The Irishman

Brian is a Flickr contact since a few years. Originally from Ireland. Later he moved to Australia where he lived for many years. Then he met a Swedish woman, married her and moved to Sweden. He is often out snapping around Stockholm, just like me. I knew that he would be at The King's Park yesterday as he had left a comment about that the day before. So when I spotted him snapping away I walked up for a chat. It was the first time we met IRL. We talked for something like twenty minutes about photography, different camera models and lenses, as one does when one meets a fellow photographer. Brian also told me an interesting story about how he and his wife swapped apartments with another couple. Long story short, don't ever do that as there will be a lot of problems and issues, but as of today the move was finally done. We were at the park to check up on the Cherry Blossom, but we were probably one week too early so it was fun to talk to Brian instead of photographing the flowers.

A close-up street portrait

On a recent promenade snapping away right and left I noticed this redhead standing out from the crowd, well not really, it was just the two of us there near Norra Latin, so I raised the camera as if to ask if I could take a quick portrait, she nodded, I took the photo and then we walked on.

Clowning around

Street portrait.

Chief Officer

Out strolling at Blasieholmen recently. Walking down to Strömkajen for a look at the ferries. Spotting the Chief Officer at M/S Västan. She gave me the thumbs up after I snapped the portrait. For good measure I have added a photo of the ship, taken at the same pier, but one year earlier.

The Forest’s Gold

Walking through the farmers market on Södermalm. A very busy place. Looking for an interestig read about Sweden, kings, mushrooms, soldiers and more? The Trust Your Instinct cap that Chanterelle Guy is wearing can be yours for 360 SEK.

A Royal Guard

From my walk through the old town during Midsummer, when the city was just me, tourists and this Royal Guard at the Palace. I gave her a little nod before I took the portrait and she gave me one back.

The stories we tell

Walking down the busiest pedestrian street in Stockholm, Drottninggatan, you see a lot of interesting people. This guy spotted me as I took a few street snaps of him. He then walked past me, stopped, turned around, and asked if I perhaps wanted to take a real portrait of him. Which I did. I then showed him the photo, he looked a bit surprised with the quality of it, which of course made my day.

Street portrait photographer

Andreas spotted me as I cycled up Götgatsbacken on Södermalm yesterday afternoon, so I stopped for a chat. He recognized me from a few self-portraits. Andreas can often be seen here taking street portraits with his Nikon, using a hand-held diffuser and a flash. And it is a good spot for that sort of thing as this part of Stockholm is filled with artists, hipsters and people that will stand out in a crowd. We talked tech and what have you for a bit. Later today, Andreas will team up with Frantisim at Stockholm City Hall, a few hours before the Pride Parade gets under way. That will be a good place for street portraits, for sure.

The giggling girls

Walking through the old town, I stopped at Tyska brinken to take a few photos of the faux windows there. I had to hold the camera over my head, that caught the attention of these two girls, and they demanded I take their photo, which I did. First with the old Canon, and then a closer portrait with the mirrorless. They were very upbeat smiling and laughing, the girl to the left then asked if she could take a photo of my photo on the LCD monitor, which I thought was very funny.

Royal Guard

I took a few days off with the street photography. And with the Stockholm documentation. You need a break sometimes. But I was back at it again yesterday. A nice Summer day it was. I visited quite a few different places and the cameras were hard at work. The joy of photography was back, so the little break did me good. Walking past the Royal Palace, I decided to take a few portraits of the Royal Guards. Högvakten in Swedish. Whenever I do that, I always give them a little nod before I take their photo, and they always give me a nod of approval back.

Viktor Adolphson

This is Viktor Adolphson. A well known police officer at Södermalm in Stockholm. Been in the force for some 20 years. Originally from Dalarna. He has a huge following on Twitter, I am one of his readers. Every day he informs us about his work as a police officer in Stockholm, and that is tough work these days. Earlier this year, his first crime novel was released. Götgatsbacken. Written together with Hans-Olov Öberg. I spotted Viktor yesterday at an event that I will show you in a day or two. He was talking with someone on his police-radio as I snapped the portrait at Mynttorget in Stockholm and gave me a little approving nod.

