Where Elvis is still king

I guess I should explain a little about the subculture known as raggare (greasers or cruisers), in Sweden. It is people that love American cars from 1950s and 1960s. And everything else American from that era. Although there are of course also many raggare that drives a Swedish Volvo Amazon. Their preferred choice of music is rockabilly, and obviously Elvis Presley is the king. Every weekend they dress up and go for a cruise around their town. Or if it is summer they will drive to one of the big meets, like this one in Handen on Saturday. Raggare has been around since the 1950s. Back then it was more gang oriented, with fights between troublemakers from different cities and regions. These days everyone knows each other and the meetings are often big street festivals where you will find both the young and old as well as many families. I didn't count all the cars I saw at Vegabaren, it must have been a few hundred. The place was filled with Chevrolet Bel Airs, Crown Victorias, Thunderbird and De Soto Fireflites to name but a few. And the traffic came to a standstill every ten minutes or so, when someone decided it was his time to do a burn out! I have read somewhere that we import around 5000 classic cars from the US every year, and that there are now more restored 1950s cars in Sweden than in the US! More classic cars and people in the coming days.

Greaser Girl

For the last sixteen years there has been a big Greaser meet at Vegabaren in Handen. It's a great event. Greasers arrive from all over Sweden. In classy cars and in really trashy rides. There's usually a few bands playing, and some really interesting contests. Like best Greaser Girl. This is one of the contestants. She is The Girl With No Name. I stayed around for about four hours. Met a lot of people. Took around 300 photos. So you can expect to see a lot of pictures of classic cars and people who look like they are from the 1950s in the coming days. Or weeks...

Turbo&Tyson

It's tricky not to meet people at Gullringskärret in Jordbro. It's a popular nature reserve, and there's also a big ancient grave field here. I have shot quite a few portraits here. Both dog owners and horse back riders. And this time I met this quartet. This is Jossan and Sara. The dogs are called Turbo (Rottweiler/German Shepherd ), and Tyson (Amstaff). The dogs where probably more interested in the surroundings, and wanted the photo shoot to end as soon as possible. Tyson belongs to Sara's son. Sara and Jossan both live nearby in Jordbro and are friends through their respective families. Sara works in marketing, and also in day care. Jossan used to work in home care, but are now thinking about open a dog care centre, or Hunddagis as we like to call it in Swedish. After I uploaded this photo to flickr I met Micke again (The Family Man), and he told me that he knew Jossan, which isn't that surprising to me, as it really is a small world we live in.

Midday Entertainment

There was some entertainment at the official unveiling of Haninge's new Bookmobile at Poseidon's Square on Thursday. After a speech by local politician Michael Fridebäck (M), the Taxi Stand Steel Band lined up in front of the Cultural Centre and started playing, and they were great. As the Bookmobile is a library mostly for pre school kids, the clown and mime artist Bo W Lindström from Pantomimteatern put on a show for the younger people in the audience. There was some drama as the wind suddenly picked up during his performance and the set blew away, but as the seasoned pro he is he improvised and continued like nothing had happened. There was a lot of photographers around and as I always do I tried taking photos of all of them. As I was talking to the artist Kristoffer Zetterstrand, a woman came up to us. She turned out to be a journalist student and I figured she would be up for a portrait, but she quickly explained that she was more comfortable behind the camera.

To the Bookmobile!

This is the new book bus and mobile library in Haninge. The book bus is an artwork in itself, designed by the artist Kristoffer Zetterstrand whom I met today. He told me a little about his work. He started on this project back in February. He sometimes works in 3 D, and then often uses the Maya software for his art. After our short talk I asked him to pose for a few portraits. This summer he has had an art exhibition in the Cultural Centre here in Handen, a building that also houses the library. The artwork on the bus covers everything from classical books written in different languages, to modern day computer games. The big unveiling takes place today at Poseidon's Square in Handen. The bus will visit all the pre schools in Haninge and hopefully the kids will discover the joy of reading. It will also visit nursing homes and other facilities for the elderly and for the disabled. And I'm sure I could borrow a book there using my library card.

Money

Money is nothing. Money is everything. Money isn't everything. Everything isn't money. Money can preserve nature and landscapes.Money can destroy nature and landscapes. I choose to refuse. Be grateful for the nature that still exists.

(translation and interpretation from the original text by the artist made by me)

Karen Nordsø Lundberg


From the 2009 Art Promenade at the gallery in Österhaninge. This is my last photo from this years art promenade. I went back to the gallery over the weekend. I have previously met and photographed Karen, and when I talked to her on Sunday she wanted me to take a photo of one of her paintings in the show room, and mail that photo to her along with a version of the photo you see here which I have now done.

