gruppo F inbox: The Hermit
Photo: Helena Nilsson
About being....
"I´m nothing
I´ll always be nothing
I can´t want to be nothing
Apart from that, I have in me all the dreams of the world"
Àlvaro de Campos, "The Tobacco Shop"
13 November 2006
The formula without F
photo: abeku
_
They say that for every 60 meters a car will be able to fill a balloon with CO2. Some are proposing restrictions, on an individual basis, on the amount of CO2 produced. Regardless, the impact on the nature by the human being needs to be minimised severely. Some believe that such a step would mean another medieval age (which wasn't that gloomy anyway), but I believe there's enough economic opportunities to be won even for the short sighted. Sadly, I need to take my car every day to make it to the job and back home and pick up my boy at the kindergarten at a certain time. It's life against the watch on both a small and and a large scale. Who will take the first step?
gryphons, climate change and coffee
Photo: Ulf Fågelhammar
I was actually looking for some information about climate change, since Per-Arne brought up this issue. But the gryphons led me to Persia (they have appeared in Persian art) and yes...! Of
course! Montesquieu and his Persian Letters written 1721. He must have said something about climate change. Well, I did not get so far. Instead I got stuck with this:
"COFFEE is very much used in Paris, there are a great many public houses where it may be had. In some of these they meet to gossip, in others to play at chess. There is one where the coffee is prepared in such a way that it makes those who drink it witty: at least, there is not a single soul who on quitting the house does not believe himself four times wittier than when he entered it."
LETTER XXXVI -Usbek to Rhedi, at Venice (translated by John Davidson) Montesquieu was referring to Cafe Procope
So where to go from here? I am thinking of an Espresso machine from 1961, which is said to produce the most delicate coffee in Stockholm. Found at this café.
(I think all of this is the work of Dr Tarkini)
Historical indisputable facts #1
I came across a runestone yesterday.
I myself, quite often stops and think about the past efforts of our ancestors.
How they lived, what they thougth of when they turned stones into art.
Then I read the inscription...
Ad by: Homo Stupidica
12 November 2006
Two Danish Family Albums
Time for some time travel. Here are some of Kim's family, taken on Jylland in the beginning/middle of the century. Let me present the two families of Fabricius and Dauer. 
The Fabricius family, ca 1937
Martin Fabricius faced a tragic destiny, ca 1944
Rosa och Daniel Fabricius
And here are the Dauer family from approximately the same period.
These are pictures that mean a lot to Kim, I know. I wish I had similar pictures from my own past, but I haven't. These "time travels" gives a lot of identity to ourselves, I think.
11 November 2006
Mika Kaurismäki
I am honoured to present Mika Kaurismäki from Finland as the first film director on the F blog. Ever since his first film, Liar (1981), Mika have continued to make interesting, strange and beautiful films like Rosso (1985), Helsinki Napoli – all night long (1987), Cha Cha Cha (1989), Paper star (1989), Los Angeles without a map (1998) and Honey Baby (2003). Not to forget is his film Zombie and the Ghost train (1991), one of the most fascinating films I ever have seen (and in fact the one and only I have seen twice within a week). Please visit Mika’s homepage for more information about his recent films.
In my photography I am highly inspired by his movies and the mood in them, even through other people perhaps doesn’t see it in my pictures. There are also similarities between Mika’s (as well as his brother Aki’s) films and other F:ers photographs. For example Markus Anderssons serie Metrograd makes me think of the places where Mika’s films are set.
From Rosso 
From Cha Cha Cha 
From Paper star
From Zombie and the Ghost train 
From Honey Baby
Thank you Mika for permitting me to publish some pictures from your movies on the F blog. Invited by Fredrik Skott.
10 November 2006
Guest: Martin Norberg
Once again I proudly present a photographer which pictures I find amazing - Martin Norberg. About his photography he says:
"Photography is for me a way of approaching the world around me. Or rather, a way of keeping it at arms length. I watch, I wait, and I seldom direct people, even in the studio. Yes, people are my main subjects. I'm not too hot about scenery or nature. I believe that the strength of still photography lies in its ability of accurately capturing the moment, although perhaps not at the expense of aesthetics.
For me, the perfect photo consists to equal parts of factors that we may call composition, subjective content, and presentation. A well executed composition hits the onlooker like a kick in the stomach, a composition where the geometric elements come together in perfect unity. I use a camera that shows 100% of the image in the viewfinder, and I never crop afterwards (therefore I also have a 95% reject rate). However, composition is still second to the actual expression or content. If an image has been badly composed, but shows something important or interesting, the content wins every time. Sadly the reverse is never true. Every photographer has a different opinion on what makes an interesting image. I once knew a photographer who without exception, every time, always picked the frame next to the good one. He was a great photographer, it was just that his vision of what he wanted to do was too far from what he actually did. But, that is just my subjective opinion, feel free to disagree (I know he did).
