Canopy 2 by Mikael Pilstrand in a black frame on a grey wall beside a blue cushioned wooden armchair.
Photographer • Stockholm, Sweden

Mikael Pilstrand is a Swedish photographer with a long background in lifestyle, advertising, sports and portrait photography. Alongside his commercial work, he has developed a personal fine art practice centred on landscape, weather and the Swedish coastline.

In his series Vatten, Pilstrand turns his attention to a more rugged and less familiar side of coastal Sweden. The photographs are atmospheric and often dramatic, shaped by changing light, sea, wind and weather rather than the postcard image of the Scandinavian coast.

His experience from commercial photography is visible in the precision of the images, but the work itself is quieter and more personal. The sea becomes both subject and atmosphere, creating photographs that feel immediate, elemental and distinctly Nordic.

Works from the Vatten series are available as archival pigment prints through The PhotoGallery.life.

    Curated by The PhotoGallery

    Featured artwork

    A carefully curated selection of artworks chosen by The Photo Gallery to highlight Mikael Pilstrand’s most distinctive expressions. Each piece is selected for its visual impact, craftsmanship and ability to stand the test of time.

    A lone tall pine above a frost-covered forest canopy, Canopy 1 by Mikael Pilstrand, with a white border.
    Canopy 1 by Mikael Pilstrand in a black frame on a grey wall beside low benches beside a wall tap.
    Detail: A slender pine rising above frost-white treetops, by Mikael Pilstrand.
    Mikael Pilstrand

    Canopy 1

    From 3,500.00 kr
    A cable car suspended above a snowy wooded mountain valley, Gondola by Mikael Pilstrand, with a white border.
    Gondola by Mikael Pilstrand in a black frame on a grey wall beside a metal trolley holding an open book.
    Detail: A cable car above a deep blue shadowed valley and snowy trees, by Mikael Pilstrand.
    Mikael Pilstrand

    Gondola

    From 3,500.00 kr
    A colour portrait of Håkan Hellström leaning forward with light across one side of his face, Håkan Hellström 3 by Mikael Pilstrand, with a white border.
    Håkan Hellström 3 by Mikael Pilstrand in a black frame on a grey wall beside flowers and a brass candleholder.
    Detail: One brightly lit eye and cheek of Håkan Hellström beneath dark curls, by Mikael Pilstrand.
    Mikael Pilstrand

    Håkan Hellström 3

    From 3,500.00 kr
    Seabirds standing and flying around a rocky jetty with metal railings, Seagull by Mikael Pilstrand, with a white border.
    Seagull by Mikael Pilstrand in a black frame on a grey wall beside a blue cushioned wooden armchair.
    Detail: Seabirds on rock and in flight beside the jetty railing, by Mikael Pilstrand.
    Mikael Pilstrand

    Seagull

    From 3,500.00 kr

    Discover the world of Mikael Pilstrand

    Surf 1, Surf 2, Surf 3. Sky 1, Sky 2, Sky 3. Mikael Pilstrand numbers his pictures rather than naming them, which tells you most of what you need to know about the work: it is about the thing itself, not about what you are supposed to feel when you look at it.

    Water, mist, mountains, a seagull, a break in the swell. The series are built for walls where there is already enough going on.

    30 products
    Surfers carrying boards beside an overhanging rock crowded with spectators, Surf 4 by Mikael Pilstrand, with a white border.
    Surf 4 by Mikael Pilstrand in a black frame on a grey wall beside low benches beside a wall tap.
    Detail: Silhouetted spectators on a rock above surfers entering the water, by Mikael Pilstrand.
    Mikael Pilstrand

    Surf 4

    From 3,500.00 kr
    A distant surfer riding a sunlit wave above deep green foreground water, Surf 3 by Mikael Pilstrand, with a white border.
    Surf 3 by Mikael Pilstrand in a black frame on a grey wall beside two black chairs with woven seats.
    Detail: A backlit surfer above a green wave and bright spray, by Mikael Pilstrand.
    Mikael Pilstrand

