Glass Façade

This is the glass façade at the new Biofuel Power Plant that Vattenfall is building next to the existing plant in Jordbro. I find it exiting to shoot at building sites, and I took a very similar photo of this exact view nine months ago. The plant is actually already in operation, although this is still a building site. If you understand Swedish you can read Anders Agebro's diary from the construction work here.

The teacher and her students

Top photo shows Lisa. She had a busy schedule at the Flakrock festival last Saturday. She's the new bass player in the metal band Elemental 6. They were the last band to take to the stage, which was long after I had left so I don't have any photos from their gig. I sat down with Lisa for a few minutes and she told me that she's also performing in a trio called Trösten together with her brother Albin, and a guy called Kenneth Burman. After our talk I took a few portraits, but a little later I spotted Lisa talking to a few friends and decided to take a candid portrait.Lisa works as a music teacher in Brandbergen and she is the proud teacher of the kids in the band And his name was Kangaroo that you can see on the second photo. It was the teenagers second ever gig and Lisa thought they were amazing. If you live locally you can see them later this summer during the Haninge Day celebrations at Lake Rudan.

Old Major Rock Band

These five rockers call themselves Old Major Rock Band. I decided to take a portrait of the band before they took to the stage. The band members are Timo Siikaluoma, Lelle Aldén,German Perez, Kenneth Stefansson and Tommy Gileborn. They played some rock songs from the 1950's and 1960's at the rainy rock festival in Tungelsta on Saturday. According to Tommy, their singer and guitar player German, is the pro musician among them.

Expedition Wanay

After five weeks of sunshine and record breaking temperatures it was time for the 2010 Flakrock festival in Tungelsta. As the first band took to the stage on Friday afternoon it started to rain, and it never stopped. Nine very different bands played during the day and evening. One of the early acts was the guys in Expedition Wanay. They play Southern Rock so it's very fitting that they arrived to the festival in a Chevy Impala,a car that belongs to the guitarist Danne Bonden Jansson. I saw the car approaching and walked over to get a cool photo. One hour later the band climbed up onto the stage and started rocking.

The Impostors

Not sure if there's a band with that name. If not, perhaps Jimmpan and Happy should claim it. I met the guys in Handen last week and figured them for musicians. I was half right as both guys plays instruments. Jimmpan, who is an artist (check out his deviant art site), plays the bass. His friend Happy plays the guitar, and is also in to console games and engines! Jimmpan works at a butchery in Stockholm. Happy is a computer programmer student at BTH in Blekinge. The reason for the title and the guys rock pose, is that I photographed a rock band on this exact spot earlier this year.Oh, and on a cool note, there was a rock festival in Tungelsta a few days after I met these guys, which I told them about, and I did actually meet Happy there. Photos from that event to come in the next few days.

Sunbathing at the amphitheatre

Talking with Rustan at the park in Handen the other day I spotted these two women over at the amphitheatre so I walked over for a chat. This is Anna and Anjelika. They were getting ready for some serious sunbathing and you can't miss such a photo-op! The girls have been friends for more than fifteen years, in fact they were in the same school class from day one, when they were seven years old until they graduated from secondary school 12 years later! Anna works as a personal assistant in Hökarängen and is a football fanatic. Her favorite teams are Man United and DIF (a Stockholm team). Anjelica holds two jobs. One at City Gross (grocery store), and one as a night time receptionist at a hotel in Älvsjö. She enjoys travelling and has visited quite a few interesting places including New York, Bali and Cuba. When the girls are not working they will often go for a pub round at Söder in Stockholm.

Lost in Haninge

This is Jan and Aga Witkowscy and their baby daughter Matylda from Ostróda in Poland. I met them in Västerhaninge on Saturday. They have been on a bicycle holiday around the Baltic region for a few weeks. But now they were lost and needed some directions to the port city of Nynäshamn. The only map they had was a Swedish one which was a bit tricky for them to understand. Their ferry was leaving in three hours so I decided to guide them back on the right track and followed them down to Tungelsta where I pointed them in the right direction, which was road 73. Hopefully they had no problem getting to the port in time, and as I'm typing this they should be out on the Baltic Sea. They have a company called Szkolne Round The World.

Explosion in Tungelsta

Suddenly we heard some kind of explosion. A few minutes later we could hear the police sirens closing in. I decided to see what was going on. It turned out to be a scary accident at an industrial estate here in Tungelsta. As I arrived to the building at Allévägen there was a lot of smoke and flames. Something like fourteen fire trucks arrived along with a lot of police and ambulances. An ambulance helicopter circled the area, but couldn't land, probably because the building housed several acetylene tanks that might explode. I had a very brief conversation with the owner of the company as he was talking to a police officer(third photo), and he told me that three people had been injured. One man who had been badly injured was taken away with the ambulance helicopter that managed to land at the soccer pitch. Police then decided to evacuate 100 homes, but later I heard that only five houses needed to be evacuated. The industrial hotel is most likely totally destroyed. Around 15 companies work from that building. Last year I met and photographed Frida Forshed who at the time was based there.

