Search

Arild Heitmann

Arild Heitmann is a full time landscape photographer focusing on the simplicity found within the arctic regions.

arildheitmann.com

Michéla Griffith

In 2012 I paused by my local river and everything changed. I’ve moved away from what many expect photographs to be: my images deconstruct the literal and reimagine the subjective, reflecting the curiosity that water has inspired in my practice. Water has been my conduit: it has sharpened my vision, given me permission to experiment and continues to introduce me to new ways of seeing.

michelagriffith.com

I confess I’d overlooked the fact that Tim had reviewed Arild’s book ‘Heime’ in February but I got a decidedly positive reaction when I suggested that we interview him as one of our Featured Photographers. I’m going to cheekily borrow a little from Tim’s review, as it makes as good an intro as I could probably write:

“Arild Heitmann’s portfolio is not short of the sublime images that many photographers aim for (but mostly miss). He has many photographs drawn from trips to the mountains of Italy or Iceland or of the iconic Arctic hotspots of Lofoten or Sejna.

His book ‘Heime’ features the photographs he takes close to his home in Northern Norway and he has previously said that the area that he refers to as the Misty Mountains will likely provide him with a lifetime of inspiration. It’s doubtless a good place to retreat to after the business of tours for someone who admits he doesn’t like crowds.”

As well as talking about home, photography and books, we find out that Arild has a great passion for fishing and values the connections that photography has given him with fellow photographers across the world.

---

Would you like to start by telling readers a little about yourself – where you grew up, what your early interests were, and what that led you to do?

I basically grew up in the middle of nowhere, in Northern Norway, a tiny place in the woods with maybe 30 families scattered around.

Luckily we were 4 kids around the same age who would hang out together constantly;this was before any internet or cell phones, so all the fun we had to create ourselves. The only thing we had available was nature. No playgrounds, no stores, nothing really. So we spent all our time outside in the forest or in the mountains. Playing football in the summer, skiing in the winter, just doing all kinds of fun and looking back, some of the things we did I would never allow my own kids to try. It’s a miracle we didn’t get seriously hurt, it came close a few times.