At the Grocery Store

I got an odd feeling today as I walked around in my local coop konsum grocery store in Tungelsta. I can't put my finger on it, but the employees looked a bit different. The woman at the meat counter scared me away so I didn't get any minced meat.



As I then looked for some pasta sauce, I ran into the manager, Helen Andersson, who I at first didn't recognise. Earlier this year she was voted coop franchisor of the year.



Then I had to look more closely at the check-out girl, because she too looked a bit different.



In the end I probably came home with a few missing groceries but I guess I could always try again tomorrow!

Before the Snow (and chaos)

This is the before photo. We are expecting the first heavy snow fall of the season sometime tomorrow. If and when it starts to snow I will open the bedroom window for the after photo. Stay tuned. The buildings you see here belongs to the Tungelsta School.

That Old Tree

A cold and misty morning. Around midday I headed over to the old tree at Välsta for a photo. Met a woman out walking her dogs. We talked about photography and a few local issues, and ended up with the conclusion that one really should open a farmer's market place (and cafe), at the old Krigslida barn. Not unlike the idea Torbjörn had.

The Sheared Sheep

A while back I posted a photo of the dog trainer Karin Mörling. On that day I took some photos of her sheep but they were not very good. So as I passed by Nedersta today I stopped for a few photos. This is one of her sheep. It's a black-faced Suffolk sheep.

Stranger #99

This is Joppe. He is from Stockholm. I met him at the Eskil's Park in Handen today. We had time to talk about a few things. Among them photography. Joppe enjoys shooting graffiti. I told him to create a flickr account and show off his photos, but he said he was planning to set up his own web site. He used to work at a web agency, so I'm sure his site will be a well designed one. Twenty years ago Joppe played in a Swedish Death Metal band, called Crematory. It's weird he told me. We have a cult following now. Back then no one cared about our music. Now there's a Myspace fan club with many members, and I recently noticed that you could buy our CD on eBay for 1500 SEK! It would have been great with all this attention back then when we were still playing he continued. I would have to agree with Joppe on that one. As we were talking about Death Metal I had to mention this fun story. After some more talk about photography and computer viruses I took a couple of shots and that was that. As I came home I Googled the band and found this interview with one of the band members in case you want to know more about Crematory.
This is my 99th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

Autumn Horse

The weekend weather hasn't been any good for photography, at least not the kind I enjoy. So here is another view from Alby, taken a few days ago. Alby is a rural part of Haninge with a few small horse farms.

Autumn at Alby

Alby is a small rural part of Haninge. A few days ago I went for a walk across the fields here and took some autumn photos.

On top of the hill

This hill at Kalvsvik in Österhaninge is called Kikarberget. Which could translate to Lookout Hill or something like that. On the top, not far from the mystery rock, you will still find some remains of an old hill fort. The name Kalvsvik is said to come from Kalsvi which was the name of a farm here, some 700 years ago. Long before that Kalvsvi could have been a place for offerings and rituals. There are a few rune stones nearby, here's one . There's also a big ancient grave field in the area and a possible offering stone on another hill.

Nature Park

Autumn at the nature park Slätmossen in Handen today. A former wetland and peat deposit that was made into a park a decade ago. Same place two weeks ago. If this view looks familiar to you it's possible that you might have seen my View From A Bridge set.

That Old Tree

A girl riding her horse down the path at the old tree at Välsta on a beautiful autumn day.

The Harley Man

Meet Andreas. He was out on a ride on his Harley Davidson Fat Boy on Saturday when the drive belt broke. His friends were long gone when I met him on the side of the road near Skutan in Handen. Andreas was waiting for the tow truck to arrive so we had time for a chat. Together with his friends he had been to Café Rosenhill a place very popular among bikers. When I explained the 100 Strangers Project Andreas asked if I could send him the photos. Andreas is married and has two kids. He is a salesman in the IT business, but is currently looking for a new job. When he's not driving his Harley he coaches a local ice hockey team in Tyresö where he lives. He had asked his wife and daughter to take some photos of his bike but as that hadn't yet happened he was going to surprise them with my photos, and I hope that worked out for the best!

This is my 98th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

The Architect and the Ethologist

This is Andreas and Adde from Brandbergen. I met them at Skutan in Handen on Saturday. They were planning to go for a walk along the nature path. They have known each other for twenty years and met at Secondary school. Andreas is an architect. He has designed a few buildings on the island of Gotland and one house at Alby here in Haninge. Today he lectures at KTH, the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. On his free time he enjoys the Japanese Martial Art Aikido ,which he also teaches at a local club in Brandbergen. Adde is an ethologist who has worked as a researcher at the zoological institution at the Stockholm University. He is a keen nature photographer hence the camera (as is Andreas btw), and he also enjoys bird watching. When I was ready to take their portrait my Canon died (Error 99). Luckily I had my point&shoot with me and took my photos with that camera. And guess what. As the guys headed off into the forest I walked back to the bird tower and obviously the Canon then came back to life again!