People are constantly changing creatures, they are the victims of their culture, context or their work life, and they are very busy with trying to show a proper facade towards everyone else. Sometimes they forget, though, but only for a moment. And that is when it is the right time to press that button and fire the shutter. Because of this the photographer is in some ways a thief, a vampire that lives off other people's energy. But it's all part of the game.
And then there is the third factor, presentation. It is crucial to catch the viewer's attention and nobody looks twice at a sloppy photo. Craftsmanship is important, and a lot of fun, and you are never fully learned. I just started doing lith printing myself, although I've emulated some of the effect for years with bleaching solution. That digital imaging is dominating the current market for utility photography is no surprise. Especially for color darkroom people the digital age is a blessing. But I do get annoyed when people see my work and ask when am I going digital. I admit, my cameras are as old as I am, but still. You'd never ask a wood sculpturer when he is going plastic, would you. Chemical photography is a tool, a medium, with its quirks and advantages, just like oil painting, knitting and digital photography is. I think I will stick to grainy black and white for as long as I can, but at the same time I don't mind trying out different image tones on the computer screen with my scanned negatives. Thank you for looking.
Martin Norberg, Gothenburg, Sweden
Hardware:
35mm equipment: Nikon F or F2, mostly with Nikkors 35mm f1.4, 28mm f2.0,105mm f2.5. Film: Neopan 1600.
Medium format 6x6: Bronica S2 or Hasselblad, Tri-X or Neopan.
Lab: Focomat Ic, IIc
Other: Two eyes, one brain (for now)."
More of his work you kan find here. Invited by Fredrik Skott.
Music tip of the night: Afrika Bambaataa & Zulu Nation...
Reading on in my hiphop history book, I'm reading about the amazing Afrika Bambaataa and his Zulu Nation. Bam is one of the most influential early hip hopers from Bronx, creating the whole genre. I just love to show you guys this cross-over website, where all kinds of musical influence are present.
Visit the Zulu Nation.
Also a short soundbyte from Artist Direct from Planet Rock.
Guest bEdA: Scratched Mountain
I'm happy to be able to present one of my favourite photographers from photopoints.com, bEdA.
But well, let him present himself...
i'm living in switzerland and i'm not a very productive photographer.
mean, i take a lot of pictues, but in the average i'm able to present
one picture in a month, so about 12 a year :-).
i show most of my pictures at photopoints:
my philosophy concerning my pictures - from my portrait at photopoints:
"you may look at my photographs and compare it with your memory
you may look at my photographs and compare it with the reality
you may look at my photographs and perhaps find a poetry, made by its inspiration and your free imagination.
i thank you for your time and finding your own story."
Invited by Christian Wettergren.
09 November 2006
Guest: Payman Hazheer
Here are some more of Paymans excellent pictures.
You can see more of Paymans work here.
Invited by Alf Johansson.
Olhares do Morro
Today I (and Alf) went to Galleri Kontrast on the vernisage of Olhares do Morro, where we had a chat with the cordinator and French photographer Vincent Rosenblatt of the exhibition.
The exhibition is a result of a workshop taking place in Santa Marta one of the favelas in Rio de Janeiro where young people living in the favela have documenting life from there own perspective.
It´s a very good exhibition that made an high impact on me and a close document of life in the favela, so go and see it.
You can see more here and here
What a Greasy Mess...
I'm not the engine mechanistic type of guy.
I revert to nervous behaviour.
Like photography.
Damn.
08 November 2006
Odenplan, Sthlm
photo: abeku_
I'm really fond of this moody, snowy, weather and the scenes it creates. Some good boots are necessary though...
Random quotes
“There are two types of people who will tell you that you cannot make
a difference in this world: Those who are afraid to try themselves,
and those who are afraid that you will succeed.”
- Ray Goforth
pedazos
"Déjame olvidar hoy esta dicha, que es más ancha que el mar,
porque el hombre es más ancho que el mar y que sus islas,
y hay que caer en él como en un pozo para salir del fondo
con un ramo de agua secreta y de verdades sumergidas."
So far Neruda (from The heights of Macchu Picchu)
Sorry, I have lost my English translation of the poem.
I went back to Pablos site and found pedazos "pieces".
In a way these torn pictures remind me of what Neruda
speaks about - the great mystery of Man.
invited by ulf fågelhammar
Visit Pablo at his site to see more.
It's been a long, cold winter
This photo is made as a photopolymer gravure. I made it last spring during a workshop with the excellent Peter Ragnarsson (www.intermezzo.nu). It's named after some lyrics frome the Swedish band kent, originally in swedish as "Det har varit en lång kall vinter".
I guess we're in for a long and cold one once more. Duck and cover.
(So why did I post this you wonder? Well, it was the closest thing I had to an alien)
I guess we're in for a long and cold one once more. Duck and cover.
(So why did I post this you wonder? Well, it was the closest thing I had to an alien)
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