Walpurgis Celebrations

Students all around Sweden put on their student caps on Friday. It is an old tradition and these days it means that all exams are over, and over the next 4 to 6 weeks before graduation the students will be busy partying like crazy. It is very expensive for their poor parents who will have to pay for everything! Just the cap will set them back 1200 SEK.The photos in this set are from Poseidon's Square in Handen, where students from one of the local secondary schools Fria Gymnasieskolan gathered to listen to (and sing with), the all male choir Birger that performed traditional student songs. The weather was amazing, like a normal Swedish summer day. I talked to a very proud grandmother whose grandchild Mikaela can be seen here somewhere. I also spotted the very cute Karin whom I met and photographed a few months ago. Later today celebrations will continue with more singing around the bonfires.

Tulip mania?

Tulip mania in Haninge? Not really, but last year the municipality decided to spend 1 000 000 SEK on flower arrangements around Haninge, and especially at a few roundabouts. I remember seeing Janne Sandh and some of his colleagues planting the tulip bulbs here last autumn, and now we can see the result, although I am unsure if the motorists have time to notice the flowers. The building in the background houses a few stores and also the S.A.T.S gym where Nina works. It wasn't easy creating this panorama.There's always much traffic here, and I had to let a few buses and a number of cars pass by during the shoot. If you would like to see it bigger Press Here.

A Meeting with the Police

I chased down the police yesterday. I spotted these four guys on a bike path in Jordbro. They were a few hundred meters ahead of me so I had to bike hard to catch up with them. In an effort to make the police more visible on the streets around Stockholm, the Police commissioner Carin Götblad has decided that more officers should be out in the public rather than behind a desk. So for two weeks every year the police cancels most of their internal meetings and steps outside to meet the people. And that was the reason why Max (to the right), had three visiting police chief colleagues from Stockholm with him today. The other three are from left to right Roland, Mikael and Patrik. They had been out for a few hours when I met them in Handen, and they told me that they had visited most urban areas in Haninge during their 40 km ride. So for the next few days you will see many officers out on the streets, Max said that he will have five or six officers on bicycles during the upcoming Walpurgis Night celebrations.

More facts here.

The Firefighter

This was a different encounter. As I was shooting a couple of portraits of Fredrik, this woman ran past us. A few minutes later I caught up with her and from my bike I asked her if I could take a portrait and ask a few questions. Sure, as long as I can keep running was the answer! So I started asking my questions on the fly. This is Nina from Tungelsta. She was out on a 20 kilometre run in preparation for her first Marathon, the Stockholm Marathon. As you can see she is super fit. Nina works as a personal trainer at S.A.T.S gym in Handen, but she recently passed the fire-fighter entrance exam and is currently in a very tough seven week programme in her fire-fighter training. After our chat I then had to leave Nina behind me so to speak as I needed to jump off the bike and snap a few quick shots before she ran past me again!

Who Needs a Gym?

It was the warmest day of the year Monday. Heading home I spotted this guy walking towards me in Jordbro. He was sweating profusely. The reason for that was his backpack that weighed around 45 kilo (99 Pounds). This is Fredrik. He works as a specialist instructor at the Amphibious Regiment at the Haninge garrison at Berga. He has had that job for around two years. Fredrik did his military service at the same regimen ( as a diver), and decided that he wanted a career in the military. I visited the regiment last summer and have a few photos in a flickr set. Fredrik figured that a brisk walk from the regiment to his home in Handen would be a tough workout, I think that was a correct assumption.

The Hurried Cyclist

I was waiting at a railway crossing on Sunday when Ingvar, who came from the other side of the crossing decided to cross, despite that the barriers were down. I made a comment about it and we started to talk. Turns out that he knew quite a lot about my family. When he was a kid he took a ride in my grandfathers old 1937 Chevy, a car I have never heard about. Ingvar's grandfather bought a bakery in Tungelsta many years ago, a place where my mother used to buy bread. The building is still around, but today it is a private residence. Ingvar also told me that I had taken a photo of him a few years ago. That is the second photo in this post which is fun because it looks like I could have taken both photos on the same day and not two years apart! I also learned that Ingvar is good friends with one of my cousins. Oh, and we both ride crescent bicycles that we have bought from the same local shop. In the end we talked for about ten minutes, so the time he was hoping to save by not waiting for the commuter train to pass was lost because of me.

