3 May 1944, is a Swedish photographer. Born in Solna, near Stockholm, he studied at Christer Strömholm’s photography school between 1966 and 1968, becoming associated with the subjective and personal approach to photography developed around the group later known as “The Stockholm School.” (en.wikipedia.org)

He first gained wider recognition through the project Café Lehmitz, photographed between 1967 and 1970 in a bar in Hamburg frequented by workers, sex workers, sailors, and people living on the margins of society. The work was later published as the photobook Café Lehmitz (1978), which became one of the most influential European photobooks of the period. His photographs are characterized by close physical proximity to his subjects, direct flash, grainy black-and-white printing, and an autobiographical, emotionally engaged approach. (en.wikipedia.org)

From the 1970s onward, he produced numerous long-term series and photobooks focused on prisons, psychiatric institutions, cities, and everyday encounters. Publications such as Fängelse (1984), Rågång till kärleken (1991), Ingen har sett allt (1995), Close Distance (2002), Du mich auch (2012), and City Diary (2018) form a central part of his practice. The photobook has remained one of his primary formats, with sequencing and editing playing a major role in the presentation of his work. (en.wikipedia.org)

Alongside his photographic work, he has taught internationally and influenced several generations of photographers through workshops and education. His photographs have been widely exhibited and are held in major museum collections including Moderna Museet in Stockholm, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. (en.wikipedia.org)

Reference
Biography text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), English edition. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders_Petersen_(photographer)