21st of September

Memories From the Indian Himalayas


After a month in the south of India, in blazing heat and moisture I was in need of an escape. And the best place for me to escape that I know of is the Himalayas. Until recently I had never given it any thought that the Himalayas also spans India – but it turns out it does. So I decided to travel 3500 kilomters north and visit Kashmir – more specifically Ladakh.


I fly into the capital of Ladakh – Leh, at an altitude of 3524 meters. Flying in from Delhi I gain more than 3200 meters of altitude in an about an hour, first time I have tried such a massive altitude gain. But the body seems to manage fine. I spend most of the day doing what I know needs to be done for the body to adjust – resting! I just sit and read my book, and drink massive amounts of tea. I did a bit of rough calculations, and during my first day in Ladakh I consume more than 8 liters of liquid. The climate is extremely dry in Ladakh, so this giant body needs all the hydration it can get its hands on.

Originally my plan was to rest all of the first day due to the altitude gain, but after a while my itchy feet kicked in, so I decide to push the body further and gain a few hundred meter going up the hill checking out Leh castle. From here I view the sunset, and feel a sense of adventure and trill that I have not felt since last year when I climbed Imjse Tse in Nepal. For the first time during this trip I feel “home” somehow. There is just something about the high altitude, the cold fresh air, the simplicity of this life that makes me feel at ease. I smile to myself and take it all in.

After a few days of acclimatisation I travel into the mountains with my guide and spend a little less than a week hiking in this region of the Himalays. Having been sick for a week before going to Ladakh I was a bit worried how my body would take it, but the fresh mountain air seemed to have a healing effect. And all the healthy mountain food was very nourising indeed.

The feel of Ladakh is very different from what I have experienced so far in my other Himalayan adventures in Nepal. Firstly the air is much drier, and the altitude hits harder. Secondly the landscape is just completely different. Very stark – it is like an high altitude dessert. I hardly see any vegetation, just rocks and sand. I quickly realise that it makes no sense to take photographs when there is no clouds in the sky. The photographs simply will be too flat to look at.

We travel light, carrying no sleeping bags – just sleeping at local houses. Some of the bigger cities it almost feels like a hostel experience, but the deeper we get into the mountains the more “local” it gets. Sometimes I just sleep in someones kitchen. A very authentic Ladakhi experience indeed – loved it!

In terms of people, Ladakh feels like nothing I have experienced before in India. The values of people here are simply different. It is all about survival. Some very nice, soft, hardworking people, reminding me in many ways of the Nepalis, but with different facial features. I think there is some similarities between mountain people around the world – this life seem to promote some similar values.

After returning to Leh, the first thing I do is to get myself a hot shower. The next thing I do is to book an oneway ticket for Nepal the next day. There was no way that I could return to the non-Himalyan India after this experience. I need the soft, gentle, kind Nepalis around me. So I head off to Kathmandu to rest, meet friends, do some business, some yoga, and eat some great food. So long India for now!

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Categories:  India Nepal Photography
3rd of September

Memories From Rameshwaram


I arrive late in the afternoon at Rameswaram, just around sunset time. I head to the shore which faces the east, meaning there is not any sunset to be viewed here. This is definitely a sunrise kind of place. I notice a religious structure, and remember hearing somewhere that Rameswaram is considered the Varanasi of the south. I make a decision to get up early the next morning to check this out.

