Lucia in Carolina Rediviva

S:t Johannesgatan from the other direction

Another view of S:t Johannesgatan. Indeed, many are the bicyclists that roll over these cobblestones each day. Just to the left of where I'm standing is a fine café, Lyckan. Quite uniquely for a café in Uppsala, they offer home-made edibles, both of the sweet and lunchy kind.

Blogging from the air

Vättern and its island Visingsö just passed by the window. I'm posting this picture from a plane heading for London. We have wifi on board and it's free, as it should be. Good work, Norwegian!

S:t Johannesgatan and Google+

S:t Johannesgatan in September

Thanks to the advent of Google+, a whole new era of photography inspiration, motivation, learning and sharing has begun. At least for me. So, from now on, I will be posting mainly on Google+. But to there is no need to fear for the future of this blog, since Google appear to be integrating these services, as well as Picasa. What you post on G+ will most probably have an easy way of appearing on your blog, too. Interesting rumors on the subject suggest the brands Blogger and Picasa will be swallowed by G+.

I feel no apprehension to this, it is important to evolve with the times, and so must these information structures. The advantages of posting on G+ versus on a traditional blog are, when it comes to reaching out to the world, immense. The advantages of this blog is that it is a fixed, easy-to-find location and provides a more concise history of posts and comments. And a nice graphical framing and layout, why not :). So there are still reasons to hold on to it. Are you on Google+? Add me to your circles!

Sombre Sunday

This is the tranquil and still Sunday afternoon on the second day of October.

An Air of Autumn

Acorns and empty cupules on an oak by Ekoln.

Training Bus

This may seem like an ordinary bus, but it is part of a rescue scenario at the Uppsala firemen's training facility. Yes, it is resting on its roof.

Picture of the Day #6

Last night was smoke photography night. 

 I set this up in my kitchen, flash hitting the smoke from the side. 

 Two pictures composed side-by-side.

Picture of the Day #5

Due to the rainy days we're having, I'm posting a picture from the archive. This one was taken on July 19 of this year. It shows Uppsala's iconic belfry "Gunillaklockan" (Gunilla Bell). The bell was donated by Queen Gunilla in 1588 to the Castle's church, and it came to it's present position after the great fire of 1702 when most of the Castle, and the city, burned down. It rings every morning at 6 am and every evening at 9 pm.

Picture of the Day #4

Yesterday, I was standing by Flottsund bridge in southern Uppsala waiting for Hasse to pick me up, and examined the building, a former gas station, now a hair salon. Turning around, I noticed this flower, planted where one of the gas pumps once stood. Picture of the Day!

Picture of the Day #3

Linneanum, in the Botanical Garden. The original design by Olof Tempelman was revised by French architect Louis Jean Desprez on the request of Gustaf III. It was inaugurated in 1807, a hundred years after the birth of Linné. Along the sides one finds many trees growing in barrels, among them several laurels that were planted in the 18th century. Overlaid texture by Skeletal Mess.

Picture of the Day #2

Either these guys are some pretty reckless fishermen or they are biologists picking up fish for inspection. They are using an electric hoop to lure/paralyze the little swimmers. If anyone knows the specifics, please fill me in. Seems much more efficient than standing by the side with a rod. The water is about 15°C at the mo, in case you were wondering.

Picture of the Day #1

September is here, and I felt it's time to repeat last year's success - a picture every day of the month. It is simply a great motivator for photography. So enjoy this first picture - taken yesterday in University Park.

Studio Portraits

From Studio Portraits

Studio photography with Clara, Vanda, Cloudy and Johannes. It was the first time I worked in a studio by myself (but with excellent assistants), and setting the flashes and backgrounds felt unfamiliar at first, but we got the hang of it eventually. What is the key to a successful studio session? I believe it is important to get a good idea of what you want to achieve, before you start taking pictures.

Also, take the time to relax your model and yourself. Don't be afraid to pose and give commands to your model, if the pictures come out well, they will always be grateful. And it might be good to keep in mind that a lot of things can be done in Photoshop. For the first two pictures, I used overlaid textures by SkeletalMess. (The compression by Picasa Web Albums is, unfortunately, quite destructive to this kind of photos. Sorry.)

The Claremars

Friends of mine Björn and Linda Claremar became husband and wife on June 18th 2011 in Gamla Uppsala kyrka. Please enjoy the pics below.

Summer Trip

From Sommar 2011

Last week was spent in the spirit of the season - with family in nature's embrace, and visiting old friends. First stop was Finnerödja, in the region between the great lakes Vänern and Vättern, where Sweden's most southern wilderness lies, Tiveden National Park. When crossing these forests, one can easily picture the friars who, centuries ago, had to move through here on their way to the monastery in Vadstena on the far side of the Vättern.

The second part of the trip was spent in Göteborg, visiting my old neighborhood Lövgärdet. There is a special enchantment to this suburb, being the last outpost of the city and on the brink of a natural reserve. Thanks to Carlos', my former class mate, and his fiancée's wonderful hospitality, I thoroughly enjoyed being there. Their flat is almost identical to my old one, and in the same building, so it felt like coming home. But they are better interior decorators, so it was even better.

DVD Cover Design

The DVD of the musical is finally out, and I felt like sharing the cover design with you. It's made with photographs I've taken at different times. The only thing I've borrowed is the revolver. The DVD cover was printed in a limited edition of 50 copies.

