Rune Sonneville
What’s your name and where are you from / based?
My name is Rune Sonneville. I’m originally from Belgium, where I grew up surrounded by countryside. I now live in Ibiza, a place that feels like more than my second home. This special island continues to inspire me daily and keeps my creative mind moving.
Can you describe your practice in a few words?
I primarily work in analog photography, guided by both passion and presence. I mostly shoot for myself, for brands, or with other creative people. Its important for me when I take on a job, I need to feel connected to the person or the product, because without that connection the result will always feel incomplete. It is important to me when I take on a job.
What is your very first memory of holding or using a camera?
Since childhood I was searching for ways to capture fragments of my past. But it was after moving to Ibiza that something shifted. Holding a camera suddenly meant something more. It awakened emotions I had never felt so strongly, I now understood that images became a language for the inner landscapes I wanted to express.
If you could turn a memory into an image to hold on to and look at, what would it be?
My childhood. When I still moved through the world with the spirit of an inner child. Summers in Italy with my parents, whole days spent on a boat, or tranquil afternoons with horses in the stables. My life feels almost surreal, so I take photographs to look back on. Today life feels almost unreal. So many times I ask myself: is this really my life? The people, the places, the energy. I wish I could capture every day. I live so fully in the present, the memory I would want to hold is exactly this time of my life, so that when I am older I can remember these young years and feel them all over again.
You mainly work with film, which only reveals the image once it has been developed. Can you share a moment when a roll came back with something completely unexpected?
I once photographed M.P. for a creative fundraising project in support of Ibiza Horse Valley, where I sometimes volunteer. When the film came back, I was astonished. The colors, the atmosphere, the softness,it all felt almost dreamlike. I caught myself thinking: did I really take these?
What keeps you loyal to film when digital is considered faster and easier?
Digital is faster, cheaper, and easier; but film contains time. I found joy in waiting for the rolls to develop, reliving what I shot, and then experiencing the images again all over again it feels almost addictive. Digital encourages endless snapshots without reflection. Film asks you to pause, to choose carefully, to be present. For me, photography is more than taking pictures. It is the time you spend with yourself or with others, the shared experience, and the photograph is only a fragment of it. Film carries memory and nostalgia in a way that no digital device can translate. It keeps you present in the moment.
Are there certain moments or scenes you find yourself most interested in photographing?
Nature always calls me. I often find it when driving across Ibiza in my old car, on the way to meet someone, returning from work, or simply wandering. Many times I am alone. Something stirs in me, I stop, step outside, and capture the moment. That pause, that solitude, is sacred. I take photographs to preserve resonance, the way people, animals, landscapes, and fleeting moments move me from within. There is always a quiet voice saying: keep this. When I release the shutter the urge disappears, and for a moment I feel peace. Every corner of this island feels like a page from a fairytale, even in the rain. There is always magic.
In your Ibiza series, what drew you to photographing each specific location, and what effect do you hope presenting them as coordinates instead of titles have?
The series developed naturally. At first I photographed for myself, without any plan to share it publicly. People often assume living in Ibiza means constant parties, but what fascinates me are the quiet roads, hidden paths, and overlooked landscapes. Tourists often repeat the same party routines and never see this side of the island. I hope the coordinates encourage curiosity, discovery or even small adventures. A title fixes a place, Coordinates invite people to find their own story there.
What do you think people miss most about Ibiza when they only see it through nightlife and parties?
They miss the rocky roads in the north, the layers of pine trees, the barefoot walk to the sea, the cliffs you tackle before jumping into the sea, the taste of fresh fish that is caught on your doorstep. They miss the raw and authentic spirit of the island, the way it once was when people came here to escape reality rather than to bathe in extravagance.
If someone were to visit one of the coordinates, what do you hope they would notice that goes further than the image?
I hope they slow down, stand still, and allow themselves to feel. I hope they notice the space between sounds, the shift of light and air, the atmosphere that can never be captured in a phone image. If they carry that moment inside them, they can close their eyes back home and relive it completely.
Are there other places you’d like to create a series about to challenge the way people usually see them?
Earlier this year I spent three months in Morocco. I believe the country is often judged too quickly from the outside. I want to create an analog series located there to again show another perspective, one that reveals the beauty, the details, and the humanity often overlooked In Morocco.
Where can people find you?
I am currently exhibiting at In-Between Gallery in Dalt Vila, Ibiza, with my analog series Untitled Coordinates. More of my work can be seen on the gallery’s artist page at inbetweenibiza.com or on Instagram @rollsbyrune.
