Street Photography

Street photography is probably the most popular type of photography, and for good reason. Here is a collage of sixteen such photos taken in and around Stockholm on a busy day with two of my Canon cameras. Places include Strömkajen. Skeppsholmen. Skeppsbrokajen, and Skogskyrkogården.

Hemvärnets Musikkår Östergötland

The marching band Hemvärnets Musikkår Östergötland, part of the Swedish Home Guard walking past the King's Park, Kungsträdgården, last Sunday. There is usually a different marching band every week. Behind them a group of young soldiers and behind them two mounted police. On their way to the Royal castle for the changing of the guards.Always popular with tourists, and the odd daily photographer of course.If you want to see the actual ceremony at the castle, press here.

Boats & Balloons

A motor boat passing a sail boat out on the Riddarfjärden bay. I am guessing that the guys in the motorboat were celebrating something. Stockholm International Team Race Regatta is taking place this weekend and I might drop by for a closer look and a few photos.

The Goddess of freedom in Karlberg

This is the roof of an Italian designed parking garage at Rörstrandsgatan. Fun fact, the first fully automatic parking garage in the country. And then it stopped working one day and 18 cars were locked in for around six weeks! Needless to say, it never re-opened. Oh, and back in the day there was a big porcelain factory here, called Rörstrand, hence the big teacup thingy with the dragonfly in it up on the roof. Made by the artist Jeanette Karsten.

Le déjeuner sur l'herbe

Pablo Picasso sculptures in the little park next to ArkDes at Skeppsholmen. Luncheon on the Grass. Frukost i det gröna. Made with a little help from the sculptor Carl Nesjar. From the early 1960s. Picasso made these sculpture inspired by the Édouard Manet painting.

The blonde and the brunette

One of those late Spring, early Summer days when it feels so good sitting around doing absolutely nothing at all. I spotted the blonde and the brunette at Strömkajen, near the National Museum at Blasieholmen in Stockholm, on one of those days. Looking at the trip meter when I came back home, it said that I had covered 78 kilometers on my ride to, from and around the Capitol.

Professionals at work

I visited the island of Skeppsholmen the other day. Lots of things to do and see there. Old buildings. Boats. Cafés. Museums, (and with a few artworks outside, so you don't even have to go in!). Anyway, I came upon this live installation. Figured it would make for a fun photo. The guy in the background seemed less impressed, and I heard him mumble something about being photographed. But the young girl, she looks like a true professional. Her pose here says, I can do this all day.

That Old Tree

Been a while. Last time I was here was on February 1st. Pretty sure that is the longest break in this series that started back in 2005. And I had the wrong camera/lens with me. So this is 12 photos stitched together.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs

Ann Linde, enjoying the Spring sunshine as she walks through Kungsträdgården with two bodyguards. A busy time for her at the moment, especially the problems with the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan regarding Sweden's wish to join NATO. All three of them noticed me btw.

Headstones

Another Spring promenade at the Woodland Cemetery, or Skogskyrkogården at Enskede. Here are three headstones in a part of the cemetery just below the Meditation Hill.

Braided Concrete

In the park behind the National museum at Blasieholmen in Stockholm there is a new building. Two architect firms worked on this project, and the brains behind it was Stefano Mangili. But the real heroes here were the people from Strängbetong if you ask me. And apparently it is still a secret how they made the braided concrete pattern. I showed you a couple of photos last Summer from here and I remember Judith wanting to see more of the wall, so here it is.

Training Ships

HMS Antares and HMS Astera passing by the Gröna Lund amusement park on their way to Skeppsbrokajen. Two training ships belonging to the Swedish Naval Warfare Centre, or Sjöstridsskolan in Swedish. Photographed from Fjällgatan, a popular lookout point on Södermalm.

Fotografiska

I don't do museums, but I have of course been to this one, although the fika experience wasnt much to write home about. This is the Fotografiska museum at Stadsgårdskajen on Södermalm in Stockholm. Started by the Broman brothers. Photographed from Fjällgatan. And as I am a real photographer I shot this as a panorama, so this is a couple of photos stitched together. I think Fotografiska have six galleries/museums all over the world by now. The building itself was designed a century ago by the famous architect Ferdidand Broberg.

