Pictures from a Town Fair
One of the annual events in my little south Swedish hometown is the Bonnamarknaden (literally meaning Farmers’ Market, although there’s not much related to farmers these days). I don’t go down there every year, since it tends to be more or less the same thing every year, but I figured I’d have a go at it this year, since I’ve not done much street photography lately. I can always do with some practice, to keep my observational skills honed and ready!
Festival days are here again!
There are certain things that happen annually that with time become markers of where in the year we are (other than for instance Midsummer, which funnily enough is in the middle of…yep…summer). One of these is the Malmö Festival which happens in August, just before the kids go back to school for the fall semester. So in a way it marks the end of summer for us here in the southernmost part of Sweden. It certainly feels that way today as I write this, with rain outside the window and temperatures that barely reach 20 degrees Celsius!
Colors, Drums and Sunshine!
A few weekends ago I attended the Landskrona Carnival with the parents who hadn’t been there before (I’ve been before, but not the actual parade part…which was the main reason we went). It turned out to be quite an interesting and entertaining experience, not to mention a challenging one, photography wise.
I had lent my dad my 18-200 mm zoom lens, since his is no longer working, so I was using only my 50 mm on my Canon 600D. Yep, I was shooting digital again…it seems to be something I’ve gotten back to this summer, at least a little bit. No worries though, I am still using my analog gear as well. It’s just that when you expect a boatload of colors and action my black and white analog setup doesn’t really work that well!
Dance like everyone's watching!
There are photographic outings that are planned far in advance (such as the outing to the Viking markets last weekend), and then there are those that happen very fast and with next to no planning. That was the case this weekend when my dear mother told me at lunch there was a Latino festival in Malmö that day and I thought “cool, that’d be interesting to photograph” and off I went. There’d be a carnival parade too, but given that I had heard about it late I figured I would miss that part (turns out I did), but that was okay. It just felt nice to be out and about with my cameras in the summer sun!
Pride in Malmö!
This will be my last (probably) blog post with photos I did during my social media hiatus/blackout/absence during the second half of 2018. I do like seeing these warm, lovely, summery photos now in January, because the weather outside is quite…well…Swedish! Lots and lots of colors, smiling people and warm sunlight feels like a very good idea to post right about now!
Viking Summer 2018
For a few years a while back I went to every annual summer Viking market at Foteviken just south of Malmö to take pictures, because as a history nerd I thought it was so cool to see people in (at least somewhat period accurate) Viking costumes, re-enacting the time period. Then I felt I had photographed that to the best of both my abilities as well as my interest (mostly the latter), but in 2018 I thought 'I haven't shot the event with analog equipment, so that might be a new challenge!'
Car Nerdery
Unlike many middle-aged men I am not a very car-obsessed person. To me a car is more a means to an end - a way to get from point A to point B, preferably in one piece - than an interest or a hobby. However, I do appreciate cool designs and people who are into a particular interest, because in a way they're the same kind of nerds/geeks that us photographers are...only aimed at another specialty field.
Sakura photos with issues...a lot of issues!
One of the frustrating things with analog photography (and actually one of the redeeming qualities too when it works) is that you can't check the back of the screen to see if your exposure is spot on. I find that a good thing often because that makes me focus on the picture taking and being careful with the exposure to begin with, because I can't check it after each image.
Color photos? What is going on with Tomas?
As the people who see the pictures I post on this blog ((yeah, the two of you who actually do read this blog ;-)) have noticed there's been A LOT of black and white photos from me lately, since I've done so much analog stuff in the last year. So except for my monthly wrap-up posts on my 365 project, it has become a rarity for me to post color shots like these.
Does it always rain in Copenhagen?
As I write this it is the day after the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk and I haven't felt any urge to head out today to take pictures even though there was good light for parts of the day at least. For the entirety of the walk through the streets of Copenhagen yesterday it rained, rained and then it rained even more! I don't think I've ever had to pour water out of the front of a camera before, but there definitely was some in my old Canon 50mm lens after the walk was done!
Pick a few good ones!
My blogging “schedule” hasn’t been much of a schedule lately...nor blogging for that matter, but I figure that it’s probably better not to write anything until you feel you have something to share than to ramble on about stuff.
So I actually do have something to share today. This was brought on by a conversation I had yesterday during the one day event called “Linan” (The Line) in Malmö, Sweden. It’s a one day outdoor photo exhibition in a park that I’ve taken part in several times. This year I showed 13 12 x 16 inch images from last weekend’s Pride Parade here in town.
On to the conversation I hinted at...a spectator I’ve run into at several other one day events commented that I always share such good event photos; that I manage to capture the mood of an event well. That is of course high praise and I told him so, but it also got me thinking about editing, judging and selecting photos.
Shooting a fashion show
Once again I was volunteered to shoot a clothing show that a local senior citizens' group put on. Like previous times my dad was one of the runway models, so he was unable to shoot the event, hence me doing it. Plus it's an interesting experience to shoot that stuff, since it isn't quite what I usually do.
Paddy's Day was cold this year!
As has become tradition for me over the last couple of years I went to Copenhagen on March 17th to photograph the celebrations on St:Patrick's Day.
Unlike last year's celebrations it was pretty cold and rather rainy this year. That was okay though...at least it wasn't snowing!
Almost time to be Irish again!
In a week's time I am once again heading to Copenhagen to be fake-Irish for a day. Yep...March 17th is St:Patrick's Day and it is time to enjoy the way that's celebrated in the Danish capital. I took a look through my archive of photos and it turns out I've been there four out of the last five years (I sat 2016 out due to just being through a bout of flu), so I've taken a lot of pictures of the celebrations!
Christmas is market season
Just like summer brings on the market season around this province we get a lot of markets around December, selling all kinds of Christmas related things and knickknacks. I've never been to the market held at Katrinetorps Gård, an old-style manor house turned living museum, just outside of Malmö, Sweden, so I figured it was time to go.