Tag: Stockholm

Stockholm. The city by the water

Stockholm, a city surrounded by water

I love that Stockholm is more or less surrounded by water. And it is not just narrow canals or large busy shipyards. It is water with open spaces, bright colors (when the sun shines at least) and it feels “fresh”. You can stroll down with a bottle of wine and some bread and just relax. To be honest you can do that, but it is illegal to drink alcohol in most public places… When living in Sweden you obviously have to take the good parts and mix it with the some drawbacks.

Either you stroll down on your own…

Or with the one you love…

Or with someone that you could discuss, why your loved one is so not the perfect one…

Anyway, if the sun is shining and you are lucky enough to be here in Stockholm, ENJOY!

/Thomas

June 6, 2015
Cherry blossom in Stockholm

Time for cherry blossom in Stockholm!

On Saturday my two daughters and I took the train into Stockholm to look at the cherry blossom, or Sakura blossom in Kungsträdgården. The weather was nice and the sun was shining so I expected that were not going to be alone in, and I was right…

First we went to the southern part of Stockholm to walk around and have some lunch before the event in kungsträdgården arranged by the Japanese society here in Stockholm.

The girls’ just can´t walk straight without making up some small game to play. This time it was “you can only walk on the lines-game”. I thought it would be harder to play the “don´t walk on the line-game” but I didn´t have anything to say about that.

On the way to Kungsträdgården we went be the castle to look at the guards. There was a small argument about the guards and what the purpose really was to have them standing outside the castle. Guarding the castle was not top of mind for the girls, helping tourist who fell down the steep slope was. The man running in this image was a good candidate for falling down… (He didn´t)

This guard stood completely still outside this small yellow hut. I tried to get the girls to stand beside him for a quick picture, but this was the closest they were willing to go…

This is the bird feeding point at Stockholm Ström. It is always someone that throws bred to the ducks. The girls stood here for quite some time to look at the fight that occurred among the ducks every time someone throws bread into the water.

Just look at it! There is something special about the cherry trees with its small pink flowers. Might have something to do with the short time the flowers are in bloom. One maybe two weeks is the maximum time for the blossom and there are only for a couple of days when all the trees are in full bloom.

Between all the trees there is a large pond where the students always run before graduate. There are no fishes in the pond, only children and their unfortunate fathers who have to step in and pick them up again. Today I only saw one child step out into the water and a not so happy father stepping after.

We were not alone…

This lady was showing of some origami skills a notch or two over my level. To be able to fold a paper into a horse that actually looks like a horse takes some skill.

This day Stockholm was really showing one of its best sides. I it hard to beat a good combination of good weather, spare time and something funny to do with it together with the kids.

Until next time, Love!

/Thomas

April 20, 2015
Clouds from Disney

Sometimes I need to sand still, lift my head up and just look at things that are right there but I often miss or not notice that much.

In this post I have included a couple of pictures showing how the sun transforms the white clouds into something taken from a Disney movie. Just walking around under the fireworks of colors in the sky can make me feel really small or sometimes, that I´m part of something bigger.

This image reminds me of flying. Before take off, just sitting in the airplane when the rain falls down outside and everything is grey. Then just a couple of minutes after take off, as the plane pierces through the clouds and gets above the rain the sun almost explodes. Above the clouds the sky is always clear and the sun is always shining. I have seen it on so many flights but I still get amazed and surprised when I see it. The feeling I get when I look at this image is somewhat similar. That above the sometimes dark and shady streets there is a blue sky with a sun shining. They are just not always visible through the clouds.

I like this house. I have never been inside but I like the way the balcony wraps around the corner of the building. I could easily imagine myself sitting on the balcony drinking my morning coffee in the sun.

This must be one of the coolest places when the weather decides to put on a show. The name is Gondolen and it is a restaurant. Just imagine sitting at the bar, having a drink and just look at the city as it transform as the sun sets in the east.

This post wouldn´t have been complete without a picture of Stockholm in sunset. Words are unnecessary…

I will try harder not to miss the small thing always visible. They are always there so I guess I just have to decide to notice them.

Love to all.

/Thomas

April 17, 2015
Black and whites from Stockholm

Some black and whites from a cold and windy Stockholm.

I thought it was about time to post something new to the site. Hera are some black and white images that I took a couple of days ago. They are all from the central part of Stockholm, or at least within walking distance from it.

Under every tent there is a boat waiting to be put back in the water by its owner. Carefully wrapped in like giant Christmas presents but without the colour full paper they just wait until it is time to be unwrapped. Stockholm is a city surrounded by water and during the summer there are hundreds of small boats trying not to bump into each other while hunting for the best spot to “park” the boat.