Artist at work

I was checking up on a few construction sites on Södermalm. Ersta Diakoni are building a new hospital, and on the same property, underground, a new Metro station is also in the works. And while at Ersta I walked in to their old property where you have an amazing view over Stockholm. And that is where I found her. The Artist. Totally ignoring the wonderful view and focusing that smartphone on her "fika". Coffee and a cinnamon roll. I had to constrain myself not to laugh. Then again, she was up there so she probably had a good look at the view and maybe she had already photographed it when I arrived.

Dodecahedron

A sculpture at Reimersholme. The man that made it was not a professional sculptor. He was an architect that worked a few years in Stockholm before moving to Västerås. After retiring in the mid 1980s, he lived his last years in Stockholm. His name was Hans Floderus. Oh, and yes, that is the same woman walking by the sculpture.

Tulip time

Two recent tulip photos. I had to show them to you, as William is up and running with his loooooooong series now. Taken with the mirrorless Canon on different days at two different parts of Stockholm. I found the first scene where I knew it would be. At the park at Vita Bergen. The White Mountains on Södermalm. Close to a church that sits high up on the hill. The park itself below and around the church is very popular year round. The second photo was more unexpected. There are, (still), a few places in the Capitol that I almost never visit. Reimersholme is one of those places. But I was there with a camera the other day, so chances are that you will see a few more photos from there soon. Anyhoo, the tulips were planted along the scenic beach promenade on this little island.

Maria kyrka

St. Mary Magdalene Church and cemetery, Bellmansgatan, Södermalm. Construction started in 1588. A very quiet spot in Stockholm, but at the same time just a few meters from the busy Hornsgatan street. On my recent visit, I counted maybe 7 people here. One guy reading from a bench. Three locals discussing current events. One woman just using the cemetery as a shortcut, and two people talking at the door to the old church. I decided to photograph a few headstones, and this is probably the most famous people resting here. The beloved troubadour Evert Taube, and his wife Astri.

The Seven Wells Way

Back at the Woodland Cemetery, or Skogskyrkogården. This is the 888-meter-long Seven Wells Way. Sju brunnars stig. It starts on the top of the Meditation Hill, Almhöjden, behind the group of people that you can see in the distance. It ends just behind me at one of the big chapels at the cemetery. As they walk towards the chapel, it gets darker and darker around them because of the different trees planted along the path. All thanks to the two architects that designed this World Heritage Site a century ago.

Stockholms stadsbibliotek

A famous building along Sveavägen in Stockholm that sees around one million visitors annually. The Stockholm Public Library. Designed by Gunnar Asplund, the same architect that designed the Woodland Cemetery that I have shown you quite a few photos from lately. Asplund also designed the park here, some of what you can see in the second photo. There is a big fountain in the park, but there was no water in it on this visit, so I will have to go back for that photo. I have read a couple of articles about the state of this old library recently, and one word stands out in those articles, and that word is Scandal! A lot of people want Stockholm to build a modern library, just like our neighbors have done in Helsinki, Copenhagen, and Oslo. And they want to see serious renovation plans for this classic building.

One of those days

Sköna maj. That means May, the beautiful. Winter is gone. Spring has arrived, and there is a hint of Summer in the air as everything turns green just like that. Everyone is happy, life is good. Here are four recent snaps from Stockholm. From The Kings Garden at Norrmalm. Götgatsbacken on Södermalm. And two shots from Skeppsbrokajen in Gamla stan.

