The Wedding of Joakim and Gunilla

Two weeks ago, my friends Joakim and Gunilla joined in holy matrimony. The ceremony was held in a small church just outside Uppsala. Afterwards, the couple took a carriage to the bride´s fathers house, where the festivities continued. It is located on a small peninsula, and I, serving happily as event photographer, was able to take some pictures there with the lake in the background.
A very traditional Swedish arrangement in all its glory.

J & G Bröllop

Uppsala meets Concert Hall

After about a hundred years of debate, the city of Uppsala finally has its own concert hall. It´s been a long road, and many people have been opposed to the project, but now it´s there. An impressive structure, perhaps not beautiful, but striking. The large auditorium, with more than 1100 seats, is surrounded by a lobby with an incredible view of the city.
Unlike our neighbouring cities, Uppsala hasn´t had a venue built specifically for concerts, and visiting and local musicians have been referred to either a gym hall or the university aula. The later is really elegant, but more suited for ceremonies or lectures than music. Being so, it should interest anyone to experience their musical flavour in the new hall.
I hear the whole thing cost about €70 million. Money well spent.

Tall Ships in Stockholm

This weekend some of the largest sailing ships of the world moored in central Stockholm. They had come from all over the globe, from Malaysia to Mexico. It was a sight to behold, with the crews on deck, flags waving and a great number of curious bystanders along the quay. On Monday, these ships gather at the start line for the 2007 Tall Ships´ Races, just outside the capital´s archipelago, to compete in crossing the Baltic Sea between a series of ports.
One of the most notable guests was Sedov, the world´s largest sailing ship measuring 118 m from prow to stern. It carries more than a hundred naval students and has a quite interesting background. Built by Germany in 1921, she functioned as a cargo vessel between Australia and Europe until Russia seized it at the end of WW II. Much later, when she was visiting a French harbour in 2000, she was prevented to leave by the government since a Swiss firm claimed it as a token for a Russian debt. Russia, however, insisted the debt belonged to the Soviet Union, and furthermore that the ship isn´t property of the Russian state. A court ruled in favour of Russia. The story

Together with Ali, Johannes, Clara and Rahwa, we spent the evening sampling the atmosphere around these great ships and their crews.

Desktop Background

Give your computer screen a background that breathes summer. It´s tileable!
(Click the image, then right-click and choose Use as desktop background)

Summertimez

Johannes & Clara show they´re not afraid of the water or the blooming algea.
Strolling along Upplandsleden, I snapped these pictures.

As the Swedish summer is coming along, you won´t be needing this refreshing drink... A little try-out of the new cool materials available in mental ray for Maya. Yep, it´s 3D.

Gracias Adriana

A mi me impresiona lo mucho que hiciste con las gotas de la vida. Tu sabias aprovechar lo que otros no saben; las gotas de la vida. Un helecho lejos de las lluvias, lejos del sol, cerca de un tronco. En cuanto las tenias nunca lo dudaste, pasarlas a nosotros; las gotas de la vida.

Remembering my great-aunt Adriana who passed away recently. She was very kind and loving to me during my stay in Santiago and a great companion to my grandmother. In spite of being very weak the last years, she got on her feet as soon as she could in the morning to address the needs of the household. I will remember her stories and warm smiles.

Just when the caterpillar thought
the world was over,

it became a butterfly.

proverb

Small trip to a big place

For the feast of Midsummer Johannes, Clara and I boarded the train to the northernmost part of the country, Norrbotten. Since the Sun doesn´t set above the polar circle the trip, some 900 kms on railroad, is popular among tourists at this time of year. The same day extends over several weeks as there is no seam between sunset and sunrise. It´s a wonderful phenomenon, but makes it very hard to sleep.
During our stay, we managed to visit some of Johannes family and friends. Everyone was very welcoming and the mosquitos were not so ferocious. A highlight was the visit to Storforsen, one of Europe´s largest rapids.

Norrlandsresa

Did someone say HDR photography?

Have you ever taken a photo of a sunset and found the resulting image not looking the same? Or noticed how shadows in daylight become much darker on photos than to the eye?
These problems are due to the camera´s limited dynamic range, or ability to store light information. If the camera is set to record a bright motive, such as a sunset, the foreground will fall out of the dynamic scope and become underexposed. You may choose to adjust the camera for the foreground instead, most probably resulting in an overexposed sunset.
To solve this issue, you may want to create an HDR-image (High Dynamic Range). Simply shoot several pictures of the same motif (using a tripod), each photo differently exposed going from very dark to very bright. Load those pictures into a software of choice, Photomatrix for instance, and go ahead and generate your HDR. The program helps you extract the best exposed regions from every photo and merge them in one single image. The method is best applied to motifs where the difference in light intensity between light and dark areas is small to medium. If the difference is too great, the resulting image will look slightly unreal.

I´ve made a couple of examples to show how the final image relates to the different source images (Require Quicktime):



You can see the full size versions of these in my photo gallery.

Have fun with HDR!

Pictures from trip to England

England

The cliffs of Dover

This Saturday I went to Ashford to visit my friends Gunilla and Joakim for a few days. When I got there, they were in the middle of their daughter Maj's first birthday party. The baby and her toddler friends were engaged in different kinds of play, either sucking on paper tags or banging cuddle bears into the grass. They also had a ball bath to thrive in.
On Sunday, we travelled to the coast and experienced the white cliffs of Dover. We walked to a lighthouse, some 3 km along the quite scary chalk steeps. Maj was carried along on our backs, in "the best seat of the house" as a fellow visitor commented.

An English weekend

Someone once said
Travelling to another country is always a pleasure when you have someone to visit.

Cousin Francesca and her future husband Francesco.

Joakim and his daughter Maj.

More info to come.

The 18th-Century-Style Wedding

This morning, as I set out to do an errand downtown, it ocurred to me to bring the camera along. You never know when a good motive will show up, so it´s best to be prepared at all times.
Well, today those motives would be plenty.
I was strolling through University Park when a terrible thunder roared over my head. I looked up the hill, and there were two 7.5 cm caliber field cannons from 1903 firing in my general direction. Fortunately it was not an act of war, but salutation rounds that formed part of an academic ceremony. The Artillery Society of Jämtland who were carrying out the operation appeared in historic uniforms and chatted freely with curious spectators.
"Have you seen it now?", a few ladies could be heard saying to their husbands.

Next, I was fortunate to witness the beautiful newly wed couple as they emerged from the cathedral. In line with the ongoing Linnean celebrations, everything was performed in the spirit of the 1700´s including wardrobe, ceremony and dances. More pictures

Special guests

Marking the high point of the Linnean celebration in Uppsala, the Emperor of Japan and wife payed a visit. Here seen next to the King and Queen, and Princess Viktoria.

Welcome, dear nephew

This young fellow, who has yet to be named, was born in the first hours of the month of May and is now experiencing his first night at home with proud parents Martin and Lina. He measures 53 cm and weighs in at just over 4 kg.
We are all very impressed and delighted over his arrival, as well as of our new-won titles; grandmother, grandfather, aunt and uncle.

You will definitely see more of this cutie here in the future.

Academic birds

At spring time, a lot of young birds come to the University Park. They may have been persuaded by their parents or realized themselves the importance of higher studies. We´re talking about worm picking, nest building, aerodynamics and perhaps Swahili. A lot of these youngsters are focused on going abroad, so an exotic language might be of interest.

While the students enjoy the sweet life of University Park, their parents are constantly busy with their duties. They could ask themselves, "Why don´t we live in the forest? It´s much more relaxed and comfortable." But they don´t! They are distinguished birds, high-brow even, and appreciate the historic setting they live in.

But not all academic birds succeed. Some of them turn into doves, living entirely off government aid. Most turn into ducks and spend the rest of their days in a pond, where the Universe is clamped by everyday life. But a few select, fortunate birds, find a thermal that lifts them and gives them a bigger picture.

And some birds ... Nah, I think I´ll stop here :)

Mr Östros, I presume?

My workplace is one of Uppsala´s fastest growing companies, and some people higher up on the ladder are starting to notice us. So the other day, our former Minister for Industry and Trade (näringsminister) Thomas Östros stopped by for a cup of coffee and a look-see at the office. He was given the VIP tour and was quite amused by our showreel which to him covered a wide range of products; from liquors to astma medication. "It´s all the same to us", our CEO declared with a voice that meant business.
Previous to his visit, Mr Östros and his escorting fellow party members had been attending the local pizzeria at Ekeby Bruk. While seated, a few youngsters from the nearby school dropped in and spotted his face.
To the great amusement of the people in the restaurant, they asked him: "Hej! Aren´t you Pär Nuder?"

From our performance tonight in Vaksalakyrkan; singers and musicians.
The ensemble Pian´ e Forte played the following instruments: Baroque violin, tenor baroque recorder, baroque oboe, baroque bassoon, arch lute, cello and treble, tenor and bass voile da gamba.
Thanks to everyone who were there to hear us, including mother, father, Isabel, Martin, Lina (with enormous belly) and Johannes.

Friends: Svenne

The first to appear in my series of friend portraits is Sven-Erik, more commonly referred to as Svenne. Svenne was born and raised in Gävle (100 kms north of Uppsala), where he continues to live. He is a connoisseur of film, fine drinks and oriental faith. A devoted graphical artist that expresses himself in photography, computer art or programming code. More specifically, he works as a Flash developer. He is also a really nice guy.
One of his qualities is taking a joke he just heard and give it an additional twist, which may or may not be suitable for sensitive listeners. It´s a really good "ice breaker" at parties when the conversation gets stuck on an unexciting level. When applied, we laugh at first and then conclude we mustn´t elaborate any further.

We got to know each other when attending the same program at the university of Gävle, namely Creative Programming. There, we joined forces on several student projects. Also, Svenne and I were cast in a short film by some fellow classmates, "X-Team: The Legend of the Indian Scrolls". The third protagonist was our mutual friend Hannah, which I will cover in an upcoming episode.

Svenne came down to visit this weekend for a much needed mini-vacation and we strolled around Uppsala in a disorderly fashion. On Saturday night, we joined Gunilla´s 25th birthday party and had a lot of fun chatting with her nice friends.
Svenne is really nice to be around, not hard to please and never with a picky sense of humour.