Sunrise
Sunrise
Man enjoying his holy morning ritual during the early morning hours.
Sunrise
Family Fun
Family Fun
Family enjoying their holy morning dip.
Family Fun
Ladies in Red
Ladies in Red
Women dressed in red traditional Indian clothes during their morning ceremoni.
Ladies in Red
Morning Rituals
Morning Rituals
People doing their holy morning rituals, bathing and praying.
Morning Rituals
Refreshed
Refreshed
Man enjoying his refreshing holy morning shower.
Refreshed
The Holy Dip
The Holy Dip
Wife pouring water on her husband.
The Holy Dip
Puja
Puja
Husband and wife enjoying their morning prayers (puja).
Puja
A Touch of Holy Water
A Touch of Holy Water
Woman bathing herself.
A Touch of Holy Water
A Morning Smile
A Morning Smile
Two friends smiling and enjoying their holy dip.
A Morning Smile
Play
Play
Sisters playing in the water.
Play
Play
Play
Sisters playing in the water.
Play
Family Play
Family Play
Daugther resisting while father drops his child into the water.
Family Play
Family Time
Family Time
Boy posing for the camera in front of his family.
Family Time
Splash
Splash
A man having fun jumping into the water.
Splash
Morning Scene
Morning Scene
Typical scene at the Rameshwaram shore, Chai wallah looking for customers, cows hanging around, people enjoying the view.
Morning Scene
Chai Time
Chai Time
People enjoying their newspapers and chai.
Chai Time
Hindu God
Hindu God
Womam showing figure of hindu god.
Hindu God
Cricket
Cricket
Children playing cricket. Rameshwaram tv tower can be seen in the background.
Cricket
Ramar Paadam Temple
Ramar Paadam Temple
Women selling food in front of Ramar Paadam temple.
Ramar Paadam Temple
Portrait of a Cow
Portrait of a Cow
A tender moment of sunset light touching a cow.
Portrait of a Cow
Chai at the Edge of the World
Chai at the Edge of the World
Chai stall next to a demolished building.
Chai at the Edge of the World

I get up around 5.30am – I do not want to miss this sunrise! And I have a feeling that the best pictures will be have to be taken inside the water. So I make the logistic preparations, by leaving my stuff at home, putting a bit of money in a plastic sleeve and I head off. The moment I reach the shore I feel that things are happening here. Already the water is full of people. I stand and watch a little. Feeling shy. This is a holy moment for these people. Is it OK to go into the water?

The photographer inside me takes over, and I leave my shoes on the shore and go into the water. I am well received by the people – mostly they are amused to see this white boy with his tiny little camera. The light is amazing. But moody as always. After a few minutes in the water, I simply fall in love with this place, and I know that this is the place where I will take the majority of my photographs in Rameswaram.

I spend three days in Rameswaram, and every morning I go to the shore to photograph people during their holy dips. I have a lot of interesting conversations with people, and I feel very relaxed. It is great to see people who have travelled from all over the region to enjoy this special place. I have a little incident with a man that thinks that I should definitely be showered in this holy water. I say no thank you, but he insists and starts pouring water on me. I have to run away to escape his misguided hospitality. My body do not mind the holy water, but my very electronic Fuji x100s camera for sure is not a friend of the water!! The camera spends a good few hours in a bag of rice soaking out the holy moisture. Luckily it survives this incident.

Rameswaram has a lot of temples and religious things to offer, but I do not spend much time with this. I keep being drawn to the water. This is where I want to make my photographs. A special experience with amazing light.

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Categories:  India Photography Travel
26th of August

The Kind Police Officer


Just wanted to share a little moment that made me smile. A moment which is one of the reasons that I so much love travelling.

I am currently in Chennai, Tamil Nadu a city of a little less than five million people – it is a big place. Feeling a little under the weather. I am feel saturated with South India, and my feet are itching to go somewhere else. I am craving the mountains, and dreams of going to Kashmir and Ladakh are starting to form. Also the mixture of 36 degrees blazing heat and intermediate periods spend in air conditioned rooms have made me slightly ill – nothing big just a sore throat and all that.

Being in a large city does not help with my current state of mind. I think when anything gets very big it has a tendency to become a little impersonal. Be it a city, an organisation, an enterprise (do not get me started on large enterprises,human resource management, key performance indicators, processes, etc – I will burst!). I can smell people being nice in a fake way miles away. I feel the hunger for money, and people on the street trying to sell me things that I don’t want, rickshaw drivers calling me their friend etc. So to be honest in large cities I get a bit cynical at times.

Now back to the topic of this post – the kind police officer. It all starts with me hitting the streets early this morning with the mission of finding some chai to make everything better. Thats always easy. Chai is everywhere. Also I wanted to buy some raw ginger that I could chew on the help soothe the sore throat. I must have asked a dozen people on the streets, and they simply did not understand what I meant with ginger. For some reason they kept thinking that I wanted to change money (??).

My luck changes and a man dressed in shorts and running shoes asks me what I am looking for. I explain him my situation and that I want to buy some ginger for the throat. He tells me where the nearest market is, and asks if he should take me there on his motor bike (it is less than 100 meters away and its nothing more than a few minutes of walk). I think before I started enjoying the adventures of traveling the world, if I had met a strange man asking me to get on his bike and drive off with him to the nearest market I would have felt shy and said no no it is fine I will walk there myself. But I immediately feel that this is a genuine act of kindness, and I do not waste the chance for a few seconds drive on his motorbike in the middle of the hectic morning traffic in Chennai.

