Jens Lekman: Boisa-Bis-o-Boisa

Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition

Koralreven: The Truest Faith CFCF Remix

John O Callaghan : Never Fade

Toi Et Moi : White Waves

The Hundred in The Hands : Sleepwalkers

You can say so much with so little. Float along. It´s Sunday and nobody can be groundfelt, if you will.

V: Will post a collection of interesting monochrome world later today. Exciting!

Casino Versus Japan / Hello You

One of things I love most about New York City is the people you find the chance and invitation to talk with. In this case I will refer particularily to artists and creative minds. The first one is Lenard Smith. I found his work so coherent and pure. Seeing who he is and seeing his work created a fine harmony.

In account for the endless hours spent at work the last two – three weeks I’ve been able to take two days off in addition to the weekend, how liberating it has been. Much much needed. Naturally It does make little sense to spend more time on a screen so I’ve been a terrible blogger. Every second I am able to be here is so special so I just try to make the most out of it. Instead of blogging I’d rather photograph. But as more people ask me for sharing, I’m happy to do so, and look forward to doing it more often and openly.

from the last weeks in new york.

I told you about the joyspreader. He will help you articulate that life consists of joy and we shall not subject to forget that.

I screamed with him. just one of the thousand reasons to be fascinated about williamsburg. that place has to be one of the most creative places in America.

Mercer street, where the design office I work for is located, it gets quite nice approaching spring and prince street.

wouldn’t have expected to see views like this. what they’ve done along the hudson stretch is really quite lovely though, almost chicago level i’d say. just thinner. kudos for new york gardeners. they do great work!

Canal street by lunch.

the jewish area in Williamsburg is the most surreal place I’ve set ground on. challenging to photograph for sure.

then to another continental shift.

happy birthday girl! they were very keen to pose. sweet people.

Memorial Day nightride home to brooklyn. Brothers from Nicaragua, fascinating relationship. Can you imagine a photographer going unnoticed to make such a photo. Inspiring connections.

Setshuhen shared this wonderful video with me. It is a leading example of what works when instigating an interest in you. Having in mind they were being beat up by economic and geographic forces this is a quite brilliant face to the world saying we are for all time a unique place on earth and nothing that has happened well affect the energy we have (kind of a bit over-romantic to say perhaps).

But this is it. This is what people want. And I hope you want to travel to Iceland (even more) since you always have, after this.

I’m sure they had plenty of fun just making it. Would be great to see more countries do this so innovately. Fun is key. In making and wanting.

not much energy left to write. work is super busy, any moment to gaze out at the sky between the scrapers is a delight and a reminder of this special time. i have a big plan ;) this blog is far from dead, trust me. three more months in this amazing city, I am so lucky!

New York City, May 2010.

I would sincerely love to continue this, but I will pack my scanner down now for quite a long time. I had something like 800 images to scan, and that is simply impossible now. Also would have liked to write more around the stories of the photos but I will leave that until one day in the future.

On Thursday I fly off to New York, and I will definitely bring my Hasselblad with me and try to photograph as much as possible when possible. The experience of scanning all these photos and seeing what works and not, reflecting on what I am gravitating towards and doing it. It is going to be such a unique chance and I will make every single second worth it. It feels like this is all a dream. And that is an influence.

made a short term friendship with the Finnish Marimekko ladies. they have to get an award for consistency. This is such a loud testimony to simplicity works. This kind of makes me think of Charlie and the chocolate factory.

Above this floor – in Jannelli, I came across the wallpaper factory which was a very inspiring environment. They had a wallpaper with red green and blue channels of which you would see different images according to the filters they would be projected from (either via glasses or adjustable light sources). For all else a mix of eras, materials and ornaments.

Yet first, free cocktails :)

Along this experimentation walls there was one ambassador; in possibly the most surreal room of all, a woman who striked me as being a french woman travelling from the past.

