Hood Ornaments

I have enough photos to continue all year with snaps from this event. Just saying. Here are to hood ornaments that stood out a bit.

A Pose

It was too warm to chat up everyone that I photographed at the Grand Prix Raggarbil so I just asked if I could take a few snaps. This was the first portrait of the day.

Dodge Coronet

I spent nearly five hours at the big car meet at Vegabaren in Handen today. Grand prix Raggarbil 2015 is the official name. It's a very popular event that attracts "raggare" from all over Sweden. I have told you about that very Swedish subculture before. It involves a lot of Americana from the 1950 to the 1970s. Classic cars. Muscle cars. Elvis, rockabilly, greaser girls, alcohol, and much more. I have a few hundred photos to go through now and here are few to get us started. A Dodge Coronet from 1957.

Missed It

I am doing a fun Summer project at the moment. It is called Breaking The Rules. Anyone who is a member of the UTATA group over at flickr can join in. So far I have taken eight photos for the project. There are seven rules that you should try to break. One of those rules is timing.

Yellow iris

This gray heron was standing on one of the piers at Lower Lake Rudan (Nedre Rudasjön), minding it's own business when I arrived to the nature reserve a while back. It didn't seem to bothered as I closed in, but when I came a little too close it stepped off the pier and into the lake so that I would get a good photo of it. Which was nice.

Ye Old Farm Building

From September of last year to August of this year. Here is my twelfth and final photo of the old warehouse at the Välsta farm in Tungelsta.

Spelmansstämma

My first ever visit to a folk music festival. The "Spelmansstämma" at the old village in the Tyresta national park. Top photo is a detail of an accordion from the 1940s. Enjoy the slideshow.

Nyckelharpa

Another photo from the folk music festival at the Tyresta village on Sunday. There he was all alone in the Dahlgrensgården building. Playing his chordophone for no one but himself, so I sat down and listened to him play a tune. Oh, and nice socks.

Folk Music Festival

There's a folk music festival at the old village in the Tyresta National Park every Summer. The Swedish name for such an event is Spelmansstämma. Not really my thing, and it has always collided with a few other more interesting events, but not this year so I jumped on the steel horse, stopped in Handen to ask a friend to tag along and off we went. We arrived at 1300 hours just minutes before the event started. I counted a few hundred people including a few familiar faces. It was very hot and sunny and we found the warmest cafe table and enjoyed a sandwich and some coffee as we started shooting. After the coffee we strolled around listening to all the music. The musicians probably had the most fun. They walked around with their instruments ready and formed new groups all afternoon. At one time I heard at least three different folk songs from three different directions! More photos tomorrow when I'm done with the editing.

Wheat Field Triangle

You know that secret society that I keep my eyes on every now and then? Whenever I spot them they quickly try another way to leave messages to each other, but sooner or later I will always track them down. This is their latest attempt, and they had to give up another member to use it! So I now know that the farmer at Nödesta, Janne is one of them. All I have to do now is figure out what it all means!

Love Loyalty Respect

From a distance I spotted a girl in a long blue dress. So I headed that way in the hope of getting a portrait or two. This is Ramou (the name is Gambian). She lives in Handen and works for the project Lugna Gatan. They try to make the Stockholm underground a safer place for young people so she often works late nights and weekends. Her hobbies includes traveling and she told me about visiting Marocko, London and Gambia.

Badge

The last act to play at the rock festival in Tungelsta was a new band for me. Badge. I had some trouble describing their intensive performance and unique musical style, but I found a quote from Madcap Music Review: Badge is a furious mix of Mississippi Delta Blues, Led Zeppelin, and Psychobilly. One of those bands that are best live. At night. Outdoors, on a Summer evening and we got all that so it was a great finale of the festival. Enjoy the slideshow!

Abramis Brama

A bit of Stoner rock in the Summer evening. Abramis Brama on stage during the rock festival in Tungelsta last Saturday. The name is the Latin word for Carp bream. The Stockholm band have played together since 1997. For a rock band today they are a but unconventional as they sing in Swedish and not English.

Lugnet

Lugnet played a good gig at the Trädgårdsrocken festival. 70s rock should be seen live on a Summer evening, and these guys are always worth waiting for. They have a new video out soon (with them as zombies), and have a signed contract for a new CD. Rock on!

