Canola Field

Riding home from the Agricultural College at Berga on Sunday I decided to stop at Stav in Tungelsta, a very old village. The gravel road here dates back to the Viking Era, and you pass by a runestone before arriving to one of the little horse farms. At the farm I saw a very shy foal before walking down to the blooming canola fields. The building in the background is the old smithy, that is no longer in use. Next to it there's an old well that never runs dry. It has saved many farmers and also been used by the local fire fighters many years ago. The fields here are used by the college, but owned by one of the farmers.

The Chainsaw Artist

This is Åke Herrström. A chainsaw sculptor from Norrköping. He has worked in the forest for more than thirty years so he knows how to handle a chainsaw. I met him on Sunday at the Berga Agricultural College during the open-house weekend. He was invited by Studieförbundet vuxenskolan (adult education), and you can see on of their representatives in the slideshow. Åke made this beautiful eagle in no time at all, and it was impressive to see him in action. He showed me some of his earlier sculptures, including a one to one scale Harley Davidson, a work which took him one long summer to create. I asked him if he knew Lennart Jansson another chainsaw artist that I met three years ago and he told me that they had met a few times. To see more of Åke's sculptures check out the photos at his web site.

The Clown

A lot of people are afraid of clowns. That phobia is called Coulrophobia. This sad looking clown is called Max. He is an institution in Sweden and has made more than 5000 shows over the years. I met him earlier today when he was preparing for a show at the Berga Agricultural College. A little later I could hear the kids screaming, so either he was a big hit, or very scary...

A Former Museum

This little cottage at the Hammar estate in Tungelsta was built by a great-great grandparent to the current owner Charlotte. He was a man that sailed with one of the Swedish East India Company ships to India and China nearly two hundred years ago. On the first two trips he brought home many items, and to have a place to store and show them he decided to build this little museum. Sadly he died during his third expedition to Asia. After posting this photo at flickr one of my Swedish readers in the US told me that a relative of his was the captain on one of these ships. Small world.

The Meandering Path

I use this bike path on a daily basis. It is a shortcut between Jordbro and Västerhaninge. The road dates back to the Viking Era. It meanders through an old burial ground with 800 graves from 500 B.C, and a nature reserve called Gullringskärret. If you continue down the path you will see a horse farm.

The Not-So-Ugly Duckling

Another possible title could have been Not A Rubber Duck. Walking through the nature park in Handen yesterday I spotted this yellow duckling. The rest of the bird family looked like normal ducks, so this fuzzy yellow duckling stood out a bit.

Born To Be Wild

Whenever I visit my favorite cafe, Malmens in Handen I will try to get a few candid photos (or portraits). It's fun to sit in the sun, drinking coffee and talking to people. If you live nearby be sure to stop by for lunch or coffee. On a recent visit I spotted this guy driving towards me.

That Old Tree

The old tree at Välsta in Tungelsta is always a late bloomer, but as I walked down the path last evening it had turned green once again. Quite a difference from the week before when I met a couple of horse-back riders on another sunny evening.

On the back-road again

Back in October I showed you three photos from Ormsta in a post I called Taking the Backroad. Yesterday I decided to do a repeat of those three scenes as I was out on a sunny early summer bike ride in the area. And here they are: The typical Swedish farm house. The panorama view over Ormsta. And the old Viking road. I'm quite pleased with all three photos. The only difference from last year is that I didn't meet any horse-back riders this time, so I turned around and took a photo of the road with one of the red houses in the background.

The Grey Agents

I met two grey agents yesterday. Grey agents are time-thieves, so you better be careful if you see them around. They work for The Timesavings Bank. Any time saved by the people will go up in smoke when the grey agents will use that time in their cigars.

In reality these two actresses are called Josefin and Minna. They were on their way home from the theatre when I spotted them this afternoon. Still in character as you can see. It was their last performance today, and they figured it would be coll to dress up like the grey agents at the end of the school year in a few weeks time!

A Not so Candid Portrait

It's tricky sometimes to shoot candid portraits. At least when you are standing so close that the babe in question can hear the camera click. But in the end it made for a better portrait.