She was shining of some kind of joy, and when I was talking to her it was kind of eliminating everything else around. She told me she based her room design around much of japanese sensuality, blending the geisha in with the tulips, creating this romanticized pastel, a seemingly naive but dreamy world. It was really interesting to hear her talk about her design; she was really into it.

A second feature that was interesting was the glossification of some of the wallpaper; the solidifying of glue and having wider use of the material if desired, also for ground. Matching wallpapers is a challenging mission, especially with same themes, when contrast is less possible.

Designed by you; said so many times. On the spot for this occasion.Nicely done from the architect to have these separation spaces, and ambient lightningt beyond. The enthusiast drawing had to sit on his friends shoulder to finish his sketch. I had to change film, and sadly it took longer than the time before he was done. It was quite comic.

A swiss primadonna, at the design hotel in tortona. ;)

Markeetingwise, always gonna get you there.

What do you do when it´s mid-april and you are waiting a month for a visa? You could go to Milan I suppose, (if the pieces sum up for it so to say).In the name of spontaenity this became my choice, and I know I was criticized for it, but I also had my reasons.

It just happens that this is a wish for many others too; most of which are concerned with the way things look. The way things behave.  The way things comply. The way things flash. You name it.  I say thing because it is the one word that encompasses all. Vague and general, but nonexclusive. You could go and chart a cluster and try to categorize this sea of movements, and what are the general trends towards the material we are surrounded by.

I was interested to go there for many reasons – reconnecting with my friend Stefano whom worked with me in Munich; and experiencing what is described as the largest design event globally. I experienced it as a quite varied event, and would not leave it to the main category of furniture only. It does naturally encompass a certain digital component; as our homes are becoming more technologically embraced. I mention this because there are design events purely focused on this; such as ARS in Austria, or design versus technology at FITC in Toronto which I would believe are quite different from the Milan design week.

Now this image above may incline towards the fashion industry, and not be the photographic illustration of what this event is about, but what I want to share is not a narrative over the trends in design (that is so beyond my scope, but I might try at a miniscule level), but a few selections of personalities and feels that caught my interest during this week.

I saw these two gentlemen (let´s assume the best first right), as we arrived to Salone, and exuberating their presence via just the way they looked. I thought it was so milanesque the whole context, and my instinct called me to converse and get a photo of this moment.

If I could´ve gone back to this moment I would have tried to make a single portrait of the Russian eccentric on the left, he was quite interesting. The other guy I believe was his agent from Bresca. Richard and Sergei.

A few minutes before Salone was shutting down (Satelite department, where all the young designers exhibit), I was rushing through to try to see as much as possible the best of what was there. The last location was with a group of Austrian Designers from Innsbruck, whom where presenting for the fourth year in a row or so, and admittedly their last time this year. You are not allowed to exhibit after a certain age group.

They had the most homely stand of all; this feeling of being on a mountain came through, and particularily so when all the designers where there and exchanging some thoughts in German. Then it was like relocating to the alpes if you could ignore the rest of the surroundings.

Anyways, Nina was the girl sitting there and I thought she was very photogenic and an interesting study. Then her partners came and offered us some prosecco, and mentioned the guy with the hasselblad who had walked by them earlier. I had to say, “yeah I never go unnoticed with this baby”. It allowed for a nice encounter and the chance to make some frames of some designers.

Honestly, when seeing their promotional material they lack no form of professionalism, but I don´t get the feeling of the things the way they were presented here. So, this was pudelskern.

We were enjoying those proseccos; any chance to sit down to is always appreciated in an event like this; you walk forever. Your feet really pay for that. Nina was thinking less about the camera as we intermingled and that is the best chance to get a lively frame.

I don´t know if these two girls were exhibiting, looked rather like a scene from the fashion week; it was really like they were staging for a photo to be made. She gave me a questioning look aftwerwards, but she must know I am harmless.

It was certainly among the days were the volcano ash was affecting air traffic worldwide. What could ever make an impact on the culture of clicks like this? And I am always curious what happens with their compact flash cards after their european travels.