Park Life

Around 1500 people gathered in the park in Tungelsta on Saturday for the annual rock festival. The official name is Trädgårdsrocken. It is a free festival organized by Musikcentralen, open for anyone. Lots of drinking in the warm weather but no real problems. I'm still editing photos but here are a few candids.

Skull Parade

Skull Parade performing during the rock festival in the park in Tungelsta yesterday. A Hard Rock Metal Indie band from Gothenburg. You can have a look at a few videos here. It was a great day with nine bands on stage. More photos in the coming days.

Ebba & Zelda

First on stage during this years rock festival in the park in Tungelsta, Trädgårdsrocken, was Ebba & Zelda. The weather is amazing. 25C from a clear blue sky and the park is filled with people. More photos in the coming week.

The gorgeous electrician

Funny story here. I noticed this girl all dressed in white as she disappeared into a grocery store in Handen and figured I needed to take her photo. So I approach her when she comes out from the store. First thing she says to me is that she doesn't like having her photo taken. Second thing that she never looks good when photographed. So I obviously had to prove her wrong! After the photos I ask her a few questions (she works as an electrician, family business), and when the tells me that her name is Catlin I recognize her from when we met five years ago! You can see her on the second photo of that post if you press here.

That Old Tree

The old tree during the golden hour yesterday. Out walking the dogs further down the path is Christina Lindberg and a friend.

A new perspective

Spotted this cyclist in Handen. The bike looked interesting so I asked if I could get a few shots. To get the conversation going I asked something like 'what muscle groups gets the best workout here'. That rather stupid question amused Anders Bäckman a bit as the answer was quite obvious. That would be the arms was his response. Four years ago Anders was out on a bike ride (on a normal looking bicycle), when he had an accident. A lorry driver had parked in the bike lane and Anders was left paralyzed after that crash. Hence this bike construction that he uses today. I asked him if he uses the bike often and he said that he rides more today than he did before the accident. Anders lives in Handen and works as an animator. What I didn't ask was anything else, but luckily for me Anders left a comment on flickr and a link to his web site. Turns out he is a world class Tetraplegic Elite Handcyclist, who won Bronze in the very recent world championships!

Chevrolet Corvette Z06

Supercar of the Day. A Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Shot with the pancake lens as a Brenizer method photo. I showed a few of the individual photos to the owner and tried my best to explain the idea behind this shooting technique. Came out okay I think. If you want a car like this be ready to pay around $79,400.

Nathalie

I can never resist to take a photo of a redhead. This is Nathalie. She was out walking with her daughter when I spotted her in Handen. Nathalie has a few interesting tattoos. All made by her boyfriend who works as a tattooist. The poem on her arm is by Dean Jackson and goes like this: “When she transformed into a butterfly, the caterpillars spoke not of her beauty, but of her weirdness. They wanted her to change back into what she always had been. But she had wings.” Oh, and here's an update regarding comments about tattoos. If you don't like tattoos just keep that info to yourself, because chances are that you have already told me that a few times.

Dodge Matador

A very rare car. The 1960 Dodge Matador. The Bullfighter wasn't tough enough, and was beaten by the Dart model so only 29 000 Matadors were ever built. I spotted this one yesterday from the wooden bridge that crosses the Gudöbroleden in Handen. It is my favorite spot for car spotting. The added dice and those eyes on the car makes me think that the girl driving this Matator is involved in the Raggare subculture.

Why so serious?

Nalle came out from the Biltema store as I was on my way in. I noticed a big guy with a lot of tattoos and that was all I needed to see, so I asked him for a few portraits. Are you addicted to tattoos I asked, you bet was the answer. Lots of skulls and what have you on his body but also a tattoo of Heath Ledger as The Joker from the movie The Dark Knight. If you are wondering about the title on this post just look at his leg.

That Old Tree

Never had so many rainy days as this Summer. Ever. And it has been cold. But now, finally maybe we are in for a little heat wave. Not a Perth Summer" or anything, but still. I actually managed to build up a sweat on my bike ride to the old tree yesterday!

Porsche Outlaw

A 1964 Porsche 356 SC. Not something you see out on the roads every day. The "outlaw" description came from the owner, Kenneth whom I met in Västerhaninge earlier in the week. The car has been lowered, and a few "unnecessary" parts have been removed. He will add a few lights in the front, and have ordered two new seats but that's all the changes he will do.