Half a minute later we are standing in the market. The man at the market refuses to take payment for the ginger as he is a friend of the motorbike guy. Happy about this little moment of human kindness I invite the motorbike guy for a chai (even though I had just had a chai a few minutes ago – you can never have too much chai!). We spend a few moments together just finding out what we both are doing in life. It turns out that he is a traffic police officer. I ask him why he is dressed in shorts and running shoes, and he tells me his big passion is playing hokey. So he is heading off to the beach to do a bit of running practise.

When we have finished the tea he is about to pay for it, but I insist that I want to pay – it is my treat. That was the whole point – I wanted to give something back as a gratitude for his help. We say our goodbyes and I walk back to my hostel for some rest and to chew on my ginger. Feeling happy that genuine kindness exist everywhere.

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Categories:  India Thoughts Travel
5th of August

Little Acts of Kindness


I start my day visiting the wonderful momo lady. She is popular, and her stall is full of children having their lunchtime snack. “Auntie auntie one more one more”, they beg – one more momo please.

I wait patiently in line and when my time comes, her face lights up – a returning customer. I smile at her and say: “Abke momo bahut acha hain” (your momos are very good!) She has one of those faces that you just know that this person is very kind at her core, her cheeks showing that she smiles a lot. But somehow after my comment, her face lights up even more. I pay for six momos but she gives me three extra for free. All for the price of a little less than 30 euro cent.

I like going to her stall. It is so obvious that she enjoys what she does and giving her gift of cooking delicious momos to hungry people. She takes pride in it and she does it damn well.

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I escape back into Old Delhi, where I feel free. New Delhi is all too much business and greed for my taste. I venture into the small back alleys looking for shortcuts and adventure. I find my way to a muslim area. Some stern looking man looks at me with a hard face. He is unsure of what I am doing there. I nod at him and say “Salam wala I kuum” (muslim greeting), his face lights up and he answers “Wala I kuum asalam” (response to the greeting). The ice is broken.

I take a side turn into a very narrow street. The light is beautiful, and I want to photograph the wall of one of the houses but I am too close, I need to go further away. Also I want something to frame the composition. I ask a man if I can enter his house to photograph the street through his door. Respectfully I tell him “Dhanyivad” (Thanks). I make a gesture that I feel hot and say “Garam” (hot), trying to do some small talk. He agrees, and urges me to please sit down under his fan to cool down a bit. “Pani?” he asks (want water?) – “Nai nai bimar hain” I politely respond (no no sick). He thinks I am trying to say I am sick and genuinely he looks concerned. I correct myself – “nai nai sirf bottle pani, local pani bimar hain” – (no no only bottled water, local water makes me sick”. Ahh ok – he looks relieved.
It turns out he is an envelope manufacturer, and we spend a bit of time looking at his products. “Sundar hain” I say (beautiful). I shake his hand and say thank you and head back into the streets.

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I find a corner with amazing late afternoon light casting wonderful shadows, and start looking for stories to tell with my camera. I smell something nice. I ask the man “ye kya hain?” what is this? It is some kind of beef ball. I actually always found this a bit funny about India – muslim and hindus living besides each other. For the hindus the cow is holy but not for the muslims. Doesn’t that mean that the muslim are eating the hindus god? Me being a foodie with no religious orientation I eat anything and I am glad to try some beef again – “kitna hain?” How much? He quotes a price per kilo and I tell him I only want to try a few. Ah ok – no need to pay then. No no I insist. Ok 5 rupees then. They are delicious.

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The next day I check out from the hotel – heading off 2000km south to visit an Indian friend that is living in Chennai. I haven’t seen Shalini for far too many years. When I check out from the hotel, the owner gives me a call and shows his true colours and does everything to squeeze me for more money than what we had agreed on. I am cornered and in a rush to go to the airport, and after a lot of fighting (India is the only place in the world that can make me truly aggressive), I just give up and pay the bill. Upset I enter the taxi, and ask the driver – “ab kaise hain?” – how are you. He smiles and sais “tick hain” – good! A little small talk and I mention I am angry with the owner. He tells me that the owner is a very greedy man, not a good man. The driver is afraid that I will not come back to India because of my bad experience. “No no – Hindustan mera dil kepas hain – acha log hain” – no no India has my heart – great people I ensure him. Forgetting about the road and the traffic ahead of him, nearly knocking over a cyclist, he turns and shakes my hand – “thank you thank you sir!”.

