Impressive head tattoo

Wow. That had to be a few painful sittings at the tattoo parlour. As seen during the big greaser meet, Grand Prix Raggarbil at the famous, first ever drive-in restaurant in Sweden, the Vegabaren in Handen. I still have a lot of photos to go through from that event.

Tattoo of the day

I'm sure there's an interesting story about the ink job here. But I didn't want to intrude too much. English dude with his Swedish girlfriend at the Lower Lake at the Rudan nature reserve yesterday.

Miss Marla Kay

This is Miss Marla Kay. She was NOT part of the Pin-up girl contest at the Classic Cars and Customs meet at Sundby Gård. And why is that I hear you ask? Because she organized the contest, and to be true had she entered she would probably have won the thing hands down. She looked a bit different from last year and I noticed that she had a new tattoo so I had to zoom in on that with the canon. Oh, and funny story here. The day after the event I was sipping coffee at my favorite cafe Malmens konditori in Handen when Miss marla Kay and her boyfriend walked in, small world as she put it!

Jesse and his bike

This is Jesse. He is easy to spot. I have a few candid photos of him from local events, but this was the first time we talked. I noticed his very cool bike outside the mall in Handen yesterday and knew that I had to snap a few photos of it. And while I was at it I decided to take a portrait of Jesse as well, because he has a unique look. He did his first face tattoo four years ago. One of them is a bit special. It depicts a man holding a gun. It is Christer Pettersson, the man convicted for the assassination of the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme in February of 1986. Pettersson was later acquitted and died a few years ago. What about the bike I hear you ask, well Jesse built the bike himself, and got the parts from various places, including the US.

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.

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.

I live on the dark side

The first time I stopped this girl and asked her for a portrait she promptly refused. That was maybe two years ago. It was the tattoo of the cross near her eye that caught my eye that time. Since then I have seen her many times and I must have stopped her and asked her for a few photos, four or five times, but she has always turned me down. Until two days ago that is when we met on a walkway near Jordbro. She had her headphones on when I stopped the bike and waved to her. Her name turned out to be Sanna. She lives in Västerhaninge. She is not religious in the Christian way, but she does have her own believes. I live on the dark side she told me. Hence the tattoo of the tied up angel. Sanna spends a lot of time in the gym, working out is a big part of her life as is as you can guess tattoos.

Body Ink

David's body is turning into a work of art. I noticed his head tattoo and decided to ask if I could take a few photos when I noticed him on a walkway in Jordbro. He was on his way to work but had time for a chat and a portrait. David has two big interests. Rock 'n' roll and tattoos. I was very impressed by the quality of his tattoos. He told me that he is far from finished when it comes to his body art. On his legs you can see Alice Cooper and Lemmy. A few more photos of David at flickr.

Nice Tats

Two post today as I was out with food poisoning over the weekend. I still have a few photos to go through from the big greaser meet. First photo shows Anna's latest tattoo. A frog. It's because of her mother who is nicknamed Grodan the Swedish word for frog. Second photo shows a very tired raggare taking a nap in his car. Notice the cassette tape tattoo.

Cash is King

I met Desiree in Västerhaninge. It was the butterfly tattoo on her neck that made me look one extra time. She is a bit camera shy but with the sunglasses on it was okay with a portrait. She likes street dancing and tattoos. She used to be a "raggarbrud" or Greaser Girl. She likes the Rock'n'roll of years gone by, but her all time favorite is probably Johnny Cash and that is why she has the King tattooed on her hand.

Tiger Matz

Summer returned on Saturday. I made a stop at the Rudan nature reserve and found a few guys buy fishing at the Lower Lake. This is one of them. Tiger Matz. The big Tiger tattoo was designed by his brother who is a tattooist and a photographer.

Who Gives A Shit

Street portrait in B%W of tattooist Danne, who works at Tatueringskompaniet.

The Tattooist

I have to admit to toying with the idea of getting a tattoo. Maybe a camera or something like that on my shoulder, but it is yet to happen. One reason is that tattooing is very addictive. It is hard to stop after that first ink job. At least that is what people with tattoos keep telling me. Anyway, heading home the other day I met Niklas. He will definitely stand out from a crowd, even at a tattoo convention. Niklas works as a tattooist at Tatueringskompaniet.

The girl with the girly tattoos

This is Steffi.I took her portrait a little over two years ago in Tungelsta, and it's always fun with an update. This time we met at the big park in Handen. Since I saw her the last time she has graduated from secondary school. She would like to work as an art teacher in the future. She had a few of her own paintings with her. The band she plays in, Trimmad Rullator, is on a break. I showed the second photo to local music legend Tompa Eken at the cafe, and he immediately recognised her and told me about a gig with her band that he had seen.

Music Made Me Addicted

She kindly removed her hair so that I would get a better look at the dragon tattoo. From the Easy Rider festival last weekend.

Jennie A.K.A. The Tigress

I noticed Jennie's tiger tattoo in Västerhaninge yesterday and knew that I had to take a portrait of her. She was with her family, hubby and three kids. Jennie is a nursing assistant and in the future she is hoping to work with kids with special needs. She had the cool ink work made at a tattoo studio in Tungelsta. Made by an apprentice. It took six hours in one sitting. She paid 2000 SEK for it and I think it looks very cool.

Voulez Vous

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.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I notice things. And from my bicycle I spotted The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo close to a park in Handen. Her name is not Lisbeth Salander, but Sofia. She's from Tyresö, a neighbouring municipality to Haninge, although she has lived here in Handen for about one year now. I asked her if she had any plans for the future. She told me her recent difficulties with figuring out just that. She attended the media programme as a secondary school student because she enjoys photography. But there was so many other classes there that didn't interest her so she quit. Then she had an idea about becoming a hair dresser, so she started that programme. But after a while Sofia realised that it was the wrong move, so she quit that education as well. Third time's the charm so Sofia then decided that perhaps Business economics was something for her. So she started reading that, but again she could not finish that programme. But now with hindsight, she will probably go back and finish that programme. She bought a digital camera together with her mother, but haven't been able to use it much, as her mother also enjoys photography, so as soon as she gets enough money, a new camera is on her list of items to buy. Oh, and the cool tattoo cost her 5000 SEK.

It was a warm Summer day

I believe that we all have a bit of an extrovert in us. When I spotted Robin in Handen a few days ago I figured him for one. He was on his way home from work. He works as a builder, and I wasn't all that surprised when he told me that he spends a few hours at the gym every week. But he said that the only reason he wasn't wearing a shirt was because of the warm weather.

I Love That Old Time Music

This is Paula, she was standing in the sunshine reading a book near the commuter station in Handen yesterday afternoon when I came around the corner. The first thing I noticed was one of her tattoos, depicting an old style phonograph. I asked her about it and she told me she loved old-time music. She didn't feel like having her photo taken so I had to turn on the Steffe charm and luckily it worked! Paula is a university college student studying Economics,Science and Design at the Södertörn University in Huddinge. On her free time she enjoys drawing and painting. After I had taken a few quick portraits her ride arrived as we agreed that having ones photo taken really isn't that hard after all.