The Poladroid People

The Poladroid people. I see them everywhere. And I take their photo. Sometimes I know them. But mostly they are strangers. Here they all are. Presented on a map.

Chewing some grass

Just a kilometre from where I live you will find the Haga farm. This was the scene in the "kohage" two days ago. As I arrived the farm worker was moving the cows from one pasture to another. The red cottage on the hill dates back to at least 1690. It is called Håkstorp, or Håkanstorp.

Don't Drink and Drive

A message from a concerned citizen. Motorcycle season is in full swing and someone living across the road from the famous Vegabaren fast food drive-in restaurant in Handen felt the need to inform whomever it concerns not to drink and drive.

Sixteen Recent Snaps

A photographer at Lakeside, the youth centre at the Rudan nature reserve. A photographer at my favorite cafe shooting his wife. A dancer at Lakeside during the dance battle. A bit of yellow at home. Johanna, Brenizer style, I failed a bit on that one. A motorcycle passing my favorite cafe, the rule is to always have the camera ready. Shark! Blue flowers at Nedersta. Bikini season has started! A former police officer (you met him on the blog a few years ago),riding his motorcycle to the horse farm at Björklund last week. Green path at the Bronze Age burial ground. Fredde smiling at the photographer. Funny looking tree at the Nödesta farm. Local legend Tompa Eken at the cafe. Young girl doing a balancing act at Lakeside. Commuter train panorama shot at Krigslida.

Johanna

Johanna was heading for the commuter station when I spotted her red hair in Jordbro. The train was six minutes away so she had time to pose for a few quick portraits. She is a student who enjoys photography, computer games, fashion and art.

Lakeside Dance Battle

There was a dance battle at Lakeside in Handen on Saturday. Hosted by Aaron. Two DJs were present,DJ Mercy1 AND DJ Prime. When I arrived the dancers were warming up for the one minute battle. The winners will compete in the final at Dansens hus in Stockholm tomorrow. It was fun to watch as all the kids were very good.

Patrolling the Streets

We have had five nights with riots in many suburbs around Stockholm. At least 100 cars have been torched. Schools have burned down. Police have been attacked. Rescue service personnel have been stopped from doing their job. It started when police shot and killed a man who was attacking people with a machete in Husby, North of Stockholm. Last night it spread to Haninge when a convenient store was destroyed in a fire in Jordbro. Residents are now out night patrolling to try and stop the violence in most of these suburbs. The photo in my post have nothing to do with this but when I spotted the Highway Patrol car outside my favorite cafe yesterday I stopped the driver and took a few photos. I think he has rebuilt the Corvette to look like an American police car himself.

Vattenspegling

The sunny days from last week have been replaced with a lot of dark skies. This was the nature park in Handen yesterday. Vattenspegling means Water reflection. Skywatch Friday.

The Creeper

One of the things I like with coffee outdoors at my favorite cafe, is that it gives me a chance to shoot one or two candid portraits. Like this one of the creeper.

F1 shot at f/2.0

I have seen this Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG parked in Handen a few times recently. You can't afford one, so we don't have to talk about how much it costs. Someone who knows more about these things told me that the silver chrome foil was made by a company called WrapZone. And that probably made the car even more expensive. Both photos here shot using the Brenizer method.

The Birch Allée

Back in March when we did the Festival of the Equinox, I showed you a winter version of the narrow tree avenue at the Söderby estate, and here it is again. Sure looks very different today compared with just a couple of months ago.

Sixsteen Recent Snaps

The summer girl Linn. A traditional gärdesgård fence at Tyresta national park. Picknicking at Rudan. The dad in green ran with his daughter on his shoulders, we raced, I was on the bike so I won! The bike guy Robban. Sweet Caroline.Cherry blossoms over the walkway. Reflection at the nature park. The tree lined avenue at Nödesta. The stylish Camilla. Runic inscription on a hill side at the Tyresta village. The black sheep. Ove on the cell phone at the cafe, discussing the new boat. Bird up a birch. Farm building at Välsta. My lunch earlier today. Burger with feta cheese, tomatoes and cucumber. 360 panorama from the old tree at sunset a few days ago.

That Old Tree

Because it was the first day of Summer (my rules), and the warmest day of the year (24C), I took a bike ride in the summer evening on Friday and arrived to the old tree just after 2100 hours, in time to snap a photo of the old tree during sunset. If you look closely you can see the first leaves on the Swedish Whitebeam.

The Summer Girl

Summer arrived on Friday. It was the warmest day of the year with around 24C. When I noticed Linn not far from my favorite cafe I knew I had to take her portrait (I have a thing for redheads). Linn lives in Handen and she has her whole life in front of her as she will graduate from secondary school in just a few weeks time. I tried a Brenizer method portrait (second photo), I took 15 photos but trouble stitching them together, so this is the result of three photos.

The Bicycle Fanatic

I have met a real bicycle fanatic. Robert from Sköndal. I knew I had to take a bike portrait when I noticed the wheels. Custom made in Gothenburg by Anders from Veloform. They are very photogenic and I'm not the only one who have asked to take a photo of the wheels. Robban bikes year around. To and from work for the last fifteen years. During the winter he just changes to winter wheels. Guess what he does on his vacations? Correct. This year he will discover Crete by bicycle. Previous trips have gone to Spain and Scotland where Glentress is a favorite. His son is old enough to join him now, so it is possible that the whole family will be biking together soon. My kind of people! Shot using the brenizer method at f1.8. This is 22 photos stitched together.

