Between 1964 and 1967 he studied photography at the Fotoskolan in Stockholm, where the photographer Christer Strömholm was head, at the same time as Anders Petersen.

The Swedish photo magazine Foto published Gustavsson's work in the 1960s.

After not working in photography for most of the 1970s, a feature in ETC magazine in 1983 revived Gustavsson's career and he went on to complete assignments in Belfast, Chicago, Reykjavik and New York for ETC.

[1] The critic Gerry Badger has said of Gustavsson's work that "it certainly is very post-war, deeply existential and luminously poetic.

And, like most good photography, it is a beguiling exploration of the human condition and our relationship with the world."