Friðgeir Helgason
Cover for Issue 253
Chicago
Issue 253 July 21, 2009

Born a fisherman's son on an island off the coast of Iceland, Friðgeir Helgason's life has been anything but ordinary. At the age of six, his family's home was destroyed in a volcanic eruption. As a high school student, he excelled on a national quiz show. The prize was a short trip to Europe presented by the Icelandic prime minister. Airplane ticket in hand, Friðgeir took a few days off from school, left, and never came back. In the years that followed, Friðgeir traveled the world before settling in New Orleans where he worked as a chef for some of the city's best restaurants. In 2004, his personal life collapsed, and he found himself living in a cardboard box on LA's Skid Row. After checking himself into the Midnight Mission, Friðgeir got his life back on track and studied cinematography at Los Angeles City College, which lead him to his true calling: photography.

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