This is my 97th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

Geese

Back in the 1930ths the Canadian Goose was introduced to Sweden. Since then it has spread around Scandinavia and south. Every year the Geese fly south to Denmark and Poland and some continue all the way down to Italy and Spain. I stopped at Upper Lake Rudan yesterday and found a group of Geese there. Among the many Canadian Geese I also spotted a Greylag Goose.

Autumn Wallpaper 2.0

Another stop at the hill in Österhaninge where I shot a cool Wallpaper photo one year ago. I've been looking to get a decent version this year and this is the best one so far.

The Elk Hunter

It's elk hunting season. I met one of Sweden's 270 000 elk hunters just two days ago. He was standing at his designated spot at Ormsta in Västeraninge. Meet Rolf. Born and raised in Stockholm he moved to Vendelsö in Haninge back in 1974, where he works as a carpenter. His big hobby over the last 15 years has been hunting. Most of the time he hunts for deer and hare, but he has also shot two elks over that period. The first one, not far from where we met. It was a very special feeling he told me. I was told to wait close to where an elk had been spotted earlier, and was very surprised when it came back to that same opening in the forest. The elk is a majestic animal, known here as the King of the forest, so it wasnt easy for Rolf to shoot it. This year his team can shoot one fully-grown adult elk and as many calves as they can find in their hunting area, which is around 500 hectares of open fields and forests. As we talked we could see and hear the hunting dogs coming out of the forest. Here are some facts. Across Sweden there are some 350,000 elks, and every year one third of these will be culled. You can read more about hunting in Sweden here. We talked for about ten minutes or so, I then took my photos and continued down the gravel road towards Österhaninge.


This is my 96th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

A home with a view

A house on a hill overlooking Upper Lake at Rudan in Handen. Framed here by the autumn colors.

Autumn Road

A beautiful autumn day. I took a lengthy bike ride in the sunshine. This is the old gravel road at Kalvsvik. It dates back to the Viking era. If you follow this road you will pass the horse farm at Kalvsvik where there's a rune stone. Then if you turn right there's a pedestrian tunnel that will take you to a nature reserve. That's what I did. I then continued to a nearby lake where I met fellow flickr photographer Kenny Lex and also one of my Strangers, Juha.

Karin

Meet Karin Mörling. And one of her dogs, the three year old Border Collie Ned. Karin comes from Hestra, a small village in Småland, but lives in Lida in Haninge today. She is married and has two kids. As you might guess Karin's big hobby is sheep herding. I have seen and photographed her sheep at the Nedersta farm many times before, and today I got a chance to talk to her as she was preparing for a class. She showed me some of the herding calls, using both English and a sheepdog whistle as Ned moved a group of Suffolk sheep around. I've been doing this for ten years now she said. Karin is a member of a local herding dog club, Mälarmården that has around 120 members. Over the weekend she took part in a competition organised by the Swedish herding dog society. She's hoping to make it to the national championships sometime in the future. Karin also works as a dog trainer, and has studied psychology and leadership at the Linköping university. Here is a fun fact. Karin's dad googled his daughter and ended up looking at some of my photos! Perhaps he saw some of my Sheep on the run shots! As we were finishing talking and taking photos, her students started arriving and that was it.

This is my 95th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

Castle Avenue

Autumn colors along the North Castle Avenue at Årsta in Österhaninge. The castle looks like this. There's a golf course here and you can see the fairways on both sides of the old road. The weather was great today so there was quite a few golfers out there looking to make a birdie or two.

Gone Fishing

We have had some amazing weather lately. On such a day I decided to head over to Lake Rudan for some autumn photos. And that's were I met Björne. He was fishing from one of the piers. He wasnt expecting to get any fish, but as the weather was so good he didn't really care. Björne comes from Södermalm in Stockholm, but lives in Haninge these days. He was up until four in the morning playing and recording music at home, so he admitted to be a little tired when we met. What type of music do you play I asked. I play visrock he said. I sing and play the guitar. I'm not in a band now, but I did play in a band called Zombie Zoo many years ago, and we actually played here at Rudan at a festival. But we were more into partying and the bass player couldn't really play at all so I asked if there was a decent bass player in the crowd and this Norwegian dude took over. He was the best bass player I have ever played with! We didn't have any lyrics, so I just made them up as the gig went on. In the end we played for three hours and the crowd seemed to like us! After this funny story we talked some more, and then I took my photos at that was it.

This is my 94th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

Lakeside View

A small lake in Jordbro. It's called Lillsjön. Looks good all the time, and autumn is no exception. If you don't know it's there you are bound to miss it. I often go by here on my way to and from another lake in the area and every now and then I will stop for a photo.

A Day at the Beach

Some serious sunshine this week. I stopped at the beach for a while two days ago. Met three babes from the Stockholm University that didn't have the guts to be photographed. And I had a nice chat with these two ladies. They had brought water, food, crossword, and everything else you might need, and were planning to stay all day. We had time to discuss everything from golf courses, around the world trips, getting to and from the beach with the help of a walker, and of course the weather. This shot was taken from one of the piers from where I normally take my beach panorama photos.