The Family Man

Looks can be deceiving. I've seen this guy a few times lately and figured I had to take his portrait some day. Easy to spot with those tattoos, earrings and piercings, and I figured him to be a tough guy, a biker or something like that. Boy was I wrong. This is Micke. He lives here in Haninge and works at a warehouse in Jordbro. He is in a relationship, and as we were talking his girlfriend called. Together they have eight kids between them! So Micke is a true family man. He used to go on many cruises with Cinderella, a ferry boat that goes between Stockholm and Mariehamn on Åland, known to be a real party boat. But with eight kids those days are long gone. Since I took this photo we have met again, and Micke told me that he used to work at a greenhouse nursery in Tungelsta, and that his dad used to live in a house at Näringsberg, the old estate with a murder story that I told you about earlier this summer.

The National Sea Rescue Society

Rescue Paul Lederhausen. That's the name of the boat on the top photo. Paul Lederhausen is a business man and when he turned 70 years old, his wife donated the money necessary to buy the boat, hence the name. I took this photo at Årsta Havsbad when the National Sea Rescue Society visited the Hårsfjärden Bay. The second photo shows the rescue runner, a specialized scooter that saves the man in the water. The non-governmental organisation has been active for more than 100 years. They don't get any government funding, but are still responsible for 70 per cent of all sea rescues in the country! They have around 1700 volunteers and some 160 rescue stations around Sweden. When they get a call after an accident or incident they are very quick to respond, and are usually on their way within fifteen minutes. If you would like to know more the society has some information available in English.

A Meeting at the Rondo

I saw this girl sitting at the tree bench reading a book and figured that to be a good photo opportunity. This is Carolin. She lives in Västerhaninge and was waiting for the commuter train. The book was a horrible auto biography about a young girl who after being raped ended up working as a prostitute. Perhaps not my idea of a light summer reading! Carolin is a student at C3J, the centre for life long learning in Tyresö. Her dream is to become a movie director. Acting is something she already enjoys. She is a member of RoJ, an amateur theatre group here in Haninge. The name comes from the initials from Romeo and Juliet, which was the first play that the group set up back in 1984. And if you are curious about the title of this photo check out this photo collage where you can see the artist who made the tree bench/artwork.

A Little Museum

Sven Wallander was a man with a vision. He was an architect and had a dream that the average worker in Stockholm should be able to enjoy a weeks vacation down by the coast. In 1929 that dream came true as four hundred summer houses like this one at the square at Årsta Havsbad were ready. As were the new roads to the seaside resort and the all the stores needed for the summer visitors. Another architect, Osvald Almqvist designed the houses that were built at a factory in Sparreholm. There were a few different models to choose from. They were all very small not bigger than 16 square meter. They were very basic and had no running water or indoor toilet. You could stay here for one week with your family. The cost was ten kronor. The first people that took advantage of this opportunity worked at the Dagens Nyheter, the big morning paper in Stockholm. Later some of the workers bought their own houses and many more were built. Today it's a different story. Many of the 800 houses have been rebuilt and redesigned and a number of people live here year round. Last weekend Årsta Havsbad celebrated 80 years and I decided to have a look in the museum at the square. This sports hut was donated by Sonja and Evert Jalke in 1999. It is today a museum and looks just like it did back in 1930 when it was built. All the furniture and home appliances in the hut are gifts from the locals. During my visit I met Richard Roosvall who showed me around. Instead of picking two or three photos I decided to use the flickr slideshow and I hope it works. So press the little arrow to start the slideshow.

The Smiling Accountant

I spotted a pretty girl out jogging in Jordbro a while back, so I decided to interrupt her exercise for a quick portrait and a few questions. And as you can see, that worked out just as I hoped. This is Lisa. She is an accountant. Working for a big company, although she didn't want to specify which one. She lives at Telefonplan in Stockholm. Lisa jogs to stay fit (and it looks like it is working), and she is also a frequent visitor to the gym. And she's got a great smile!

The Moment Before the Kiss

The annual Garden Rock Festival took place in Tungelsta over the weekend. Arranged by Musikcentralen (The Music Central). Musikcentralen is a house in the park where all the local bands can practice. The music central was started by some friends of mine back in the early eighties. My brother has been a member since the start. His latest band where supposed to play on Saturday but had to cancel. The music started early in the afternoon with some blues and a reggae session from the Clifftones. Around 500 people attended this year. I stayed for about one hour. The weather was great and I had a beer as I listened to the music and took some photos. This was the first photo I took in the park. A candid, I don't think they saw me, and who can blame them! The kissing couple are Mattias Lindberg and his girlfriend Ria Ferrer. Mattias plays guitar in the band Korova Station that performed in the early evening. By then I was back home, but as I live only 100 meters from the park it was like I was still there and I could hear every song.

