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!

Christmas Greetings

Merry Christmas to all of you! Here is this year's card, captured in the great outdoors.
There is also a second version with some down-hill action:

Friends & Celebrations

Jessica's birthday just passed and, traditionally, her friend Margit from NL came to visit. It was conveniently timed with Sta. Lucia, and they witnessed the procession in Carolina Rediviva (where I participated). In spite of their busy schedule, I managed to seize them for this photo.

Nyårskonserter Tvåtusenälva

Divine.
Foto: Hans Nilsson

Årets nyårskonsert med UAK repeteras för fullt!
På programmet står musik av Jean-Philippe Rameau och Henry Purcell. Som solister har vi bl a Divine, en trio som startat eget inom operabranschen och nu turnerar runt på olika scener.
Kören kommer även att framföra en koreografi som symboliserar solen och dess strålar. Det finns alltså all anledning att gå på detta, på nyårets första två dagar!
Biljetterna är uppdelade i tre kategorier (och placeringar): 275 kr, 200 kr, 100 kr. Om man går på den andra konserten så finns det mer plats och då kommer koreografin att sitta som bäst. Förköp ordnas enkelt. Välkomna!

New Early Music Website

Just from the oven, with a rich and golden aroma. Today we're publishing the new website for Englunds Tidig Musik (Englund's Early Music). On it you can read about upcoming concerts and music courses that they offer. I've been to their summer courses in Provence quite a few times, as you probably have read on this blog.

Apart from the new and refreshing design, the new website is very fast and light-weight. The editing is handled through CushyCMS and is incredibly easy. Differently from Joomla, for instance, this system doesn't obstruct you from designing the website as you want it, but only gives you tools to edit your code at the places you select. And it works!

Winter Wonderland

From Uppsala

Just a picture from this morning.

Alexander

The sunlight is retreating from these latitudes, setting the stage for the season of ice and snow. Unsuspectingly, the mallards of the swan pond waggle and splash around. The seasonal change is gradual and today is, at least to their memory, no different from other days. In their midst is the pond's only permanent resident, Alexander. He is, though dressed in white, a sombre swan and the regent of this miniature kingdom. Compensating for all the dignity lacking in his sloppy subjects, he steers through the water in a singular majesty. Singular, for his last "Queen", Fanny, past away in pneumonia three years ago. Since then, a new marriage has not been arranged, since wing clipping swans has become unethical. It seems he will be the last of his kind in the pond. And although he is always surrounded by his feathered companions, he might have asked himself - will I be remembered, or will I vanish from memory like seasons past?

Sacred Pearls

Stefan Parkman directing Uppsala Kammarorkester

You know those compilation CDs, where popular classical music has been ripped from its context and mixed together in a way no composer would have liked? Well, that's what Sunday's concert is all about. The program consists of excerpts from the following works: "Förklädd Gud" (God in Disguise) by Lars-Erik Larsson (thanks Magnus!), "Magnificat in D" and "St. John's Passion" by J S Bach, "Mass in c minor" and

"Requiem" by Mozart, and the finale is Händel's famous Hallelujah chorus where the audience will be invited to sing along - in the respective voices, of course. The audience will even be allowed to rehearse in separate rooms (bass, tenor, alto and soprano) in the break. The orchestra, Uppsala Kammarorkester, is truly well-sounding and to make music with them is a privilege. Don't miss this opportunity! Details on the side --->