I overheard him ask the girl in the stand opposite him, and he was talking about some stuff being stolen.

They were two sweet girls, and it would be so funny and coincidental if they would be what the names imply respectively. Must have been interesting to see the world from their perspective.

I made some frames with the olympus from the same day as well, have not had the time to see them yet, but the tendency is to dedicate more attention to medium format photography, because the photos have such incredible elevation in terms of resolution.

The press photographer makes a self portrait at the end of the event.

no photos of the irish lady but a selection of others (which i barely remember).

roisin murphy was imaginably the crowdpuller, and she was playing already as I made it there with my friends (thanks to them I could get in). wish I had some images from when she was playing, even of her and better with her, but she left when the night was still young, or it might have been that my recollection of time was distorted with all those aperitivos..

it was wild and crazy, remotely an intact memory so it was a revelation to see what I photographed this night.

Roisin Murphy : Mommas Place (beaumont remix)

Martin, thank you for that night!

Las Palmas, Spain.

This is a from collection of portraits I am working on with my Hasselblad.

Umeå, winter 2008 with my roomate. Damn, this film got a lot of light leak, but these kind of accidents usually are mostly interesting. I was having a pleasant chat with Annika, and sneaked into my room between as I could not resist photographing her with this morning winter light and her top that titled her so well. RGB versus Greyscale mode.

- update: so I am posting some old frames I found that I had at home in Norway; as I wait for a very substantial number of films to be processed. I am having a total obsession with medium format photography, and some night photography with the olympus, which culminated in a delivery to studio technika today of 27 rolls of medium format and ca. 15 rolls of 35 mm. Yes, that basically means I am going very far in this passion. Over half of this is material from my stay in Italy for 9 days recently; I wait in apprehension, as I barely used any form of light meter for this, only experience.

I was talking to Stefano about this form of investment, and it must be said that even if you pay 6 euros for 12 photos, and later 6-9 euros for having it processed and there is a visible amount of failed technical aspects, if only one frame stands out and turns out magically, you have more than paid off the investment.

Also this week I saw a brilliant exhibition by Stanley Kubrick, it was good inspiration. A must see in Milan!

I rediscovered it for the first time tonight. and realize that no other frame needed to matter so much, when this turned out just the way I hoped. I even got a crazy light leak in this roll of 120, and it just mesmerizes me what character and cosmic context this was. It was my last night in Punta Cana, and I brought the Hasselblad with me due to safety reasons, and then I met this party midget in the toilet and asked for making a photo.  This has to be one the most surreal frames I´ve ever made.

Zona Colonial – Santo Domingo – Dominican Republic. Hasselblad + Carl Zeiss 80 mm.

Loved that balcony view but had the odd moments there too.

Somehwere there are numerous slides from these days. Will post these one day.

The more I have been away from my family, the more I am curious about them, also the evolution of the family. Yesterday I went to see my grandmother, whom has always tried to embrace family and friends with open arms. Have not since her since half a year, so that was really good to see her again, and always as a guest with her you feel cared for. And she is a world class chef.

She lost her husband, my grandfather over twenty years ago, and it´s amazing how strong she has been in the time after. I know she held him very high, yet I hear of many stories. She told me yesterday about a vision she had where she actually saw my grandfather walking across the hills to her; nothing needed to be said, it was a surreal encounter where the world she knows to be tangible submerged and time and space became interpreted fully diferently. She was wide awake.

I have a vague recollection of my grandfather but I was fortunate to play with him. He was also very passionate about photography and I rediscovered yesterday with new eyes, a wide collection of photos he made from the 60s up until the 80s. There is really a lot of treasures in that material, that both reveal cultural styles and people´s interactions. Not all is interesting of course, I actually think he photographed with the same frequency as a digital beginner.