Twopointeight

This is Fredrik and José. Two of four members in the punk band Twopointeight. I met them outside the Fredrika Bremer school in Handen a few days ago. It was while they were students here, in the mid 1990s, that they formed the band. Their self titled album was released in 2005. They told me that they had been rehearsing their new songs, and that they now were ready to go into a studio and record their forth coming album. If you want to know more, check out their MySpace site. And if you like what you hear, you can buy their debut album at Threeman Recordings. I read a review of the album where they were described as the Swedish version of Rancid.

World War II Torpedo Boat

This ship was built at Kockums in 1942. During WW II thousands of T 26 were used by the military in Great Britain and in the US. And also by the military in Italy, and Germany. It was a very advanced ship for it's time. Today it's a museum, and I got a chance to go aboard last Saturday when the 1st Marine Regiment at Berga, also known as the Amphibious Regiment showed some of their new and old vessels at Årsta Havsbad. And as you can see on the second photo I wasnt the only one interested! Climbing down the ladder and stepping into the machine room was very interesting. And warm! The officers that guided us around said that it was like a sauna down there on a hot day. The commanders bunk wasnt much bigger. All in all a very giving visit. I was told that this is the only remaining T56 in the world that is till in working order. Everything aboard the boat is still functional even all the equipment in the radio room.

A Man and his Art

This is Johnny Svensson. He is an artist and painter. I took this portrait last week at his studio. He lives in a former school building at Gålö. The school was built back in 1914 and belonged to the nearby Stegsholm farm. The school closed in 1968. Johnny has had a studio here behind the school since 1986. And he has lived here since 1997. He got his education from an art school in Stockholm at the Pernby School of Painting. He averages a couple of exhibitions every year, either at Dalarö here in Haninge, or at Fjäderholmarna in Stockholm. His watercolors often depicts local motives and I recognised quite a few familiar buildings, castles and even the S/V Ariel that I have shown you a photo of before. It was framed and hung on a wall, but Johnny kindly removed the glass and frame so that I could get a photo of his painting. After I had taken my photos we walked out into the garden where there were a few more paintings to look at. Finally we had a look inside the old class room that still has the traditional big windows. That room, which was very beautiful, is today the Svensson's living room. On my way out I noticed a painting of a naked woman (hard to miss I know). I didn't take a photo of it. It depicted an attractive young woman and Johnny informed me that it was a girlfriend from his youth.

Combat Boat 90

The 1st Marine Regiment at the Hårsfjärden Bay at Berga here in Haninge, also known as the Amphibious Regiment showed some of their vessels at Årsta Havsbad on Saturday. This is the Combat Boat 90. A fast and light-weight assault craft with twin water jets. It can perform sharp turns at high speed and go from full speed to a complete stop in a few seconds. I have seen them in action out on the bay here before and they are very impressive. The difference this time was that anyone who wanted got a chance to go aboard a couple of the vessels. I was more or less first in line, and spent 30 minutes checking out the boats while snapping a few photos and talking to the officers.

Max & Sabina

This is Max and his girlfriend Sabina. I met them on a day when I was out shooting nothing but portraits. They looked so cool sitting on that bench near the commuter station, so I knew it was a photo opportunity I couldn't miss. Max lives at Södra Station in Stockholm and Sabina comes from Nynäshamn. She works at a retirement home in Sorunda, and Max is a secondary school student. He plays the guitar, and together with a few friends he is hoping to set up a band and he really would like to see a career in music. They both listen to hard rock, and this summer visited both Hultsfred and the Sweden Rock Festival. Hearing about the music festivals I asked if they lived at the camp site and got a funny answer. Max stayed at the camp site while Sabina booked a hotel room!

The Dairy Farm

I visited the only remaining farm on the Gålö peninsula a few days ago. It is called Stegsholm. The farm goes back more than 300 years. It's a leasehold estate and for many years the Borg family have been living and working here. Today they run a dairy farm and they have their own bakery, and a popular cafe. The landscape out here is fantastic and the peninsula was declared a nature reserve a couple of years ago. Starting from the cafe you can choose to take the three kilometre long nature path. It will take you through a forest with majestic old oak trees and down to the bay. Along the way you will walk through the cow pastures. A few times every year there are guided tours if you want to learn more about the local fauna. On a visit to Gålö last summer I met the farmer Johan Borg, and if you are interested, here is that story.

