Beach Season Starts Again

Sure, it's still a few degrees below freezing and there's a pretty hard layer of snow covering the ground, but inst that the sun shining from a clear blue sky?

Solskensporträtt

Swedish word of the day. Solskensporträtt.

FSotY

Do you find stuff when you are out and about? I do. For example, last summer I noticed a 500SEK note on the street. That was nice. A couple of days ago I spotted one (1), unused blue Nike sneaker at a pedestrian crossing. But that didn't do it for me. One hour later I found a pair of shades in the snow at Torvalla. I showed them off at the cafe, trying to impress the usual suspects. Not sure how well that worked. Later I googled the shades, hoping that they were very expensive of course. That wasn't the case. £3.99 at LIDL. FSotY means First Selfie of the Year.

A guy walks up the stairs

So this (dumb), guy (me), wakes up in the middle of the night. And he needs to use the bathroom downstairs. For the last few weeks he has been busy (off and on), refurbishing the rooms on the second floor, and because of that there's a very hard steel ladder in the middle of the staircase. The dumb guy manages to walk down the stairs without any problems. But then, a minute later, walking up the stairs, he has completely forgotten about that steel ladder.

My Camera

Theme Day at CityDailyPhoto. My Camera, Shy Self Portrait. My Canon 550 and a bunch of Steffe reflections from pens in a desk pen holder.

That Old Tree

Raining hard form a very grey sky as I'm writing this. But believe it or not we have had a couple of hours with a blueish sky and that's when I visited the old tree. We have even had a few minutes of sunshine, as proven on my second photo. Heading home yesterday I suddenly found myself looking at the sun (don't try that), for the first time in sex six weeks. So I jumped off the bike reached for the camera in the bag, and snapped a quick selfie before continuing home. Opening the photo in PS I realised that I had turned off the auto focus earlier in the day when I was shooting a panoramic view, but as I have heard several photographers say, focus is overrated!

Fat Tuesday

It's Fat Tuesday. In Sweden that means that you have to eat a Semla. It's pretty much mandatory. I stopped by my favorite cafe Malmens Konditori in Handen and ordered a couple of semla's. Henrik, who owns the cafe has won a few awards for his semla's, so it's good to know that they are of the highest quality. and very tasty!

The scent of summer

If you are uncertain whether it is Summer or Spring, take a walk through (or around), a blooming canola field, and you will have the answer in no time at all. So that's what I did in Västerhaninge yesterday, and that familiar scent told me that Summer has truly arrived. Hurrah!

Puzzled

I haven't been out much with the camera lately. It is winter, but the lack of snow makes it very dark. The sun is only up for a few hours per day and most of the time it is hidden behind grey skies. So instead of walking around in the dark I tend to spend some time in front of the computer, taking the odd self-portrait and trying to solve a puzzle or two.

Reamde

I haven't used the camera at all this weekend. Instead I have spent a few hours reading this novel. It weighs 1.2 kilo. Number of pages is 1042. And as you can see it completely hides my face in this self-portrait. Reamde by Neal Stephenson. What are you reading?

Autumn Me

No blue sky for a while now. I tend to prefer a blue sky over a grey one. Which is to say that I haven't been out shooting very much lately. But one good thing is that it has been very warm the last few weeks. At least compared to the last few years. I shot this self portrait at home a few days ago. These leaves will not be removed from the lawn. And I promise to shoot another self-portrait here when the snow arrives...

Steffe Vs. Steffe

I sometimes aim the camera the wrong way. And here's proof, in the form of two diptychs. The first one is Summer Vs. Winter. It shows a recent self portrait shot in a field belonging to the Nödesta farm. I took the winter snap in the same area on a cold day as I was heading for the old tree. Second diptych shows two summer portraits taken two years apart.I shot the canola portrait last week, also at the Nödesta farm. The other portrait is from the summer of 2009.

Skål!

Today I will probably enjoy a Guinness or three. I will also be eating many prinskorvar. And whatever else you might find on a Julbord. Merry Christmas.

Waiting for the Snow Cannon

We are expecting what's called a Snow Cannon. It can hit coastal areas in early Winter. Very cold air (from Russia in this case), travels over the warmer Baltic Sea, and that difference in temperature creates a snow cloud that hits coastal areas. I live just a kilometre from the coast, so I cant wait! Thirty years ago one city in Sweden closed down totally when they had 140 centimetres of snow in a few days. Three years ago, Nynäshamn (close to my area),was hit with 50 centimetres of snow. I took a photo promenade today so that I would have some before and after the Snow Cannon pictures.

A Puzzled Face

How long will this go on for? The winter I mean. I'm not much of a winter sports person, so I really don't see the need for all this snow. And as the Winter Olympics are being held in Canada that's where any snow fall should be directed. I'm lobbying for an early spring. I'm hoping to influence the correct people whoever they are. Oh, and if you are wondering about the self portraits that seem to pop up every now and then, it's just something to do to get away from all the snow photos. And it's quite fun to photoshop stuff. A few years ago I did the 365 project over at flickr. This time I will only shoot a photo per week or so.

In the Dark

It's been a long, cold and dark winter (despite all the snow). I'm much more of a summer person. Which means that I'm a bit fed up with all things winter. And according to the meteorologist there's more of the same to come. We are expecting a few cold days, followed by a massive snow fall on Wednesday. Sounds a bit depressing. Who do you call for a blue sky and some sunshine?


(the photo shows me sitting in my reading chair in the dark, surfing the web.)

Posing at a Runestone

Trying my best to look cool at the 1000 year old Ådala Runestone at Hammersta in Nynäshamn. The runic inscription, translated reads something like Bjarne and Ger had the stone raised after Näsbjörn his father...the brother of Gudfinn.

This stone was damaged back in 1939 when it was found upside down on a field. The area was being developed, and as no one knew that the big rock was a runestone, they used explosives so that it could be removed from the field. There is an old ruin nearby which was the reason I visited Hammersta today, I will tell you a little about that tomorrow.

At The Amphitheatre

This is the amphitheatre at the Olof Palme Park in Handen. Also known as the Eskils Park. In the park you will find a fountain with artwork made by PYE Engström. Surrounding the park is a big grassy area where weather permitting you will see a lot of people picnicking, resting, walking their dogs, jogging or even watching the local cheer leading group practice. During the summer months there's sometimes a theatre play or a concert at the the amphitheatre. But on this visit the only spectator sitting there in the sunshine was yours truly. Oh, and thanks to Nanok at Metro for the mention of this blog in the paper today, much appreciated!

Is There Anybody Out There?

So as the new year started, I joined yet another fun group over at flickr. 365. For that many days, I will have to shoot one self portrait per day! Here you see me in the back garden looking for a Wight that I thought I heard.

Summer Landscape Me

I live in a rural area of Haninge. It has changed much over the last years, but there are still a few farmers left. Here you see me at the rapeseed field at Nedersta. The field was shining bright yellow with a scent to match. I stopped to photograph two pheasants, but they ran off, so I took this self portrait instead. Just before that I stopped at a horse pasture.

Bigger photo.