Research- Erik Johansson.

Erik Johansson,  is a professional photographer and retoucher from Sweden. He mostly works on personal- and commercial projects. For him  "photography is just a way to collect material to realize the ideas in his mind". He gets inspired by things around him in daily life and all kinds of things he sees. Every new project is a new challenge and his goal is to realize them as realistic as possible."

Tools: Canon EOS 5d mark II, Canon L-lenses, Elinchrom RX-flashes, Homebuilt-PC, Eizo displays, Adobe Photoshop CS5.

Instead of shying away, as some photographers do, from revealing the intense levels of Photoshop work done on the images he produces, Johansson is proud of the technique he has developed and says it is "somehow different from other kinds of art".

Having taken photographs “all [his] life” he developed a specialist design technique that tricks the eye and the brain. His work is humorous and playful, but can also be quite hard-hitting and political.

The Independent caught up with Johansson by phone, as he was eating his lunch at the university canteen in Gothenburg, Sweden. Matilda Battersby May 2010.

Who or what inspires you?

I get my inspiration from artists rather than photographers. MC Escher, Dali and Rene Magritte and other old fashioned artists mainly.
Work at sea


 Square.

I really like the humour behind some of the images that Erik creates and the realisum in the unrealistic, I like the way that the images are there for individual interpretation and that any one looking at he images could make a comment that would not be protested.
I found it really hard to date his works.