invited guest: Agnieszka Gomolla

In my pictures I am trying to catch the moments, which pass faster than eye blink. My pictures are closest to my heart seconds, kept longer then burst of light under the eyelid. At least, I hope so….

Usually my pictures are B&W, because this is the simplest way for me to express my thoughts. In black and white – it is easier then to choose the colours to the moments stored in memory…as I wished to remember them.

Normally I photograph people, mostly children. I am fond on play with form and light, but most of all with the framing.

I am showing to you my DREAMS - illustrations to my thoughts and dreams. That what I dreamt and that what I’d like to dream.

Dreams are in colour. Always.

Even the sorrow has it’s colours. Don’t even mention dreams of happiness.

I use different gear. DREAMS were created with use of aged, older then me, MF but very simple camera (Druh – MG). All of my dreams were registered on negatives.

Agnieszka "Dzimella" Gomolla is based in Gliwice (PL) architect, photographer and poetress. She believes in real photography, showing rarely her work in internet. I am grateful she agreed to share her dreams with us. Agnieszka is one of the strongest pillars of photographic group Precel - most active photoclub in Gliwice. More of her works you can find here

Invited by Marcin Górski.

Gruppo F inbox: clouds - Karin Bengtsson

@Karin Bengtsson

Gruppo F inbox: JP Zorn

From the pond series

In the power of this vision I live

It´s hard to find Gunnar Ekelöf translated into English. He is, in my opinion, one of the greatest Swedish poets of all times. I found something here. For Christian, who is a great fan of Ekelöf but also for photographer Lasse Mellberg who also loves his poetry.

Emotional photography (1)

Christian divorcing

All of us go through a difficult period from time to time, as life naturally, and sometimes tragically, goes on. In my case, I was going through a divorce, which (then) took me by surprise.

While going through all the emotional roller-coaster stages, I kept photographing, but even more, expressing my feelings through photography. The quality of it varied, but it served an excellent purpose of being my safety valve during this period.

Below is some of the photos that I in hindsight feel meant the most to me. Some good, some ugly, -- simply emotional photos.

I don't wish anyone a crisis in any way, although they sometimes are inevitable. But if you are going through one, try - well really try - to keep on expressing and capturing your feelings throughout the period. I firmly believe it is a strong channel to your feelings.

All the Dead Ends

Preeminitions (before)

Falling

Failed Expectations

Too many books (moving out)

I'm okey, I'm fine

The F Blog - where things are moving

The F blog is a place where the unexpected constantly happens. Seventeen editors working independently of each other assure the readers that things are moving – and not just in one direction. I guess this is crucial for their ultimate goal, to make you see what you don´t notice.

The blog has become the photography blog for huge numbers of readers from all over the world. To this date, fifty photographers – famous, infamous and unknown – have been invited to exhibit their work on the blog.

Among the invited guests, one will recognise established artists like Gerry Johansson, Loretta Lux, Diego Levy, Michael Kenna, Joy Goldkind, Mika Kaurismäki, Alec Soth, Joanna Kinowska, Artur Allan Willman, and more. The F Blog is not only for the established artists, however, as many publicly unknown photographic talents and other talented photographers have been invited to participate on the blog. Again, with seventeen editors, the choice of invited guests, known or unknown, is never going to be predictable. Having a mixture of guests is the best guarantee that this will always be the case. You will find all invited guests here.

The F blog was launched in September 2006 and has already in November generated half a thousand posts. It´s a meeting place where readers find that photography is the sole and obvious focus of attention, in the photographs presented, the articles published and the guests invited. It is, in all its glorious simplicity, a blog about photography, with photographs, by photographers.

The F blog strives to maintain a creative dialogue with its readers. To do this, everyone is encouraged to make spontaneous submissions to the Gruppo F inbox. The F people tell me that they welcome photographs, articles on photography, and other things related to photography. They consider these submissions an essential and additional dialogue with the readers. Since photography in itself, is about communication, this is something that the F blog cherishes.

Of course, the seventeen editors are keen publishers and they submit posts on an almost daily basis. Clearly, there are seventeen individuals expressing their views. Some are keen writers and some prefer posting pictures only. To add to the creative diversity, some members also appear on the blog using a nickname, usually showing hilarious things.

Beside the blog, Group F is devoting time and energy to stage exhibitions, both on a national and international level.

This place is insane.

But I love it!

