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Photography

My Photographic Alphabet, pt.3

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The third day and final letters in my photographic alphabet, The Stockholm version 2015. It will take some time before i stop thinking about letters when I take my walks in the city. But another time and another place, and I will do it again. No, it was not made in order from A to Z, if you ever wondered. I gave myself the artistic freedom not to.

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R was the trickiest to find. But when you do this exercise for some time you get a skilled eye. This is the only R, while I have many of the other letters. Some more favorites than others.

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Yes, it is me. Like Hitchcock or Jacques Tati…

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I have found the letters all over the city. Building sites are useful. Letters are everywhere, just start looking.

😊   Pelle

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Photography

My photographic alphabet, pt. 2

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Now when my alphabet is finished, I can´t stop looking at details. Everywhere I see letters. Some are obvious, others more obscure. It certainly keeps my mind and fantasy going. My photographers mind. If I do it again the fonts will not be the same.

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I will present the final letters tomorrow.

😊   Pelle

Photography

Writing with light.

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The alphabet starts with an A.

Here is how Wikipedia explains photography. ( I have simplified the text a little ).

Photography is the science, art and practice of creating images by recording light by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film

Photography is employed in many fields of science, manufacturing and business, as well as its more direct uses for art, recreational purposes, and mass communication.

“…as well as its more direct uses for art, recreational purposes, and mass communication.” I like that!

You can certainly use the media in your very own way. Let´s simply say it is writing with light. So I created my own alphabet. I made this exercise in art school years ago but in black and white.  This is much more colorful. Doing your own is a good exercise for your eyes and mind. And I can promise you that you will get to see your surroundings in a new light. But why don´t you do it in your kitchen, garden, on your vacation or, well where ever. Good luck!

I had great fun doing this, and many people asked me what I was doing… They were a little surprised when i explalined.

There are more letters to come.

😊   Pelle

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Photography

Homage to Gertrud

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The name in the calendar today is Gertrud. The name of my aunt. She gave me my first camera and she always encouraged me to take pictures when we met. She moved early to Stockholm where she worked in a dairy. I made this homage to her in 1998, as you can see. It is Gertrud in the hat. You can also see my mother and my sister. Today I send her an extra thought of gratitude for what she did for me.

Photography

“It´s like when you take a photograph, perspective matters”

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Time does not rest

This is an interesting article about aging and memory. You will find it on BBC using the link below. The quote is a metaphor with cameras and photography. Many of us regognise ourselves in this. So, where did I park my car yesterday? I guess you don´t have to be old to feel it embarrassing.

“It’s like when you take a photograph – there’s the shutter speed to consider, but there’s also the depth of field. Perspective matters.”

A Point of View is broadcast on Fridays on Radio 4 at 20:50 GMT and repeated Sundays 08:50 GMT or listen on BBC iPlayer.

Unfortunately I can’t see who wrote it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-31849855

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The clock is ticking
Photography

Picture this

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Eiffel Tower in Paris
Should I stay or should I go? Eiffel Tower in Paris. My version at that time.

What is a photograph? How come we are so fascinated by it? These questions come to me over and over again. With the camera we record something three dimensional on some kind of media. Then it comes out in two dimensions. Color or black and white. A black and white version of a reality in color is often a very strong image. When we take the colors away we focus more strongly on the subject in the picture. But, of course it would be all to easy if it were always like that. The moment we press the shutter the picture is part of history, and that part of time will never come back again. Is it perhaps that? We have recorded something that is unique in time. It will never happen again. Sometimes we adjust it. Change contrast, colors or saturation and it becomes more interesting. A good composition helps. But not always. Always is never. Pictures often become more interesting as time goes. They help us to remember. But as they are not always a true document of a person or place they will not help us to remember the truth. But, what is truth anyway? Sorry to confuse you, but I am just so fascinated by it. Please share some thoughts with me if you like. I am sure I will come back to the subject in the future. The future that tends to become past very soon. Often. No, always that is.

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Eiffel Tower in Paris. This is my camera version of reality.
Blogging101, Personal, Photography, Thoughts

What other people see

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“Parents arguing with a child”. 4×5″ Dicomed scanner image.

Exhibiting is an exciting experience. Time to show your work, images, pictures to others. Perhaps after working hard for a long time in solitude. An ego boost. Personally I create with my heart, my eyes and a gut feeling. I seldom, or never, analyze. If it feels good to me, then it is good. The best thing with exhibiting, or just showing to others, is to listen to what people say about your images. Things perhaps you are not aware of yourself. That happens to me every time, and I just love it. Talking to people and listen to their opinion. What professional critics say I have trouble to understand. Perhaps we are on different ends of the creative rope? Here are three images that I remember especially. What friends told me about these images I had not thought about myself. Not even close.