Window of Opportunity

Whenever I look at the reflection from the big windows at the Riksäpplet (Campus Haninge) building they show me something new. The dancing building is Najaden at the Rudsjöterrassen in Handen.

We Shoot Film

A little out of breath as I had been on a lengthy bike ride, I had to stop at St Eskil's Park in Handen when I spotted three young photographers. I quickly explained the 100 Strangers Project and the trio agreed to have their portrait taken. This is Bella, Oscar and Sofie. All three are third-year students at the nearby Fredrika Bremer Secondary School. I asked them if they were out on a school assignment and they told me that they were. We take a course in photography. We shoot film, and today's assignment handles Depth of Field they told me. I asked if there was any chance of seeing their work online but that wasnt the case. I told them that there are quite a few flickr groups for film lovers, so who knows, maybe they will set up an account. Bella, to the left comes from Dalarö . She's a swimmer and also plays volleyball for Dalarö Sports Club. Oscar comes from Jordbro and his big hobby is longboarding. Sofie lives in Tungelsta and enjoys travelling. When I asked her to pick a favorite place she choose Koh Samui in Thailand. After this short interview I took a few photos and that was it.
This is my 93th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

Christine

This is Christine. A friend of Barbie. I met the girls in Västerhaninge last week. Christine lives in Södertälje. She's currently not working. I'm just a pregnant housewife she said with a big smile. And as I took a closer look I could see that she must be expecting a baby some time early next year. So what's with the haircuts and the piercings I asked. Is it some sub culture or music thing? No it's just our style she said. I asked Christine if she had any fun hobbies. Not now in my current situation she answered. But when I was younger I was into horse back riding and gymnastics she continued. After this very brief conversation I took some quick photos of both girls just as their driver drove up next to us (they were on their way to some sort of party). And because I ran out of time I didn't have the opportunity to look through the photos as I normally do, and alas didn't see that the shots of Christine was slightly out of focus.

This is my 92th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

Another Autumn Avenue

I pass by here almost every day. And once in a while I lift the camera. This is the tree lined avenue leading up to the old farm at Nedersta.

Is There Anybody Out There?

I noticed this big antenna on the grassy field at Lake Rudan on a recent visit. Next to the antenna was a big military type tent and a group of people. I had to investigate. And that's how I met Thomas and Carl-Mikael. They are both members of SKØZA. A brand new (June 2008) ham radio club for the greater Stockholm area. The club has around 40 members. Thomas, to the left lives in Vega in Haninge and works at Addici in Stockholm. Carl-Mikael lives at Arlanda, north of Stockholm and works for Securitas. If you are into ham radio here are their calls. Carl-Mikael SAØAZS. And Thomas SMØWQT. Thomas wife Pirjo, SMØYPK is also a member. Today they had a field day and a car boot sale in Handen. Another member Kalle SAØAWX owns a big truck and it was thanks to him they got the antenna in place. The guys told me about the rules for getting a DXCC diploma. Around six million people around the world are involved in ham radio.There are a few flickr groups for the ham radio enthusiasts. If you want to know more about ham radio there's a wikipedia article with lots of facts. Zoom in on the guys.

This is my 90th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

Barbie

As I come down the bike path towards the mall in Västerhaninge a few days ago, I could see the back of a teenage girl. She was on the other side of a hedge, but I could tell that she had a very cool hairstyle so I turned that way for a better look. She was waiting with a friend for their ride to show up at the parking lot so I had a few minutes to talk to them. I asked about the roses they had and they said they were on their way to some sort of party. This is Barbie. Obviously that's a nick name her real name is Mikaela. Barbie lives in Västerhaninge and goes to school in Tungelsta. She's a ninth grader. I comment on her football scarf and says something like you must be an old fan of AIK. I'm a huge fan of AIK, but I'm not really that old she says and gives me eye. Point taken. AIK for those of you that don't follow Swedish soccer is one of the top football clubs in the country. How much of a fan are you I ask. I go to all their matches she tells me. That's quite an effort for a fifteen year old girl. Last time I checked the ticket prices starts at 180 SEK per game. Tomorrow I will show you a photo of Barbie's friend.

This is my 91th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.

City Hall Reflection

Part of a big window at the City Hall building in Handen. It used to be known as teliahuset (The Telia Building). Last year that company moved out and the politicians moved in. The reflections comes from Najaden. A large building overlooking Lake Rudan. There's a hotel there. And a night club. And a gym. And more. I have a thing for windows and reflections and has to take photos every time I see a cool reflection.

Journalist & Photographer

This is Magnus Kristenson. A journalist and photographer that works at Mosebacke Media, a freelance bureau in Stockholm. I saw his camera and asked if he was out taking autumn photos. That wasnt the case. He was in Västerhaninge on assignment. Looking to photograph among other things a cyclist for a magazine, Haninge Today that his company produces. Luckily I was able to help him with that and also answer a few questions. So maybe I will be in the next issue! Magnus who lives in Nacka enjoys sailing and travelling. His favorite part of the world when it comes to photography is Latin America. You can see some of his photos here.

This is my 88th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set