The Art Gallery Garden

I took a bike ride down to the art gallery in rural Österhaninge today, for a look at the annual Easter Art Show. At least that was the idea. Instead I ended up in the garden, enjoying coffee and cake while chatting to one of the artists. For a better look at the gallery Press Here to see the original size of the panorama. You might have to wait a few seconds as it is rather large.

Resting near the Cemetery

Spotted these two sitting on a red sofa on the pavement in front of the cemetery in VH today. Not something you see everyday. This is Mats and Mikael taking a breather. They told me that they got a few looks from passing traffic. They were transporting the sofa from apartment A to apartment B. And the good thing with that sort of workout is that you can stop for a rest any time. My only advice to them was to remember to stretch after the exercise.

The Siberian Girl

This is Azalia. I met her in Handen yesterday. She is a secondary school student. Studying the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. She is originally from Surgut in Siberia, but have lived in Sweden for five years. Azalia enjoys fashion and works extra for a tailor in Stockholm. In a few years time she sees herself studying at Oxford. She hasn't decided on a profession yet, but you are looking at a possible future Psychologist.

Viper & Toad

These two are not friends. Especially since the Viper tends to eat the Toad whenever it gets an opportunity to do so. I met the Viper in Jordbro this afternoon as it was crossing the bike path. I noticed the Toad on a road in Handen an hour earlier.

Woman with a Parasol

I had a Claude Monet moment in Handen yesterday when I noticed a woman with a parasol. This is Karin. She is a student, and lives in Jordbro. As you can probably guess she has an interest in fashion and clothes. She told me that she creates and designs most of the dresses she wears. She bought the parasol yesterday. In the future she might work with fashion, although she is too much left wing to really appreciate the fashion business/industry. Karin also enjoys travelling. She's been to Ireland a few times and she told me about a visit to São Paulo in Brazil she made with a friend a couple of years ago.

Spring Flowers

Some spring flowers. Coltsfoot behind a rusy fence in Jordbro. And Wood Anemones at Bergdalen in Tungelsta.

Cruising with Diesel

This is Diesel the Dog. Sitting in his dog carrier waiting for the photographer to stop shooting. Diesel belongs to Carina. I spotted Carina & Diesel at Poseidon's Square on Sunday and knew that I had to take their portrait. Carina told me that she has been driving motorcycles for around four years. She uses the Honda Shadow on a daily basis for as long as the weather and climate will let her. When she's not out on the road with Diesel she is busy running her Pressbyrån franchise.

Riding his Motorcycle

Nice spring weather yesterday with around 15C and a clear blue sky. I took a bike ride as did this guy although he is cheating by using an engine. I was having a cup of coffee at my favorite cafe when I heard the motorcycle, from where I was sitting I only had a second to get the shot but it turned out OK. A little later I had to walk home with the bike after a third flat tire in a week.

Segwaying through the cones

It was her first time on the Segway. I heard one or two screams of fear, joy but she didn't have any real problem staying upright.

Mad About Hats

The first time I saw Annette was last summer. I was enjoying coffee and cake at Malmens cafe in Handen when I noticed her blue earrings and lifted the camera for a quick candid portrait. These days I see her a couple of times every week as she is now working at the cafe! She is mad about hats. She told me that she started wearing hats at the age of two. After I took this photo of her leaving the cafe yesterday afternoon she turned around and asked me if I would be interested in a hat photoshoot, sounds like an idea!

The Abandoned Farm House

Over the years I have written many posts about Nödesta with photos of sheep, collapsed barns, nice cottages, a tractor babe, tree lined avenues and more. Nödesta is an old farm that dates back 700 years. On the property you will also find this building. During late spring, summer, and early autumn the Falu-red painted farm house is hidden away behind the trees. But at the moment you can see it from the road, and the other day I stopped at the tree lined avenue to take this photo. And on a very warm summer day last July I decided to check out the house more closely and if you want to, so can you in this short slide-show.

Skywatching

Walking down the path to the old tree yesterday I met Åke from Västerhaninge. He is into model planes and as we talked about this hobby of his he got the rc airplane up in the air in no time. I know nothing about this sport so it was interesting to hear some facts from Åke who had no problem manoeuvring the plane in all sorts of ways while explaining the facts to me.

Poladroid Art

Two Poladroid photos from two art exhibitions held at the Haninge Cultural Centre in Handen this spring. Back in March Fredrik Hofwander showed some of his art. Including this great pencil drawing of a doll house-sized Ultrahuset, a legendary punk music scene in Haninge back in the 1980s.

