One of the more familiar faces at the Raggar meet was Anna. She's a local girl, and just like with Annika I have taken portraits of her for the last three years at this event. As you can see she has a few interesting tattoos. I wonder if you can guess the brand of car she drives...
It's the Day of the Dodge. Looks like Dodge owners have at least one thing in common. They want their vehicles to be seen. These were three of the hundreds of cars I spotted at the big meet over the weekend.
If you were to ask any of the real "Raggare" about their favorite music the answer would probably be Rockabilly and Elvis Presley. This is Anders Karlstedt. I met him and his son Jack at the car meet on Saturday. Anders is a singer & songwriter. He also does a tribute show to Elvis Presley and has travelled the world with his show. He has toured in the US with The Jordanaires, the band that played with Elvis for many years, and in 2008 they made a record together. If you would like to hear him sing there are many Youtube videos to watch.
There are countless meets every summer for the people in the unique Swedish sub culture raggare. I usually visit the one in Haninge, and this year was no exception. Two hundred or so vintage cars and around six hundred people gathered at Vegabaren for a few hours of fun. I took two hundred photos during my stay. This is Annika Jonsson. She will look familiar to some of you as it is the third year in a row that I have snapped a portrait of her. She was hoping to win her third title in five years in the category Best Greaser Girl. I will show you more photos from this event in the coming days.
I noticed Sofie in Handen and immediately knew that I would have to ask her for a portrait. I told her that I was specifically looking for someone with red hair and that made her ask why. It's a project in the Utata group over at flickr. Sofie is a university student studying technology. She attends the Lund University. Originally she comes from Rimforsa in Östergötland. This summer Sofie has stayed with her sister who lives in Haninge, and during the summer she has been studying German at KTH in Handen. She sings in one of the university choir and has competed in Orienteering.
A while back Rolf Norlin at the Hammarby farm was ploughing one of his fields near Småhamra when he suddenly hit a big rock. A closer look at the rock gave him the surprise of his life. He had just found a never before seen runestone from the Viking Era. He contacted a local archaeologist ( I know him as well), whom I guess was very excited. The runestone is in remarkable good condition. You can easily read the runic inscription although a part of the stone is missing. I don't have an exact translation, but the inscription reads something like: Gunnar and Ulf and Sighjälm had this stone raised after Halvdan their father. There's also a cross and a religious reference, saying something like May God protect his soul. I have never before seen that on a Haninge runestone. One reason for the superb condition of the inscription is probably that the stone has been buried in the field for nearly one thousand years. The experts from the Swedish National Heritage Board will visit the site for the first time later today and I wanted to beat them to it! The two people in the photos are my brother in law, who as it happens visited this area two days ago without seeing the runestone. The other person is Sune Nilsson, whose maternal grandparents lived in a house just meters away from the stone.
Because of the rain some of the performances during the Haninge Day had to be moved to two indoor scenes and I didn't bother to check those out. This guy did put on a show outdoors. This is Curry the Fakir. He was a big hit with the kids who screamed to him not to put the burning torch downs his pants! Between his shows he walked around the area on stilts. He has one Youtube video online so I decided to post that here for you to enjoy!
Three different portraits from the Haninge Day at Lake Rudan. The first one was tough. I approached the Buddhist monk and asked for a portrait. He didn't seem to understand Swedish so I tried English. That didn't work either so I did the international sign for Can I Take Your Photo? and that worked fine. I then tried to get his name and that was equally tricky but I think he is called Phra. When we were done he thanked me in Swedish so he has picked up some of the language! The second portrait was obvious for two reasons. I really liked her wellies and it was the sensible thing to wear considering the weather. I didn't ask for her name but she was handing out information about Itrim, a weight loss and fitness chain. The third portrait shows Kjell Kronqvist. I have met him a few times. He is the chairman of the group of artists that holds the annual Art Promenade in Österhaninge. In a way he has already made an appearance on this blog, at least if you count the silly artwork that his wife made for this years promenade. If you missed it, check it out here.
There was a strong police presence during the Haninge Day celebrations at Lake Rudan. Mostly because they wanted to meet the citizens. These two officers stood out a bit I think. The officer with the tattoo is nick named Tessan. Her bearded colleague answers to the name Ulf. Earlier this year I met their boss Max. And earlier this summer I met their colleagues Jacob and Åsa at another event.
This is Maria Hall from Tungelsta. I think it's safe to say that she is crazy about zumba. I noticed her performing during the Haninge Day celebrations on Saturday and took a few photos of that before asking her for a portrait. Maria has a full time job for the municipality, and a family, but still has time to work as a zumba instructor at the Haninge Fitness Studio. This summer she has also had zumba classes at the beach. And at several night clubs, which she told me was a bit different. Oh, and she will also take the zumba on the sea with a cruise ship this Autumn. No surprise then that dancing is one of her big hobbies. A few years ago Maria did a lot of Street Dance. It sure looks like zumba is a fun and effective way to stay fit. If you want to see more check out this Zumba blog where you can see Maria perform. More photos from the celebrations in the coming days.
It's hard to understand that we import 5000 vintage cars from the US every year. I see classic cars out on the roads every day during the summer. Here are four beauties. A 1959 Dodge Coronet. Owned by a raggare from Sorunda. He is a member of a local club and I have met a few other members at different events. The second car is a bit of a rarity, a 1959 Ford Edsel. No more info there, I noticed the car at a parking lot. The third photo shows a 1965 Dodge. The owner Jan Svensson, was waiting at the Vehicle inspection company so I walked over for a chat. The Dodge has only had three owners and is in mint condition. It was used as a executive car in the 1960s by a member of the National Board of Trade. Janne bought the car in 1982. Total mileage is only 75 000 kilometres. The last photo shows a 1956 Ford Fairlane shot at the same vehicle inspection site but on another day.
On my way to the lakes at Rudan in Handen yesterday I stopped at another lake in Jordbro. It is called Lillsjön. That translates to Little Lake. I often stop for a photo here so you will probably be familiar with this scene. From the road (and bike path), you walk through a forested area down to the waters edge.
Last time I showed you the old tree was when I took a portrait of Josefin. On this visit there was a few girls horseback riding near the Swedish Whitebeam, but I didn't stick around long enough to see if were Josefin. But as I made my way back to the bike I could hear the girls riding up the path towards the tree at full speed.
I created a new flickr set a while back. For things I didn't expect to see, but that I had to photograph as soon as I saw them. Some are funny, some a bit unusual, some are weird, and some are just sad. So if you would like to see some unusual shots check out the slideshow.
I met this young family in Jordbro. I asked David if I could get a portrait of him and he agreed. He is a scaffold builder and love heights, so I guess that's a good combination. I figured him for a hip hop guy and that's what he is. What you can't see here is his diamond earring. When I was ready to take his portrait David wanted the whole family in the shot as the three of them are always together these days.The little guy in white is Anthony Melvin. He is three months old. The woman holding Melvin is Hanna. She's on maternity leave until November when she will go back go her job in the health care sector. She wasn't all that happy with one of David's hobbies, which was computer games, so I guess he should focus more on Melvin now :-)
The music festival in the park in Tungelsta on Saturday was a big hit. As usual I listened to the music while walking around taking candid portraits of familiar and unfamiliar faces. My brother Tomas complained and said that there should have been more photos of the bands playing. You can see him in a few snaps btw. He brought wine and beer so I made a few pit stops at the bench where he sat with a couple of colleagues. Oh, and for a better look at the entertainers, have a look at the original sized version of the collage.
The annual music festival in the park in Tungelsta took place yesterday. The event is organised by Musikcentralen that celebrated thirty years. A few of the original members are still active including my brother. It was a perfect day and evening, except for one guy who had too much to drink and managed to fall into the stream, but the ambulance crew took care of him. The sun was shining, the park was filled to capacity. The local soccer club Tungelsta IF made some money by selling hot dogs and burgers. In this collage you can see some of the bands that performed. Including Parkförvaltningen. The Clifftones. The Tungelsta Gubbs, (they were a big hit as they had a lot of wifes, ex-wifes and offspring in the crowd), played a few songs, I recorded a video that you can see on Vimeo. Also performing was Simon Peter and the medicine men, including my friend Birdman . Elemental 6, and Family X. I will show you more photos from the park tomorrow.
I had my eyes open for a portrait of a redhead on Friday (for the UTATA color project), and that's what I told Linnea when I stopped her and her boyfriend Conrad in Västerhaninge. As I handed Linnea my card she told me that she was already familiar with this blog, I like it when people say that. It was her dad who had told her about it, obviously a very clever man. Linnea is a secondary school student, although she works at a hotel reception at the moment. In the future she would like to work as a tour guide. She enjoys travelling and told me about two interesting trips. One to the US and the other to Morocco. She likes music and I reminded her of the festival in the park in Tungelsta this Saturday.
Just for the fun of it I made another Different Seasons diptych with the stable building at the Nödesta farm. The left side of the diptych is from late June when the canola field was blooming. The right side is how it looks at the Nödesta farm today.
I often stop and take photos at building sites. These two are from Poseidon's Square in Handen where 192 apartments are being constructed. I was out shooting with my friend Jim and as he tried to find a good place for a panoramic view I decided to zoom in on the power tool operator. I aimed the camera and waited for him to notice me and when he did I waved to him and he waved back.
I shot my second portrait for the UTATA color project earlier this week. I noticed the red Harley Davidson parked outside the Port 73 shopping mall and decided to wait for the biker to come out. This is Big Red Lone Wolf from Nynäshamn. His real name is Christer. He is not a member of any motorcycle club, hence the Lone Wolf epithet. But he has a lot of biker friends and often rides with a club based in Nynäshamn. Christer tries to visit at least one Super Rally meet every year, and has been to meets all over Europe, including, The Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Greece and a few more. These days he rides with a GPS which has made navigating much easier. Christer has designed the vest with the wolf himself. The bike is a softail.