To the Islands

What better way to spend a long weekend than on and surrounded by water? Thanks to today's modern transportations, reaching the outer rim of the Stockholm archipelago is a matter of a few hours on board. Out there, a pure and welcoming natural paradise awaits. We were lucky to arrive just before the great flux of vacationers, and shops and services still weren't open for the season. At the same time, it's hard to imagine how the boats could carry any more people than they did, being filled to the last corner! A great time, enjoy the pics!

Running for Life

Together with more than 10 000 people, we ran in the annual Blodomloppet, or Blood Circuit/Circulation. Despite a windy prelude, conditions were ideal when the start pistol fired and the contenders began flooding the track. Along the stretch, many spectators cheered on. An unexpected delight was the many musicians playing for us - a folk fiddler in traditional clothing, a complete brass band...

There were others toward the end, but by that time my focus was on the road. 10 kms takes its toll, and after crossing the line I was in need of some horizontal time... The best dressed in our team was Clara, who ran in the Argentinian colours. It was a great experience, and an inspiration to stay on the track. Thanks Jessica for the great photos and ground support!

Photos from Spain

From Spanien 2011

What better reason for a trip than the wedding of two good friends? We started out in Alicante, then travelled north to Altea where the wedding occurred, continued further to Valencia before returning to Sweden. It is an enchanting part of the world, with all its mountains and history.

The great gathering of friends from all around added to the experience and resulted in many laughs. The writing of our song to the bride and groom was a highlight, and the dancing to the oh-so quiet disco music. Thanks to all. Let's do it again! It's OK, we can rest a little first...

Recent Portraits

Spending the evening with Johannes at GHuben.

Pernille posing for the class in studio lighting at UFS (Uppsala Photographic Society)

Johannes sitting in a niche at Västgöta Nation.

Frida. Picture taken at UFS,

The studio lighting course I took at UFS turned out highly valuable. I'm now much more in-the-know about the do's and don't's of portrait photography, and especially lighting. I can warmly recommend taking the course.
Thanks to all the models!

Rising River

More Fyris river observations. I did this with my mobile camera and a video editor. I used Microsoft Live Movie Maker (cumbersome name), a pretty capable little program. I couldn't make a fade out in the end, though. And the program can only save your movie in Windows Media Video. But apart from that, it did the job. As you can see, the river is terribly high right now. It doesn't take much more before it spills over on some places. Not much we can do about it, though.

Celebrating the Bachelor

From Johannes Svensexa

Johannes thought he was going to Stockholm to meet up with Oscar, but it was all part of the plan. When he showed up at the station, we had him right where we wanted him. Clara's cooperation in walking slowly and suggesting detours on the way also made up for us being slightly rushed with the preparations. Johannes first assignment was to change into a student overall, reminiscing of his time as "teknolog". We all agreed it suited him really well. Next, he received a note with GPS coordinates. It was time for some geocaching! After a few kilometres' walk in the sunny but chilly day, we arrived at Uppsala's Gokart, and we got in an intense race of 8 minutes or 24 laps, to be precise. Because we were all wearing helmets and black overalls, the only one recognizable in the circuit was Johannes with his bright outfit.

Our next destination was Norreda Torp, a cabin not too far from the city with a scenic location by the lake. After settling in, which includes placing the beer on refrigeration, we clashed in a game of Kubb. It may have been the 2011 national debut of this game, since it is a summer game. The snow provided both possibilites, such as sturdy, half-buried wood blocks, and difficulties, such as sturdy, half-buried wood blocks. All this athleticism caused us to turn our attention to the dinner preparations, and the barbecue was fired up. Before we laid our heads down for the night we also enjoyed the sauna. Unfortunately, the lake was covered by a robust, impenetrable ice sheet so there was no chance of a refreshing/shocking dip. Thanks to all for the great time! Let's do it again sometime. After all, as Joakim once said, why wait for someone to get married to do this?

Spring (Beta)

After a heavy winter, I was becoming impatient. Spring was needed. Fyris river observations. Has risen from around 20 m3/sec to its average spring peak flow at 45 m3/sec, in a matter of days. I'm getting a feeling it won't have any problems reaching last year's high of 70 m3/sec, considering the amount of snow that we've had this winter. And perhaps beyond. The chance of a flood is rising every year.

The Orchids

Mother, presenting her thriving orchids with radiating pride.
Setup used for this photo: NIKKOR 50 mm@f/3,2 at 1/250 sec. SB-600 with Dörr Soft Pro.

Sculptured Ice

From Isfestival

After a period of contemplation, it's time for another post on the blog. One night about a week ago, I set out, dressed according to the -15°C outside, armed with the camera (no tripod needed with VR) to capture these ice sculptures, on display during the Uppsala Ice Festival. You always learn something new. This time, that these sculptures cast a very interesting light around them, so the photo should include the surroundings too. This winter has been really cold, and as a result, one has stayed more indoors. I made an exception for this, only for you, Dear Reader.

Less is More

Once in a while, technology takes a leap forward, leaving piles of older gadgets hopelessly behind. That happened quite some time ago, but I am just now catching up. I got an HTC Desire with an unlimited data transfer quota, which means I can remove the following things from my inventory; home phone handset, celular phone, iPod Touch, ADSL modem (!) and wireless router (but I will keep the last one for future needs). The Desire can handle all those things on its own, and more. The upgrade includes a few new abilites. Being able to call, chat or email a friend from the same device rings (hah!) true. Video and "photo"-capture at any time. (I wouldn't actually call it a camera.) And so many things that I never missed having, that are rapidly becoming essential. I'm just sorry for the generations to come, who will be utterly helpless in an "offline" situation. If you have any recommendations for Android Apps, I'm happy to hear them!