Happy to report that we still have summer temperatures and that most of the Summer green is still around. But the evenings are getting a bit colder and it is getting darker a little earlier than I like. This is Allévägen in Lida. The trees were planted 200 years ago by the family that still owns the estate that you will find at the other end of the alley.
A couple of years ago while taking a winter promenade around Lower Lake Rudan I found a tree branch stuck in the ice. One month later I took another photo when the ice had melted. Last week on another promenade I found what was left of the tree branch, and this is how it looks today.
They have been harvesting hay at the Nödesta farm recently. They use modern machines most of the time, but I noticed this old Ferguson? out on a field. It is used to transport the hay. Figured this might be a fun Brenizer Method photo. It is 22 photos stitched together, shot with the 85mm lens at f/1.8. Almost looks a bit like a miniature tractor.
This portrait of Gumilla De luxe was the last photo I took at the Grand Prix Raggarbil this year. Gunilla arrived as I was leaving, so this slideshow with 163 photos will show what she missed. Enjoy!
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.
One or two hot girls at the big "Raggarträff" (Greaser meet), at Vegabaren. Weirdly enough I felt the urge to photograph them. And here is one such photo.
Suddenly a double-decker bus showed up at the big Greaser meet (still a few more photos to show you). It stopped at a pedestrian crossing, and it turned out to be a hen party. The bus comes from a company called Partybussar.
Hundreds of classic cars at the big Greaser meet at the famous Vegabaren in Handen last Saturday.
Cadillac Eldorado. Ford Edsel. 1960 Buick Le Sabre. 1956 Chevrolet.
Every year at the Grand Prix Raggarbil you can vote for Best Looking Greaser Girl. This is Petra Nyman. I don't know if she won, but I think she was in with a good chance with this pink polka dot dress.
You can be sure of one thing. No matter how a "raggarbil" (car owned and used by a member of the subculture), looks or sounds, it is loved. Seriously loved. A raggare lives for his car. And the 1950s music. And the greaser girls. There were many rusty American cars at the big meet, and here are two of them.
Theme Day. Rust and Ruins.
I had to shoot a few portraits at the big Greaser meet. This is Celina, a good looking raggarbrud. She's from Gävle, a city roughly 174 km away from Haninge. Celina was sitting on a rusty old car enjoying a drink with a friend when I spotted her. It was her blonde hair with the flower that caught my eye. Expect to see many more photos from this event in the coming days!
Three illegal street-races in Stockholm last night. At Hallunda, Fittja and Slagsta. Very popular events at insane speeds on the E4 highway. It is hard for the police to do something about it. “That’s what happens. We’re powerless. It’s not that simple, to just go in and stop this,” Stockholm policeman Anders Mattsson told news agency TT. And this is the car that won the whole thing. A 1973 Plymouth Valiant. I didn't get a chance to talk with the driver, M Duster, as he was busy telling people about last nights race, which was the last of the season. I took the photo a few hours ago during the big Greaser Meet in Handen. It is called Grand Prix Raggarbil.
Treat your overall as a dirty dog. Soon it will smell like a dirty dog. Don't clean the overall.
What your overall needs:
Lots of pockets for beer.
A hidden pocket for a hip flask.
Maps.
Flash-light.
Bottle opener.
Cocktail book.
Barf bag.
First year students from The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH Haninge), during hazing.
The Easy Rider Festival is always a fun event for photographers. It took place at Vegabaren last Saturday, it rained a bit which scared away a few bikers. Top photo shows Benke, a guy that you have met here before, on his Holle Racer. Benke runs a company that sells Bicycle Engine Kits. Second snap shows a real beauty. A vintage Husqvarna motorcycle.
Always fun to do a bit of people watching. This snap is from last Saturday. The Haninge Day took place near the mall. I had taken a candid photo of the hugging couple a little earlier. I think they spotted me both times.
Linda Pira & The Salazar Brothers performing on the big stage during Haninge Day. Linda is a rapper who won the Grammis Awards of 2014 for Newcomer of the year. Not my music but as I was there I decided to check it out.
A new band performed their first ever gig during the Haninge Day on Saturday. Sverigefinnarna. Translated that would mean The Sweden Finns. They have an interesting line-up. The drummer, Harri Mänty, is the former guitarist in Sweden's most popular band over the last 15 years, Kent. The singer, Markus Fagerwall, won the Swedish version of Idol back in 2006. The bass player, Heikki Kiviaho, has worked as a producer to several big names. And he was a punk rocker back in the late 1970s in his home town of Eskilstuna. The last member of the band is his brother Hannu Kiviaho, nick named Fatboy, he is the guy with the beautiful guitar.Hannu is also a well known actor. So what did they sing about? That is a good question. The songs I heard were all in Finnish, a language I don't master at all. But it was fun to see them together on stage.