And the living is easy

Another beautiful and sunny day in Haninge. I spotted this guy at the Eskil's park in Handen. He was listening to music and reading the evening paper. As he finished reading I walked over to ask him for a portrait. This is Rustan. A rather unusual name. There are only 389 people in Sweden with that name and apparently there's a King with that name in One Thousand and One Nights. Rustan is on his holiday break. He normally works with people that suffers from prescription drug abuse, and we talked a bit about that. When he is not sun bathing in the park you will often find Rustan at the gym. One reason to stay fit is that he often plays table tennis with one of his friends. Speaking of friends, I sometimes try to connect the people I have photographed, but this time it was Rustan that did the connecting. He told me that I had previously met one of his friends, Ulf. I like coincidences like that.

Another meeting at the Rondo

I noticed this young girl sitting on a bench in Västerhaninge the other day. The bench is in fact a work of art. It is called The Rondo, and I met the artist when he was putting it together. As I explained to Helena that I wanted to take her portrait she already knew who I was. My sister reads your blog she told me. That probably has something to do with the fact that I have previously met and photographed her older sister Ida. Helena is a secondary student at Östra Gymnasiet and has a few artistic interests. She plays the piano. And is also a self-taught belly dancer! I think I would like to see her in action. When I heard about the belly dancing I told Helena about Princess Leah, whom I met two years ago. Always fun with this type of coincidences.

Sanne & Catlin

I nearly fell off my bike when I noticed the beautiful Sanne sitting on the bench at Poseidon's Square in Handen, but I did manage to stay upright long enough to ask her for a portrait. Sanne lives in Tyresö, a neighbouring municipality to Haninge. Earlier this summer she graduated from secondary school where she was studying law and social science. She is planning to get a higher education, but for the next year or so Sanne will be working at a restaurant in Stockholm called Hurry Curry. On her free time she works out at a gym, and if you think she has a great tan, that's thanks to a recent family vacation on Crete. As I was taking a few portraits, Sanne's equally beautiful sister Catlin showed up, so I decided to take a few photos of the sisters together. Catlin who is a few years younger is herself a secondary school student and is reading the same course as Sanne did. As you can probably guess I couldn't decide which photos to use so I created a set with some of the photos I took of the young women.

Documenting a Cottage

This is Kampkärr. A beautiful old cottage outside of Tungelsta. I rode my bike up the bad gravel road for a visit on Friday as I was out documenting interesting places for the local historical association in Haninge. As I arrived, the veterinarian Eva,who lives here with her horses, was just about to make coffee, so while it was brewing I went for a photo shoot. It is a beautiful place and I sat down with Eva for a chat about the surroundings. The big house was built around 1912 I think. The smaller one on the hill dates back another fifty years. We had a nice chat about all sorts of things. Both our families have owned greenhouse nurseries. And one cool fact is that Eva lived at the Hesslingby mansion for many years. A place I blogged about last Friday.

A Local Legend

This is Tompa Eken. He is a legend in the punk/alternative music scene in Haninge and Stockholm. He has arranged hundreds of gigs with thousands of bands over the last thirty years. When I met him in Handen earlier this summer he was on his way to set up yet another gig at Gula Villan (The Yellow House), in Handen. Featured artist that evening was Nicke from Hellacopters. Tompa was also heavily involved with Ultrahuset ( another legendary music scene in Handen), and at Kafe 44 in Stockholm. But if you ask anyone, his home-baked buns are what made him famous, and he was going to bake some buns this afternoon, and I'm sure they were a big hit as was probably the music. Below are a slideshow with interiour photos from Gula Villan, taken on a visit a while back. As always happens these days I met a familiar face while shooting those photos. Mika, a local musician that you have met before.

An old cottage

In my work for the historical association I recently visited Pettersberg. The place was first mentioned in a book back in 1815. Today Pettersberg is used as a summerhouse and on my visit the family that lives here were busy preparing for a birthday party, but they still had time to give me a brief tour of the place. It's a lovely place off the beaten track. I had a quick look inside as well and it was a bit like stepping back in time.

The Dude is back!

Things are looking good for The Dude. Since I met him for the first time last year he has moved in with his wife. A babe that I actually met briefly some time ago when The Dude showed me her cool back tattoo. Another good thing that has happened to The Dude is that he has a new job. He has also bought a cool convertible as you can see here. And added one or two new tattoos, because I took this photo as he was leaving the tattoo parlour a while back.