Links of interest

• Svenne´s portfolio: The Collected
• Svenne´s blog: Cg and general loathing

A protest march in central Uppsala in support of Kurdistan and the imprisoned leader Öcalan. I was strolling by and captured a glimpse. Also took some other pictures.

New Section

On the right hand side, I will be posting the dates and locations of upcoming concerts where I participate. This way, you´ll always know where to look for it.
Right now we are finalizing the rehearsals of Buxtehude´s largest work, Membra Jesu Nostri. This year marks the 300th since his death, and this particular piece will be performed in several cities in Sweden to celebrate this.
Membra Jesu Nostri is divided into various sections that deal with each part, or member, of the body of Christ as he hangs on the cross. Beginning with the feet - "Behold, the evangelic feet over the mountains", then his knees - "I will carry you on my lap", to the dramatic and intriguing "Quid sunt plagae istae, in medio manuum tuarum" - "What wounds are these, in the palm of your hands?". The last part is devoted to his face.
It is wonderful music, so come and listen!

Hello Mr Sunshine

Spring is here! Set loose the energy you´ve stored inside during the dark, cold months!

Small things that give you pleasure this week: Feeling the bike handles without gloves, the smell of old, murky grass, ducks with one thing on their mind and optimistic people who dress way to moderately and will probably get a cold.

Piano Music

I´ve always enjoyed playing piano and composing my own little tunes. When I was younger I used to play quite a lot, since we had a piano at home. At school, I managed to get a key so I could sneak in and play on the Steinway vertical piano in the auditorium. It was really nice to flee from the loud hallways now and then.

One day I asked Martin to help me record a cassette with my songs. I then sold it (!) to my friends at school.

Since then, 10 years have passed, and a lot of things have changed. But not these songs, thanks to Martin and this cassette:

1. En stillsam stund (2:58)
   
2. Tangenter av ljus (4:18)
   
3. Segling (1:40)
   
4. I skogen
5. Hösten (3:35)
   
6. Svallvågor (4:44)
   

This time, they are free of charge ;)

Going down on the snow

Flash Video!

Isabel, Macarena and I went to the big slope close to mother´s house to have some winter fun. It´s been years since I did this and it was a lot of fun. We managed to get some video and photos of the action for your enjoyment.

Fresh views

Macarena and I decided to do something different last week, and boarded a flight to Italy.
Sculptures, galleries and general strolling around was on our mind. And especially, an opportunity to visit Hannah in Siena and my dear aunt Maria Gabriela and Marco in Rome.
The visit was divided in two sections; first three days in Tuscany and then three days in urbs aeterna.
After spending the night at a central hostel in Rome, we got on the train to Siena. On the way we chatted with a young man, Toni from Piacenza, about various themes and I found myself impressed by the openness and generosity of italian train passengers.
The landscape shifted as we travelled north and soon started to resemble the Tuscany that we know from so many paintings. Before long we were stepping through the narrow, winding streets of Siena. This city has a completely intact medieval city centre, which means that cars have not been given any extra space. Practically every street is pedestrian, where cars proceed shyly and inobtrusively. Taxis, however, seem to think they are ambulances on urgent mission.
We were received by my dear friend Hannah, who´s studying there this year, and we stayed in her lovely apartment. It has a really interesting design, and clearly predates IKEA by many centuries. The windows offer a view of the hills beyond the city walls. It was a very nice encounter, and luckily we could all understand each other in Italian.
The next day we proceeded to visit Pisa, the city with the emblematic angled structure. On the way we had to switch trains in Empoli, and had just enough time to do two things; get a haircut (Macarena) and do some general strolling around (me). When we arrived, the day was fantastic and, inspired by the tower, we leaned against a stone wall, basking in the sun. We resisted to take the "Look, I´m holding up the tower!"-picture.
Next day was Florence; home of great works of art, romantic bridges, coffee shops, and 50 tourists in your field of view at any given time. We took refuge in Cappelle Medicee, where members of the Medici family are buried. In the crypt, Lorenzo´s and Giuliano´s tombs face each other. Two sculptures adorn each sarcofagus - Day and Night on one side, Dusk and Dawn on the other. Sculpted by Michelangelo. What a way to rest in peace.
After these days we returned to Rome. Maria Gabriela and Marco were just returning from their stay in Chile and were kind enough to invite us to dinner despite having travelled for the past 24-hours. We stayed in the apartment of my cousin Francesca, and sent her many warm thoughts. - You have a very nice place!

Well, Rome is a wonderful city with a lifetime´s worth of sightseeing. And funny things can happen - As we were leaving the Vatican, crossing St. Peter's square, Maca recognized someone. It was Father Errazuriz, Cardinal of Chile, engaged in a dialogue with a fellow Vatican citizen. Politely we asked to have a picture taken with this distinguished gentleman, who gave us a very warm and welcoming response.

Thanks to Hannah for being with us for a few days and harboring our souls under your roof.
And a big hug for Maria Gabriela and Marco who treated us with delicious food and company.

Italia