Nenne Gulden

Before Rush Hour

Haga

Vintage camera folders are great. I just say that.
:-

photo: abeku

Gruppo F inbox: Nina Östman

Hommage á Bacon 1,2 & 3

"Djuren är åtminstone mänskliga" - Christopher Marlowe

"Jag trodde länge, säkert i likhet med många andra, att tidelag var en historisk företeelse som människan lämnat bakom sig. Att det också förekommer idag har överraskat mig. Sex med djur var den största skammen och rädslan för smitta var under århundraden utbredd i svenska jordbruksbygder. Att pojkar och äldre män blev avrättade och att de kor, kvigor och ston de utnyttjat samtidigt avlivades, kan vi utläsa av samtida dokument och nutida forskning. Ocensurerat djursex kan hittas på Internet där hästar, hundar, kor, katter och till och med marsvin bjuds ut som sexobjekt. På nätet har djuren fått en roll i sexindustrin världen över. Historiska fakta visar att det inte var så stor skillnad mellan då och nu. Människan förvånar och svensk lagstiftning saknar motstycke i Europa. Endast Sverige och ett land till har inget lagstiftat skydd."

Ur artikeln "En kvigas berättelse" - Om lagen, tiden och tidelagen, av Nina Östman, från boken "Här är Platsen" från Hälsinge Akademi. Utkommer den 8 december 2006.

Invited Guest: Maleonn Ma

Those photos are from the albums: X of my life, The portrait of Mephisto, The fairy story of my life, My horse, My Circus.

Maleonn Ma, a photographer, short film editor, film art director, graphic designer.....and so forth, started to photograph stills for only two years ago. He´s born in Shanghai in China 1970. Since he started to post his photos at photosites on internet i have admired his fascinating photos - the images make me think of a teather scene and all images are full of storys, symbols, metaphores and are surreal and dreamlike. I always find something new in them and never get bored to return to the "jewels".

Therefore i´m glad to present his work here today.

Maleonn have exhibited his photography at Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjing, Lianzhou, New York, Hongkong, San Francisco, Singapore and Toronto. Before he start shooting he write extremely detailed plans, and make some rough drawings which - as he says - is a good habit from his director career. He reads and travels a lot to search his themes.

Maleonn says: - /"I´m unwilling to consider myself as a traditional photgrapher like nobody in the photography association would notice my existence. Still, I hate the photography vest and what that represent is the most plebian part in photgraphy. But I have to say that now I´m truly falling in love with taking pictures.

I have been shooting and have completed over three hundred pieces of works in these two years in a intricate way. Gradually I´ve addicted myself to this pleasure of continously creating and expressing. Although there´s some more realistic adversity appears in my life which was unusual for me. My spiritual life become more and more funny, and no longer obsessed in the disappointment to myself. That was the time i felt I´m living actively, and the word "Self" came back again into my language. That´s the most precious gift that the matter of taking pictures gave me.

I always hope my camera and I to be more simple and don´t have to carry any sense of suffering. There´s no longer any pedestalled icon in this age. The actual being of those so called photography against this untrue world has already become suspicious. That means no matter how pretentiously I consider my photographs is, my pictures can only be little fable finally, or just an inexprected performance, that´s all. What I desire is the applause and the smile of the audience, the curtain call or an encore of. All is that simple, no nice"./

This is a part of the preface from Maleonns book. So far only sold in China, but let us hope it shall be sold internationally or over internet as well.
You can see more of Maleonn Ma´s work here

Invited by Jeanette Hägglund

Nativity

photo: Jeanne Wells
We had a few technical difficulties, but I got everyone to stand still for this one. Two of the wise men/pears went missing, so we went ahead without them. Only 21 shopping days left till Christmas, you know . . .

Morning Shower in Dublin

I'm thinking about showing a difficult period, and my photography during that period. These are pictures I've avoided for the last few years. Getting distance to your emotional photos are necessary to be able to view them more objectively. If that is ever possible.

Maybe, still collecting some courage.

Svealand

I often get rather low while travelling. I get too much time to think I guess. When I went home to my home town for christmas last year I started to take photos out of the bus-window. As a way to keep my thoughts under control, or as a kind of therapy if you like. When I developed the rolls I thought the photos quite well captured the feeling I was trying to avoid. Since I rather have them on film then in my head I've kept photographing while travelling ever since. These are from 4th of March 2006.

to be continued...

©markus andersson

20 000

20 000 unique visitors since Oct 9 and still counting.
Many thanks for visiting the F Blog and
participating in this adventure dedicated
to the art of photography!