Crosscart Racing

Anyone from age ten can try this sport. It is called Crosscart.It was invented by a man called Erland Andersson, from Fjärås back in the 1980s. He wanted to create a new type of racing. Something inexpensive, fun and safe, and most importantly, using a car that you can build yourself. In 1987 his dream came true. The engines are normally from a motorcycle.The sport is said to be similar to Sprint Car Racing. I took these photos at the Högsta motor stadium when they had a open-house weekend. To get a feel about the sport check out these YouTube videos from Högsta.

The Mousetrap

As a member of the historical association I am sometimes asked to photograph old cottages for upcoming books. This is one such place. This property dates back to 1741. The name is a bit unusual. It is called The Mousetrap or Råttfällan in Swedish. It is located at Alby, a rural part of Haninge. The story behind the name is that there once lived a boatswain here who hated rats and he apparently made a lot of mousetraps. That same legend also says that he made traps for roe deers and elks! On my visit I had a lengthy chat with the current owner Mr. Svanäng. He is a retired farmer who has lived her for eleven years.

With the wind in her hair

Crossing a street in Jordbro, at the commuter station, a few days ago, I noticed a familiar car driving towards me so I grabbed the camera and started shooting. The car is a real babe magnet (at least according to the owner Sten-Åke Svensson whom I met a couple of years ago. This is a unique car. It is a KJB. Named after the man who designed and built it. If you would like to see more photos of the KJB be sure to check out my post from my first meeting with Sten-Åke.

Young and Old

A while back I visited the motor-stadium at Högsta in Haninge when they had an open house weekend. The racetrack opened in 1976. At the track you can watch Rally, Folkrace, Offroad, Rallycross and Crosscart. Not sure who the kid in the photo here is, but he was a good motocross racer that's for sure. Second photo shows 85-year old Nils Södergren from Västerhaninge who you have met on this blog before. It's mostly thanks to him that the high flying kid can race here as it was Nils and a friend who started it all back in the 1970s. I talked for a while with Nils and he told me a few interesting stories about his involvement in the club.

Winter vs. Spring

Obviously I prefer the spring half of this diptych as I am a summer person. I shot that photo at the Tungelsta commuter station a couple of days ago. The winter photo dates back to 2007 and in you have been to this photo blog before, chances are that you will recognise that mirror.

Out Of My Way!

I decided to head over to the old tree the other day to see if it had started to turn green yet. As I walked down the path this horse came racing towards me so I decided to grab a few shots. In the sulky sat a young guy, we exchanged a few words before he rounded the tree and disappeared down the path. The land here at Välsta is owned by the Andersson family. They have a horse farm nearby and you will often meet sulky riders and horse back riders here.

Mission Accomplished

Closing in on a roundabout in Handen today I noticed a photographer dressed in leather in action. It was Carina who was busy documenting the thousands of tulips that are growing in the roundabout. When she and Totte (who owns the Harley), passed by here a few days ago Carina told him that she needed to document that and that was what she was doing when I met them today.

Oh, and please don't forget to read about the young banker in the post that disappeared the other day!

You Made My Day

Alex was easy to spot. Hat, earrings, beard, big and colorful tattoo, and a longboard will often be enough to get noticed I think. Alex is 25 and works with welfare services for the disabled. When I met him in Västerhaninge on Wednesday he was out with two friends working on improving his sliding technique on the longboard. When he is not doing that he sometimes designs jewellery like the elephant necklace he is wearing here. He told me that I made his day when I asked him for a portrait. I like that sort of response.

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Oh, and I hope the blogger people get their act together so we can see our posts from yesterday sometime soon.

The Young Banker

This is Oscar Eriksson. A university student with an internship at the Swedish financial group SEB. It's his first year at uni and he plans to keep his job as a trainee at the bank in Handen until he graduates. His big hobby is football. He grew up playing with AIK. And spent one year at San Francisco State University playing soccer. I met him at Poseidon's square yesterday where he was enjoying lunch in the summer sunshine. We talked a bit about flickr and football before it was time to take a few portraits.

Bikini Season - Are You Ready?

Summer arrived to Haninge a couple of days ago. A few people seem to be unaware about that.

