Nova

Big dogs have always frightened me. Bad experiences since I was a child, isn't it always? Dogs in general actually, never trusted them since then. I am more of a cat person.

Suddenly I ended up to be a "nanny" for a poodle when I worked on my book. Thought it was a good idea, I had to walk the dog and take a break every now and then. And she was not that big, I could handle it. I never took in consideration that I would fall in love...she helped me, without knowing, taking care of my anxiety with dogs, in general.

Tonight I met this wonderful dog. She is huge in my world and we made contact. Her name is Nova. No fear anymore.

Nature is kind of magic

Something has happened to me this last year. I feel more grounded and I have a need to stop, to see the "small" things that happens around me. I'm full of emotions. Maybe it has to do with my state at the moment.
Outside our bedroom window two magpies started to restore their nest from last year in spring. Clever birds! I like to study them, they are cheeky as well and very intelligent. Now they have little ones and summer is hot. When they feed the little ones they don't fly straight to the nest. No, they start from the ground and slowly climb the tree to reach it and I believe because they don't want to show, for instance, the seagulls, that they have babies. When I throw them the rest of the cheese they act like they are looking for food close to the cheese. "Nothing special here" and then they attack the cheese, as much as they can take, to fly away with it to some secret spot and enjoy. Nature is magic. That is what I have had in mind today.

The Handmaid's Tale

I watched The Handmaid's Tale and almost couldn't even blink. That actress, Elisabeth Moss, is excellent. Always walking on the thin line and does it so well.
But, the series scares the shit out of me. In Margaret Atwood's world (the book) the society is a hellhole, a bad bad bad nightmare. What scares me is that the world is so crazy that it could easily tilt into the extreme. Is the THT a wakeup call, a prophecy? Is it so farfetched really?

We need to be aware of the dark forces and read between the lines, folks. It's not too late, but let's not make it either.

The seaside

One of these days nothing special needs to be done. Heading out for some seabreeze and it turns out to be a great time. Seagulls, the waves slowly hitting shore, the sounds and the salty smell. Am I a lucky one to live on the westcoast a short drive away, yes.

Grant!

This little lady couldn't care less, now cuddling on my lap. But I'm very happy to have received the news that my book, RESORT, was granted by the Swedish Council of Culture.

On a lazy Sunday afternoon

Thunder and lightning! The weather turned and it's more like a swedish summer. You have to be prepared for anything and change of plan is natural, take both your umbrella and swimsuit, 'cause you never know.

Better then to stay inside and dive into new photobooks. I had quite a few with me from Kassel and bought some as well. I do so in periods, months could pass and not a book in sight and then a flood suddenly. I guess it has to do with the state I'm in. At the moment I feel a little introvert, don't want to socialize much except for new interesting books. The best feeling is when I get curious about the photographer, the creator. I even make contact sometimes, to let them know that I really like the book. Surprise.

Family

To have a family is a thing that was never a certain thing for me. For sure when I was a kid, my family set the rules and was a kind of security, but also uncertainty. As soon as I was nineteen I left and never looked back again. Memories of course. I travelled a lot by myself in my early twenties, I was flying and loved it. But at a certain point you are supposed to come home and find someone to build a family with, right. I couldn't. I wanted something else.
I could never cope with conventions and thought I was so different. Kept on flying...until I landed on hard ground. The journey was so long, too long.
To find out that I was no different, that hurt. I digged deep into myself and the only thing that came up was that I also wanted a family. That sucked. Took me so many years of crazy relationships, bad trips and loneliness.

But now I´m here, I survived, got my own lovely family now since many years. Conventional, no, not quite. But I have landed.

Soul sisters

About six months ago my hairdresser gave me some seeds. I planted them. Two of them really liked it and started their life close to eachother with a lot of my care. Since I didn´t visit a hairdresser for about forty years I trust her. She was very afraid to cut my hair at first, since in her world, it was already too short. Guess she got used to it. I like to keep it short.
But that´s not my point.

I planted the seeds, they grew, and the other day I replanted them in larger pots. The space is not that big in our flat so they ended up in separate rooms. One of them seemed to like the new pot with fresh soil, the dominant one apparently. The other one seemed very sad inspite of water and nourishing soil. I didn´t know what to do...she was hanging down and was not happy.

Suddenly it struck me, they need to be close to eachother...well it was worth a try.
An hour later. The result is what you see in the picture.

Soul sisters...how could I ever seperate them again?

The Blue Hour

Serious photographers always talk about the Blue Hour. The blue hour is when the sun sets and for a short while, you can see the sky in the windows. It's kind of magic. They run for their camera equipment. People who are not at all interested in photography maybe see this as well and associate it with warm evenings and romance. This is a short and very rare moment, especially here, up north. Just because the sun is very often clouded or it's too dark in wintertime.
For me, as a photographer, it has no meaning at all. I'm not that kind of photographer. But as a human being, yes. I believe in romance.

Que viva el Perú!!!

My love is from Perú. Yesterday Sweden played football against Perú just before the worldcup starts next week. It was fantastic to see how happy she was when she met and joined in with fellow-countrymen. How strong the patriotism is, even when it comes to hunting a piece of leather. Fascinating.

Summerwalk

Another wonderful walk with someone important. This summer is unbelievable so far and does wonders to my recovery. After a tough project and bookrelease I enjoy just to receive the beauty of nature. It's time for healing.

My books at the Journal stand

Kicki Lundgren, also a great photographer, took this picture of me the last day at the Kassel Photobookfestival yesterday.
It was great with a lot of meetings with other artists. Thousands of books! Maybe too many?

There is a lot of struggle in this business. So many people make books these days. But are they all good? Of course not.

Strong  and stubborn 'menschen' who knows what they want and the opposite, those who have no idea...

Artist talks of course, always giving me something except for the last one with Anders Petersen. (Heard it too many times before I guess.)

Of course I swopped books and my small rucksack was so heavy and I only took carry-on luggage on the flight, why!?
Try to carry a small bag that's really heavy and make it look like it's featherweight.

Feel like I could sleep for a week now...

Festival for photobooklovers