Alaya

I tried calling out to Alaya when I saw her in Västerhaninge a few days ago, but she was listening to some music and didn't hear me. So I turned to Plan B and started waving my hands, and sure enough that worked better. After quickly explaining that I would like to take her portrait, and that it was her hair that I noticed first I took up my notebook and began asking a few questions. Turns out that Alaya lives in Tungelsta, as does all the cool people. She is a health care professional and works with home care for the elderly in Brandbergen, a job that she really enjoys. I asked her if she had any fun hobbies, but as she has a young son she's pretty busy as it is. Alaya told me about an interesting trip to Turkey. Seeing all the sights and visiting a few mosques. After this chat I snapped a few photos as we could hear the church bells from the nearby church. And as it was a Saturday, I figured there was a wedding in progress which meant another possible photo opportunity.

Betania

Time for another visit to rural Österhaninge. This time to a place called Beteby. Not far from Stadsberga, and it was after a visit to that village that I decided to continue down the gravel road for another kilometre or so. I have noticed a few unusual looking buildings here on previous visits, and luckily for me I saw the owner out working in the garden, so I walked in and introduced myself. This is Betania. The name comes from the biblical village Bethany. Today a private home, but once upon a time this was a Baptist Chapel. I was invited to have a look inside, and the old building hasn't changed much since it served as a chapel. The other building also has an interesting history. It is a "loftbod" from 1880. And it has travelled a long way, 930 kilometres. Originally it stood in the village Bodsvedjan, outside Boden, not far from the Fortress. Many years ago a young girl used to sleep in the hut. But when she grew older and moved south she decided to take the old loftbod with her. So today it stands in the garden at Betania. When it was first built it was most likely used for food storage.

Sara

I have never been any good at guessing anyone's age. When I spotted Sara from a distance in Västerhaninge, I figured her to be around sixteen years old. That probably made her happy, because in reality she is a few years younger. Come the fall she will be an eight-grader in her school in Handen. Sara is into music. She claimed with a little smile that I was probably not familiar with the bands that she was listening to. And I will have to agree with Sara, because I can't remember listening to Mindless Self Indulgence, a band that describes their music as industrial jungle pussy punk. Another band that I will have to check up on are Porcelain and the Tramps. When she's not listening to those bands, Sara will probably be busy playing on her guitar or synthesizer. So in a few years time, when she is famous for her music, remember where you heard about her first!

Three Cool Rides

Are you like me, will you wave down an interesting looking car or motorcycle if you happen to see one? I guess probably not. But that's what I do. Here are three cool rides that I have documented this summer. The first photo is a Ford Roadster replica. It is registered as an amateur built vehicle. The owner, Lasse, who I met at a filling station in Jordbro the other day, bought the car last year from one of his friends, and it was the friend who built the car. The second photo shows Bengt on his Rewaco trike. I met him in Tungelsta, he is a friend of The Biker . If you want a trike like this one, be ready to pay around 350 000 SEK. The third and last photo is an A Ford from 1931. I spotted that one on a recent visit to Vendelsö. And as you can see the owner and his passenger smiled for the camera when I told them to do just that.

The Goth Girl

Meet the Goth girl. This is Malin. A student from Gothenburg. Interested in photography. She's in Stockholm visiting family. I have a thing for girls with red hair, so when I noticed Malin in a store at Vendelsö, I knew I had to take her photo. The only reason for my visit to the store was to buy a few pens. I always take notes when I meet and photograph people, and on this occasion I had left them on the kitchen table. Which only proves that having a poor memory can sometimes lead to great photo opportunities!

In Flight

Paragliding is a popular sport in Sweden and in Haninge, and I often see and hear them on warm summer evenings. There are a few different types of gliders. This is a powered paraglider. One of four gliders that I spotted hovering over the old tree in Tungelsta on Thursday evening. As I shot this photo I figured it could be Johan, who enjoys this somewhat dangerous sport, or perhaps his daughter Malin. But on Friday, visiting my barber, another paragliding enthusiast, Mikael told me that it was a few friends of him that were out flying.

Josephine

After shooting a very cool panorama photo at Alby in Österhaninge, I decided to stop at the medieval church and go for a photo shoot there. And funnily enough that was exactly was Josephine had been busy doing. She works with graveyard management and had just finished documenting some of the tombstones at the graveyard when I arrived. I hadn't planned to shoot any portraits, but figured it was a good opportunity, as we were both there for the same reason. Josephine lives at Vendelsö in Haninge and one of her hobbies is soccer. She is a midfielder and plays for Vendelsö IF. But just as the previous soccer player, The Strawberry Girl, that I met earlier this summer, Josephine is out with an injury, and hasn't played for a while because of a bad knee.