Erlanderhuset

This is a fun building, at least for me as a photographer. It is known by a few different names. Dragspelet is one of them. That means Accordion. It was built back in 1962. The architect was Henning Orlando. It has just over 200 apartments. It is located up on a hill at Marieberg on Kungsholmen. One of the first people to move in was the then Prime Minister Tage Erlander so that is why the building became known as The Erlander building, or Erlanderhuset in Swedish. He lived in a five-room apartment on the seventh floor. It was shaped like this to give as many people as possible a good view from their apartments and balconies

The Graffiti Bar

Opening soon. Graffiti Kök & Bar at Tanto on Södermalm in Stockholm. Managed by Astrid Hultberg and Gabrielle Söderberg. Designed by the graffiti artist Brain, real name Lee Spångberg, (and a few of his mates), who were spraying around the corner when I snapped these photos a couple of days ago. There is a legal graffiti wall nearby, and previous owners of this café had a lot of problems with graffiti, so the new owners solved that by inviting the graffers to decorate the bar. The third photo might look like just another face, but it isnt. It's made by the street artist Martin Monet. And it depicts The Årsta Lady, who kept a diary between 1793 and 1839. If you understand the local lingo you can read some of what she wrote in the book Årstadagboken. She was friends with Bellman btw. Oh, and the face in the second photo is of Avicii. And yes, that is my ebike in the photo.

Långholmen

The old prison wall at the island of Långholmen, as well as a the prison itself can be seen in the top photo. Photographed from the Reimersholme island bridge. All the Spring colors exploded last week, which was nice. Entering the island you will often see a group of people playing boules, weather permitting of course. The third photo shows a property called Murhörnet. Translated to English, the wall corner. Also part of the big prison complex, this was the cleaning facility. Built in 1882. Today it houses a wood shop. Notice the prison bars on the first floor. The fourth shot shows the facade of the Kronohäktet. Also known as Långholmens centralfängelse. It housed up to 500 prisoners. More pleasant today as a hostel and restaurant. Just a few meters from the old prison there is today a little beach.In the background Karlhälls gård, a popular place for weddings and what have you. The last photo for today shows Sofieberg. Also known as Gröna huset, the green building. It dates back to around 1850, the style is often described with the Swedish word "Snickarglädje", you might have to Google that.

$54.5M Aircraft and a 16 photo collage

Hey I'm out plane spotting! Not really though. I was on the ebike riding over a 600 meter long arch bridge in Stockholm known as Västerbron. It can be a tough ride on windy days at least if you are not on an ebike. There are a few sections on the bridge and you can turn off the bridge at the Northern section and go over to an island called Långholmen and that is what I did. Everything turned green this last week and I wanted to beat the crowds at this little island with a rich history and many beaches. More of the history to come, but here is a Gulfstream G 550 and sixteen views from the island. Most of the buildings are on Kungsholmen, but you can also see Riddarholmen, Södermalm,Gamla stan and Norrmalm.

The Tourists

I parked the ebike on the bridge at Helgeandsholmen, a small islet that sits between the Royal Castle and Norrmalm. It houses the Parliament building, (seen here on the blog before), and down by the water, Strömparterren, (also shown here a while back), from where you can also enter the Medieval museum. The area close to the water is popular with fishers and tourists. Making my way around the area I spotted two tourists shooting selfies like crazy and when they saw me they asked if I could take one of them with their smartphone, which I of course did. A couple of minutes later they were still shooting selfies, this time from a bench outside the museum, so I walked up to them and snapped this portrait.

Café Tårtan

Back in the 70s, there were a children's show called Tårtan running on Swedish TV. The Cake. Quite surreal. Made by a couple of artists, so they filmed it in black & white. They had a very tight budget, but they were told that they could do anything they wanted, and that is what they did. They filmed the show at an abandoned bakery on Södermalm. The idea was that three sailors took over a bakery, but had no idea how to operate it, so it was non-stop chaos. All the producers and bosses at the state owned TV Network hated it. But it aired anyway. Ten years later, give or take, it was a cultural icon. Anyway, this is the place. Today a café named after the TV-show. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K4pK3agxjE

May Day rally

May Day rally in Stockholm. I'm no leftie so I have never taken part in a May Day rally. But I do have a few friends that are leaning that way, so I kept an eye open for them when I was out with the camera this year. I actually ended up seeing three different rallies. These photos though show The Left Party. In the top photo, you can see their new leader, Nooshi Dadgostar. She is the brunette in white. I snapped these photos along Skeppsbron in the old town. And it was a massive rally, they just kept coming as I made my way towards Södermalm.