I Love That Old Time Music

This is Paula, she was standing in the sunshine reading a book near the commuter station in Handen yesterday afternoon when I came around the corner. The first thing I noticed was one of her tattoos, depicting an old style phonograph. I asked her about it and she told me she loved old-time music. She didn't feel like having her photo taken so I had to turn on the Steffe charm and luckily it worked! Paula is a university college student studying Economics,Science and Design at the Södertörn University in Huddinge. On her free time she enjoys drawing and painting. After I had taken a few quick portraits her ride arrived as we agreed that having ones photo taken really isn't that hard after all.

Toast!

Scary accident of the day. Here is how it happened. The truck was parked just a few meters from the Shell station in Handen when a fire broke out in the cab where the driver was sitting. He got out OK and someone called the rescue service. The fire station is only a kilometre away so they were there in no time. When they arrived the whole truck was burning. The cargo was bread, hence my title. I talked to the driver who was a bit shocked. One of his colleagues had arrived in another truck and they were looking at the damage when I arrived. I talked to a security guard at the nearby mall and he had been a bit worried with a burning truck so close to a fillig station. As I understand it no one was injured in this accident.

Hiding in the Grass

Out on a bike ride a few days ago, I noticed a movement by the side of the road. It was a hedgehog (or Igelkott in Swedish). It was busy trying not to be seen by anyone and especially not by nosy photographers. We locked eyes for a few seconds, and then I snapped a couple of photos before the hedgehog decided it was time to head off to safety.

I'll climb anything!

This is Robert. He stood out a bit from the rest of the people I noticed at Poseidon's square on Friday so I decided to ask him for a portrait. Robert has moved around a bit and currently he lives in Lomma in Malmö in the south of Sweden. He is studying to become a tree surgeon, (or arborist if you like). What do you do for fun I asked. I climb things was his answer. Doesn't matter what it is, if there's a chance that you can climb it Robert will have a go. He has climbed quite a few buildings in Stockholm. Illegally and without any protection of course. It's the best way to get to the roof he told me!

Fenced In

Fences come in many varieties and styles. I normally don't like fences. But they make for interesting photos sometimes. I did a flickr search just now and realised that I had more than enough fence related photos to create a Fence set. The fence here protects a field in rural Österhaninge, and the tree in the background is the Magic Toothache Tree.

Sweet, Smooth and Sassy!

I noticed a 1957 Chevy Bel Air parked at the mall in Handen a few days ago and decided to stop and take some photos. The owner came out as I was shooting and he told me that he had won quite a few awards for his classic car. He has owned it for 11 years and didn't want to tell me how much money he had spent on it.That's not important he said with a smile.

Spring Vs. Summer

Time for another Different Seasons diptych. This is Husby in Österhaninge. The two photos showing Spring and Summer are from April this year and July 2009. You can see two more photos from that summer day in a post that I called Hay Harvesting. And if you want some facts about Husby and also see a winter version of the horse farm have a look at this post from November last year.

That Old Tree

It looks nice on this photo, the old tree. In reality I was caught in a hailstorm yesterday only ten minutes after shooting this photo, my 242th shot of the Swedish Whitebeam. Spring is on hold for the time being. The summer temperature of late have now been replaced with dark skies, short snow falls and as I'm typing this it's no more than 3C in Haninge.

Spring Snaps From the Lake

Two photos from a recent visit to one of the lakes at Rudan. I'm calling the first one: Im @ d lake, whr r you? I sat down next to the girls on the second photo while shooting some photos of a couple of fishers. I then asked the girls if I could shoot a portrait of them, but they turned me down. The blonde said that she preferred to be behind the camera. So I told them that I might take one or two candid portraits from the path and that was fine with them.

The Jewels in Jordbro

There's a fantastic new sculpture in the park in Jordbro. The artwork, in form of a six meter high metal tree, is a collaboration between 125 fourth grade school kids, and the two artists Mette Björnberg and Richard Johansson. The official unveiling took place on Walpurgis Night. The name of the sculpture is Juvelerna i Jordbro, or The Jewels in Jordbro. The jewels are of course all the kids, but also the many silhouettes. The sculpture is said to tell the story how the kids came to live in Jordbro, a suburb with a big immigrant population. During the opening ceremony a few young artists took to the stage and performed a few songs. Oh, and as often happen these days, I spotted a few familiar faces in the crowd, one of them Meira who was there as a proud mother.