To find a few street like photographs in there really got me excited, to be able to see the world the way he did. My grandmother has perhaps not seen some of these at all, or if so quite a long time ago. So it was a real nice discovery moment with her. When we saw this portrait of her taken by my grandfather we were stunned. It´s beautiful and classical photography. Filled with dignity and illustrating depth of a person.  I am quite frankly a bit obsessed with finding all these, they are sort of puzzles of their life, and also mine. Ancestry that were lit with the light of the 60s. Wow!

This image striked me! My aunt was already the best fashionable back then.

Seeing here a very released and spontaneous body language between my father and aunt. They had a nanny while living in Rotterdam. Today I think she is a priest. The man with the dark hair was my favourite uncle, very generous kind man.

From John F. Kennedy to Heathrow two winters ago.

Pantha du Prince: Saturn Strobe

Mamiya RZ6, South Island, New Zealand.

Working on a series from these. I was told to stay inside this day because I was sick. I’m still grateful that I did because these were special moments. Englishcer Garten with Kodak 400 VC (Vivid Color). I felt sorry for this elegant dog because a mad German lady was shouting out at her like a monster, but funnily enough it really did not seem to care and strolled all around on her stream down the curious and frowned crowd.

by now in more of a random order; but I am too exhausted to keep going. I am quite happy with their cosmicness.

Portrait of Fredrik at Malpensa airport, Italy. Hasselblad 500cm with Carl Zeiss 80mm 2.8.

First Western Photographers in Moscow after Stalin´s time. Of which has been publicized you might say. You never know. There are special and valuable frames in there. In one way you can imagine it must be easier to photograph people then because that was much of a more rare occasion, which at the same time could draw much more attention to you, singling you out. But then this was not any confrontation with a big mechanical beast. This is pure 35mm love.

This is very fascinating to discover. More images here.

You see a new movement of abundantly music videos being created by a vaster majority (the new wave of slrs with video capabilities, advancing slowly by each day). It will make a serious push force for data storage, and demands a greater introduction to video editing software, simplifications and enhancements to existing systems. It sure is coming, and we don´know what it means yet.

Some of the videos produced by not necessarily educated videographers if you might call them that, (I´m sure many are selftaught )are as beautiful as this. Well the music certainly enhances; in this case Telefon Tel Aviv – The Birds (cut)

As part of a project during my internship, the team and I travelled to Italy for the initial phase. I had the chance to fly back to Munich for the weekend, but a friend of mine – Stefano had moved there, to finish his thesis at Politecnico and saw I got the chance to hang out with him. My choice obviously, was then to spend the weekend in Milan. For the great benefit, I had color film with me and this was a great time to start using medium format 400 iso film. Learned later from a lot of mistakes; it´s far too easy to underexpose this during a rainy / cloudy day. You really need to get down to 1/60th or otherwise photoshop will be your next best friend, but not any form of guarantee for cranking it back to its level.s Even this image could have been exposed a stop higher, but I think the result is quite balanced. I´m getting more excited about doing street with the hasselblad; I have some 400 VC film waiting to be used during my now last two weeks in Munich. Just hope to kill this cold that has hit me the last days.

There is a number of imagery I am interested in sharing in the lapse of time; basically because there is a history of travelling and there was a time when I neither blogged nor flickred and so there is much on disk, which i perhaps never shared.

Cambodia is one of those place that made a lasting impression. It´s probably the most intruguing place I´ve set foot upon. What shines less, as you learn of the past though is that the history of Camobodia is shadowed by a very dark story of which there is much learning to be made from. Above those layers of horror and disruption, the country has a mystic face with tempels and nature as you have seen nowhere else.

Little Mowgli met me during a one day visit to Siem Reap. I have no words for how incredible it was to visit this place. Incredible wonders; yet reminders for the opposite.

I promise to post more from various travels. I don´t even know who I´m promising to cause I do not know my readers. But that´s another story.

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One of the most powerful films you will ever see in your life. From the salvage streets of Brazil. One little small soul with attent eyes and a camera can make a difference. I think you really have a counterpart in Slumdog Millionaire too. Incredibly strong films with nested messages of ethics.