Camilla

Camilla was waiting for the bus when I spotted her in Handen yesterday. The spotting was very easy. I noticed her lipstick, coat, earrings, glasses, hair color and hat. Camilla lives in Västerhaninge. She works as a preschool teacher. When she's not busy with her cool outfits she enjoys playing the piano and the organ.

Ewe & Lamb

There's a grassy slope at Glasbergavägen in Lida where this time of the year you can often see a group of sheep. And that is exactly what I saw the other day.

Mounted archery anyone?

This is Caroline. I noticed her lipstick, hair, and outfit in Handen yesterday, hard not to. After a bit of hesitation I decided to ask her for a portrait. Caroline recently moved to Handen from Norrköping. She works as a substitute teacher. A tough gig as she can be called in with just an hour or so to prepare. On her free time she enjoys Lindy Hop. And Mounted Archery, which is a new sport for me, but after hearing Caroline's explanation of how it works it sounds very tricky.

Flower's blooming everywhere

It only took a few warm days. Now, everywhere you look there's cherry blossoms and blooming tulips.

Sixteen Recent Snaps

Three street portraits. Detail from the hood of Janne's BMW. The old tree. Web address to a funny diary. A wooden bridge at the Rudan Nature reserve. Old carriage where once the Nödesta barn stood for two centuries.A blue sky. Old farm building at the Tyresta national Park. Panorama with the farmer from Nödesta in his tractor, followed by a few hundred gulls. A yellow tractor at the same farm. A tent belonging to the reporter and photographer Johan Bjurer. Wood anemones at the burial ground in Jordbro. Wood pigeon in Johan's garden. The book Skärgården, written and photographed by Johan. Köp boken här: www.adlibris.com/se/product.aspx?isbn=9157480729

What are the odds?

Heading home on Friday I noticed a cyclist walking his bike. That is never any fun. The chain, which was brand new, had broken, so the cyclist had time for a portrait. When I handed him my card he laughed. At me. Because we have the same name. Stefan Jansson. Never met another person with my name before. Stefan has his own company. He repairs musical instruments. When he is not out walking his bike you can find him at the aikido club in Brandbergen where he is an instructor.

Floral Roundabout

The municipality is spending some extra money on floral arrangements. At the moment two roundabouts in Handen are slowly coming alive with color from red and yellow tulips. Skywatch Friday.

Green Vehicle

It's green. It's a vehicle. But maybe not eco-friendly. This is a 1974 Pontiac Ventura Custom. Both photos shot using the Brenizer method.

View From A bridge

As I always do on my visits to the nature park in Handen I took a photo from the wooden bridge. I will have to go back when it all has turned green, shot this a few days ago.

Cadillac DeVille

I spotted the photogenic Anna the other day. She told me that she is looking to sell her 1960 Cadillac DeVille. So if you have 100 000 SEK in a drawer somewhere, this old beauty could be yours.Tricky to shoot in the parking lot, I was squatting on the grass to get as low as possible I used 20 photos for this Brenizer method shot.

That Old Tree

It looks like we will get Summer temperatures this week. A bit unexpected, but very welcome after the cold Spring. When I headed down to the old tree it was maybe 15C and a bit windy. I passed the two girls out on the road, but luckily for me they were heading the same way, so a few minutes later they came riding down the path, which made for a fine photo. I wonder if I'm going to have to borrow a chainsaw from the farmer and remove that broken limb myself.

Berrin Sahin

The folk singer Berrin Sahin and her band performed at Poseidon's square in Handen a couple of days ago. Mostly ballads from Turkey and Azerbaijan. They used different flutes, guitar, bağlama and key harp. A bit windy outside the cultural centre, but great with music outdoors. And just as I told the sound guy (he is a dedicated cyclist), that it was great with live music on the square, the presenter informed us that the lunch concerts will be back in September.. I sure hope I heard that wrong.

The Music Student and the Magician

Sure was a fine day Friday. I'm guessing around 14C. Perfect weather for a bit of longboarding. This is the love birds Elise (the girl can sing), and Alex. Spotted them near the mall in Handen. Elise will graduate from secondary school studies this Spring. She works extra at Foderboden. Her boyfriend works at the book chain Akademibokhandeln. One of his hobbies include stage magic. This is another Brenizer method shot, nine photos stitched together. Shot with the nifty fifty at f.2.0.

Sankt Eico

This is Erik. Met him in Handen. He works with deconstruction. I thought he looked like a cool dude. His hobbies includes role-playing and computer games. He is also a bit of an artisan and creates leather items and jewellary. He was on his way to the train station so we only talked for a couple of minutes, but I did have time to shoot this Brenizer style portrait. I used fifteen photos here at f.2.0.

Fly Fishing Anyone?

There was a fly fishing event at Lower Lake Rudan in Handen yesterday. The first person I met at the lake was Christer Jangarve who is a very dedicated angler/organizer of everything angling related at Rudan. He told me that the event had been very successful. Lots of people trying their luck at fishing and testing new material. The weather was also perfect. When I was there six or seven people had something to show. The Italian guy in the the top right photo had caught either a char or a rainbow trout.

The Creative Artisan

Martin Ahlsén is a Blacksmith. With a special interest in the Middle Ages and the Viking Era as you can see on the photo to the left that shows a detail from the dragon gate he made last year. He is well known in Haninge and even has his own museum in Handen, with his partner Agnes who designs jewellary. Together with Agnes he also performs at many local events, where they sing Medieval songs. If you have read this blog for a few years you will most likely have seen some of my posts about this very creative artisan. If not, check out the slideshow to see some scenes from the annual Viking Festival arranged by Martin & Agnes where there are creative artisans everywhere. Theme Day. Creative Artisan.