    Surf 3

    From 3,500.00 kr
    A silhouetted surfer crouching amid bright spray beneath dramatic clouds, Surf 2 by Mikael Pilstrand, with a white border.
    Surf 2 by Mikael Pilstrand in a black frame on a grey wall beside a blue cushioned wooden armchair.
    Detail: A crouching surfer on a wave surrounded by backlit spray, by Mikael Pilstrand.
    Mikael Pilstrand

    Surf 2

    From 3,500.00 kr
    Two distant figures on a rocky shore above waves beneath dark storm clouds, Canopy 2 by Mikael Pilstrand, with a white border.
    Canopy 2 by Mikael Pilstrand in a black frame on a grey wall beside a blue cushioned wooden armchair.
    Detail: Two figures on a dark ridge beyond rippling sea beneath storm clouds, by Mikael Pilstrand.
    Mikael Pilstrand

    Canopy 2

    From 3,500.00 kr
    A surfer carrying a board along a wet marina jetty beside sailboats, Surf 1 by Mikael Pilstrand, with a white border.
    Surf 1 by Mikael Pilstrand in a black frame on a grey wall beside stacks of books on the floor.
    Detail: A surfer carrying a board past a sailboat towards sunlit spray, by Mikael Pilstrand.
    Mikael Pilstrand

    Surf 1

    From 3,500.00 kr
    A black-and-white skier silhouetted among rolling snow mounds and tracks, Water 5 by Mikael Pilstrand, with a white border.
    Water 5 by Mikael Pilstrand in a black frame on a grey wall beside a dark table with a sculptural candleholder.
    Detail: A skier crouching among sharply shadowed snow mounds, by Mikael Pilstrand.
    Mikael Pilstrand

    Water 5

    From 3,500.00 kr
    Golden-brown conifers among layered rocks disappearing into mist, Mist 1 by Mikael Pilstrand, with a white border.
    Mist 1 by Mikael Pilstrand in a black frame on a grey wall beside a black wooden armchair.
    Detail: Conifers and moss-covered rocks fading into white mist, by Mikael Pilstrand.
    Mikael Pilstrand

    Mist 1

    From 3,500.00 kr
    Snowy mountain peaks rising above a band of cloud beneath a blue-grey sky, Mountains 2 by Mikael Pilstrand, with a white border.
    Mountains 2 by Mikael Pilstrand in a black frame on a grey wall beside a black wooden armchair.
    Detail: Snowy peaks above a low bank of cloud, by Mikael Pilstrand.
    Mikael Pilstrand

    Mountains 2

    From 3,500.00 kr
    A small tree-covered island isolated in pale mist and still water, Silent 1 by Mikael Pilstrand, with a white border.
    Silent 1 by Mikael Pilstrand in a black frame on a grey wall beside a black wooden armchair.
    Detail: A low island with pale trees in featureless mist, by Mikael Pilstrand.
    Mikael Pilstrand

    Silent 1

    From 3,500.00 kr
    A lone tall pine above a frost-covered forest canopy, Canopy 1 by Mikael Pilstrand, with a white border.
    Canopy 1 by Mikael Pilstrand in a black frame on a grey wall beside low benches beside a wall tap.
    Detail: A slender pine rising above frost-white treetops, by Mikael Pilstrand.
    Mikael Pilstrand

    Canopy 1

    From 3,500.00 kr
    Seabirds standing and flying around a rocky jetty with metal railings, Seagull by Mikael Pilstrand, with a white border.
    Seagull by Mikael Pilstrand in a black frame on a grey wall beside a blue cushioned wooden armchair.
    Detail: Seabirds on rock and in flight beside the jetty railing, by Mikael Pilstrand.
    Mikael Pilstrand

    Seagull

    From 3,500.00 kr
    Low rolling waves beneath towering clouds lit from behind, Break 1 by Mikael Pilstrand, with a white border.
    Break 1 by Mikael Pilstrand in a black frame on a grey wall beside two black chairs with woven seats.
    Detail: A small wave beneath sunlit layered clouds, by Mikael Pilstrand.
    Mikael Pilstrand

    Break 1

    From 3,500.00 kr