Årsta Castle

This is Årsta Slott in Österhaninge.The castle as it looks today was built by Claes Hansson Bielkenstierna and his wife Barbro Åkesdotter Natt och Dag around 1650. Other famous owners include the Bremer family, and Fredrika Bremer, wrote some of her books here. Another owner was Hans Johan Hierta, who founded Aftonbladet. If you visit today you can have lunch here after a round of golf. I only stopped for a few photos after a visit to the nearby beach.

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The Tank Truck Company

A tank truck parked at Stav. A new road is being constructed here. Road 73 from Fors to Nynäshamn is one of the most dangerous stretches of road in Sweden. Many people have died here over the years. When the new road is completed, the old road will be used by cyclists and you will probably see me on my bike, on my way to the beach, or to the nature reserve, or even continuing all the way to the port city of Nynäshamn. Oh, and just a quick note about the price of gas. We pay 100 per cent more here than in the US, so driving is kind of expensive.

Lu

Say hello to Lu. He was a happy chap when I met him as he had just finished his school year at the Haninge Campus. He is now qualified to study for his degree in Computer Science at the School of Computer Science and Communication at KTH in Stockholm, which will take the next five years of his life. His immediate plans were a bit different. There was a barbecue party planned that evening down at Lake Rudan. Since Lu seems to be a clever kid, I asked him to tell me about the dumbest thing he had ever done. That's easy he said, I was drunk, and decided to climb up on a rock to have a look at the view. It was only two meters up but I still managed to fall down and break three fingers! So if you heard an ambulance down at the lake a few nights ago it was probably Lu on his way to the emergency room...

This is my 40th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

That Old Tree

... in the early summer evening...

If you have a few minutes, check out the slideshow. I have taken some 145 photos of this old tree over the last few years. You will find it along a winding path at Välsta in Tungelsta.

Peter Gaunitz

Coincidences are fun. Heading home I noticed four people working in a roundabout in Jordbro. They were busy arranging hundreds of plants in the roundabout. I walked over to see if I could find a stranger to photograph. I could. This is Peter Gaunitz. He is a professional landscape designer. His work takes him all over Sweden, but he is based in Alnarp outside Malmö in Skåne. I asked him if he had done any other work in Haninge, and he said, yes at the Tungelsta Park. I'm from Tungelsta I said. Turns out Peter knew some of the gardeners there, among them Janne Sandh who he went to school with at Alnarp, the agricultural college. Janne used to organize our canoeing trips he said. Great fun it was, way back when. Peter also gives lectures about stuff like Wetland and Pond Vegetation Design and Water Plant Establishment Strategies and Methods. He sells literature and also teaches. And he has his own website. This is my 39th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

Say hello to Sussie

This is Sussie who lives in Handen where I met her. And Chica the dog, who is afraid of buses, so they were hanging out near a bus stop trying to cure that fear. Sussie is only four weeks away from graduating from The Royal Institute of Technology . She is currently working at Scania, finishing her dissertation in Mechanical Engineering. A few years ago she worked on a farm outside Edinburgh in Scotland. She's also been on a round the world trip. When they visited New Zealand they bought an RV and drove around both islands. And tried ice climbing on Fox Glacier . She is the prettiest Mechanical Engineer I have ever met! This is my 38th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

The Youth Centre

This is the old volunteer fire station in Tungelsta. Today it's a youth centre and has a new miniature golf course. And a new color. It used to be green, but over the last week, workers have been busy fixing up the place and the new color is yellow. My dad was a fire fighter here for some 25 years.

Non-barking dog

The Roundabout Dog phenomenon has died down a bit lately. This one is new to me, found it at a roundabout in Handen the other day.

Ego

I was in Handen and had just stopped to say a few words to Rikard Lundin ( My stranger #14), when I noticed this redhead a few meters up the road, and decided that she was 100 Strangers material. Say hello to Ego. She lives in Handen, but works in Stockholm, where she sells bath bombs. So if you need one of those, and who doesn't, order one from their web shop. Ego is a unique woman. And I don't mean the beautiful combination of her blue eyes and her striking red hair. To my knowledge she's the only one who has given testimony in a court case, in the nude, while smoking a cigarette! And she was on the winning side! Beat that if you can. I'm not going to tell you what the case involved, but I can tell you that she provided testimony via telephone conferencing. Ego claimed that she never looked good on photos and I think she has been proven wrong here! This is my 36th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

A Field of Yellow

It's that time of the year when the rapeseed fields bloom. A little earlier then I'm used to, but it's been that kind of a year. This is the view from a golden rape field in Kalvsvik in rural Österhaninge. I took a walk around the field and took a bunch of photos.The red building to the left is the art gallery. Then follows the church school and then Sankta Gertruds Church with the leaning tower.

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Alone at the lake

I decided to make a short stop at the lake. The weather forecast had said rain so there was no one around. And it didn't rain. So I took the bike around Lower Lake Rudan. There's trails all over this recreational area. I had hoped to meet someone, angler, jogger or just anyone and take their portrait for the 100 Strangers Project but there's always tomorrow. Instead I walked out on one of the piers and sat down for a few minutes, a great way to relax. Then I shot a 360 panorama. Looks better at the original size.