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“Illustration to the standard size of tomatoes in EU”. 8×10″ Polaroid transfer
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“Illustration to the standard size of tomatoes in EU”. 8×10″ Polaroid transfer

Finally  I would like to recommend an ongoing exhibition by Jostein Skeidsvoll at Galleri Axel in Stockholm. Open until 22/3. Adress Södermannagatan 16. Great work by a great person! Go see if you can!

Blogging101, Personal, Photography, Thoughts

The Mysterious Smilebox

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The camera is a mysterious thing. How come most people smile when they see one? They smile though they know they perhaps will never see the picture. Kids and grownups. Celebrities too, until it becomes a threat to their privacy. The camera is powerful. Or should I say the photographer? Some say guns don´t kill, people do. Is it the same with cameras? When you press the button it is all up to you what you like to express. Cameras can be dangerous. The days are long gone when we thought that cameras never lied. But I guess they always have, more or less. Is a b/w image a lie about a colorful reality, or Is it just an artistic freedom to be subjective?  Why is it so important to look good on a photograph? Some people will never be pleased with a pictures of them selves. Are they having problems with their self image? The selfie is an interesting phenomenon. It is not a new idea. How much of your inside would you like to show on the outside? Is beauty only skin deep and can the camera see that? Well, just some more thoughts about the, most often, black box, people put in front of their faces. Just like I do. I like that cameras can be very poetic. A good photographer is one that makes peoples inside show on the outside. But all this is just about portrait photography… There are so many other ways to use a camera.

Is there any other tool that can be used in so many various ways as the camera? A pencil?

( The camera I used to photograph these images was however too big and heavy to hold ).

 Transfer on film 2

Blogging101, Personal, Photography, Thoughts

Won´t get foold again!

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IMG_03926_Blogg When I studied to become a photographer I learned how rays of light travel through glass and how they reflect on different surfaces. I learned how to use chemicals to develop my films and prints. How a light meter works and that the illustration above was an up to date SLR, Single Lens Reflex, camera. It was, but not so anymore!  Today most cameras are small hi-tech computers with a lab attached that focus, recognize faces, expose in difficult lights and they develope your image. Cameras are, however, as they have always been, a lens in one end and a distance to a light sensitive material in the other. Chip or film. So who is a good photographer? What is a good photograph? Well, I am not one to judge or tell you. This will always be up to you. However, whenever you fall in love with the subject in the picture, a cute puppy or a sexy girl, or man of course, perhaps that is not a good photograph. Perhaps. At least give it a thought.

Today photography is not so destructive to our environment like it used to be. That is great! I like that!

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Here is an intresting link to an article about the box camera. About what happens when you do NOT fire away exposures, but take your time doing one. The article is written by Stephen Dowling and you will find it on BBC.com. More food for thoughts.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30530268      

Then there are those, like Man Ray, that produces stunning images using some photographic tools but without a camera!

Check this out if you can! Ewa Stackelberg now exhibiting at Fotografiska in Stockholm.

http://fotografiska.eu/utstallningar/utstallning/fotogram/

Happy image hunting!

Blogging101, Personal, Photography, Thoughts

Pictures, pictures, pictures

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Imagine this. Like, in a movie theater lights go down. You sit yourself comfortably concentrating on the movie. No commercial break! Vibrant colors, still images washing over you. Large screen. Good sound.

There it is.  A slideshow.

Adding images changes things. Like, you have one. You have one, only. Two makes a pair. Three a series, and perhaps the start of an exhibition. Adding more could be a film, a video. In between it could be a slideshow. Though there are not many slides these days many still call it slideshow. I have always loved them. Now it´s digital images edited on a computer. But, that is not a big deal, where the pictures come from. This is about pictures working together telling a story. Still images that starts to move, and if all goes well, they will move you too. Just wishing the screen could be bigger more often.

Here´s the story about this slideshow. I was asked to photograph for an album cover. Studios has always fascinated me. All kinds. Music and film, whatever. The atmosphere was vibrating, all musicians preparing, concentrating for the recording. Like athletes before the start. All sitting in different rooms.  The sound engineer making final adjustments. I just had to do more with the images than selecting a few for the cover.

I like the finished product also, the music and the cover, but I just loved to be in on the journey to get there.

I am so happy today´s assignment on WordPress brought me back to images and inspiration. This is what I would like my blog to be about. Behind the scenes. How they are made, and thoughts about making them. But technical, not much.

: ) Pelle

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