Beyond The Crane took the opportunity to learn more about local photographer Michael Borring. From starting out, seeing shapes and forms everywhere, to continuing exploring new paths.
Photos: Michael Borring, Christian Skog (portraits of Michael)
BTC: Beyond The Crane MB: Michael Borring
BTC: What is it that you do?
MB: Right now, my days revolve around three things: my family, which takes up eight hours, my job as a medical technician, eight hours and then visual art, which never truly leaves me. It’s always there, in my thoughts around the clock.
At the turn of the year, I will leave my day job behind. Then, I’ll finally have the opportunity to fully focus on what’s closest to my heart: my family and my art. Visual art isn’t just something I do – it’s a part of how I experience the world.
BTC: How did it all start?
MB: I started early, at the age of 15 with an old Praktica camera, from East Germany if i remember correctly. I developed the photos at home in my parents’ bathroom, which doubled as a darkroom. After high school, I went on to photography school in Malmö, where I studied for two years. It was still the analog era, and that way of thinking analog has stayed with me throughout life. In fact, it took many years before I even began working digitally.
Later, I continued my studies in Lund, where I studied art history with a focus on photography. During that time, I had an exhibition that received great reviews, and that led to me being asked to work as a freelance photographer – an offer I accepted. I worked as a freelance photographer for several years, but eventually I felt artistically drained and a bit lost. That’s when I took a day job, started a family, and began studying painting at an art school.
But I soon realized that painting wasn’t my path. It wasn’t where I belonged. My path has always been – and still is photography. Since finding my way back to it, I’ve been completely immersed. And the beautiful thing is that now I do it on my own terms. No rules. No one telling me how to express myself. Just me, the camera, and the world I see through it.
MB: I don’t think it’s really about photography itself, or any particular form of expression. It’s more about a kind of emptiness I’ve carried with me since childhood a void I’ve always felt the need to fill. For me, creative expression has become a way to do that. And in my case, that expression has taken shape through photography.
BTC: What does your process usually look like?
MB: It’s actually quite simple. I leave the house with my camera. I’ve noticed that I try to stay as receptive as possible – open to color, form, and everything around me. And then I just let my instincts lead the way.
BTC: How do you know when a piece or project is finished?
MB: I don’t work in projects – at least not at the moment, but I’m open to the idea in the future. My way of thinking is more like painting. I’m a daydreamer who sees the world in images, like arranging a dollhouse. I use what I see around me and let people become extras in the scenes I create.
MB: I’m not really sure… things turn out the way they turn out. I follow my feelings, and sometimes I try to take new paths, explore something different. But when I later go through the images, I always see something familiar there. A kind of recurring language – a thread that runs through everything I do, whether I’m aware of it or not. It’s as if the visual expression finds its way back to itself, again and again. Maybe that’s my visual language – something that’s always present in the background and colors the way I see.
BTC: What inspires you?
MB: I take in a lot of art – in all forms. Growing up i watched a lot of film: Fellini, Andrei Tarkovsky, Wim Wenders, film noir, and much more. Among photographers, I feel a strong connection to William Eggleston, Ernst Haas, and Lee Friedlander, but also to Japanese photography like Rinko Kawauchi. All of that gets mixed together in my mind and becomes a personal stew that influences how I see, think, and create.
BTC: What’s it like to be a creative person in Malmö?
MB: I really like Malmö, it’s become a multi-ethnic city with a kind of energy that didn’t exist when I was younger. I’m proud to call myself a “Malmöit”. I travel a lot around the world and take photos. I’m very fond of big cities being an anonymous person drifting through a neverending pulse; but my roots are here, and this is my home; A place I never get tired of. I often move around in central Malmö, and another hobby of mine is sitting at cafés! It makes me move around in cities and see and photograph the pulse of the city and getting a cup of coffee at the same time.
MB: I’ll probably keep doing what I’ve always done. As long as I can move, I’ll be out wandering through cities. Now that I have more time, I want to try to exhibit more and publish my images in book form or zine.
BTC: Why do you still do what you do?
MB: I’ve always wondered that myself – I just can’t help it.
LEARN MORE
You can follow Michael’s latest work on Instagram at @michaelborring
Beyond The Crane took the opportunity to learn more about local photographer Michael Borring. From starting out, seeing shapes and forms everywhere, to continuing exploring new paths.