In an effort to save the old Folkpark in Handen, a few local organisations, Levande Zon, RoJteatern,Handens museum and ABF Södertörn decided to set up a cultural festival with rock music, dance music, theatre and more at a fe different scenes on Saturday evening. It only took a few weeks, and yesterday saw the first (annual?), Kulturparksfestival. I was there for a couple of hours and here is a slideshow with 24 photos. Photos of the bands Ban Bianca and Smash playing at Gula Villan. A street performer known as Mr. Pink. And An American singer&songwriter called Esther Rose Parkes performing at the Handen Museum. Dance music from Doktor Krall next to the RoJ Theatre. Oh, and you could also try the legendary Ultra buns baked by local legend Tompa Eken. The weather wasn't the best with grey skies and some rain but it was still a good start!
This is Björn Hellberg. A living oracle when it comes to tennis. He knows every fact of every game set and match ever played (more or less). He hasn't missed a Wimbledon tournament for nearly 50 years. He is a sport journalist, and also a well known author. He has written a biography about Björn Borg. These days he is also a very popular crime writer, and has written 25 novels. He was busy at a book signing when I spotted him in the mall in Handen today. But in general he is best known for a TV show called På Spåret. It is a very popular quiz show about geography. He competed four times and won every year. That was too much for the show so they made him a judge a job he had for some 20 years.
We need to get the Summer temperature back up to a decent level, at least for a few weeks. It's been a cold 17C the last few days, and very windy. I don't know the best way to fix that problem, but I decided to have a go, and this is what I came up with. A photo of a sunflower, facing the sun at an kolonilott in Handen. I hope it works!
Two photos in black and white. First shows a canola near Kalvsvik after the harvest. Before, it would have looked something like this. In the background you can see the Medieval church in Österhaninge. And up on the roof of that church, a guy from a company called Kyrktak (Church Roof). He is spraying pine tar on the roof.
My series with proof that Summer might be coming to an end continues in this post. These are the two beaches at the Upper Lake at the Rudan Nature reserve. It was a sunny (but windy), August day and I was the only one there, until I heard a bit of laughter. A dad and his teenage daughter were walking out into the lake. Not to swim, just to see if the water was still warm. He figured it was. She didn't.
The general election takes place in September. By the looks of these campaign posters the ruling party Moderaterna,(part of a coalition), have already given up. At least if you only read the headline.
This is Prästgårdsängen in Västerhaninge. Designed by the architect Helena Wennerström. Forty four new homes have been built next to the old parsonage. They blend in very well. The modern apartments are 155 square meters. They all have a car port and a little yard. The grassy hill in front of the houses is a noise barrier.The project made it to the final in the Building of the year contest in Haninge. A few flickr contacts asked me about the big window. It reminded them of the Swedish flag and Paul pointed out the thickness of the central mullion, so I emailed the architect for some answers. The reason for the thick mullion is a wall. The window is actually covering two rooms, but she wanted them to look like one. She didn't intend for the windows to look like the Swedish flag, but jokingly said, (or wrote), that her next house project would be blue houses!
I met a young farmer earlier in the week. Andreas Norlin from Hammarby Gård in Haninge. He was sitting in the combine harvester on a wheat field in Österhaninge. He noticed me as I took some photos. A few minutes later as I was still shooting he turned the engine off and waved me over for a chat. We talked a bit about farming. He even made me taste the wheat.I told him that I had previously met and photographed his dad. That was six years ago now. Time sure flies.
The old tree took a hit during the big thunderstorm two weeks ago. I was here when the storm started, but managed to get home unharmed. On my very short visit last week I only took a quick photo but thought the tree looked a bit different. Then on Saturday I met Christina during the rock festival and she told me that the old tree had lost two big branches. I took this photo from the side and it is easy to see the damage done.
This is David Larsson. An artist who often works with installations. I noticed his Pentax camera and stopped for a chat. He was taking photos for an upcoming exhibition at the cultural centre in Handen. David has spent close to a year going through the archives at the local historical society ( you can find many of my photos there). When I met him in Handen earlier today he had photographed the exact spot where once the Janstorp cottage stood. It was moved in 1982 to Västerhaninge. I told him that it was the home of the Engström family for several generations. You have met one of them here before. That was Sara, The Priestess. David is originally from Uppsala. He lived in Stockholm for many years before moving to Haninge a couple of years ago. His art exhibition opens on the sixth of September.
The last act to perform during the rock festival in the park in Tungelsta was Lugnet. It's been like that for three years now. They play 70s rock and always give 100 percent. Here are a few snaps of the band in a slideshow. Rock on!
A couple of years ago while taking a winter promenade around Lower Lake Rudan I found a tree branch stuck in the ice. One month later I took another photo when the ice had melted. Last week on another promenade I found what was left of the tree branch, and this is how it looks today.
This portrait of Gumilla De luxe was the last photo I took at the Grand Prix Raggarbil this year. Gunilla arrived as I was leaving, so this slideshow with 163 photos will show what she missed. Enjoy!
Hundreds of classic cars at the big Greaser meet at the famous Vegabaren in Handen last Saturday.
Cadillac Eldorado. Ford Edsel. 1960 Buick Le Sabre. 1956 Chevrolet.
Two photos in black and white. First shows a canola near Kalvsvik after the harvest. Before, it would have looked something like this. In the background you can see the Medieval church in Österhaninge. And up on the roof of that church, a guy from a company called Kyrktak (Church Roof). He is spraying pine tar on the roof.
