Minolta srt 101b
A couple of months ago I found this Minolta SRT 101b camera for a ridiculously low price, so I figured why not give it a try, particularly since it came with three different lenses and an external flash. I just finished my second film roll, explaining my poor skills in analog photography, but hey, practice makes perfect, right? Anyway, I got the opportunity to try out our new negative scanner and the photos came out quite nice actually, they have a completely different feeling compared to my digital photos. The waiting and the unawareness of how the photos would turn out were an exciting part of the process as well.
Footnote: the pictures from the photo exhibition were taken during Fotomässan in Stockholm.
▲ back to the top | Wednesday, January 25, 2012 |
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Amnesty International
I recently joined Amnesty International and was reminded of it today when I happily found the Amnesty-book waiting for me in the mailbox. I think the idea of joining the organization came from wanting to learn more about human rights and to be involved in something that makes a difference for many people. The willpower of wanting to affect today's conditions enhanced even more after reading Angelina Jolie's book Notes from my travels, which includes memoirs from her visits with refugees in Africa, Cambodia, Pakistan and Ecuador, as well as her work as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The stories she tells are both heartbreaking and inspiring, the strength and spirits of the people she met amazes me, their will to survive and hope in life are fascinating, especially when survival is their daily work. The conditions and victimizations of the people, on the other hand, are beyond understandable, it makes you realize how unjust the world really is. This was another wake-up call.
Amnesty International is a global movement that is driven by members, supporters, staff members and volunteers all around the world. Some of the things they campaign to are: defending freedom of expression, protecting women's rights, demanding justice for crimes against humanity and demanding corporate accountability where companies have abused people's rights. There are innumerable kinds of help organizations and movements worth getting involved with in the world, one of the main reasons to why I chose to join AI is their work for freedom of expressing opinions, it's an essential human right: to receive and convey information, to dare to criticize authoritarian regimes, to refuse to give up your own language and to never be forced into silence. Still, people get threatened and imprisoned on daily basis, as a result of exercising something that seems so self-evident to many of us. Silence is a powerful tool to undermine the rule of law and I believe that this right is vital for the fulfillment of other human rights.
Did you know that in China, search words such as "freedom" and "Amnesty International" are blocked on the internet? And in Russia, the media is controlled by the government, with scarce space for independent reports. What AI does is to work with those who speak out to defend human rights, like journalists exposing human rights violations, community workers teaching human rights education and trade unionists defending worker's rights.
▲ back to the top | Monday, January 9, 2012 |
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Influencers
Influencers is a short documentary that explores what it means to be an influencer and how trends and creativity become contagious today in music, fashion and entertainment. It's written and directed by Paul Rojanathara and Davis Johnson. The film is a polaroid snapshot of New York's influential creativities (advertising, design, fashion and entertainment) who are shaping today's pop culture.
For me, influence comes from several things, the most appealing sources would be great books (mostly autobiographies), old movies, Audrey Hepburn (I'll save the explanation for later, she deserves a post of her own), photographies, travels, magazines, interior design and art. And people I meet of course. Personalities that always make great impact on me are those who are humble, smart, funny, hard-working and independent. Preferably at the same time. And people who are not scared or ashamed to express their opinion about things, even if they're not adequately versed in the subject. There are those who dream and ramble about what they want to do in life, and there are those who actually accomplish it. It's the last-mentioned people that impress me the most. I believe that in order to influence people, you have to cross all the boundaries and let go of your fears. Or more plainly put, be "bad-ass".
Check it out- Influencersfilm.com
And Happy New 2012! This will be the year. Let's influence people.
▲ back to the top | Friday, December 30, 2011 |
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Alexandre Farto
One of the things I've ranked high on my infinite bucket list is to collect art, there are many artists and pieces I adore and I can see no better way to admire the creations than by decorating my future walls with them, that is when I have a job and actually can afford it hehe. I've previously blogged about the artist Sage Vaughn, and I figured it's time for another art-post. Since I'm a big fan of urban art, graffiti and combined techniques, I decided to blog about a true artist in that area, namely Alexandre Farto, also known as Vhils. Farto is recognized for his "destructive", urban art, and by using methods no one tried before, such as cutting clusters of posters and corroding silkscreen ink with acid. He expresses a new way of communicating by combining the destructive graffiti with different stencil techniques, and by removing layers instead of adding them. Well, let his creations speak for themselves.
Paper
▲ back to the top | Wednesday, December 21, 2011 |
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Origins
My cousin Agnes came over today, sunday-drowsy with a bag full of clothes, eager to help me out with a project. Okay, it was more of an impulsive idea really. I think the inspiration partly derived from watching some photos of the Sami people, who are the indigenous people of the Nordic countries, and partly from Barack Obama's Dreams from my father that I'm currently reading. It's a story about race and inheritance, and it's to a large extent about Barack's childhood, going back to his roots. But a great deal of inspiration came from Agnes who looks like she's been taken out of the wolf-pack in Twilight, with her chocolate-brown eyes and thick, long hair. Succinctly said, my photo session has the theme of origins. Obviously the weather had a great impact on how the photos would turn out, and I must say I'm satisfied with the result. Couldn't have done it without my beautiful cousin of course, it was a pleasure to shoot her and I hope I'll get the opportunity again sometime in the future.