The Bird Man

I'm on the bike and have to stop as two men are blocking the path at the ancient grave field in Jordbro, where their dogs are running up and down. And that's how I met my Stranger #28. Meet the Bird Man. Aspiring musician (guitarist and song writer), dad and dog owner. As we talk about the 100 Strangers project I mention some of the people I have met. He says that he knows who Gizzen is and that he knows Stacta. I then ask what kind of music he plays. Oh, you know, Pop, Rock and Soul. After a few more questions I realise that he sometimes plays with my brother! It's a small world. If you want to hear some of Bird Man's music check out his MySpace site. This is my 28th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

Feed Me

A juvenile Tree Sparrow being waiting to be fed by it's parents. It's nice to be sitting on the veranda taking photos once in a while!

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Meet Erika

Say hello to the girl with the green hair. This is Erika. I met her in Västerhaninge. She was with her dog, a cavalier king charles named Viktor. She comes from Skogås, and is a student at the ESS-gymnasiet. When she's old enough, her painted eyebrows may loose out to a tattooed version. On her free time Erika enjoys horse back riding, and has a horse down at Årsta Säteri in Österhaninge. This is my 32th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

Hanging out at the bird feeder

If you can't find any tasty nuts, why not go for some bird food?

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Hello Mr. Jansson!

Have you ever had one of those mornings when you are awaken by the door bell, and you go down and open the door, thinking it's the neighbour, and it turns out to be some bearded German guy (and his daughter), that you never heard about, telling you that they are on vacation and then handing you three bottles of wine and a beer before showing you some printed oil paintings of Swedish landscapes and of a former Swedish actress who just happens to live in Tungelsta? No? Well that's the kind of morning I had the other day. Turns out Radtke has a flickr account and he left a comment on one of my photos a while back.

Juvenile Bird

Juvenile bird close to the veranda at Bergdalen, waiting to be fed. Bigger photo.

Micke & Elisabeth

A couple of days ago I visited lake Rudan hoping to photograph someone going for a spring swim. I asked this couple if they felt like jumping in, they respond by saying that their dog has already done that, but that I was welcome to photograph him. I sat down next to them on the pier and explained about the 100 Strangers project and this was the result. Meet Micke and the beautiful Elisabeth. And of course Enzo the rottweiler. Micke and Elisabeth live together here in Handen, and as the weather was amazing they decided to walk down to the lake. Micke enjoys fishing and Elisabeth are into horse back riding. She was a little sadden as her horse had been put down after breaking a leg recently. On a happier note they told me about a visit to Thailand back in February. I tried to tell them about island hopping in the Greek archipelago, but they preferred the beaches and the tropical landscape in the Phuket Province. After talking about this and that, we realised that we had at least one acquaintance in common, namely John Falkenbjörk. This is my 29th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

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Llamas on the run!

I was at the optician in Västerhaninge yesterday afternoon. Suddenly a woman opens the door, she's on the phone shouting, "there's two Llamas on the run". "They just passed me at the shopping arcade!" I know that there's a circus in town, so the Llamas must come from Cirkus Maximum! I run out, followed by the optician. A crowd is gathering. I slowly walk up to the animals and takes a few shots. Then another guy for whatever reason, moves in closer and that scares the animals and they run off. This happens at the commuter station and there's lots of people and buses to scare the poor animals. Update: On the news they suspected sabotage, that someone had unlocked a gate so that the animals could get out. After 45 minutes in freedom staff from the circus manages to catch all the runaways, and as far as I know no one was hurt. I mailed the circus, they have a blog and wanted to use one of my photos which I obviously agreed to.Bigger photo.

Bride & Groom

Traditionally the Pentecost weekend is very popular for getting married in this country. So I wasnt all that surprised to see this happy couple having their wedding photos taken close to the Västerhaninge church on Saturday. I figured they were 100 Strangers material and walked over for a chat. The wedding photographer, and his helpers (probably the Best Man and the Bridesmaid) looked very busy, so I decided to make it a short stop. Closing in on them I recognised the photographer. It was Clintan. I said hello, explained what I was up to, and took a few quick shots. This is Rickard and Jenny. They live in Västerhaninge and have two kids. After the ceremony there was a wedding party at the nearby Bygdegården for 65 of their closest friends and family. Any wedding trip planned, I asked Jenny. Yes, we are flying to Las Vegas on Sunday morning! I wished them a happy day and a great time in Las Vegas. This is my 30th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

Red Squirrel

I have photographed a few squirrels around my home the last few years. They are normally shy, but over the last week a young squirrel have been visiting the veranda on a daily basis. I moved one of the bird feeders yesterday. And as I put some nuts on the feeder, it only took this little fellow a few minutes to arrive. But it did have to fight off a few crows.

