When I contact Martin Soderqvist, he’s in rather a different environment than I expect – there are children in the background equally interested in his attention. He’s on domestic duties at home in Sweden – just outside Gothenburg in fact – but nevertheless very much considering his global winter appointments that he will undertake shortly. The last two years have taken in Valle Spluga among his travels. And as you’ll discover our upper valley was very much appreciated.
Martin’s 32 and passionate about both photography – he’s been shooting photos professionally since he founded his own company in 2003 having completed his photographic education at the Speos Institute in Paris - and skiing. And it’s free skiing which is very much his forte - in every sense. His company specialises in precisely that type of photography and he is a major contributor to winter sports magazines - often enough on the front cover. His work also involves having individual commercial clients for whom he provides the type of ‘lifestyle’ shots they’re looking for. “Skiing has always featured in my life – I started when I was just four years old” Martin enthuses “and I’m fortunate to be able to combine my work with my passion – as you might imagine it’s not everyone who can put their skis on and head for the upper mountains and call it work!”. So what exactly is he trying to capture on his outings? “It’s a question really of getting as close as possible both to the action – that of the person, the individual skier at speed – but at the same time not forgetting the immediacy of nature all around. If you can manage to incorporate both then the image should satisfy everyone.” It’s pretty clear talking to him that Martin’s art is akin to that of poetry – whether it be of motion or indeed that which is defined by the natural world. And the general aim? “I suppose essentially I’m trying to encourage everyone out there to become involved with this type of winter activity. Naturally I’m involved with my business – but there’s no reason why my work cannot act as a catalyst for people who are yet to head for the tops”.
And two-thirds of his photographic work revolves around catching people at speed flying down mountains, or ‘tree skiing’ through pinewoods hugging the valley sides. He will therefore spend anything between 80 and 100 days in winter ‘on location’. And that can mean anywhere in the world – at least anywhere with an abundance of snow. His next trip will be to St Anton in Austria – but he certainly hasn’t forgotten his last two visits to upper valley Spluga.
I ask why Madesimo in the first place. “I’m always looking for new places – searching for environments that can provide just the type of conditions I need – both personally and for the job. Valle Spluga does exactly that – there are high verticals, masses of snow – and having checked-out Madesimo on web-sites I certainly wasn’t disappointed when I got there. I first came two years ago, and then came back last January for what turned out to be the best week of the whole winter. Amazing mountains, really good snow – I had a fantastic few days – staying right at the heart of the little town”. Martin confirms that for him there’s a massive difference between capturing shots away from it all in the ‘natural and unpolluted wild’ and yet concedes that snow parks like the one in Madesimo are a fantastic learning ground and great fun challenging yourself performing spectacular free-style leaps and stunts.
Martin was indeed so taken by Milan’s ‘local’ piste that he kept a diary to accompany the photographic record of his stay. Troubles Blown Away is one of the headings he chooses to describe an exhilarating day at both work and play - a day’s outing in fact up to the
2948 metre peak of Pizzo Groppera, as he puts it ‘surrounded by knife-edge mountains’. A great deal of the day was photographing ‘powder-greedy free skiers’ on the camosci run. And as a colleague flies past at around 100km an hour he’s clicking away. Then it’s into
larch forest for ‘tree skiing’ which Martin describes as being ‘free skiing heaven’.

“The orange morning light was covering the surrounding peaks towards the Pizzo Groppera on the last day. The sky was crystal clear and the air mid-winterly cold.....”I don’t think there’s much doubt Martin will be back.