The Old Estate

This is Hesslingby in rural Österhaninge. A mansion with a lot of history. Back in 1640 it was owned by Field Marshal Carl Carlsson Gyllenhielm. A few centuries later famous author Fredrika Bremer (1801-1861), had a public school here. Behind the mansion in the forest there's an ancient grave field. These two photos are from the last few weeks and it's good to see that the historical building is being restored to it's former glory. I shot these photos from the Medieval church in Österhaninge. I have a few more photos of this place, one of them was recently published in a book about old farms and estates in Österhaninge.

Skywatch Friday.

Babe of the Day

This is Siw. She's the babe of the day. Siw is retired and lives at Vendelsö. She used to work at Telia, and also as a personal assistant. Her posing dog is a bichon frisé, that answers to the name of Bosse. When we met in Handen yesterday Siw and Bosse where on their way to see a friend who just had a birthday. And as I finished shooting the friend turned up, and by now they have probably already used the birthday gift in Siw's bag, a cooler,not a bad gift considering the weather of late!

The Lovely Emma

I have been shooting a lot of portraits lately of people that used to be strangers to me. Because once I have photographed someone I usually see them all the time. And when I do I often ask if I can take another portrait. And find out what has happened in their life since we last met. So this is Emma. You first met her back in November. Since then I have met her at Malmens cafe a couple of times. Emma's friend Matilda has moved away from Haninge so these days she often hangs with a new friend (not seen here). So while Emma and her sister where having coffee and cigarettes at one table I sat at the next table talking with my friend Jim, while taking a bunch of photos of Emma and her tattoos. She told me they are all about her family. And i really like the Mamma tattoo.

The Old Castle

Time for another different seasons diptych. This time I give you two views of Årsta Castle in Österhaninge. The left part of the diptych is how the castle looked on Sunday as I passed it after a visit to the beach. To the right how it looked in late May of 2008 with the blooming rapeseed in front of the old castle. The castle is open for visitors, and there's a decent restaurant here, but you need to look out for all the golf players!

Fjellner's Abandoned Nursery

Many years ago this was Fjellners' greenhouse nursery at Södertäljevägen in Tungelsta. He was also known as Cactus-Jonsson, so I guess he changed his name at some point and that he cultivated cacti. Apparently he was a real character. At one time when he had sold some flowers to the Swedish King and hadn't received payment he drove into Stockholm and the castle to have a word with the King about that. Not sure if he ever got his money. I had an uncle back then who repaired cars and whenever Fjellner's car broke down he demanded that Börje would leave everything and fix his car immediately! At one time he drove home after a late evening out with some friends, and when he woke up the next morning he realised that he had taken someone else's car! After Fjellner moved a woman from Finland bought the place. She rented out rooms to people (mostly drunks i think), and she never used the nursery, and it has been abandoned ever since. I believe she was fined a few times because she refused to remove the greenhouse skeletons. Since then the property has changed owners again, but as you can see the ugly remains are still here.

A Day at the Beach

Boy was it warm today. At least for this part of the world. It was already 25C when I woke up. So there was really only one place to go. To the beach. This is Årsta Havsbad down by the Hårsfjärden bay. As per usual I arrived on my bicycle and it was a sweaty ride! If you would like to have a closer look at the panorama press here.

The Dinkey Toy Punk Rocker

This dude came racing towards me in Handen and I knew I had to stop him for a chat and a portrait. This is Jonas. A few years ago probably more known as the Dinkey Toy Punk Rocker. Or Leksakspunkarn in Swedish. This is his summer outfit. Which isn't that much different from what he wears during the rest of the year, I normally have black trousers he told me, but it was too warm for that today. He got his nick name because he used to have a few Dinkey Toys hanging from his leather west. Back in the 1980's Jonas used to fly around on a pair of Skorpion skates and as you can see he recently took up that hobby again. I bought two pairs online he told me. The other pair was for his wife. They fit perfectly with the military boots he is wearing.The Dinkey Toy Punk Rocker works as a computer programmer, and on his free time he makes electronic music, and he also creates fantasy maps. You can check out what he is up to on his web site.

The Scent of Summer

Nothing says summer like a blooming rapeseed field. And luckily for me there's always a few fields in Haninge to photograph every summer. You will find this curved field in Österhaninge. I think the land here is farmed by Rolf Norlin whom you met on this blog two years ago. If you walk into that forest in the background you will find end up in the Gullringskärrets nature reserve, something I have done a few times. I shot this on Wednesday and it is now my new desktop photo.

Skywatch Friday.