F

In passing

Peter Burda: how an angel learns to fly

on special request Peter presents whole his series How an angel learns to fly (ako sa učí anjel lietať) on F blog.

the inscenation, the magic of the unseen, something that hangs in the air. this world of the irreal is connected with the world of values, with the world of meaning. i seek for austerity here, naivety of the expression, photographic simplicity. the enlargements are created through application of photographic emulsion on aquarelle paper, toned by black ceylon tea. inspired by the works of duane michals. the text is an organic element of the work here.lesson 1: angel fresh(right-handed)man gets dressed appropriately. he puts on his wings, if he hasn’t grown the ones of his own. he finds a peaceful place. stands still. breathes deeply. beginners may wear a watch with the air pressure gauge. he calms his mind. thinks of only one thing : "i want to fly !"

lesson 2: it is a mistake (and it happens to all beginners) if one tries to beat one’s hand-wings when taking off. this is not the way to fly. it is necessary to stand still. breathe deeply. calm one’s mind. raise one’s head. think of only one thing : "i want to fly". voila ! and hand-wings begin to move powered by an invisible faith-power.

lesson 3: can you hear that peculiar sound ? can you feel that distinct scent as if there was something in the air ? does every cell in your body vibrate ? are you looking at your body from up above ? with a perspective ? if a pupil answers all of these questions ‘yes’, he has just learned the basics of angel-flying. if he can not answer them yet, he should start all over again. by lesson 1.

lesson 4: it happens more or less all the time. right after the first take off. angel-disjoint. then the student of flying has a short while to make the decision. will i be the right or the left angel ? the former ones remain here forever. the latter ones only appear in this world from time to time... make the right decision and with the perspective! but, watch out! you have only one try !

lesson 5 : angel-flying is a natural thing. but it is not easy at all. if a student does not believe that he is an angel-fluid, ....he will crash! into a tree, wall, chimney, into a beautiful woman. so the basis for successful flying is faith. only those who believe can fly free.

lesson 6: all those who have seen a flying angel will agree, that: if they sneeze, start to laugh out loud, or light a cigarette, the angel will vanish. if they do not believe that he is an angel, most probably he really is not one. only those who believe, will really see the angel. ... i almost forgot the students ... when in residential areas, we fly at the max. speed of 5 miles/thought. outside residential areas it is 17 miles/thought.

lesson 7: mastering angel-flying is a basic prerequisite for a student applying for a job at the holy angel-club . after completion of 300 flying hours he may start doing his first good deed. the bad deeds do not count. there comes the angel-light.

lesson 8: after the first angel-deeds there comes gratification into the angel’s soul. false or genuine. the false gratification is the satisfaction with oneself: i can fly, i do good deeds. angel – the false gratifier is not concerned with the essence of his doings, but rather the doings themselves. he does not give a damn what the being he appears to thinks. a false peace comes to the soul of such angel. he is handsome, good and handsome, but that is all.
lesson 9: … here, dear students, we recognize two kinds of gratification : false and genuine. the genuine gratification comes through the being to which the angel appears. angel – the genuine gratifier then radiates a light. the genuine peace and joy of the well done job sets in the soul of such angel. good luck

The man in black is back

Invited guest: Lasse Mellberg

Flowers, copper gravure

I like Lasse Mellberg. But we have only met once in real life. It was
in Uppsala when F put the 9 visions 9 photographers exhibition on
show. I think I like him even more after that short encounter at the
gallery.

His love of photography, his passion and devotion was speaking
to me from his photographs, long before we met. Those two eyes
looking back at you from a picture. You can get to know a person
quite well through his or hers pictures. If it is the real thing.
Lasse is the real thing.
Invited by Ulf Fågelhammar.


"In 1994 I was visiting the Royal Society in Bath to study
photo gravures. In the same place they hold a big collection
of Julia Margret Camerons work. I was amazed....

Since I am working as a teacher in different old printing
techniques I work slowly with my own projects. I have an
old Sinar Norma with a lot of light leaks but it works using
a simple lens and the 5X7 size of film. The negative size allows
me to use them in different old contact copying processes.

The portraits are taken with long intervals. I meet somebody
that I like or who inspires me to make a portrait. Long exposure
time 2 - 6 seconds gives a feeling of time. I sometimes show them
with different names or with poems from Gunnar Ekelöf -
a fascinating Swedish poet."

Lasse Mellberg

Julia

Eva




Annelie van Dyke





Anna van Dyke


©Lasse Mellberg