Canola Field

Riding home from the Agricultural College at Berga on Sunday I decided to stop at Stav in Tungelsta, a very old village. The gravel road here dates back to the Viking Era, and you pass by a runestone before arriving to one of the little horse farms. At the farm I saw a very shy foal before walking down to the blooming canola fields. The building in the background is the old smithy, that is no longer in use. Next to it there's an old well that never runs dry. It has saved many farmers and also been used by the local fire fighters many years ago. The fields here are used by the college, but owned by one of the farmers.

The Chainsaw Artist

This is Åke Herrström. A chainsaw sculptor from Norrköping. He has worked in the forest for more than thirty years so he knows how to handle a chainsaw. I met him on Sunday at the Berga Agricultural College during the open-house weekend. He was invited by Studieförbundet vuxenskolan (adult education), and you can see on of their representatives in the slideshow. Åke made this beautiful eagle in no time at all, and it was impressive to see him in action. He showed me some of his earlier sculptures, including a one to one scale Harley Davidson, a work which took him one long summer to create. I asked him if he knew Lennart Jansson another chainsaw artist that I met three years ago and he told me that they had met a few times. To see more of Åke's sculptures check out the photos at his web site.

The Clown

A lot of people are afraid of clowns. That phobia is called Coulrophobia. This sad looking clown is called Max. He is an institution in Sweden and has made more than 5000 shows over the years. I met him earlier today when he was preparing for a show at the Berga Agricultural College. A little later I could hear the kids screaming, so either he was a big hit, or very scary...

A Former Museum

This little cottage at the Hammar estate in Tungelsta was built by a great-great grandparent to the current owner Charlotte. He was a man that sailed with one of the Swedish East India Company ships to India and China nearly two hundred years ago. On the first two trips he brought home many items, and to have a place to store and show them he decided to build this little museum. Sadly he died during his third expedition to Asia. After posting this photo at flickr one of my Swedish readers in the US told me that a relative of his was the captain on one of these ships. Small world.

The Meandering Path

I use this bike path on a daily basis. It is a shortcut between Jordbro and Västerhaninge. The road dates back to the Viking Era. It meanders through an old burial ground with 800 graves from 500 B.C, and a nature reserve called Gullringskärret. If you continue down the path you will see a horse farm.

The Not-So-Ugly Duckling

Another possible title could have been Not A Rubber Duck. Walking through the nature park in Handen yesterday I spotted this yellow duckling. The rest of the bird family looked like normal ducks, so this fuzzy yellow duckling stood out a bit.

Born To Be Wild

Whenever I visit my favorite cafe, Malmens in Handen I will try to get a few candid photos (or portraits). It's fun to sit in the sun, drinking coffee and talking to people. If you live nearby be sure to stop by for lunch or coffee. On a recent visit I spotted this guy driving towards me.

That Old Tree

The old tree at Välsta in Tungelsta is always a late bloomer, but as I walked down the path last evening it had turned green once again. Quite a difference from the week before when I met a couple of horse-back riders on another sunny evening.

On the back-road again

Back in October I showed you three photos from Ormsta in a post I called Taking the Backroad. Yesterday I decided to do a repeat of those three scenes as I was out on a sunny early summer bike ride in the area. And here they are: The typical Swedish farm house. The panorama view over Ormsta. And the old Viking road. I'm quite pleased with all three photos. The only difference from last year is that I didn't meet any horse-back riders this time, so I turned around and took a photo of the road with one of the red houses in the background.

The Grey Agents

I met two grey agents yesterday. Grey agents are time-thieves, so you better be careful if you see them around. They work for The Timesavings Bank. Any time saved by the people will go up in smoke when the grey agents will use that time in their cigars.

In reality these two actresses are called Josefin and Minna. They were on their way home from the theatre when I spotted them this afternoon. Still in character as you can see. It was their last performance today, and they figured it would be coll to dress up like the grey agents at the end of the school year in a few weeks time!

A Not so Candid Portrait

It's tricky sometimes to shoot candid portraits. At least when you are standing so close that the babe in question can hear the camera click. But in the end it made for a better portrait.