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Johanna & Katrin

From a distance I see two blonde teenage girls with big sunglasses, and I think that they must be students from the nearby Fredrika Bremer School in Handen (like a sixth form college or college preparatory high school). I decide to ask if I can take their portrait for the 100 Strangers project. They gladly agree, and strike a pose even before I can lift the camera! This is Johanna and Katrin. They are a few years younger than I first thought, and are eight grade students. They both live in Nynäshamn (30 km to the south), and became friends last year. I asked them if they had any hobbies and they said that loved dancing. Johanna is into something called showdance. And Katrin enjoys belly dancing. This is my 27th photo for the 100 Strangers project. And my youngest strangers so far. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

Airline Emissions

Sometimes when I'm out photographing nature, birds and wildlife, I will hear an air plane and turn the camera towards the sky. Last time I did this I realised that I need to clean my camera from dust spots. This photo is from my flickr archive. Looking at the photo statistics this morning, I realised that this photo had been used in an article about airline emissions. You can read it the Wired Blog.

Here's Jonny!

This is Jonny. I met him at the Jordbro commuter station. He is self employed. His company is called JP's Montage & Inredning. He lives at Skogskyrkogården in Stockholm. He was busy putting up the billboard ad that you can see behind him when I asked him to pose for a portrait for the 100 Strangers project. I do all sorts of work he told me. Anything from setting up office modules to complete kitchens. His big hobby is Martial Arts. Over the last decade Jonny has tried them all. Anything from Taekwando to Ultimate Fighting. At the moment it's the combat sport Shootfighting that interests him. I do it for the great training, the exercise and the fitness it gives. I don't compete, although I did that with taekwando a few years ago he said. This is my 25th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

The Train Robbers

I saw this van like a mile away, and walked over to the owner who was sitting in the driver's seat, talking on this cell phone. I made the international sign for "hey, that's a bad ass van you have there, mind If I take a few snaps". He replied with the "go ahead punk, you're not the first to ask that question" sign, so I did just that, after he walked away continuing his cell phone conversation. After I finished shooting, I wanted to ask him a few questions about the custom paint, but he kept talking, so that was that, but he was Russian, and quite in to American culture I take it!

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Gisela

This is Gizzen. She's easy to spot I think. Gizzen lives in Västerhaninge, where I met her yesterday. As I saw her I figured she would be perfect for the 100 Strangers project. After a few questions about the project she agreed to have her photo taken. She is married and has a few kids. Gizzen is an animal lover. The family has dogs, cats, rats, rabbits and birds. Her husband Thomas is her Guardian Angel (as you can see on her tattoo). You should have met him she said, he's got a few tattoos on his face. That probably helped him when he got a role in one of the recent Beck movies. Maybe I will see him and Gizzen on their motorcycle some day. This is my 24th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

Open Fields

I really enjoy shooting panoramic views. It's so easy now in the Digital Age. There are many different ways to taking 360 photos. Here's how I do it. After finding the best spot from where to shoot, I aim the camera at an object (preferably the closest one, here I choose the birch trees to the left). I then press the shutter half way down and turn off auto focus. The next step is going to a manual setting that works, take one test photo, and if that one looks good I start shooting, Remember to overlap. It's better to take a few extra photos (as it doesn't cost you anything). I always shoot in the portrait mode. This 360 is from the weekend. I'm standing on the top of a field in Österhaninge. You can see Kalvsvik, the Österhaninge golf course and Husby. And a few other places. There's an ancient grave field at Hässlingby and this is where I took my Autumn Wallpaper photo. I used 15 photos shot in portrait mode for the panorama. Looks a lot better at the original size. When it comes to the stitching I use the free software Autostitch or the stitching tool in Photoshop, but there are many more to choose from.

Watch Where You Step

I met this snake yesterday on a path at the nature reserve in Jordbro. It's a venomous viper and they often enjoy the sunshine here. Same path, last year. Bigger snake.

Fixing the roof

Workers preparing to lay new terracotta roof tiles at Ros-Anders place. One hundred years ago the gardener Gustaf Andersson (he specialised in roses), bought the land here between Kvarnvägen and Södertäljevägen (just across the road from where my great grandfather built his greenhouses), and built this house and set up his greenhouse business. Later his sons, Gustaf and Nils took over the company and it was in operation until the mid 80ths. The green and blue rooftops are from the residential area Rosgården, built where once the greenhouses stood. Shot this from the hill at Bergdalen.

A New View

A brand new view. This is Solsäter, a new area in Tungelsta. 55 houses will be built here, around 15 are already in place. This panorama was shot from a hill that has been cleared from all the trees. No idea why as there are no houses planned up here. But the view is pretty good and new. I met a visiting couple, their friends are building a new home here, see photo below. They had been watching the sunset from the hill the other night, and it was a good one they told me. You will see more at the original size.

Baaaaaa!

Meet 07122. As I came down Stabergs Road in Nedersta the other day, I noticed the sheep for the first time this year.They belong to Karin Mörling. You can often see the Border Collie Ned herding the sheep. The sheep live across the road in the old barn (and at the pasture there), but sometimes they spend some time here. To see the rest of my blog posts (and a video!), about sheep press here.

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