Photos: Michael Borring, Christian Skog (portraits of Michael)
BTC: Beyond The Crane MB: Michael Borring
BTC: What is it that you do?
MB: Right now, my days revolve around three things: my family, which takes up eight hours, my job as a medical technician, eight hours and then visual art, which never truly leaves me. It’s always there, in my thoughts around the clock.
At the turn of the year, I will leave my day job behind. Then, I’ll finally have the opportunity to fully focus on what’s closest to my heart: my family and my art. Visual art isn’t just something I do – it’s a part of how I experience the world.
BTC: How did it all start?
MB: I started early, at the age of 15 with an old Praktica camera, from East Germany if i remember correctly. I developed the photos at home in my parents’ bathroom, which doubled as a darkroom.
After high school, I went on to photography school in Malmö, where I studied for two years. It was still the analog era, and that way of thinking analog has stayed with me throughout life. In fact, it took many years before I even began working digitally.
Later, I continued my studies in Lund, where I studied art history with a focus on photography. During that time, I had an exhibition that received great reviews, and that led to me being asked to work as a freelance photographer – an offer I accepted. I worked as a freelance photographer for several years, but eventually I felt artistically drained and a bit lost. That’s when I took a day job, started a family, and began studying painting at an art school.
But I soon realized that painting wasn’t my path. It wasn’t where I belonged. My path has always been – and still is photography. Since finding my way back to it, I’ve been completely immersed.
And the beautiful thing is that now I do it on my own terms. No rules. No one telling me how to express myself. Just me, the camera, and the world I see through it.
BTC: Why do you do what you do?
MB: I don’t think it’s really about photography itself, or any particular form of expression. It’s more about a kind of emptiness I’ve carried with me since childhood a void I’ve always felt the need to fill. For me, creative expression has become a way to do that. And in my case, that expression has taken shape through photography.
BTC: What does your process usually look like?
MB: It’s actually quite simple. I leave the house with my camera. I’ve noticed that I try to stay as receptive as possible – open to color, form, and everything around me. And then I just let my instincts lead the way.
BTC: How do you know when a piece or project is finished?
MB: I don’t work in projects – at least not at the moment, but I’m open to the idea in the future.
My way of thinking is more like painting. I’m a daydreamer who sees the world in images, like arranging a dollhouse. I use what I see around me and let people become extras in the scenes I create.
BTC: How do you infuse yourself into your work?
MB: I’m not really sure… things turn out the way they turn out. I follow my feelings, and sometimes I try to take new paths, explore something different. But when I later go through the images, I always see something familiar there. A kind of recurring language – a thread that runs through everything I do, whether I’m aware of it or not. It’s as if the visual expression finds its way back to itself, again and again. Maybe that’s my visual language – something that’s always present in the background and colors the way I see.
BTC: What inspires you?
MB: I take in a lot of art – in all forms. Growing up i watched a lot of film: Fellini, Andrei Tarkovsky, Wim Wenders, film noir, and much more. Among photographers, I feel a strong connection to William Eggleston, Ernst Haas, and Lee Friedlander, but also to Japanese photography like Rinko Kawauchi. All of that gets mixed together in my mind and becomes a personal stew that influences how I see, think, and create.
BTC: What’s it like to be a creative person in Malmö?
MB: I really like Malmö, it’s become a multi-ethnic city with a kind of energy that didn’t exist when I was younger. I’m proud to call myself a “Malmöit”. I travel a lot around the world and take photos. I’m very fond of big cities being an anonymous person drifting through a neverending pulse; but my roots are here, and this is my home; A place I never get tired of. I often move around in central Malmö, and another hobby of mine is sitting at cafés! It makes me move around in cities and see and photograph the pulse of the city and getting a cup of coffee at the same time.
BTC: Looking ahead: Where are you going?
MB: I’ll probably keep doing what I’ve always done. As long as I can move, I’ll be out wandering through cities. Now that I have more time, I want to try to exhibit more and publish my images in book form or zine.
BTC: Why do you still do what you do?
MB: I’ve always wondered that myself – I just can’t help it.
LEARN MORE
You can follow Michael’s latest work on Instagram at @michaelborring
Also check out Michael’s flickr and his blog