Olof Jarlbro (born 10 July 1978 in Helsingborg, Sweden) is a Swedish photographer. At the age of 19 Olof made his military service as a Lapland Ranger (Lapland Ranger Regiment) in the most northern part of Sweden located some 150 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle in Lapland.
He started to photograph at the age of 20. At the age of 22 he moved to New York and studied photojournalism at Icp, international center of photography. At the year 2002 he went to Nepal, a place he consider a second home for almost a decade, covering the political situation and subjects which he calls” The one the west forgotten” Such as the stone factory, a place where women and children works at small stone mill. In 2006 he moved to Prague, Czech Republic for studies at Famu School of performing art, film and TV. He works for numerous magazines and are widely exhibit throughout Europe.
Sweden –
KT: How did you get into photography?
OJ: I think I was around 20 something and I went to Nepal for climbing, and I started to make pictures, and at one point I said to myself, “I want to become a photographer.”
KT: You have been mostly documenting regimes changes, conflict zones and political scenarios. How did you build this fascination?
OJ: I was always into the documentary photos but did not think I will end up shooting wars. It started in Nepal, I was there to photograph religious ceremonies, and the civil war was emerging, and I ended up photograph what was going on. In many ways, it felt like I was in the front row of history and it still does today…
KT: You have published five powerful books like ‘Refugee’, ‘Syria: The War Within’ and ‘Nepal:MAO’ and others. What do you like about photography in a book-format? How important is it to transform your photojournalistic work in a book?
OJ: For me, photo books have always been the best way to absorb photography. I have quite an extensive collection of photo books, and I love the intimacy a book gives, just turn the page and new world appears. Personally, it is a good way to have closure on a project together with exhibitions, lectures and so on.
KT: Your book ‘Syria: The War Within’ has body of work which was shot in 2012 when you entered the country illegally. Have you always taken such risks or was it because you had attained your compulsory military training and it made it easier for you to tackle the conflict zone situation?
OJ: I think most photographers and journalist working in Syria, especially in Aleppo did not expect anything like what we witnessed and experienced. During my time in Aleppo, it was so many close calls, which could have killed me, so I try to forget…When it comes to risk, I always try to minimize them, but yes, I do take risks in my work. Sure, I think some advances are being trained in an elite unit under very hard conditions. I have learned from the army, stuff like medical training, climbing, parachute jumping, survival and much more that could help one to cope in extreme environments. But having said all that, being a soldier defiantly doesn’t help you get great photos or let you involve in your body of work.