I always have my eyes open for the next portrait. This is Jempa. She is the only person in Sweden with that name. I spotted her at a bus stop the other day and decided it was time for another street portrait. Jempa lives in an apartment at the seaside resort Dalarö, and works as a youth recreation leader. She is a good dancer and has worked as a dance teacher. On her free time she enjoys jewellery design. As you can see Jempa has some interesting body art. The leg tattoo shows Cornelis Vreeswijk. He was one of Sweden's most beloved poets. I have heard a few good stories about Cornelis from Birdman, his grandfather Gust Magnusson, was a painter who used to hang with Cornelis. And I think you can see a painting made by Gust at the Cornelis museum in Stockholm.
A vintage car passed me on the road. It was a 1947 Ford Sedan. It was heading for a garage in Handen. I caught up with the Ford as the owner was ready to drive in to the garage. I asked him if there was time for a photo, he looked over at the mechanic who thought that a photo-op was a good idea, he is the guy in the yellow t-shirt in the grease pit on the second photo. A third guy joined the conversation as the mechanic fixed the car. He was a truck driver from Gotland. We ended up chatting about this and that until the Ford was gone...
Last summer I visited the Medieval church in Västerhaninge hoping to climb up the thirty meter high tower as I wanted to see the view and document it. That didn't work out as I had planned, but you might remember that I got a photo of the Priestess instead. This summer it went a bit better as I was able to climb up the tower yesterday afternoon together with a few other people. Unfortunately there's a grid mesh that makes photography a bit tricky from the tower, but I did manage to get a few cool shots including one panorama. The smiling couple you can see in the slideshow are Mattias and Cecilia. They told me that they were fans of my blog and that is always fun to hear. On the way down we stopped and had a closer look at the pipe organ. One of the guides played a few tunes and I recorded a short video that you can see at my Vimeo site. The two other photographers that you can see are Sune Nilsson and his son Ulf Nilsson. The red wooden building on one of the photos is the old church school. These days Birdman, whom you have met on the blog a couple of times, lives on the second floor of that old building.
There's a new butcher in town. His name is Dennis Nordström He opened his own butcher shop in Handen last week. It is called DN Kött. Here he is dressed in the traditional butcher coat. Dennis makes his own sausages and you can also buy lamb meat at the shop that is located at Runstensvägen near the mall. So if you live in Haninge stop by for a sausage at DN Kött and say hello from me.
This is Emma. I noticed her outside the Port 73 shopping centre in Handen. I thought she looked like a real summer girl in her white dress, black (cloche?), hat and funky sunglasses so I decided to ask her for a portrait. She's from Tungelsta. Emma works at the amusement park Gröna Lund in Stockholm, so if you are lucky she might sell you an ice cream. On her free time she enjoys watercolour painting. Earlier this summer Emma visited the music festival Peace and Love in Borlänge. I asked her if she had seen any great bands there and she told me to check out the English indie rock band The Vaccines that sounds a bit like Interpol I think. Oh and just because Julie Down Under wants to see people with tattoos I asked Emma to pose so we could see her anchor tattoo.
I met one of my childhood idols at the cafe in Handen yesterday. Frank Andersson. One of the famous 56ers. The others include Björn Borg, Ingemar Stenmark and of course Linda Haglund, that you have met on this blog before. Frankie Boy was a world class wrestler. A three time World Champion and Olympic medallist. I remember seeing many of his matches on TV. Lately he has been back in the media eye as one of the celebrities in the Swedish version of Let's Dance, where he made it to the finals. Next year you will probably see him in the hugely popular TV show Champions of Champions, where twelve former world class athletes (including Linda I might add), compete for the title . It isn't official yet if Frank will be one of the twelve, so this might be a scoop!
I noticed Rebecca near a kiosk in Jordbro. I told her that I liked her look and asked her for a portrait. She works as an engineer at Hillstatik in Stockholm. Her big hobby is dancing. She enjoys both ballet and pole dancing, not a bad combination I think. Not sure where she goes for her ballet classes, but she does the pole dancing at North Pole Studio in Stockholm.
I can't remember seeing too many modern postcards from Haninge. Back in the 1960s and 1970s Swedish postcards often showed a city centre, with a mall and a parking lot! They were horrible in a very horrible way and, are obviously collectors items today! I was asked a few years ago to create a number of postcards showing typical Tungelsta views. It took quite a few hours and I was never paid for my work, but I think you can still buy the cards at the museum in the park. Anyway, when I did those cards I had planned to use a photo of this building, but in the end I decided not to. This is a loftbod. A wooden building used for storage a few hundred years ago. This one can be found at the Mulsta farm and is around three hundred years old, which makes it the oldest building in Tungelsta and a good choice for the theme day I think. The current owner of Mulsta, the farmer Sture Andersson told me that his great grandmother was born in this lofdbod. Oh, and you met his granddaughter on the blog a few days ago.
