The Erna and Victor Hasselblad Foundation is pleased to announce the third stipend for a nature photographer. This stipend is being made available in collaboration with the Vårgårda Photo Club, Sweden.
The purpose of the stipend, recalling Victor Hasselblad's interest in nature, is to promote nature photography in the Nordic region.

Tobias Dahlin - recipient of the 2012 nature photography stipend

Tobias Dahlin has been awarded the 2012 Hasselblad Foundation nature photography stipend for the sum of SEK 100,000 for his project idea: ”The Kattegatt and the Skagerakk – on beauty and environmental problems” (”Västerhavet - om skönhet och miljöproblem”).
Tobias Dahlin’s plan is to highlight both the beauty and the environmental degradation of the gulf of the North Sea that is made up of the Kattegatt and the Skagerakk.  He will photograph its environmental degeneration with a focus on overfishing. His aim is to have a book based on the project published in 2014. It is Dahlin’s aspiration that this book will expand the scope of Swedish nature photography. In the opinion of the Hasselblad Foundation Dahlin’s project on environmental degradation is highly relevant to the field of nature photography.

This is the third nature photography stipend to be awarded by the Erna and Victor Hasselblad Foundation. The stipend is granted in collaboration with the Vårgårda Photography Club. The aim of the stipend is to promote nature photography in the Nordic region, in the spirit of the great interest in nature of Victor Hasselblad.

Daniel Månsson - 2010 recipient

Daniel Månsson from Åkersberga has been selected to receive the 2010 Hasselblad Foundation stipend for nature photography. He has been awarded the sum of SEK 100,000 for his planned project, entitled "Waves".

In this project, Daniel Månsson aims to portray a world that is invisible to many people. Using an analog underwater camera,  and in a wetsuit and diving flippers, he takes photographs at the point of refraction of the surface of the water, where he captures the transient beauty of the wide seas and the waves, as reflected in Nordic light. Using this unusual perspective, he has previously immortalized surfers in the water and the adjacent landscapes in many places all over the world.   Daniel Månsson has refined his techniques and approaches over the past decade. "Waves" will be a continued deepening of this project in which he studies the seas.

The Hasselblad Foundation has selected him for his unique methods, his exciting project, and in recognition of his previous work, which conveys the magnificence and the magic of Nature. In awarding the 2010 nature photography stipend to Daniel Månsson, the Foundation strives to encourage nature photography and its development in the Nordic region. 

Marcus Elmerstad - 2008 recipient

Marcus Elmerstad from Stockholm has been awarded the 2008 stipend in nature photography. He received SEK 100,000 for his project The Pilgrim Road to Nidaros. Elmerstad plans to document the pilgrims' journey and encounter with the sacred in a poetic photo narrative that intertwines nature, faith and history. Elmerstad further develops his base in nature photography by including human presence in nature. He achieves this through a personal, clear imagery.

Karolina Tillman from Lindesberg has been awarded the Hasselblad Foundation's Honourable Mention and the sum of SEK 10,000 for her project Fairyland - Nordic Legends.

Application for the stipend in nature photography 2012

Applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of a Nordic country. The stipend is intended primarily for talented nature photographers, to be used to
finance or contribute to financing, a creative artistic or documentary nature photography project.

The project must be well-defined and limited, with a time span of approximately 1 - 3 years from start to completion.
When the projects are assessed, major emphasis will be placed on the creative level of the proposals. Priority will be given to younger applicants.

The sum of SEK 100,000 (approx EUR 10,000) will be awarded to a single recipient. Tax consequences are to be borne by the recipient.

The application and the portfolio must have been received by the Hasselblad Foundation no later than March 1, 2012.

Instructions for applicants

Application form