotomässan where members display their photography and club administrations share information about joining the community.
Fashion and portrait photographer Andrea Belluso ran several light shaping sessions where he taught the crowd of photographers how to drastically change the light in an image by simply changing the light shaping tools on your flash. He visually answered questions like how to create effective shading in photos and to change the light in the picture dramatically by just moving the light source.
My favorite presentation was from National Geographic Explorer and photographer Martin Edström who gave an engrossing 360-degree presentation from Son Doong – the world’s largest cave discovered in Vietnam. His interactive project funded by a National Geographic Explorers’ Grant is online and you can panoramically travel through the caves by just moving your cursor.
Overall, I enjoyed milling through the displays, checking out how photographers and their individual styles have been evolving, as well as brainstorming ideas and ways I can actively be a part of the fair next year.
