Johan Van Der Keuken

Last week I finally spent some time in the Malmö Stadsbibliotek (city library). It's a huge bright library with lots of books on photography. I geeked out for a hour browsing the shelves and only made it through two aisles, but I walked out with four oversized books on photography. The one I just finished is on Johan Van Der Keuken, a Danish photographer/filmmaker. He was into photographing, among other things, natural impressions of urban scenes, the view through windows, and the women he loved. Here is one of his more famous of a couple dancing in the street in Paris (Ile Saint-Louise, le 14 juillet Hiver, 1957-1958).

Here are some pictures from the past week. I am resigned to using myself as a model these days cause it makes sense. After all I spend most of my time alone and I'm a willing target.

Fourth week in Malmö

I figure, I've been here in Malmö one day past three weeks, so I should definitely post some more pictures of my neighborhood. These were taken in my second week here, when it was still sunny. I'm kind of jealous of all the people back in Canada who keep complaining about the heat- it's 15 degrees over here right now! People tell me that during an average Swedish summer the temperature will hover at a balmy 17 degrees and most days will be overcast and rainy. My Greek blood is craving sunshine, so whenever the big golden disk shows its face I'm out and about as much as possible.

There are lots of beautiful spots just seconds from our front door. Here are just some of my favorite corners, including the view from our breakfast nook. Click here for more on my Picasa site. Tomorrow I'm going on a little adventure to a nearby fort so I'll have plenty more photos to post this week.

Thanks for viewing:)

Stockholm adventures- aka I'm gonna obsess over all the boats here

Sean and I were in Stockholm last weekend. It is a truly beautiful and vibrant city and I had no shortage of images to capture. I got to indulge my obsession with boats, especially the ones that have a particularly weathered and worn look to them. Stockholm is built on 14 islands, so we could walk and walk along boardwalks and marinas to our hearts content without crossing our paths once. Aside from the boating culture there are many beautifully preserved royal palace like buildings marking Sweden's long history of monarchy and nobility, not to mention countless pedestrian cobblestone streets, statues, tree lines squares, fountains, etc. etc. There is this amazing museum (the Vasa Museum) built around a recovered 17th century Swedish naval ship that is 90% preserved and is one of the most visited museums in the world. It was like looking at something straight out of a pirate movie, impressive and mythical. Here are some of my pictures and the link to more.. I apologize in advance if you don't like boats:)

Faces

There are just too many beautiful faces in the world that exist outside of magazines and Hollywood. In fact, lately I've become obsessed with finding and seeing the beauty in the faces around me- this photography project is a symptom of that obsession. Luckily many of those beautiful faces belong to friends of mine that let me pester them my a camera. Thank you thank you thank you.... and I hope you like these:) Check all the photos on my picasa album here

Flowers etc.

It's been a while since I posted last. Mostly cause I've been getting acquainted with my new home in Sweden. I finally had some time this morning to look through my pictures again.

I love nature and I am always searching out parks, forests, lakes, rivers, and beaches. However, I'm not mad about taking macro shots of flowers, though I have taken a few photos of plants over the years. I think it's because I rarely find images of flowers or plants captivating in 2D. They have so much beauty and vibrancy in real life, but unlike portraits, flowers do not have an emotive glare, a smirk, or funny facial expression that can be captured in a photo. Having said that, maybe a stronger macro lens would make me really love plant photography:) I know I have a lot to learn still in terms of taking macros and many of my photos of plants are not macro but this is definitely a work in progress, right?

Here are the few flowers/plants I have photographed lately. Mostly in the forests near Thunder Bay but also the fields of Southern Ontario and the dry brush of the Greek islands.

Oh, if you want to see more check out my Picasa site

Airport

Pearson International Airport, on the way to Gate 173. If I had had more guts I would have tried more shots of the crowds at the airport but I was worried I'd get wrangled by security. This one turned out alright though.

Princess Cafe I love you

I spend a lot of time at the Princess Cafe in UpTown Waterloo drinking double long espressos and meeting up with friends. Sometime last week I had a hair-brained idea, what if I volunteered to take some pics of the Cafe and staff for their website? It would be a great chance for me to practice my photography and to give this great establishment some free material for their promo. So I threw the idea at them and they were keen. I was incredibly nervous about the whole thing. I knew it would be a huge challenge for me to motivate my subjects, to keep them happy and engaged, while at the same time focusing on getting my vision for each photo to work. I got there at 9:45am and the cafe staff had all dressed up, they were looking fabulous and they all got into it. I don’t think it could have gone any better than it did. Here are a few of the photos. If you want to see the entire album check out:

https://picasaweb.google.com/109659506949083227061/PrincessCafePhotoshoot

Thanks to Marc, Celene, Jill, Donavyn, Jess, Sarah, Jory, and Ryan for being so photogenic and making this photo shoot so much fun!