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Magnus Reneflot
Magnus Reneflot is a nature photographer from Ski, Norway. His images convey a love of nature, stillness, and a deep respect for the Nordic environment.
Magnus is a curious photographer who is constantly on the lookout for new experiences. A treasure hunter searching for great unknown treasures, subjects he has never seen before, things that surprise, move, and give him new knowledge, insight, and inspiration to seek, observe, and create personal expressions.
Magnus is an honorary member of the Norwegian Nature Photographers’ Association and the Biofoto association in Norway. He is the founder and managing director of the Norwegian Nature Photo Festival in Ski.
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.
For Magnus, childhood treasure hunts fostered a lifelong curiosity about nature and a deep appreciation of friendship. Competitive instincts were there too and helped to spark a deep interest in birdwatching, which has undoubtedly gone on to shape his vision as a photographer. Employment within Norway’s Kodak lab gave Magnus a unique insight into nature photography trends and allowed him to form strong personal connections within the photography community.
The camera moved beyond being a tool to evidence Magnus’ avian finds. Drawing on the birdwatcher’s binocular view of nature and land, Magnus has developed a striking ability to translate a restricted field of view into abstract, expressive compositions. His book Skråblikk offers a fascinating insight not only into his technique of pairing images as diptychs but also into his capacity to isolate and photograph recurring patterns over time as he continues to seek hidden treasure.
To begin, can you share a little about yourself with readers? This might include where you grew up, your early interests, and subsequent career.
I grew up near the former main airport, Oslo Airport Fornebu, a few kilometres south of Oslo. I lived there with my parents and a sibling, a year older than me, in a terraced house. In my neighbourhood, there were plenty of children to spend time with and play with. It was a safe and wonderful place to grow up.
My interests weren’t particularly different from anyone else’s. We spent a lot of time in the countryside; I remember well how exciting it was to lie flat on our backs on the jetties, fishing for small smelt and crabs, and sometimes being lucky enough to hook a large eel.
Another exciting event was when we found fossils on a slope right near where we lived. We spent many days and weeks trying to find some complete trilobite fossils. We didn’t often find anything of note, but it became a treasure hunt, because we knew the possibilities were there and suddenly something unexpected would turn up.
When I think back on it today, I realise that these experiences and the excitement of studying what we discovered in the water and searching for fossils have almost certainly helped to spark my interest in nature.
Many of us also had small motorboats, which we used to get out to the many little islands off the coast of the airport, where we went swimming and had a great time.
In winter, we played in the snow; skiing and ice skating were the main activities. But it wasn’t just play for play’s sake; from an early age, it was also characterised by competition: who was best, who would win, and consequently who had the most status among the group of friends. I didn’t particularly excel in this regard.