At the moment they are showing an installation by the Norwegian artist Tori Wrånes. It's all about The Belief of Human Electricity whatever that means. The installation includes the hammer hanging from the roof in front of these paintings/photographs and also a projection of photos showing the artist as she is working on the installation, and also this,(you will have to follow the link).

Man Made Objects

I was having coffee on the stage at the cafe at the Cultural Centre yesterday with my friend Jim, when I noticed two tiny objects placed near one of the doors. They were maybe a few centimetres high.

Eating Outdoors

We had a warm and sunny spring day today. Everyone seemed to be out enjoying the weather and finding a nice place for a bite to eat. Like the Roe Deer at Nedersta and the two women at the Slätmossen nature park in Handen.

Details

I have returned the Canon Powershot SX 30 IS camera to it's owner and told him what I thought about the camera. I didn't have time to check out all the features, but I really like the fantastic zoom, and the macro was not bad either. Like my old Ixus it had a stitching feature with is always useful. I have made a flickr set with some of the photos I took. You will probably recognise a few places. Like the Tungelsta stationhouse, the mirror shot, and the tree lined avenue. The architectural detail photo was shot with the use of the super zoom and it is from a building overlooking Lake Rudan in Handen. So if you need a point and shoot that can handle everything, this is a camera for you.

Biking Towards Spring

Out on a bike ride on the same day that my stationary computer died, I stopped at this gravel road in Nedersta for a fun shoot with my cheap PowerShot A495. Yesterday I got the pc working again and could stitch together the photos from that day. The structure to the right is the collapsed barn I have showed you a few times.

Same scene from January has a bit more snow.

Skywatch Friday.

Tussilago Fanfara

As a kid I always looked around for signs of Spring. My favorite was always the Tussilago that one would find close to the greenhouses at home. Today, a few decades later I still look for such signs. It probably have everything to do with the climate we live in. And my obsession with Fibonacci spirals, check out the slideshow! Anyway, this was the first Tussilago I have seen this year. Found it next to a bike path between Lake Rudan in Handen and the Biofuel Power Plant in Jordbro. Shot with the borrowed SX 30. This was as close as I could come.

Posing with Leibovitz and Ohlson Wallin

This is Marie, a horse crazy girl that lives in Tungelsta, and her friend Jennifer, who is from Nynäshamn. I noticed them at the cultural centre in Handen yesterday. They were taking photos of each other and holding up a couple of books, near the Viking Era Runestone. Both girls are photography students at the Fredrika Bremer school. They told me that they were working on a school project, and had just been to the library to pick up the books about Annie Leibovitz and Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin, the two photographers that they will make a movie about. As I told them that I would like to take a portrait, Marie informed me that I had met and photographed her two years ago. That time she was out riding on Nisse, the one eyed horse. It is the sixth time something like that has happened.

Viola tricolor hortensis

I have borrowed a fun camera for a day or two. The Canon Powershot SX30 IS has a super-zoom, with a 35x zoom lens, equivalent to a focal length of 24-840mm. Yesterday I walked down to our old greenhouses, to see what was happening at Blomorado as it is called today. In the newest greenhouse (we built it back in 1990), this was the scene. Thousands of colorful pansy violets to test the cameras macro feature on.

That Old Tree

We were expecting 10 C and a lot of sunshine this past weekend. That didn't happen. This was the scene over at the old tree on Sunday. If you have x-ray vision you should be able to see the a girl and her horse walking down the path.

Honor - Duty - Will

The Society for Liberty in the Nordic countries, Samfundet Nordens Frihet,was an organisation created during World War II. My uncle, Arne Andersson, born in 1919, was a member, and when he died my mother got this pin.

Red Going Green

Coming out of a pedestrian tunnel in Handen I noticed a man with very red hair walking towards me. This is Joachim. A first year student at the Stockholm University where he is studying Biology and Earth Science. He is originally from Visby on Gotland. I asked him if he had any fun hobbies and he mentioned one. Politics. Joachim is a member of the Swedish Green Party, and he has a seat in the regional parliament on Gotland.

Feeling Dizzy?

When I woke up this morning the sun was shining and the temperature had gone up considerable compared to yesterday. I took the opportunity to change into my cycling outfit and go for a quick bike ride down to the beach. The next surprise was that everything had turned green overnight! To celebrate that I decided to climb up to the top of the dive tower and shoot one of those cool Standing at the Edge Vertical Panorama photos that are so much fun!

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