This day the weather here in Stockholm wasn’t made for long quiet strolls along the waterfront. The wind was terrible and it was sometimes quite hard just to walk in a straight line. Still, there are always a lot of tourists in Stockholm that just cant stay at the hotel. They of course just have to head out to see what the city has to offer, stormy weather or not. This little group tried really hard to pose in front of Stockholm´s city hall, making it look like the wind didn´t want to blow them into the water. I wonder how their pictures turned out…

They exist in Stockholm as well, love locks. This is on the highest point of the bridge Västerbron and the wind was pushing me towards the fence really hard. After taking this image I almost flew down from the bridge. I hope the people placing the locks didn´t do that during a storm. Might be that their relationships after the lock has been placed here went trough a storm, but hopefully everything in the end turned out just fine.

Sometimes the people managing the city come up with brilliant ideas. This I think is one of them. Under Västerbron they have built a giant skate park, fantastic. The space under the bridge wasn´t used for anything special since it was quite dark and noisy from the cars rushing on top. The skate park however fits just right in and for it, the environment is perfect. The skate pools are made of really hard and unforgiving concrete so this is not a sport for me. I would probably smash into the ground on the first attempt…

More images will soon follow and next time they will be in color.

/Thomas

April 14, 2015
Fotomaraton 2014

Fotomaraton 2014

I have just completed a photo marathon here in Stockholm… and to be honest it was quite challenging.

The rules are simple. You have one camera and during a period of 24 hours you have to take 24 images. The trick is that you do not know in advance the theme for all the 24 images. You only get four themes at the time and then you need to get to the next “check point” to get your next four themes. So at the start that was on Saturday at noon you got four themes and the location of the next check point. And then you had four hours to figure out what to capture, find the right location, motive. All images must be in the right order so you couldn´t take a picture on theme two before theme one. You are not allowed to edit the images in anyway after taken but you can use any build in functions and filters that the camera has, like black and white, sepia toning and so on.
Anyway, the challenge in this was to keep up a high motivation and creativity during the long 24 hour period… Since I´m not 20 anymore the “after” 00:00 hours was quite hard… I´m used to go to bed… but this night I couldn´t… Luckily I had my photo buddy Joel with me. Without him I would probably just fell asleep on a bench or at McDonalds.

So here are my images, some good and some really “not good”… I have to blame the missing my beauty sleep.

So here are my images taken during the long and sometimes cold 24 hours…

1: Photo marathon

My idea on this one was just that I didn´t want to take a photo on the starting flag, the crowd waiting to get their themes, like a lot of others did. This image on another participant was just there for a second and then he walked of, but it was enough for me.

2: Handmade

This is takes under St.Eriksbron in Stockholm and is famous for its many graffiti and street artists that hang out here, showing expressing their art. This image is taken with a 30 sec shutter time and I running around with a hand held flash.

3: We have all been kids before

My initial idea was to capture someone doing, or rather failing on a skateboard. But I skipped that since I couldn’t find anyone willing to crash in front of the camera…

4: Haircut

At least it´s not just another crazy haircut…

5: The Swedish word “Lagom”

Initially I was imaging this as a woman carrying a handbag with her dog inside of it. However this was the best I found. It didn´t feel right to ask her to put the dog in a bag…

6: Summer flirt

Oh no, this one was a bad one…

7: Ocean

How do you take an inspirational image in Stockholm at the ocean… I guess this was the challenge.

8: Young in the city

At the same time as the photo marathon was going on there was a youth festival, so it should be quite easy to capture something some inspirational, but it wasn´t… It was hard to capture both youth AND the city in the same image.

9: Party

My first initial thought was to capture something with a lot of color and movement but it didn´t quite end up that way. I like this one, even if it might be hard to connect it to the actual theme, party.

10: Queer

Quite hard theme… I had no instant idea of what to capture but my thought went in the drag show direction. Then I just saw this image. It´s calm and relaxed and turn out really good with the reflection from the street light.

11: In the backseat

This turned out to be image of a man left in the backseat of the society rather than a couple making out in the backseat of a car.

12: The shadow side

This didn´t really turned out as I wanted. My idea was to get more of the colorful light from the building behind with and less of the foreground, but it was quite hard to move the stadium closer. 30 sec exposure time and again running around with a flash is behind this look.

13: Enlightened

Just an image of the lights from the city. At 2pm creativity is not always on top, at least not mine…

14: Better late than ever

Like the image even though it might not quite match the theme. (and yes that’s me on the box)

15: Dude

All that I knew was that I didn´t want to take a picture of any cool dude on the street. When I passed this man sleeping while sitting under his blanket, I thought that he would be a better dude than a cool one.

16: Spaceship

Ok, this must be the most pointless image I took during the marathon… To my defense I must have looked like a ufo while taking the image. This is what you get when taking a picture of a neon sign while spinning around…

17: Work

Ok, this one is not one of the best either. The construction site was totally empty so my photo buddy had to step in to do some work…

18: Periphery

This one was quite funny to take. It´s me on to the left (in the periphery) and to be able to take the image and be in it I had to run, a lot. The self timer on my camera is 12 seconds and it took me almost 11 second to run to the bench. So in just one second I had to sit down and look relaxed. It took a couple of times to get it right so for me this was the marathon part in the competition.

