Lapland, Northern Sweden - The Musher (Shot in Feb 2023)
The Musher - Shot in Lapland, Sweden in February 2023, this photo essay explores the deeper connection and relationship between the musher, his dogs and home. The focus was to look beyond the conventional imagery and approach to mushing and to focus on the intricate moments of connection and bonding between the human and the pack. Whilst out on the tracks, I found this relationship is not one of separation of man and animal, yet an intuitive interaction between them both consisting of acute whistles, calls, constant communication and eye contact. The dogs run hard, continuously - Alongside the musher they become a flexible and fluid unit. The dogs show individual personalities and span age ranges, stronger members join smarter dogs, each placed into strategic alignment for maximum power and endurance. As a group they are simply born to run, and run stronger together.
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When harnesses are hung and the frantic energy subsides, instead of residing back to a bed of hay and their small individual huts steepled above the snow they are welcomed freely inside the cabin, to jostle for prime positions on the couch, for the warmest spot nearest the log burner or the thickest part of the frayed cabin rug. From one side of the wooden hut, I watched day to day as the musher embraced the dogs as they circled around the central structural pillar to the cabin. There is an unfolding relationship at play that reaches deeper than just a musher, his dogs and miles of wilderness trails shared together. There is a bond of respect, love and loyalty, not given to one single animal but the group as a whole.
