Photos from trip to Denmark

DanmarkMay2009

To celebrate our choir conductor Gunnar´s 70th birthday we took a trip to Denmark. We were blessed with magnificent weather from the moment we stepped on the bus in Uppsala to the time of our return. The choir sang on two occasions; in the catholic church of Copenhagen and in mass in the Frederiksborg Palace. It was a nice escape for the weekend that delivered us many interesting things, among them the acquaintance with the Compenius organ (danish).

Photos from second visit to Serbia

From SerbiaMay2009

Martin, Dad and I had a great weekend in Belgrade, attending the wedding of Filippo and Zorana.

Friede auf Erden

This is from the concert we did in Falun some three weeks ago with UAK, one of Uppsala´s good choirs. Someone was kind enough to post their video of it on Youtube. I am in the back row, 6th from left, not visible from this angle. The music is by Arnold Schönberg, and quite difficult to sing (the work was actually dubbed "unsingable" when it first came out). It is rewarding at last, once you´ve made your way through it.

Who Let the Cows Out

A cow´s life... Pretty dull, right?
You´re wrong! In spring time they are let out to graze for the first time in many months and go euphoric.
Euphoria, once a year. More than most of us.

They chase each other around and engage in playful butting, such is their emotional revival. For us city dwellers, that are used to seeing cows as dots on a field it is an amusement, and we gather in the several hundreds on farms around the land.

Lina, Aron, Martin and me travelled in great comfort in their newly acquired car. Aron wasn´t very interested in the cows, but went through the roof when he found the farm´s tractor. These, and other service vehicles, lie close to his heart.

It was a rural experience that we shared with countless other people.

Lens Correction

Move your mouse over the image to see the lens correction in action.

Lens correction is a wonderful feature in Photoshop that can cancel the perspective caused by the tilting of your camera up-down or left-right. For instance, lines that converge towards the top can be made parallell, which generally looks much better. Lens correction can also diminish the effects of pincushion or barrel distorsion that become noticeable if shooting in wide-angle.

So, if you think the architecture on your pictures seems to be falling in on itself, remember this feature!

While this procedure will give you nice, straight lines, it will also crop your image somewhat. So whenever you are suspecting you might need to use it, don´t frame your subject too narrowly.

Aron turns 2

Aron 2 år

Aron threw a really nice party for his second birthday, and was lavished with new toys and books. Suddenly, everyone had babies! As if having decided collectively that the time of sweet, unresponsible living had passed.

A lovely day in company of family and friends.

Pictures from Valborg

Warm River

The warm embrace of spring sends hundreds of people to the river sides, to bake their pale limbs in the glowing sun, swinging them an inch over the glittering surface, greeting what was recently covered by ice - the river, pouring life into the city, is the natural attraction to the people at it´s sides in the warm embrace of spring.

Valentina, a lovely Easter Egg

The newest addition to the family, my niece Isabel Valentina, was at the centre of our admiration and affection this Easter. Today is her three week birthday! Her interests are sleeping, eating, crying and flapping her arms. She is quite charming as you can see. For more pictures, click here.

Choir singing

Members of the Uppsala Cathedral´s boys choir

Yesterday I went to hear one of the greatest works ever written, or so they say, the Vespers for Blessed Virgin Mary (1610) by Monteverdi. It was performed in the cathedral by the resident choirs, soloists and a broad line-up of instruments. Being there some forty-five minutes before the show, I managed to grab a seat on the third bench. The acoustics are rather unfavourable, so either you sit right up front or you´ll lose everything but the broad strokes, delivered in a blurry murmur.

Despite a weak choir, or so it sounded, the music was presented quite decently with many well-played and sung chords. I was not familiar with this work and tried to consume it as much as I could. But the audience´s experience is very different from the performer´s. As a performer, you have had months of preparation getting to know the music, finding your favourite parts and letting it mature within you. As a listener, you only get the end result, and must be much more absorbant, devoting more mental energy to the spectacle. A chorist can be pretty numb-minded through many rehearsals, but will still have a good sensation of the music´s essence on concert day. So, it is a short-cut to the inner circle. Requires more manual labour, though.