American Timber

This is Fridhem. A property at Lida. It was built back in 1922. The builder was my maternal grandfather, Oskar Andersson, who never lived here himself. Fridhem has an interesting story. When the rail-road to Stockholm opened a little over a century ago, many new businesses came with it. In Tungelsta that meant a number of new laundries. Fridhem was one of them. Here is the interesting part. Back in the 1920s cars imported from North America were transported in wooden containers. Anyone who wanted could get the timber from the containers for free, at the harbour in Stockholm, as long as they paid for the transportation. And all the buildings seen here (except for the modern garage), was built with that wood. If you look closely on the second photo that I took inside the big laundry barn you can still read what was written on the wooden containers. On the third photo you can see the wringer building. The laundry closed many years ago. Since the 1930s someone from the Björklund family has always lived here, and once every year, Karl Gustaf Björklund usually has a big yard sale here. Earlier this summer I visited what turned out to be the last sale. Because just a few weeks ago Karl Gustaf, who is in his eighties, moved out after selling the property to a developer. So it is very likely that all the buildings, except for the house soon will be gone. And with it a part of Tungelsta history. I have talked to a few members of the historical association and hopefully they can perhaps save one of the buildings. If not I have at least been there on two occasions lately to document it all.

André & Felicia

It was a warm and sunny summer day, and when I spotted this couple coming towards me on their inline skates in Handen, I knew I had to take their picture. This is André Leckremo and his fiancée Felicia. They live in Handen. Felicia used to be one of the many girls out here who was into horseback riding, but has now given up that hobby. She works at the nearby Quality Winn Hotel. André works as a klottersanerare (try google that) and is a very good ice hockey player. He is a defenceman and plays for Haninge HC. And he visits the gym every now and then. I figured this would be a perfect summer portrait and I'm quite happy with the photo.

The old Stadsberga Farm

As promised here are a few more photos from Stadsberga, the little village in rural Österhaninge. By chance I met the birdwatcher Henrietta on a recent bike ride. And when we realised we here heading the same way we decided it would be fun to hang out for a few hours. Going on a photo shoot with a birdwatcher can be interesting. Every time Henrietta noticed a bird, a butterfly or even a cool cloud(!), she had to stop and have a closer look through her binoculars. Once we got to the village we decided to check out one of the three farms namely Stadsberga Gård. I don't know the owner of this farm so I don't have so much information about the place, but it does look like your typical farm from way back when with a few old barns, big storage silos and more. The big red building on the last photo is Årsta Säteri which once was the largest wooden building in Europe. More photos from Stadsberga (from my visit with Jim), to come.

The Chikken

Attitude doesn't have to cost much these days, just take a white t-shirt and write Blä! on it and you are there. And here is the proof. This is Kykklingen. I met him only a few minutes after shooting a portrait of the beautiful Jenny. His real name is Joel.The nick name is misspelled on purpose because that's how the cool kids does it. The Kykkling lives in Jordbro, but goes to secundary school in Örebro. As you can probably guess Joel plays in a band. They play Metal, and The Chikken plays the guitar. They don't have a MySpace site yet, so we can only guess how they sound! After this short chat I shot a few quick snaps because The Chikken had a train to catch.

A Summer Evening

MaCoBra left a comment a few days ago asking me if it wasnt time for another photo of the old tree at Välsta so here it is, the most famous tree in Haninge. Shot this on Saturday. It was a beautiful summer evening. I was the only one there, and to prove that here is a 360 panorama shot from a stony area on a field.



The only thing different from my last visit was the hay bales on the side of the path. As I left Välsta I met an Englishwoman on a bike and we agreed on the fact that it was a perfect evening for a bike ride.

Blue Eyed Girl

This is Jenny. I met her at Torvalla in Handen and decided to ask her for a portrait. She's got amazing blue eyes, so the t-shirt with the Manga girl looks extra good on her I think. Jenny works at Getupdated in Stockholm as a production assistant, but is currently on her summer vacation. She has two kids that keep her busy. They are into soccer and handball. But the kids are not the only sports fanatics in the family. Jenny loves soccer and especially Hammarby. So much so that she works as an usher for the team on her free time. That means two nights per week, which include all home matches and a few away games as well. When I mentioned Barbie, another soccer crazy girl who is a big AIK fan (another Stockholm club), she just smiled and shook her head.