I ask him to quickly stop by at the owners office (I know where he hangs out, nearby the hotel) and I go and yell at him. It is small money to me, but it is about the principle. I hate dishonesty and greed. I tell him about Karma, and let him know that I will do everything in my power to give his business bad reviews online. A scam in the airport to bring me to his hostel, and then cornering me for money when I was in a rush. It is not ok. Back to the taxi. On the road again. I ask the driver – “shadi shuda?” Married? Yes of course he is married he replies. “Kitna bacce?” how many children? One child – a daughter. What about you he asks – are you also married. No no – girlfriend. Ah ok. How many girlfriends? “Sirf ek” I laugh (only one). “Sex karte hain?” (you do the sex?) he replies. Yes yes of course! How long? 1 hour he asks? 2 hours? 3 hours? How many times? I smile and disclose little bits of details about my private life to this man I have only met a few minutes ago. Men will always be men.

A lady I once met in Nepal (Didi oh how I miss you and your gorgeous face!) once described me as “Naive but kind”. I believe in karma. Do good things and good things will come to you. I see a lot of unnecessary friction and tension in this world – particular in these anti-islamic days. I think at our very core we are all the same, and I have shared many great moments with muslims. Actually I find it ironic how some atheist passionately are against religion, it seems like they are fanatically worshipping science – isn’t this just another form of religion, with the exact same arguments as other religion? Their god (science) being the one true god. I think we all want to be respected, and we want to share our gifts/talents with each other and be appreciated for what we do. Wherever I go I always see the same traits in women: softness and kindness and need to care for others. It doesn’t matter whether they are muslim, hindu, catholic – it is universal. I see the same traits in men wherever I go: warriors, systematic thinkers, task oriented. It is always easy to break the ice with men, by talking about work, sports, gadgets and of course women.

When we don’t understand something – be it some new challenge at work, another culture, or anything for that matter, it seems common that we get tense and aggressive – afraid of hurting our egos. We all have our different ways of coping. Personally I prefer being naive and willing to look silly and loose my face. Little act of kindness and appreciation, and genuine interest always goes a long way. Sure, I might be taken advantage of a few times, but life is just more fun smiling. So long New Delhi, and hello to Chennai. Momo lady I will always remember you…

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Categories:  India Photography Travel
31st of July

India and the Measure of a Man


After a long flight from Norway, I arrived safely and slightly brain fogged in New Delhi this morning (too much TV on the plane – and a little tip for you if you where considering watching G.I Joe retaliation – don’t!).

Arriving in India for the 7th time so far in my life, I was full of mixed emotions. Part of me was extremely excited to be on the road again, looking for adventure. Another part of me was feeling sad and guilty for leaving behind Michelle in Norway – I have just moved there a month ago, and now I am already hitting the road again! A third part of me was feeling nervous and anxious on how things would pan out in terms of photography.

Well once I stepped out of the plane, there was no turning back and the reality hit me – India is truly the place where you can only expect one thing – the unexpected. Having retrieved my luggage I excited the airport around 3AM and found myself a taxi driver – or so it would seem, but reality was rather that he found me! He asked me where I was going, and was unsure about the address so he asked for the phone number of the hotel I had booked and rang up the number for me. When I spoke to the hotel in the other end they where very sorry to inform me that my booking had been cancelled due to the ongoing festival.

I would later learn that this was in fact a very well organised scam – kudos for their execution – the first time I have ever been scammed on such an advanced level. The taxi driver entered the phone number, but apparently rang another number where his partner in crime with was pretending to be the hotel I had booked. However, as the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy states on the front page – DON’T PANIC. And I didn’t – six previous visits to India has taught me to expect the unexpected, and go with the flow.

At 4AM I was plenty awake to bargain hard, and I ended up checking into another hotel costing only a fraction of the prize for the one I had original booked online. So even if I feel slightly violated for being scammed, I still ended up saving a fair amount of money.