That´s enough ranting for now...

Bach Gem

There are some pieces by J. S. Bach that make me happy. Quite a lot of them actually. And then there are some that move me, and make me surrender unconditionally. It is hard to describe what they have, that gives them an added level of impact. But I can identify at least one of their qualities: 

Taking a concept further than expected. 

I think you know what I mean by this. For instance with Bach, when a musical idea; rythmic, melodic or otherwise, is presented various times in an ever-changing way, you are normally hinted by the composition of how far that presentation will stretch. And then, Bach takes it yet another step, in disregard of the rules that have been so carefully defined until then, sometimes even breaking out of the tonality.

The beauty of this, and perhaps of all music that we like, is that it communicates something. A bond is made between you and the composer´s mind. He´s talking to you in a language you didn´t know existed, but that you understand perfectly.

Like in this piece. Toccata in f# minor, Adagio (BWV 910) (played by yours truly)

My apologies to any Bach purists out there who (by all right) get upset by the liberties I´ve taken when I´ve isolated this adagio from the toccata it is found inside of.

Winter illusions

As is usual, February has struck with the winter´s heaviest of snow and cold. 

Fortunately, the city centre is better lit than ever, exposing its other self to the nocturnal flâneur. In the park next to the Museum of Uppland, a photo expo plays with your perceptions. The river´s ice cap erases the boundary between water and stone. 

Our surrounding world is indeed illusory.

Wedding in Quito

To my great fortune, a wedding took place the very same weekend I was visiting Quito.  It was my second cousin Francisco and his Daniela that took the vows in a beautiful ceremony in a small church. Afterwards, the party was held at the Marriott Hotel in grand style, with delicious food and dancing (to reggaeton). I was very happy to take part of this special occasion together with my Ecuatorian family. Francisco sent me this photo of us, and as you can see it was a handsome crowd. In the photo are Francisco´s four cousins, one friend and their significant others (if any). I am actually smiling, though it may not be so obvious.

Cantamás sings Monteverdi

My song group Cantamás is rehearsing for our upcoming Monteverdi concerts (see dates on the side -->). This year is special because we are celebrating our 10-year anniversary! It was in the summer of ´99 that me and Joakim (second from left) got to know each other, singing Spanish Golden Age music in Provence. We got the idea of taking the renassiance music to a smaller, and purely male, format. The group started out as a trio, grew to a quartet in 2003, and is now often employing Gunilla, Joakim´s spouse, as an added acoustic dimension. For this project we also have Madeleine, so that we can cover Monteverdi´s works for six voices. On basso continuo we have a solid line-up with Gunnar Englund, organ, Janne Johansson, arch lute and Björn Carlsson, cello.

The Napo river

From EcuadorOriente

A few hours into the jungle, the Cotopaxi has long since disappeared from the horizon, but it´s presence can still be seen. It is a source of the mighty Napo river that serpents through the rainforest on it´s way to Peru, eventually flowing into the Amazon.

Here, on either sides of the river lies the small indigenous village of Ahuano, where I spent two nights.

The tranquility of the village is contrasted by a feverish bird and insect activity at night. Together with the rushing waters of the river, they form a compact acoustic background. Walking in the forest, I was struck by how dark it is on the ground level. The tall trees steal the light high above our heads, but not without a price. Parasitic plants are in turn strangling the trees, and may leave the top part of a tree dead while the lower part continues to live. Other species cover their host completely, and eventually the original tree rots away, becoming a hollow space inside.

According to our guide Telmo, this particular region had been almost entirely cleared of animal life by the local people. However, the hunting of wild animals is not practiced anymore, and hopefully sometime in the future they will once again have monkeys, tapirs and cats there.

One of the amusements offered by the hotel was a ride on a raft tied together by the group itself. On the raft, we glided downstream, enjoying a rare lo-tech moment. Telmo told us about sailing several days downstream, where anacondas sunbathe on floating logs and uncontacted indian tribes retreat deeper to avoid an encounter with civilization.