A dapper man

Do you have the correct time? Yes, we are currently in the middle of the Industrial revolution. Okay, thank you. You are welcome.
Short but fun encounter at Mariaberget on Södermalm in Stockholm. The dapper man was walking down the steep street with his female partner. There are some repair work here at the moment so when I asked for a photo and he agreed we held up anyone trying to pass us by. And it took some time as he first had to button up his vest and also find the correct pose. But in the end we got there.

Girl with pearl earring

Girl with pearl earring. Or US. Coast Guard Officer, Hartman. Photographed at Skeppsbrokajen in the old town. She spotted me and closed her eyes. And then she turned away from the camera, so possibly a little photo shy. Tune in tomorrow to see how she got there.

Stefan Löfven

I met a former Prime Minister yesterday. Stefan Löfven. At Nybroplan. He was checking out the Stockholm Marathon race. Sure was a fine Summer day for that sort of thing. 18C and sunny. Stockholm was absolutely packed with people. Not counting the 17 000 runners. From where we were standing when I took this portrait, it was nearly impossible to see the runners because of the crowds. Still going through my photos from the race, but expect a few posts with Stockholm Marathon related photos over the next week or so!

Fine-tuning his guitar

It is déjà vu all over again. Red, back at his bench at Norr Mälarstrand on Kungsholmen. I have photographed him a few times before, always on this bench. Always dressed in red. Always with his guitar. And always a good sign of Spring. This time he was fine-tuning his guitar when he noticed me. I gave him the international sign for "do you mind if I take a photo" and that was that. When I was done, another photographer walked over for a few snaps and when I was back on my bike they were chatting away.

Royal Guards

I took a walk in the old town. Always fun to look at the tourists, and no one knows that I am a local, so I blend in nicely with the crowds. After a stroll around the big square, Stortorget, where they have the big Christmas market that I have shown you a couple of times, I walked up to the Great Church, Storkyrkan. It is next to the Royal Palace, so I decided to get a photo of one of the Royal Guards. I gave her a little nod before I took the portrait, and she gave me one back. The sensible thing to do when you shoot someone that is armed, pun intended. The name Ven on her peaked cap tells me that she is from Fjärde sjöstridsflottiljen. Or The 4th Naval Warfare Flotilla. They are based at Berga in Haninge and I have been there on an open-house weekend a number of years ago.

The Segway Police

Out shooting at Swedenborgsgatan, one of many "sommargågator" (a street closed off for traffic during the Summer), I spotted this police officer out patrolling on his Segway. I have seen him in the area before, he reminds me of a British actor, but this was the first time I managed to get a good portrait of him. The police station is just a couple of blocks away at Torkel Knutssonsgatan. Torkel was himself Lord High Constable of Sweden some 700 years ago. As you can see, this modern day officer comes prepared with a fire extinguisher, first aid kit and probably much more. Seconds after spotting me, he gave me a peace sign, but I had already stopped shooting by then.

Can you take our photo?

Of course. I used her smartphone and took two photos, and then took one for myself with the mirrorless Canon while we were standing on Lilla Sjötullsbron, a bridge along the canal at Royal Djurgården. Where are you from, they asked. Stockholm I answered. Aha, we are from Solna, which is the neighboring municipality to the North of Stockholm. We said all that in English, each thinking that the other must be a tourist from abroad. Turns out they are tourists, sort of, as they live in Athens, Greece these days. That was it for the conversation. I still think both of them look very familiar, but I don't know where I have seen them before. I will show you the bridge and it's surroundings tomorrow.

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.

The prettiest knight in the world

I visited a medieval market over the weekend. Held at Kungsträdgården in Stockholm. Organized by Medeltid Stockholm. Great fun. The park was crowded with people from all around the world. I will show you quite a few photos tomorrow, but I wanted to start with just the one portrait. This seriously good-looking woman was taking part in the fun where you could joust with the Knights, and I knew that I had to take her portrait as she held up that big sword.