And this bring me to my point – India is a place where you are measured up for size constantly. There is no point in panicking about feeling violated, because trust me you will feel it a lot during your stay in India! More than a billion people live here, and the Indians are fierce tradesmen, with no time for messing about. And this is exactly one of the reasons I keep returning here. I like having to feel things again. Back home in Scandinavia everything is so organised and non-invasive. Life is very pleasant. Very easy. Very vanilla. In India your senses are constantly bombarded – ranging from the spicy food, to the spicy people, to the whole craziness of this massive society.

In a way it is ironic that I travelled to the other side of the world to test a tiny camera – the fuji x100s, which has been designed to be very unobtrusive and anonymous. Because the camera sure is exactly that. But the man carrying it is not. A white person is always more exposed to attention in India – for sure. But add 195cm height and 110kgs of body mass to the equation and there is nothing stealth about me here in India.

India is truly the place where you are measured up for size constantly

Now you might wonder why I bring up my body weight. Well I will have you know, that I was measured today – literally! During my walks on the street, taking some portraits, a crowd of people got interested in me. So sure this guy is white, and tall, and speaks a bit of Hindi, as if that was not interesting enough – let us weigh the poor guy! So some guy fetched a weighed and I was measured there and then on the street. 110kg. It did not make the locals any less curious about me.

Ahh India – I am happy being back and measured constantly. Expect to see me on your street shortly, with my tiny little camera. And for good measure here is the portrait that I was shooting that triggered the locals to decide to measure me:

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Categories:  India Photography Travel
29th of July

Why Do Things By Halve? Return to India


I guess one thing that I realised about myself in the past few years is that I don’t like to do things by halves. What this has to do with India? Well – I will get back to that shortly.

But let me start by saying, If I want to do something I go all in. It might be slightly obsessive, but I have come to accept it is part of who I am. If I want to climb a mountain I go all in with crazy training, and eating like a rabbit, if I want to learn a programming language I disappear from the surface of the earth and bury myself in front of my computer, if I want to learn how to print in the darkroom I order a mountain of chemicals and become the mad scientist (by the way crossing the border between England and France through the euro tunnel with a suitcase full of darkroom chemical makes for some very stressed looking border police – true story!)

This obsessive nature can be rather productive at times, but there is also another side of the coin when things do not work out as I want them to. After my mountain adventure last winter I have been struggling with some bad ass knee problems, also known as patellar tendonitis, which has hindered me from training as hard as I would have liked to. Two things has come out of that – firstly my mood has become darker and I flipped 100% in terms of diet – no more eating like a rabbit, more like eating like a pig (followed by a fair bit of weight gain), and secondly I have become greatly fascinated by anatomy. Again my obsessive nature has kicked in and I have been in “body debugging” mode, studying human anatomi, and training specifically to improve my knee situation (in my case ankle+hip mobility + strengthening my glute region – also known as the bum). I have become crazy flexible and my buns has become considerable stronger – slowly progress is being made to provide myself with a more healthy knee situation.

Another thing that I have become obsessive about the last few years has been becoming very mobile, and cutting my living footprint down to a minimum. Most of my things has been sold, given away or thrown out. I don’t own a TV – well I do but it is permanently lend to the wonderful couple Dorthe and Dennis, I only own a few boxes which also resides in the basement of Dorthe and Dennis, a computer and a bunch of outdoor stuff. This month I moved to Norway to live with the wonderful woman Michelle Ortiz. I love the fact that from the time I made the decision to move here, to it being a reality just took a little more than 3 weeks. Its a very freeing feeling to be able to do things like this on such a short notice.

One of the latest things I have been working on in this more mobile lifestyle is to make the move from bulky DSLR cameras to tiny mirrorless camera. The technology has been moving fast the last few years, and now some affordable solution exists which provide outstanding quality. Currently I am busy testing the Fuji x100s – an amazing cost efficient camera weighing only a little less than one pound. I love that such a tiny little camera can provide me with such amazing quality – it really brings back the joy in photography. It is a great tool that does not come in my way, it is light and well performing, and allows me to focus on the subject matter without worrying too much about technology. It is dead silent and very unobtrusive – ideal for my passion of photographing people.

Now you might ask what all this has to do with India, and not doing things by halves? Well the answer is quite simple really. I want to put this camera to the ultimate test, I want to put it through it paces and see how it works on the streets of incredible India. So tomorrow I will put myself on a plane and go to India during the monsoon to do nothing but photograph for two months. If it can take the abuse of two months of photography during the heavy monsoons I know I have found myself a real gem. Needless to say I am excited to be visiting India for the 7th time in my life, a land of startling contrasts. I am sure a lot of human stories are there waiting to be reported by my Fuji x100s.