At one point during our walks, we came very close to a group of tucans, where the male was singing to mark his territory. No matter how hard we tried we never managed to see them, but they were in the foliage in front of us... very near.

I also ate live ants, that tasted acid and could provide enough protein to sustain you for several days.

Oriental Ecuador turned out to be very intriguing.

EcuadorOriente

Oriental Ecuador

Heading east from Quito, it doesn´t take long before the road starts to climb the heights of the Andes. The engine roars hoarsely, starved on oxygen as the bus gains more and more altitude. Less and less trees populate the hillsides and before long the road is veiled in banks of clouds. Vultures glide statically above the barren land and cold air streams through the open windows. We are reaching the summit.

Well on the ridge of the mountain range a knuckled terrain partly occluded in clouds stretches out around us. An immense volcanic cone appears around a bend; a silent, unquestionable dominator.

Shortly, the descent on the far side begins, and the engine goes quiet, replaced by the suffering sound of the brakes. With such a steep and long inclination, the brakes must be handled with care or they will overheat and burst into flames.

All this time, a reggaeton beat drums from the bus speakers and a Sylvester Stallone collection DVD plays on the onboard tv-set.

Going down, the vegetation thickens and colors shift from brown and grey to green and yellow. Water pours from the hills, leaping hundreds of meters, flowing into the bustling river deep down on the valley floor. Sometimes, a breathtaking view of the lowland ahead opens up.

Down there, a few hours away, is Tena, the capital of this tropic region.

To be continued...

Ascending the Cotopaxi

Not far from Quito lies the majestic volcano of Cotopaxi, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. Reaching 5897 m above sea level, it is surpassed only by Llullaillaco and Ojos del Salado (Chile). It has had at least 50 eruptions in the last couple of centuries, with lava flows, pyroclastic clouds and melted ice rivers. In 1534, it erupted in the middle of a battle between Spaniards and Incas and forced both sides to flee. It´s name is in quichua and translates to Moon´s Neck, so called because the moon travels up the side of the volcanic cone when it rises, and ends up right on top of the summit, becoming the head of the volcano in the eyes of the natives.

Together with a guide, I set out to climb a part of this beautiful mountain. Our goal was to reach the first base camp at 4800 m, starting from the parking lot at 4600 m. This might sound easy, but this small climb normally takes 45 min to one hour, and means a lot of effort. We were in luck and the clouded summit sometimes exposed itself, with it´s glittering glacier.

After a tough walk with a constantly maxed pulse we reached the camp. Time: 40 mins. Though a small victory, it feels great. Feeling like a real andinist, you try to ignore that also grandmothers and children are lingering at the base camp, annoyingly unbothered by the climb.

We also strolled around a little to check out the lower folds of the glacier.

Cotopaxi

Equatorial Experiments

Shortly after arriving to Quito, my second cousin Xavier Donoso took me to see the monument called "La Mitad del Mundo" - Half of the world - erected in honour of the 19th century french expedition that established the location of the equatorial line. Around this monument, a number of small museums and exhibitions have been installed, mainly about Ecuador and the equator. However, some years ago, the US Navy conducted GPS measurements on the site and concluded that the line is not exactly where the monument was built but actually some 100 m further north. So, a clever gentleman purchased a bit of land where the real line passes, painted the stretch and is now conducting experiments for curious tourists, on and beside the equator.

One experiment deals with the direction in which water swirls. First, the guide put a sink right over the equator, poured water in it and pulled the plug. The water was drawn to the hole in a straight fashion, it didn´t swirl at all.

Next, the recipient was moved one meter to the south. Here, with the same procedure, and adding some small leaves to show the direction of the water, the water swirled clockw

ise. Repeating the same thing on the north side gave a counter-clockwise swirl! All the tourists and myself were witnesses of this.