19: What time is it?

Oh no what a bad one…

20: Travel

I wonder how many other images the jury got in from the train station… So here is another one. The reflection turned out good, too bad that there was a group of people standing behind him.

21: Meeting place

Some lack of inspiration, but I like this one anyway.

22: Old meets new

This is taken in the old town in Stockholm. Beautiful buildings that some people just can´t resist covering with ugly tags…

23: Slussen

I didn´t have any idea of what to capture or if I wanted to capture something at Slussen at all. The one thing I felt capturing was this one. I liked the combination of the guy sitting bellow the stair, the curved shape and the mix of light and shadow.

24: Your participant number

Well let´s say that I just wanted to be able to finish the photo marathon and go home…

To wrap it all up it was a lot of fun!

Will I do it again next year?

Probably…

/Thomas Tanisawa

August 21, 2014
Cirkus Cirkör is performing in Stockholm

Photoshoot with Cirkus Cirkör

Today I was attending an event with Cirkus Cirkör in Stockholm. I have never before seen them perform and it was quite amazing. Without any safety nets (or fear) they make acrobatic acts high up in the air!

Leica M9

This is also a position that could be used when talking in your cell phone, but not for me… If I could get my legs into that position (and I can´t) I would probably have to break them first.

“Don´t let go”

Waiting for the next act.

Next Cirkus Cirkör team takes into the air.

“Maby this is the best angle”

Wow!

/Thomas Tanisawa

August 16, 2012
City walk in Stockholm

Spending a day in Stockholm

Today was a sunny and hot summer day here in Stockholm. I took my camera and went in to town to have some lunch and maybe shoot some pictures. It was almost too warm to be walking around but when the sun finally shines you are not allowed to complain…

Leica M9, 28 and 50 summicron was used.

Looking out from his outpost over the city.

Beach chairs has been put out on Sergels torg for tiered walkers or for those who want to have maximum attention.

Heavy rucksacks in the heat.

Family discussing where to go next.

A silent disapproval.

An umbrella in the sunshine is somewhat of a contrary, but it’s clever.

Just waiting for someone.

On vacation in Stockholm.

In the old part of Stockholm there are lot of small restaurants among the narrow streets where much needed shade could be found.

/Thomas Tanisawa

July 9, 2012
Melissa Horn – Stockholm 2012

Concert in Stockholm

Last night there I was at a concert here in Stockholm. Melissa Horn and Anna Ternheim, both Swedish singers and songwriters was live on stage at Långholmen. The island Långholmen is locaded in central Stockholm and was until 1975 the location of a large prison were Swedish last execution took place in 1910. Now days the island of Långholmen is used as a large recreation area with lot of beaches and summer residential.

But tonight, Melissa Horn and Anna Ternheim was live on stage doing a great performance!

Leica M9 and 50 summicron

There is a lot of places in and around Stockholm where you can have you boat, but this one must be one of the most central spots.

I was waiting in line before the concert when I saw the baby and his dad.

Like father like son!

In Sweden you are not allowed to drink alcohol in public places without permit. Obviously not everybody takes that as a being a “law” more like a guide line.

Melissa Horn in action.

Melissa Horn in action.

/Thomas Tanisawa

July 8, 2012
Seaside

A day in the Swedish archipelago

Went to one of the many beaches in Stockholm. The water was NOT warm though it didn´t stop any kids from jumping in. I think the temperature was somewhere around 20C and that´s far too cold for me.

On the other side is the town of Waxholm and marks the entry of Stockholm’s northern archipelago. There is a lot of ferries that start from Waxholm so you catch one of the many boats you can reach almost every island out in the archipelago.

This is a quite typical picture of Stockholm archipelago. Most of the islands and covered with vegetation and then all the rocks are sanded to a smooth finish by the wind and water.

/Thomas Tanisawa

July 2, 2012
Short walk in Stockholm

Went out on the streets of Stockholm to catch some new shoots in the beautiful weather. The summer 2012 will go into the history as one of the coldest for as far as temperature measurements have been taken in Sweden… Anyway, this day was perfect!

Tourist everywhere. Funny how fast taking digital pictures has taken over from analog and the way that you get instant result on a small screen instead of waiting for a week or so. I once worked in a small photo shop and it wasn’t that unusual that one 36 roll of film contain photos from more than one Christmas…

Slowly walking down the old streets of Stockholm.

This kid has found something on the ground that obviously was a lot more interesting.

The combination high heels and streets made of round stones was a bad idea.

A stop for one of the most important shot for almost every visitor, a portrait with the Swedish royal castle as background.

Tired of walking? Park yourself on a bench and relax while watching everybody else rushing on to the next sightseeing goal.

A more and more common sight in Stockholm, beggars.

/Thomas Tanisawa

June 28, 2012