Knut-Sverre Horn is a photographer and journalist based in Varanger, Norway. His work has won awards in Wildlife Photographer of the Year and Nature Photographer of the Year.
How did your career start?
I took an interest in birds when I was around four, saved money for my first binoculars at seven, got my first SLR at 12 and shot my first nature pictures for a national magazine at 15.
Since 2002, I’ve been an all-round news journalist with NRK, the public Norwegian broadcaster, and nature, climate and conservation stories are part of what I cover. I mainly shoot birds, but occasionally landscapes, insects, flowers and mammals.
Which of your images is most important to you?
My kittiwake image from Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021 is probably one of the weirdest pictures that has ever been awarded. Lots of people don’t get it at all. It serves as a reminder to try novel approaches and trust your own vision.
What’s been your most memorable wildlife shoot?
It was late May, and the ice was breaking on a lake here in Varanger (yes, I live at 70˚north). There was a synchronized mass hatching of chironomid midges, and the ensuing feeding frenzy included ruffs, phalaropes, a Temminck’s stint and a ruddy turnstone.
Clad in several layers of wool and down under my drysuit, I endured one and a half hours submerged in the freezing water, with only my head visible, in magnificent evening light.
What draws you to bird photography?
Birds have it all. They are beautiful, charismatic creatures that demonstrate a range of interesting behaviour. And they are fairly accessible – unlike most mammals, they don’t tend to hide away in the dark.
What’s been your hairiest shoot?
The hippo charging our small boat on the Chobe River in Botswana sure got the adrenaline flowing. Our guide did his best to assure us that we were not in any real danger, but he’s obliged to say that, right?
Any epic fails to share?
I was once a second too slow to realise that a peregrine falcon was heading for a ruff feeding on the beach right in front of me. But I don’t waste time brooding over such things – I just enjoy the experience.
Which species are on your bucket list?
I used to have a bucket list, but the constant longing took the joy out of my photography. I’m now happy to take 99 per cent of my pictures at home. That said, I wouldn’t mind spending time with the incredible Inca tern in South America...
What’s been your biggest challenge?
Trying to get decent underwater shots while snorkelling with guillemots. Boy, those birds are lightning-fast. I ended up using a polecam, which was not much easier, but I eventually got one fairly good image.
What’s the greatest discomfort you’ve had to endure?
Once, I sat in a hide from dawn till dusk, in -20˚C. I was waiting for sea eagles to visit the carcass of a harbour porpoise that had washed ashore. They never showed up.
What item would you not be without?
My drysuit. Wildlife photography is about access, and that often means getting down low in the mud or water. Once you don a drysuit, you are free to explore all those positions with very few constraints.
Any tips for budding photographers?
Spend some time in the field with experienced photographers. They can teach you a thousand tricks that are hard to learn from books or YouTube videos – how to spot and approach good subjects, for example, or about light and backgrounds.
Go all in with the gear you already own, in locations you can access on a regular basis. Getting to know a local hotspot and the habits of its wildlife will open up a whole world of possibilities. I’d rather see a splendid image of a house sparrow in the city than yet another terribly lit shot of Blakiston’s fish owl.
Follow Knut-Sverre Horn on Instagram.
- “We heard movement in the bushes and saw two large eyes. The smell of jaguar got stronger.” Wildlife photographer shares incredible encounter
- I finally managed to photograph Africa’s incredible wild dogs. These are my best shots
- “I spent hours picking them out of my toes.” Wildlife photographer stumbles into huge pepper tick nest in Kenya
- “I camera-trapped the Congo jungle for a year. These are my best photos”