The guide proceeded to show that our resistance is less on the

 equator. She asked for the strongest man of the group to lock his hands high and she would try to lower his hands. One meter to the north of the line, she had no way of pulling them down. Then, she asked the man to stand on the painted  line and again hold his hands locked high. This time, she would only use one hand. Effortlessly, she pressed his hands down, to the great surprise of the man and the group. Me and Xavier also tried this out, and the effect was the same.

The third thing was to try to walk heel-to-toe with your eyes shut. This proved incredibly difficult walking on the line. Apparently, there is a lateral force missing on the line, which confuses the brain.

Now, do you believe this?

Quito Slideshow

By the Napo river

I am in the little village of Ahuano by the Napo river in eastern Ecuador. Right now I have two boys beside me, apparently curious about what I am doing. I had written a rather nice text about the bus trip from Quito, crossing the Andes, and descending into the rain forest, but mistyped and managed to delete everything.. Tomorrow the are two excursions, one features a visit in an "actual" aboriginal home. I dodged the "swing-yourself-in-a-vine"-excursion...
The jungle is very cool. Stay tuned for more info and pictures.

Lines

I´ve made so many lines today, and long ones too, that it has tested my patience. And I consider myself a rather patient person. I arrived in good margin to the airport and found a rather long line to the check-in desk. To my delight, it grew considerably moments after I took my place, advancing my position closer to the goal, relatively speaking. But when I arrived to the counter, it turns out I had to go the info booth and get a paper ticket... which I didn´t get, so I had to go back again and so forth. 

But he who waits shall receive, and I´m now travelling the whole distance in Business Class.

More to come...

Flight Cancelled

Due to the fierce snowy weather that we´re having, a number of flights were delayed or cancelled today. Including mine. So, if things are better, I will take off tomorrow instead and stay overnight in Madrid before I can board the next available flight across the Atlantic.

On the car back home, Isabel saw the humour in the situation.

Packing for the trip

While the winter season has taken a firm grip of Uppsala and the wind whistles outside the window, I´m preparing for the trip to Ecuador and Chile beginning tomorrow. Naturally, I´m bringing the camera along. Stay tuned for updates.

Houseplant in bloom

The plants in my house, there are five, are of a varying vitality. One of them is a cause for serious concern, another that always had a happy face is showing early signs of stagnation, a couple are solidly indifferent to any kind of treatment and the last one is, for the first time in almost two years, blooming! 

Time passed between the pictures is 1 ½ years. As you can see it has grown quite a lot in this time.

Perhaps I could have the name for this plant?

Gmail Video Chat

Finally, an alternative to MSN Messenger and Skype for video conversations. Once more, Google is showing the way with a brilliant piece of web application.

Now you can make smileys with your face! There are endless possibilities!

Veggie lunch expectations

Armed with a 2 for 1-coupon, Johannes and me entered the vegetarian restaurant near the train station. It was a first-time visit for both of us. Normally, you´d expect the guests of a vegetarian restaurant to be calm, orderly folks, providing an ideal acoustic background to a relaxed conversation with the opposing face across the table. You would think that this kind of place wouldn´t have much drama or heated arguments going on. That´s just the kind of image that pops into your mind when you see the sign walking by.

Well, in this case, that was spot on. It was really tranquil in there. 

We were also expecting the food to be especially good and healthy, being served in a dedicated vegetarian restaurant and all. And it was.

But if there was anything that we didn´t see coming, it was the tray of tantalizing desserts, elegantly offered to us by the staff. No, seriously, we didn´t see it. Ever.

We were both very pleased with the experience, and how well it had complied with our expectations.

More sketching

I now possess a Wacom Tablet. It is a pad with a digital pen, much suited for drawing in Photoshop for instance. It can adjust the brush´s size and opacity according to the pressure applied.

This is how happy I am over this tool.

Autumnal Uppsala

This blog is not becoming a postcard blog, I promise.

The two ducks that you see gliding serenely over the water reflection above are actually two males in a temporarily disengaged quarrel. Left is a view rewarding the few who manage to tear their eyes off the sidewalk.

