Meet The Award-Winning Travel Photographer Who's Captivating The World

Winning the Society of American Travel Writers’ 2018 Travel Photographer of the Year Bill Muster Award is just the latest accolade for Lola Akinmade Åkerström, a former programmer who has become one of the most sought-after travel photographers in the world.

Award-winning travel photographer and writer Lola Akinmade Åkerström

Lola grew up in Nigeria before moving to Maryland in the US when she was 15. While she holds a Master’s Degree in Information Systems and worked as a GIS system architect early in her career, it was her love of geography, travel, photography, and writing that put her on a new path back in 2002.

Photo courtesy of Lola Akinmade Åkerström

“I’ve always loved to travel and have always been creative,” says Lola. “In 2002, I volunteered to work as a field journalist for the Eco Challenge Expedition Race in Fiji, and even though I didn’t have much experience, I went anyway. It made me realise that travelling, while taking images and writing, was something you could do as a career.”

“I was still working as a programmer,” explains Lola. “But the creative pull was growing – and I began to see that the images I was taking could stand on their own beyond the paintings I was creating from them. So I started exploring photography as an alternate medium. You will notice my photography is vivid with a lot of contrast – like oil paintings.”

Eight years ago Lola moved to Sweden and from there her work has taken off.

“Travel photography is a wonderful form of expression,” says Lola. “It’s about a sense of place and capturing the feelings and essence of that place. With shooting landscapes, it’s what I see and feel, revealing how I see the world. When photographing people, I show who they are, so I take adequate time to fully acknowledge them before taking an image. It’s their image, not mine, really.”

Lola writes and photographs for a number of well-known travel outlets, such as National Geographic and BBC, and has recently published a book about the Swedish word lagom: Lagom: The Swedish Secret of Living Well. It has been released in fifteen languages so far.

Her heart, though, remains in travel. Using her writing and photography skills, she tells the stories of the places and people she visits. Winning such a major award is an important milestone along a path she began long ago, when her drive to be creative took over her life.

“I’m really proud of the award,” says Lola. “It’s from an association I respect a great deal, and to win this in a competition with so many other great photographers feels wonderful.”

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.