Farm Life

I received a useful document a while back. It's an ID-card from the municipality, and the local historical association. It is supposed to help me to get in everywhere and document old farms and other places of interest. So a few days ago I decided to stop at a small farm in Tungelsta. It is owned by Ingegerd Andersson. She has lived here all her life. She inherited the farm from her dad. When my mother was a young girl she used to come to Haga to buy eggs. Not sure if you can do that today but there is a busy henhouse here.You will also find cattle, horses, sheep and a friendly dog. And of course the farmer Bill who has worked at the farm for half a century. Below is a slideshow with some of the photos i took on my visit. Oh, and I didn't even have to use the ID-card as Ingegerd soon realised that she knew quite a few people in my family.

At the Cafe

I was having coffee at Malmens konditori in Handen with Jim and Fred yesterday afternoon. At the next table Sara and her baby daughter Saga was waiting for Lena and Agnes to arrive. The two young mothers who both live in Haninge met at the baby clinic some seven months ago. Sara (in the black top), is a secondary school teacher that teaches Swedish and Latin at the Skogås Gymnasium. Lena is an IT Support Manager. But at the moment they are both on parental leave. We talked a bit about Tungelsta, and all the abandoned greenhouses there, and I told Lena to head over to Wolmer's nursery and nick some roses there before they disappear, something she had planned to do, but not yet dared. Just blame me I told her.

The Croc on the Rock

Plenty of dangers these days to take into account when you go swimming. If you ever decide to visit the tiny beach Dalen at Drevviken in Haninge be sure to watch out for the croc on the rock!

An Action Packed Drama

Who will win the crazy golf championship this year? That question will be answered at Eriksbergsparken in Brandbergen over the next six days. The 2010 Swedish Championships in miniature golf, as the pro's like to call the sport, got under way in Handen on Sunday with the opening ceremony (you can watch a video of that here). There was also a lot of practising. I took a stroll around the course as some of the participants were busy practising. If you would like to play here the fee is 50 SEK per person. But for a family with two kids it's only 100 SEK.

The Beautiful Lejla

The temperature was high yesterday. Nearly 30 C. I was out on a bike ride, and had stopped for a light lunch at Poseidon's square when I noticed this beauty enjoying the sunshine at the stairs to the cultural centre. This is Lejla. She was on her lunch break. She works as a hairdresser at Satch, at the Haninge mall. Lejla lives in Jordbro. She spends a few hours at the gym every week. She's planning for a trip to Mexico. On her free time she enjoys listening to rock and heavy metal music. Which probably was what she was doing when I decided to ask her for a portrait. She asked me how she should pose and I said, just sit there and look good. So that's what she did.

Cookie The Peacock

I was having coffee on Thursday afternoon with Karl Gunnar Lord. He was a close friend to my dad. They grew up together in Tungelsta, and were class mates, and you can see both of them on this school photo from 1936. Midway through the coffee drinking we were interrupted by Cookie the Peacock. He is twenty years old and is always looking to get another cake, hence the name. So obviously I had to give him a bun which he ate from my hand (sort of). He is a busy bird Cookie, as there are a few pheasants in the neighbourhood that he has to keep track of (and chase away). You will sometimes find him on the roof of an old playhouse from where he can overlook the surroundings. There are also a couple of cats to keep him alert. Cookie usually spends his nights a few meter up the impressive oak tree in the back garden. Oh, and if you plan to visit, don't arrive in a big noisy truck because chances are that Cookie will go mental and attack you and the truck.

Looking up at the blue sky

A while back I noticed workers cutting down some trees next to a pedestrian bridge at a small forested area in Jordbro. When they were done, a couple of diggers arrived and made a big hole which quickly turned into a small lake after some serious rain fall. A couple of days ago I walked out to the former hole/lake that has now been filled with concrete and placed myself in the middle of that concrete and raised the camera straight up to get this cool photo of the new cell tower.

Skywatch Friday.

A Few Reflections

This months theme was an easy one. Reflections. I'm always looking for another reflection shot. To prove that here are three recent photos. The first one is the back side of a side mirror from an old car that I saw at the Retrorun meet.

The second one is actually from the Midsummer celebrations last weekend! A newish tradition in Sorunda is to arrive to the festivities in your classic car. If you look really closely at this Ford Greyhound ornament you can see at least three versions of me.

Finally a self portrait in a coffee spoon. Over the last two weeks I have been enjoying a lot of coffee (and cake), at a cafe in Handen. By chance I decided to visit the place one afternoon and on the way there I met an acquaintance who was heading the same way. Fred was meeting my friend Jim at the cafe so we walked over there together. Arriving, we couldn't see Jim, but Fred noticed another buddy of his, Magnus, and before you knew it the four of us became a tight group and now you are likely to see us there most afternoons. The coffee is only 15 SEK and we can drink as much as we like. One of the owners, Henrik, and the poor waitress Andrea have already gotten used to us taking photos of them, and everyone else we find interesting like the tattooed hairdresser that works next door.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants