Being a photographer is the best, and most inspiring, job I can think of ever having. I am a professional photographer. Very much a food photographer, working with the Swedish Culinary Teams. Seniors and Juniors. Among many nice clients. Until today I have photographed 16 cook books. Many awarded. Photography is not only my profession, it is also my passion.
Has this happened to you too? Just found some old, not used in a long time, USB memory sticks. This is a series of images that was hidden on one of them. Was, they are not hidden any longer.
The stick is named Malmö_Cph 2015-12-13 jpeg. I assume it is images photographed in Malmö and in Copenhagen in 2015. Not too complicated to understand. About 10 years ago. What was I doing there? Visiting my wife who used to work there for some time. Could be, but I really don´t remember. Looks like I was looking down most of the time. Viewing streets through my camera..
Looks like I was doing some street photography. And was having great fun.
It was ages since I wrote in my blog, but I hope I can do that more often, much more often, this year. It is fun!
I have attended the press photo festival several years. Always in fond memory for the exhibitions, workshops, colleagues and the city. A special theme for my own photography has been “door art”. You will understand when you see my pictures. Always lively in color and graffiti. The door knobs not to forget. Photographers tend to like the small things that will catch the eye, but perhaps not what everybody can see.
When ever I go on a journey and bring my camera, I am looking for a theme to explore. In Perpignan it wasn´t difficult to find one.
Could it be? I miss writing and posting here on my blog, so I should try to better myself during this new year. Posting new and old photographs. And writing about photography. Mine and others. I am today a pensionist, but still active and I really love my profession. So here to start this new year is another look in the rear view mirror. Some photographs for Bågar & Glas here in Stockholm. I brought them out from my archive and updated them with some new color. Bågar & Glas is a well established optician in Stockholm.
These images are not new. Honestly I just found them browsing my image files. They are all made with a TS lens on a walk through Old Town in Stockholm. TS stands for Tilt and shift. It works the way my old Sinar view camera did. With swings and tilts. Almost. I just love it.
Perhaps you thought that is only a part of New York City, but it is everywhere. You don´t believe me? I will show you. This is an exercise I did in art school, but I also did it not so long ago. Back then it was in b/w but now it is in color. I didn´t go far to get all the letters. It is great fun and you can do it in many different ways. Like every season. In sunny or cloudy weather.
I made it in English and stopped short of Å, Ä and Ö, but I found them too. A good exercise on your next stroll in the city. Wherever you are. This is Stockholm.
2017. Used gloves. I found them on the streets mostly.
It started in 1998. I had met Peter Schäublin at a Sinar workshop in Schaffhaussen, Switzerland. At the time he worked at the company as head of prints, brochures etc. We became friends and started to share ideas. We came up with the idea of a calendar and made the first one in 1998, together with the local Swiss printer Stamm. We kept it up until 2019, with only two years that we missed. Time and economics change so it is no more. It was a dear challenge to me to come up with new ideas for images every year. The very first images were produced with my Dicomed Digital 4×5″ scanner camera.
Peter, a very talented photographer and graphic designer, developed a design that complimented my images. Over the years it became more and more playful.
Here is a small selection of images. I used flowers, toys, food, used gloves, vegetables, old tools, ice, instruments, spoons, watches etc. for props. It is all very much “Pelle Style”.
1998, Iris. Early digital images with My Dicomed. 2009. Vegetables on steel. 2004. Water guns with peaceful messages. 2011. Ice. Inspired by Irving Penn. 2014. Old Swiss watches. 2005. Flowers.2015. Food from the cookbock with chef KC Wallberg. ” My Culinary Kingdom”.2007. Still life with fruit and vegetables. 2019. Old tools with herbs and spices.2003. Old cutlery. An early selection. 1999 was not a calendar together with Peter.
A good and eternal question. A very talented artist, Ernst Billgren, has written two books about it. A great, funny and interesting read. In one of the articles he writes “that many things can maybe be considered art, but perhaps not a wrench”. Note! He does NOT say that it isn´t art, and that is about the wrench itself. How, if you use a wrench in your art? Then perhaps the wrench becomes art. Or part of.
I realise that over the years I have photographed many wrenches in many different ways. Art or not, that was nothing that I have ever given a thought. Here is a small selection of images, and perhaps I can produce an exhibition with just wrenches in the near future.
My father had a garage and that was where I grew up around cars, tractors, lorries and lots of tools. I did not become a mechanics like my father and brother but I have always kept en interest in and love to, especially, old tools. I have also taken care of the tools after my father in law. They often becomes items in my photographed still lifes. I am sure my background has something to do with this.
More tool and wrench art is to come.
If it becomes an exhibition I will be happy to write to Ernst Billgren about it…😉 Pelle
From a calendar project in 2019
8×10 Polaroid transfer
Very early digital image with 4×5″ scanner backNow I have also started painting them. This is made with watercolors.From a calendar project in 2000. No. Vlll = 8
Recently I had the above image from Paris accepted by yourdailyphotograph.com. All very well and I feel really happy about it. However, I always do series. It is very rare that I just do one photograph of a subject or composition when I am walking the streets with a camera . Same thing here in Paris with The Eiffel Tower. Below I present the other photographs from the series. Photographed through a curtain while I had a cup of coffee with my friend and colleague Ilian. Now I like the other two images just as much. How about you? What is your opinion? Should I have sent one of the other images? It was a good day for photographing in Paris, and now I would just love to go there soon again for more photography and culture. Wine and coffee.