1st of June

Distortion Copenhagen Day 3: Refshaleøen


Distortion is still going strong! Yesterday was the third day of the celebrations, and this time it took place on Refshaleøen, an artificially created island north of Amager.

This was Distortions, in my opinion, ambitious take on how to create a harbour party. Lots of great ideas, ranging from a floating skateboard ramp, to party boats equipped with DJ’s sailing people to and from the island. And why not throw some bungee jumping into the mix while we are at it?

Initially I had to wait in line an hour and half to catch the ferry to the island – the queue was massive, but the wait was well worth it. The fantastic party boat equipped with DJ’s smoke machines and what have you not carried us out to the island – and took a few quick rotations to get the party started.

The venue for the evening was much more compact than the other days, which meant that the place got extremely packed by the end of the evening! And when I left people where still joining the party.

Distortion will carry on for two more days, but to be honest now I am feeling pretty saturated – enough distortion for me for now.

Thank you for a great event!

After one and an half hours of waiting finally the awesome party boat took off

After one and an half hours of waiting finally the awesome party boat took off.

After a long wait in the queue and the ferry ride, everyone was in need of relief - unisex style!

After a long wait in the queue and the ferry ride, everyone was in need of relief – unisex style!

No outside drinks allowed inside - drink up!

No outside drinks allowed inside – drink up!

Lets get the party started

Lets get the party started!

Distortion definitely does not lack ambition when setting the scene for the party!

Distortion definitely does not lack ambition when setting the scene for the party!

A group of men enjoying the last hours of sun and the smell of fresh water - chill out time!

A group of men enjoying the last hours of sun and the smell of fresh water – chill out time!

Put your hands up!

Put your hands up!

What about a floating skateboard ramp - why not?

What about a floating skateboard ramp – why not?

People outside the main party area being entertained

People outside the main party area being entertained.

The night must always come to and end - thanks for a fantastic Distortion 2013

The night must always come to and end – thanks for a fantastic Distortion 2013!

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Categories:  Photography
31st of May

Distortion Copenhagen Day 2: Vesterbro


Distortion continues! Yesterday the party carried on at Vesterbro. This neighbourhood traditionally has been known for being the epicentre of drugs, prostitution and porn shops in Copenhagen, but int the last decade or so it has really started flourishing.

Distortion took on a whole different mood yesterday compared to the first day. It all seemed much more laid back and relaxed somehow. More calm. Maybe there was just more space for the same amount of people? Or maybe people where just recovering from the hangovers from the night before?

The sun gods where with us again, and the weather was lovely. Unfortunately the direction the light hits Vesterbro – from a photographers point of view, is not as interesting as compared to how it hits Nørrebro, but I still enjoyed myself in the company of my new best friend the Fuji x100s.

In the evening there was briefly a tiny bit of rain, but it definitely did not scare away the locals!

All you need is some beers and some friends!

All you need is some beers and some friends!

The sun was shining on Distortion once again!

The sun was shining on Distortion once again!

The sun brought out the skirts and tshirts!

The sun brought out the skirts and tshirts!

People enjoying the sun and some pizza from the funky pizza van

People enjoying the sun and some pizza from the funky pizza van.

Radio host from Radio 24 syv

Radio host from Radio 24 syv.

Even though its called a street party, no need not to make yourself comfortable

Even though its called a street party, no need not to make yourself comfortable.

People getting their moves on!

People getting their moves on!

This has to be the most creative sound speakers I have seen so far during Distortion

This has to be the most creative sound speakers I have seen so far during Distortion.

The rain came out for a few moments, but this did not scare off the locals!

The rain came out for a few moments, but this did not scare off the locals!

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Categories:  Photography
30th of May

Distortion Copenhagen Day 1: Nørrebro


Every year Copenhagen is hit by a party tsunami, also known as Distortion. Its a celebration of the various neighbourhoods of Copenhagen. Last night it all kicked off at Nørrebro, which is the most densely populated area in Copenhagen.

It is a very interesting neighbourhood – a mixture of different cultures. You will find main stream coffee shops next to shawama shops and halal butchers. I love this neighbourhood! Unfortunately it has always had a bit of a bad reputation due to various social problems.