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Mr. Andresen released his first album in August 2009, and this is where we really got excited. For both of us, we wanted to create something special; detached from cliches and the shallow.

Over two different days, respectively January and March we had two shoots, there was snow on both occasions. The image above was the only 35mm used for the album art, as the majority was on the medium format front.

I´d been listening to the tracks a while before starting design work or the photographs. It helped feel the music for how to later portray the ambient and feel to the images.

“Finding this peace” by Mr. Andresen

From mrandresenmusic.com:

”A part of this puzzle” is a well composed record. It has a great flow, a large amount of catchy choruses and good guitarriffs, all accompanied by beautiful and melodic pianotunes. It is easy to get the vibe of years with perspectival development throughout this record, and surely this is something that Mr.Andresen will provide in the future. He is an out of the crowd-, interesting- and worth-listening-to – artist.

You can find the album ” A part of this puzzle” in record shops in Norway (platekompaniet), on spotify, last.fm and itunes. The music video for “Looking Back” is also online.

I promise you that you will hear his songs in a future not too distant.

Final album art of the album “A part of this puzzle”. Photography and Design by Vandersault.

Thank you for reading.

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sd

From the isar ventures quite a few months ago. Ventured the same streets today as it was lovely weather (but very cold).

Track to go for a Sunday: Jesper Ryoms – Hold On

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Reviewing old photos of mine, I realized these never got posted.

120 tx vs 135mm velvia @ hk ´06.

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I wanted this to last longer, but I have come to peace with myself about dealing with not knowing what is ahead. It used to be an interesting feeling. This time it feels different though. It may be a force of nature, a call for something else. We will see.

For the first time, I actually have no more film in my cupboards that need to be processed. This week I got them scanned, and saw them for the first time this morning. There were frames in there I had forgotten I had taken, and those are some of the nicest moments. After all, memory has sandlike features; it may not be firm, but it dissolves and travels and reconfigures continuously. Sometimes it feels like memory pieces displace themselves, yet they are not gone, they just find new places to go, and you have to find those again.

So now, it is time to scan again, since I have the time and can´t wait. This man has a repair shop close to karsplatz in Munich. He repaired a camera my friend asked me to help him with. I was picking it up. And then I said thank you so much for selling me the 50mm 1.4 zuiko – for the olympus. He did not remember that, but he remembered me and went on about with his very likable French (so unexpected in this country).

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Interesting rendezvouz.

One korean guy travelling with 4 girls. They had been through Switzerland and Paris, and they happened to sit in on the same wagon as me. We conversed, joked, misunderstood. Later we bumped into eachother by the entrance and I was amused by his manner of posing for photos. His spirit caught onto me and I decided to take the Hasselblad out and finish the color film. He showed me polaroids he had taken during his trip and I was impressed with the vividness and flavour of the “prints”.

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Prague series. Photographed with Hasselblad 503 CM. January 2010.

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January 1st, 2010; Binary date followed with slide play.

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Exploring Prague with misses mariposa. We were both fascinated about being in a new culture, and making the best of the little time we had there. Scanning more as I speak.

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on my way to work today :) she did not even notice me.

today´s learning: whenever you write about somebody, they are the first person you meet next day. you happen to be late because you were up very late. odd.

don´t talk to chinese people about chinese noodles being thick, they won´t pronounce it right. auch

whenever you do not bring your film camera wherever, you most likely will see something of a very particular nature. regrets. kid over 2.20 meters. with semi midgety friends.

so this afternoon i finally found the time to deliver some of my films to a lab; they should be ready by wednesday. the whole waiting thing does something to your body.

very well then, it´s time to read a book :)

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Northern Sweden / summer of 2009
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very true and honest photographic documents by Mark Steinmetz.

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Fuji Provia 400. January 2009. Photoshoot with my friend Lars. A prolonged entry with his album and the work soon.
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