Crosscart Racing

Anyone from age ten can try this sport. It is called Crosscart.It was invented by a man called Erland Andersson, from Fjärås back in the 1980s. He wanted to create a new type of racing. Something inexpensive, fun and safe, and most importantly, using a car that you can build yourself. In 1987 his dream came true. The engines are normally from a motorcycle.The sport is said to be similar to Sprint Car Racing. I took these photos at the Högsta motor stadium when they had a open-house weekend. To get a feel about the sport check out these YouTube videos from Högsta.

The Mousetrap

As a member of the historical association I am sometimes asked to photograph old cottages for upcoming books. This is one such place. This property dates back to 1741. The name is a bit unusual. It is called The Mousetrap or Råttfällan in Swedish. It is located at Alby, a rural part of Haninge. The story behind the name is that there once lived a boatswain here who hated rats and he apparently made a lot of mousetraps. That same legend also says that he made traps for roe deers and elks! On my visit I had a lengthy chat with the current owner Mr. Svanäng. He is a retired farmer who has lived her for eleven years.

With the wind in her hair

Crossing a street in Jordbro, at the commuter station, a few days ago, I noticed a familiar car driving towards me so I grabbed the camera and started shooting. The car is a real babe magnet (at least according to the owner Sten-Åke Svensson whom I met a couple of years ago. This is a unique car. It is a KJB. Named after the man who designed and built it. If you would like to see more photos of the KJB be sure to check out my post from my first meeting with Sten-Åke.

Young and Old

A while back I visited the motor-stadium at Högsta in Haninge when they had an open house weekend. The racetrack opened in 1976. At the track you can watch Rally, Folkrace, Offroad, Rallycross and Crosscart. Not sure who the kid in the photo here is, but he was a good motocross racer that's for sure. Second photo shows 85-year old Nils Södergren from Västerhaninge who you have met on this blog before. It's mostly thanks to him that the high flying kid can race here as it was Nils and a friend who started it all back in the 1970s. I talked for a while with Nils and he told me a few interesting stories about his involvement in the club.

Winter vs. Spring

Obviously I prefer the spring half of this diptych as I am a summer person. I shot that photo at the Tungelsta commuter station a couple of days ago. The winter photo dates back to 2007 and in you have been to this photo blog before, chances are that you will recognise that mirror.

Out Of My Way!

I decided to head over to the old tree the other day to see if it had started to turn green yet. As I walked down the path this horse came racing towards me so I decided to grab a few shots. In the sulky sat a young guy, we exchanged a few words before he rounded the tree and disappeared down the path. The land here at Välsta is owned by the Andersson family. They have a horse farm nearby and you will often meet sulky riders and horse back riders here.

Mission Accomplished

Closing in on a roundabout in Handen today I noticed a photographer dressed in leather in action. It was Carina who was busy documenting the thousands of tulips that are growing in the roundabout. When she and Totte (who owns the Harley), passed by here a few days ago Carina told him that she needed to document that and that was what she was doing when I met them today.

Oh, and please don't forget to read about the young banker in the post that disappeared the other day!

You Made My Day

Alex was easy to spot. Hat, earrings, beard, big and colorful tattoo, and a longboard will often be enough to get noticed I think. Alex is 25 and works with welfare services for the disabled. When I met him in Västerhaninge on Wednesday he was out with two friends working on improving his sliding technique on the longboard. When he is not doing that he sometimes designs jewellery like the elephant necklace he is wearing here. He told me that I made his day when I asked him for a portrait. I like that sort of response.

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Oh, and I hope the blogger people get their act together so we can see our posts from yesterday sometime soon.

The Young Banker

This is Oscar Eriksson. A university student with an internship at the Swedish financial group SEB. It's his first year at uni and he plans to keep his job as a trainee at the bank in Handen until he graduates. His big hobby is football. He grew up playing with AIK. And spent one year at San Francisco State University playing soccer. I met him at Poseidon's square yesterday where he was enjoying lunch in the summer sunshine. We talked a bit about flickr and football before it was time to take a few portraits.