The day started off looking very grim in Copenhagen – gray gray and gray, sprinkled with rain. But the sun gods decided to shine on Copenhagen after all, and early in the afternoon the sun was here, and stayed with us all evening. It was truly amazing! Gorgeous light for the people to enjoy this giant outdoor party, and gorgeous light for the photographers to enjoy.

Most of the evening I roamed the streets on a never ending hunt for photographs, pushing my new Fuji x100s to its limits. In the evening I was joined by my good friend Peter and his gorgeous girlfriend Isabel.

Distortion was of to a great start indeed!

Queen Lousise bridge fills with people as they head towards Nørrebro where the party is at

Queen Lousise bridge fills with people as they head towards Nørrebro where the party is at.

The sun was really shining on the party this evening. Gorgeous light and colors.

The sun was really shining on the party this evening. Gorgeous light and colors.

Locals selling their produce from stalls outside. I think anyone in the fast food industry was doing very well on Nørrebro this evening.

Locals selling their produce from stalls outside. I think anyone in the fast food industry was doing very well on Nørrebro this evening 🙂

This is why I love Nørrebro - its full of interesting places like this!

This is why I love Nørrebro – its full of interesting places like this!

Resident enjoying his dinner while watching the party.

Resident enjoying his dinner while watching the party.

Probably the best view off the party on the whole of Nørrebro.

Probably the best view off the party on the whole of Nørrebro.

People enjoying the last hour of sun.

People enjoying the last hour of sun.

Most people dressed casually, others not so much :)

Most people dressed casually, others not so much 🙂

This is what its all about - the music!

This is what its all about – the music!

The party carries on into the night

The party carries on into the night

After 22PM the party continues inside at various places around Nørrebro

After 22PM the party continues inside at various places around Nørrebro!

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Categories:  Photography
24th of May

Cambridge Beer Festival 2013


Every year in May the CAMRA organisation organizes the Cambridge beer festival – this year they actually celebrated their 40th anniversary. And it just so happened that I was in Cambridge around this time… (coincidence? careful planning?)

I have to say that I was quite pleased with the beers I ended up tasting. My criteria was to go for the darker beers – with funny names (such as Dark Arts, Negra Como Tu Corazon, Pleasant Nightmare, etc). Also I tried to go for something not too strong, and always half pints – a good strategy to maximise the amount of beers I was able to sample without passing out.

To me there has always been something timeless about Cambridge – an interesting mix of contemporary with classic. It has always been something that attracted me to this city. It just has a certain kind of character that I haven’t managed to find anywhere else. Therefore I think black and white photographs is a nice fit for this event, to celebrate the timelessness of Cambridge. And just as black and white never goes out of fashion I don’t think beer ever will either.

It was great catching up with friends again, it has been far too long since my last visit to Cambridge! As a side note – this was a great occasion to test my new Fuji x100s camera. Very pleased with this little gem!

Health and safety at the Cambridge Beer festival

First things first – no British event without proper care for health and safety!! Warning – you must wear footwear, you must not smoke, you must provide proof of age, etc etc. God bless the health and safety – what would we do without it??

First beer of the day at Cambridge Beer festival

Cheers! First beer of the day – definitely not the last! Personally, I went for the “dark arts” as my first half pint. Good stuff! Smooth, and full of flavour.

The beer hall at Cambridge Beer festival

The beer hall. A mecca for beer lovers!

This is what it is all about at Cambridge Beer festival

This is what it is all about. Beer! (And cider/mead for some).

Everyone is welcome at the Cambridge Beer festival

At the Cambridge beer festival anyone is welcome – four legs, two legs, one legs – it makes no difference. A friendly athmosphere to enjoy beer, cider, mead, food, friendship and life.

Why settle for one beer at the Cambridge Beer festival

Why have one beer, when you can have two at the same time?

Svend Hesselholt Henne Hansen enjoying two beers at Cambridge Beer festival

Some call it greed… other call it dedication! Svend also goes for the two beers at the time approach.

Svend Hesselholt Henne Hansen and Katie Benson enjoying pork scratchings at Cambridge Beer festival

Nothing like a pipe shaped pork scratchings to bring out a smile!

Fish and chips at Cambridge Beer festival

And of course there was plenty of food stands to serve the hungry masses! Fish and chips are still awesome btw – and a great nutritional complement to beer, I am sure!