Silvia, Viktoria and the other guy

As I strolled back from the shops I happened to bump into some royals; the King Carl Gustaf (chatting with Tuulikki Koivonen Bylund), Queen Silvia and Princess Viktoria. (that ought to generate some hits...) They were participating in the annual church meeting in the cathedral. I didn´t have anything in particular to talk about with them, so I just said "Hi".

Night Photography

I set out to capture the cathedral´s new facade illumination on "film". The sky was cloudless and there was a promise for an interesting photo. My aim was to do multiple exposures and later generate an HDR image, capturing the whole dynamic range from spotlights to starry sky. Well, as I had rigged the tripod and was looking through the viewfinder, something seemed odd. The towers were somewhat blurry. In a matter of minutes a thick, moist fog had engulfed most of the city. Adjusting to the changed conditions, I focused on light effects from the fog.

As often is the case, the unexpected makes the best picture.

The Yellow Mile

Today was a beautiful late-summer day, perfect for a stroll in Mother Nature. We, and by that I mean Marco, Catty, Jessica, Carles, Johannes, Clara and me, set out southward and marched all the way down to the lake Ekoln, some 10 kms from the city centre following the so-called Yellow Trail. Marco and Catty actually joined at about 2/3 along the way, and refilled our draining energy supplies with hilarious remarks and gestures.

After some 3 ½ hours of walking, we arrived to the marina at Skarholmen and were able to enjoy some picknick in the sun.

I wish all August could´ve been this nice, shame on you August! But at least it went out in style.

The Dancing Masters

Gunilla asked me if I could do a photoshoot of her band, The Dancing Masters. They play "folk baroque" music in a very dance-friendly manner. A combination of sensitive instruments and heavy rain forced us to find cover under a roof. Fortunately, we found a nice place with these old stone stairs leading up to the cathedral.
Don´t forget to head over to their myspace for a listening.

TheDancingMasters

Congratulations Hanna and Andreas

A few weeks ago, Hanna and Andreas sealed the deal and I was there to capture the moment. It was a lovely ceremony just by the water in the outskirts of Stockholm. Thanks to Henrik for recommending me!

Swimming

Enjoying a bit of sun and swimming by the lake at Länna, outside of Uppsala, with Johannes, Clara, Jessica and Markos. Laying flat on the grassy beach, we played a very mind-wrestling game of chess. All of us furrowed our brows as the game was team-based. It was only necessary to straighten a few question marks, for instance; the Queen may not move like a Horse in special cases, and Pawns can´t go sideways. Apart from that, we could have easily been mistaken for expert players. To further impress any bystanders with our level of intellectualism, we also had a book with Rumi poetry and another titled "Introduction to Confucianism" laying around.
Oh, and in case you wondered, Marcos is wearing bathing shorts.

Also, if you haven´t seen them, check out some photos from my week in Provence.

Bargemon2008

The Spanish Job

About a week ago, I traveled down to the southern end of Spain on a job related mission. In my company I had a very skilled Swedish film photographer named Ulf, and our objective was to capture some procedures in the loading and unloading of cargo at the very large port of Algeciras. Also joining in were some Danish fellows who represented the company that owns the facilities down there. As you can see, they were rather large and probably as awe-inspiring to the Mediterraneans as once the Vikings. They could be observed standing on deck with their weight equally on both feet and gazing across the bay to the rock of Gibraltar, guarding the entrance to the landlocked ocean, as it were. One must presume that the photographer and I imposed a slightly less towering appearance.
I, in turn, was very impressed with the scale of the cranes that haul containers from deck to shore and vice versa.
Before returning home, me and Ulf had time to take a little detour to the hills and visit the charming city of Ronda, see album.

Algeciras

Andreas and Rebecka

Rebecka and Andreas tied the knot in the church of Gamla Uppsala and I helped out by snapping some pictures of them. It was a perfect day to formalise a relationship and the bride and groom were ravishing, so the ground work for a photographer was already laid. It´s hard to imagine a better way to spend an evening than this.

Congratulations!

Andreas & Rebecka