On an island in south Sweden, one photographer has been going viral for his incredibly well-balanced photographic compositions.
Pontus Jansson from Öland, an island off Sweden’s east coast in the Baltic Sea, started noticing stacks of rocks while scouting local beaches, and got inspired by this.
Attempting his first rock balancing act, the 36-year-old photographer “was hooked forever;” and he started capturing his masterpieces on camera along rocky shorelines or in green spaces in tranquil, shallow streams.
“For me it looked very simple and beautiful, so I started stacking some rocks here and there,” he told The Epoch Times. “I later tried new things and challenge myself and started practicing single point balances at home and when I was at the beach.”
He shared a few words about his process.
“I usually arrive at the area and take a walk looking for some cool and nice rocks, and a good spot for photography,” he said. “Once I have found some rocks to balance and a good spot, I play around with the rocks and let ideas come to me in the process. This is not always the case and sometimes I get ideas of designs when I am just daydreaming.”
Pontus keeps his eye open for small imperfections in the rocks; those imperfections provide the necessary friction to connect and stabilize the precarious rock arrangements—finding that delicate threat of balance, making them sometimes appear as if floating weightless in midair.
The time it takes to complete a composition varies from “a few minutes to many hours of work,” he said, adding: “I still love doing single point balances with just single rocks here and there. The majority of my work, though, takes 30–120 minutes.”
The effort has taught him to “be patient and not give up too easily,” he said.
“You can have some really bad days, you feel really bad at what you are doing,” Pontus added. “But the next day you can make one of your best works ever. The most important thing is to enjoy the process and that is what is going to keep the inspiration flowing.”
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