CAPTURING NATURE’S GLORY

the captivating beauty of the natural world,

Originally from Sweden, award-winning nature and wildlife photographer Johan Siggesson’s relationship with the Maltese islands started over 20 years ago, when he came to Malta to study English. “I met a Maltese girl, who would eventually become my wife, and the rest is history,” he smiles, sharing his story from his home studio in Żurrieq.

His interest and passion for animals and the natural world goes back further still – to his childhood days in Sweden, where he would spend much of his time outdoors in nature when he wasn’t glued to the weekly nature programme on state television.

Reading for a bachelor’s degree in informatics, he studied graphic design, photography and 3D design before going on safari for the first time in 2012. “That’s when I really discovered wildlife photography,” he explains. Then, after being involved in the graphic design and travel sectors for a few years, he made the decision to pursue photography full time.

Since then, it’s taken him to some interesting places, though a soft spot for Africa, and the Savannah in particular, remains.

“I had long been fascinated by Africa, and since that first trip in 2012, I’ve been several times. Now, I go more regularly as a photography guide – so I get paid to go, which is great! This also has its limitations, because you can’t do exactly what you want, but it’s still a great position to be in,” he says, explaining that his passion lies in iconic animals like lions and elephants. “Photographing other animals, birds and insects is also nice, but that is where my true passion lies. My biggest source of income comes from selling my prints, and it is these iconic animals that garner the most interest –luckily, it matches what I want to do!”

Last year, his trips included Uganda, the Kalahari Desert and Japan, and this year, his next trip will be to Kenya, where he will go as a guide.

Speaking of his creative process, Johan explains that with wildlife photography, there are certain limitations, and you can’t set it up like you would a fashion shoot, for example. “You must do your research, and first figure out where to go, depending on what you want to photograph and how you want to photograph it. You must consider things like proximity to the animals, and the environment you’d like for the photos. Then, once you’re there, you can’t instruct animals what to do! You must try to predict it, figure out where the light is, and maximise your chances of getting the shot you want,” he says.

Yet with travel being intrinsic to his process, when COVID-19 ground everything to a halt in 2020, Johan needed to pivot. From this, a fascinating project was born: Where Wild Orchids Grow, an extensive photographic project on Maltese wild orchids which led to a large-scale coffee-table book.

Revealing how this came to fruition, Johan recalls, “I had plans to go on three or four trips that year, and they were all cancelled or postponed. I had never really worked on a project locally, so I decided to do something here, but didn’t know what the focus would be.”

After some research, he discovered and became fascinated by the fact that several orchids’ species grow wild in Malta. “I had lived here for half of my life, but up until that point, I had never heard about them. I bought a guidebook on the subject, and began to delve into it. Some of the orchids look very exotic, and I felt they would be great subject matter for a photography project,” he maintains, going on to learn that the first orchid of the season appears shortly after the first rains, but many are very rare and difficult to come by.

“I began reaching out to people on social media who could help guide me and point me in the right direction, and found a lot of help. I was even taken in person to specific sites were these orchids grow,” he recalls, admitting that it became somewhat of an obsession.

Speaking of the experience of photographing the flowers, and how it differed to his usual process, Johan reveals, “when I photograph animals, I generally do so out of a vehicle, so I set up and don’t move much. The animal is doing things, so I must catch that, but a flower doesn’t do anything, so I had to create different angles and make use of different equipment and lenses. I would go to the same plant on different days and times, in different light and weather conditions. In summer, when the sun is up early, I would be there at 4 or 5 o’clock in the morning, shoot for an hour or two until the light is too harsh, and then get home as the kids start to wake up! It was a very different experience.”

Finding some of the rarer orchids was also not an easy task. While many of them grow in several places across Malta, Pembroke, he says, is one of the best places to find orchids. “One of the most common ones, the Maltese Pyramidal Orchid, grows almost everywhere, in garigue areas. Some are extremely rare though, with only a few such plants across the islands, so you really need to know where to look.”

“I took photos of as many different orchids as I could during orchid season, which lasts from October till April or May. When I started, there were 36 known species of wild orchids, and another was rediscovered through this process, making up a total of 37,” he says.

After taking thousands of photos, he toyed with the idea of putting on an exhibition, until he decided to put together a book. With his graphic design background, he designed the book himself, had it printed and displayed it at the Malta Book Fair shortly after – bringing the project, which took about a year to complete, to fruition.

Johan’s plan is for this to be the first book in a series he’s calling Marvellous Malta, which will focus on the natural beauty that is all around us. Asked what his next chosen subject will be, the photographer smiles and admits, “I don’t know yet! Putting together a book of this kind is quite an undertaking, and I wanted to give the orchids book its time in the spotlight before embarking on the next project. I’ve been mulling over several subjects though, like wild rabbits, local trees and even seaside subjects, though all have their challenges, and I haven’t settled on one yet.” shots I ever took was taken with an entry level camera. It’s more about your way of thinking. Then, the more you practice, the more your talent grows.”

“Secondly, you don’t have to go to Africa or Southeast Asia or these exotic places… and that’s part of what I wanted to prove with the orchid book. You can create something good with wildlife and nature photography here in Malta too. So, you can be anywhere, you can have any type of gear, and the more into it you get, the more specialised you will become.”

As for what lies on the horizon for Johan, more solo trips will certainly be in his future. “I want to embark on more trips on my own so I can take unique pictures and focus on one thing for however long I want. In fact, my next trip to Kenya will be nine days dedicated solely to elephants,” he smiles, adding that he’s also looking forward to starting work on his second book, and continuing to showcase the natural beauty of the Maltese islands. Tracing his photographic journey, I ask him about the highlights thus far. Johan humbly attests, “photography is an artform, and I have participated in several competitions, some of them quite prestigious. I’ve done well in these over the years, and that feels good. I think it’s common among creative people to doubt themselves, so when you receive some small recognition, it gives you a boost. But, I have to say that my biggest reward is when someone buys one of my prints to hang on their wall. That’s the ultimate recognition to me.”

Imparting some advice to aspiring photographers, Johan makes a case for giving it a go. “First off, people often think that you need to have very expensive equipment, which is not necessarily true – it sometimes helps, but one of my favourite