▲ back to the top | Saturday, December 17, 2011 |
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Pulitzer Prize
Whenever I'm bored, I usually end up thumbing through my Pulitzer prize photographs - book which I got at the Newseum in Washington D.C two summers ago. I never stop appreciating this book since it contains the most impressive photos I've seen through all time, as well as the stories behind them. It's a perfect mix between creativity and history, topped with a great amount of emotion. For me, as an aspiring journalist-to-be, I can't help but dreaming of receiving a Pulitzer myself one day. Not that you need to be a journalist or a photographer to achieve a Pulitzer-worthy photo, you just need to be at the right place at the right time - and be ready to shoot. So, as you'd probably guess, I picked out a few of the eye-candies (wasn't easy) and put them in here. I also managed to briefly summarize the stories behind them. Hope you find them as captivating as me. (Didn't put them in a specific order, therefore the jumps through time).
A mother's journey, 2007 by Renée C. Byer
Cyndie French was a single mother of five whose 10-year-old son, Derek, had cancer. It was diagnosed about six months before she met the photographer Renée Byer and invited her to photograph her daily struggle of caring for Derek. She wanted to share their story and let others know what it's like to live with cancer and to raise awareness that there are families who need financial support. Sadly, Cyndie and Derek fought a losing battle and Derek was buried 2006, 11 years old.
Fleeing Kosovo, 2000 by Carol Guzy
A wave of ethnic Albanians trying to cross from Kosovo into Macedonia and Albania, fleeing the Serbs. Aid workers set up primitive tent camps, there is little food, water and few medical supplies. "No still picture could possibly convey their tears and pain or the hell from which they had come", says photographer Carol Guzy, who spends two months in the camp along with a few other photographers. She captures 2-year-old Akim Shala sliding through the barbed wire into the hands of his loving grandparents.
Life in Chicago, 1982 by John H. White
For more than 30 years, John White has been photographing Chicago. "I live in the city, I breathe the city, the city is everything." As a photographer for the Chicago Sun- Times, White covers his share of murders, political rallies, robberies and fires. But what he loves the most are uplifting pictures. "I don't really take pictures, I capture and share life. Moments come when pictures take themselves". His prize-winning portfolio reflects a year in the life of the city and his work.
Waiting game for Sudanese child, 1994 by Kevin Carter
South African photojournalist Kevin Carter traveled to Sudan to cover the relentless East African famine. At a feeding station at Ayod, he finds people so weakened by hunger that they are dying at the rate of 20 an hour. He spots a tiny girl trying to make her way to the feeding center, suddenly a vulture lands nearby, he takes a photograph and chases the bird away. Afterwards, he sits under a tree and cries. Journalists in Sudan had been told not to touch famine victims, because of the risk of transmitting diseases, but he deeply regretted not picking up the child. Carter received outraged letters from people accusing him for not helping the girl, the controversy and other personal problems eventually led him to committing suicide.
Columbine, 2000 by George Kochaniec, Jr.
Littleton, Colorado, is a quite place, little out of the ordinary happens here, not until April 20, 1999. It's a shooting at Columbine High School and everyone at the Rocky Mountain News office, including the photographer Kochaniec, is moving fast. The photo staff wins the Pulitzer Prize for documenting the story that changed Littleton forever: The day when two Columbine High School students massacred 12 classmates and a teacher, turning their quiet town into the scene of the deadliest school shooting in American history.
Boston Fire, 1976 by Stanley J. Forman
Photographer Stanley Forman hears a report of a fire in Boston's Back Bay. He follows screaming fire trucks to a six-story apartment in flames. Forman spotted a woman and a child standing on the fire escape, 10 feet from the fire itself. Suddenly the fire escape rips away from the building. Forman watches the woman and the child fall, he thought to himself "just keep shooting". Just when they were about to hit the ground he turned away and when he turned back, he discovered the 19-year-old woman dead. Her 3-year-old niece miraculously survived.
These are just a few of the photos worth seeing, to get more information, visit the Pulitzer Prize.org. My favorite is the photo of the children in Chicago, partly because it captures a happy moment and because it feels real, it's an amazing setting as well.
▲ back to the top | Friday, December 16, 2011 |
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Interior Design
Since I'm not studying or working in another city (or studying or working at all), I haven't got the opportunity to move and get my own place, like many of my friends have. Can't complain about living at home though, there are a lot of advantages, like not having to cook your own food hehe. But one thing I long for, when getting my own place is to decorate and furnish it. I found a folder in my computer named future home, it contains pictures of places and homes that inspires me. Totally forgot about it, but I can still see why I put them there in the first place. Seems like my taste in interior design haven't changed that much over the past time. I decided to post some of my favorites here. Since some of the pictures are old, I can't recall all the sources, but most of them come from The Selby and different tumblr-blogs.
This video is made by The Selby for Zara. Lucy Chadwick's home is wonderful.
Telling by the pictures, I seemingly have a thing for chandeliers, loft beds, books and brick walls. And I wouldn't mind my future home being a penthouse in Brooklyn either.
▲ back to the top | Thursday, December 15, 2011 |
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Life on standby
▲ back to the top | Tuesday, November 1, 2011 |
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