I was born in 1953 and grew up in Eidsvoll. For the past 36 years I have lived in Ski southeast of Oslo. I have a degree in nature and environmental conservation from Telemark district university. Today I work full-time as a photographer, writer and graphic designer. Until November 1999, I was employed as an information consultant at the Research Park in Ås. Before that, I was employed for 13 years at the Norwegian Institute for Forest Research (now Nibio) at Ås and earlier at the County Commissioner's environmental protection department in Buskerud. I started Grønvolds Bildebyrå in 1982 selling photos for books, magazines, calendars etc., but today I sell my photos through the photo agency  NTB Bilder. I am a member of Norske Naturfotografer (NN) - the association for professional Norwegian nature photographers, BioFoto, and the Norwegian Nonfiction Writers and Translators Association (NFF).

I have been photographing Norwegian nature for 50 years, since starting with black and white photography when I was in secondary school. I have therefore learned photography from the magic of the darkroom, via medium format slides, to today's digital format. I photograph most things, but feel best in nature both in the forest, at the coast and in the mountains. Among photography friends, referred to as the "forest photographer", which also includes forestry images.

I have been the main editor, co-author and photographer for a number of "magnificent books" about mountains and mountain hiking. The books in the "hytte til hytte series" were published by Gyldendal Norsk Forlag in the period 1987 to 2001 and describe in detail hikes and nature experiences in our most famous mountain areas such as Jotunheimen, Hardangervidda, Rondane and Femundsmarka, Northwest Norway's mountain world and Skarvheimen. Three of the magnificent books were also published as guidebooks in a smaller format in 1998, by the same publisher.

After having illustrated a number of books in recent years (see Books), in 2008 I was co-author and photographer in the book Drammensvassdraget - fra fjell til fjord published by the publisher Tom & Tom.

Over the past 40 years, I have contributed images to a number of books, magazines, calendars, postcards, annual reports, organizational magazines, professional journals, etc. In addition to photo assignments, I do journalistic work and graphic design of books. I have designed about 25 books for the last 10 years.