It was the warmest day of the year. I was on the bike and came up behind these two cyclists and asked them about their run. They were almost done for the day, so when I asked if I could shoot a portrait they agreed and we crossed the road to find a place to sit down for a chat. This is Kalle and Ingemar. They are brothers and have lived in Västerhaninge since 1963. I gave them my MOO minicard and Ingemar got a card with a familiar uphill climb, at least if you live around here and Ingemar said he had struggled up that hill many times. Normally I will ask where people work and got a surprising answer this time. Both brothers are retired with a pension from the state. They have a genetic back disorder which destroys the vertebral column, and are now patients at the Löwenströmska specialist hospital. Kalle (to the left) has always enjoyed working out at the gym so he is really strong which is a good thing in his current situation as keeping fit is one way to beat the disorder. He is a bit of a computer geek and did know quite a lot about peer-to-peer networks, whereas Ingemar is the family man of the two with four kids. As happens quite often these days since starting to shoot may portraits, I have met one of the brothers again.
10 comments:
I like your interviews. Great idea. Have a wonderful weekend.
Interesting profile. As an American, my first reation is that in the USA the insurance company paying disability benefits would probably send an investigator out to film them riding their bikes and then try to cut off their benefits.
Another fascinating story. And they are taking action to deal with their problems.
But...what happened to the pretty girls?
Nice portraits! Very interesting!
How upsetting, though, too!
Helmets firmly in place. I wish some of that security awareness could trickle into the rest of our road traffic.
Your Strangers photos are wonderful, Steffe. I do like the stories that you collect along with the photographs. I am into the final stages of my Strangers project. It has been such a worthwhile project. Not sure what I will do when I reach 100 ...
Thanks all. I hear you Dave. In this case the brothers need the exercise and great muscular strength to keep the back disorder at bay.
No worries Jacob, more pretty girls to come!
There has been some scary accidents in this area lately. Using a helmet when riding a busy road is sound advice. I will check out you strangers series Julie. It's great fun isn't it?
Great story and I'm glad that they are taking action to help themselves fight the disease. Great series, by the way.
This is another great photo - neat guys.
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