It’s always fun with images where the output brings you a completely other picture, than real life. Here are some of the most “famous” one’s on the internet at the moment. Some of them, better than others 🙂
Best wishes for the weekend
See more of them at:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/photos-you-really-need-to-look-at-to-understand
Click image for better resolution
Maybe these words can mean even much on a Monday?
I hope you all have a great start of the week!
Be thankful!
Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?Be thankful when you don’t know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.Be thankful for your mistakes.
They will teach you valuable lessons.Be thankful when you’re tired and weary,
because it means you’ve made a difference.It’s easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks.Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles, and they can become your blessings.
– Author Unknown
If you’re interested in tech, gadgets, cars, f1 and so on you might like my “tech-blog” http://lifeinsumpan.com. While this blog is aiming at thoughts, life’s great mysteries and of course Photography, http://lifeinsumpan is more on the shallow parts of life.
I guess that these blogs together might illustrate life in general; we’re all not just one-sided. Everyone has many sides depending on where you choose to look.
Hope to see some of you over there as well.
Best wishes for Saturday
Yesterday I received a text, written by Olaf Röhlander. One of those texts that, when I read it, it felt almost like it was written directly to me. It felt rather liberating to read what another person – who’s in a similar situation – had written, and set so positive and inspiring words for that particular situation.
DO NOT ASK WHY
I attended a dinner which I call ‘The Good call’, where the goal for the evening is to leave that evening as a wiser man.
One of the guests were wondering why I do so much. It’s podcast, newsletter, lectures, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, apps and books and all that it is. She honestly was wondering what’s behind my momentum.
I replied that sometimes it’s not good to ask why. The question is only needed when you’ve lost something you want back. When you’re no longer whistling on your way to a meeting, when you don’t feel like anything is at stake anymore, when you don’t have something new to look forward to, then the question is relevant.
I do not know all the reasons why I do what I do. I just know that it’s fun and it feels right. That’s enough for me right now and I do not want to dig into it more than that. The question “why” can sometimes be overrated.
If you always seem to land on your back, if you ever seem to end up in the wrong place in the wrong context, if you do not have an internal compass, then the question of “why” will be relevant. Then, but not always.
If you have no glow left, if the morning coffee no longer tastes anything, if the sun rays of spring shines through the window and it won’t do do anything with you. Then, ask “why”, but not before.
Humans have a desire to know, we are curious. If you want to explain, understand or change anything, the question is good, but just because someone succeeds in formulate a question, it does not mean that it is automatically entitled an answer, as I see it.
The word “why” open for analysis and brooding. Sometimes the whole is more important than details. If you know that someone loves you, do not ask why the person’s doing it. If you do that, then there is also the risk that you will be as violinist who can not enjoy the concert anymore, because she just analyzing the strings.
Some things are enjoyable precisely because of the lack of analysis, and should also be that way. Do you feel ok, the you feel ok. Do you feel happy, you are happy, do you think you’re in love, then you are in love. If things are that way. Enjoy it more and think less.
If you like space, and pictures of earth from space you will love the images that Chris Hadfield is sharing. It truly gives new perspectives on our little planet.
Swedish version: http://tillflykten.com
Back to reality, after a weekend full of great people up in Swedish Vemdalen. One of those weekends where the life batteries are leveled up to max again. A weekend filled with 16 great people, all with a desire to create an amazing event together, where all aspects of life are handled. Great downhill races, several crazy antics, but also plenty of time to catch up with each other and talk about it things that there is no time to handle at other times.
I think that you can almost be anywhere on earth, and have a good time as long as you have people around you where everybody has an ambition to create a fun weekend.
The weekend ended with an acrobatic somersault in the sauna where I for one brief second thought I just got to meet my maker, and since then calls out less beautiful names as soon as I turn over in bed. But that’s just like a whisper compared to all the positive .
Hope you have a great start of the week.
Thanks to those who attended.
Who would’ve thought that part of an Oscar Award winning movie would be made by using an iPhone? Well now it’s true.
Yesterday the Swedish Movie, Searching for Sugar man was awarded an Oscar at the yearly film festival. As almost every film production this was also a costly one. At the end of the project they ran out of money, but as true artists they found a way by using a traditional iPhone, together with the iPhone app 8 mm Vintage Camera.
This photo is one of my recent favorites. The photo is taken by the Photographer Marcin Ryczek in Krakow. The composition between black and white are, in my opinion, almost perfect.
Earlier today I posted the following text on mine, and my two co-writers new Swedish Blog http://KKAAPP.wordpress.com. After I’ve posted it I started to read about the history behind the text a little bit more, and found this English version.
Great story to keep in mind for the weekend.
Happy weekend!
Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its shams, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy
This is an image from Tuesday night in London that I shared on Instagram.
I don’t think that I’ve posted my address on Instagram before. If you wanna follow me there; you’ll find me on pedrohansson.
It would be great to know your accounts there as well, feel free to leave your user name in the comment area.
I’m currently spending time in a relatively cold Piteå (-27 degrees right now). The Palt dinner (traditional dish in the northern parts of Sweden) at mother’s is just finished and the effects of the ”paltkoma” (you get VERY tired after eating this dish) begins to make itself felt. Those who think that they are tired when the alarm clock rings at 7:00 after a Swedish typical Christmas party at work, have never eaten more than three of my mother’s ”paltar” and tried to stay awake an hour later …
It feels almost unbelievable that it’s Christmas again, and just like every year, this is a time to summarize the past year, and start thinking of what to look forward to, for the next.
For many people, Christmas is an incredible great time of year. Hang out with family and friends, sit together at the Christmas tree, watch a movie with a loooong preceded best before date, Christmas music played in the background, traditional bad jokes, and the possibility to once again listen to those family stories that are told every year.
For some others, it may be the opposite, ie that Christmas brings anxiety and pressure, perhaps because they’ve lost someone, failed to get kids, poor economy, unable to be with the people they want to celebrate with, or simply have less pleasant memories associated with Christmas.
Personally, this year, like every year, contained amounts of both positive and negative events. If the year is to be characterized as a good or bad year I do not know, but I know that there are both memories and experiences that will mean a lot to me for the rest of my life.
A while ago I posted a story “I wish you enough” by Bob Perks, and perhaps that story is about what actually makes us happy; the mixture of the negative experiences that, in turn, creates contrast and makes us appreciate all the positive things in life? There are many clichés in that area, but I think there is a lot in that story. To stop, think and take contemplate about the year that’s gone is an important part.
An interesting phenomenon that increasingly made itself felt in recent years is Facebook, and how it affected our lives. If I may make one, perhaps exaggerated parallel, I think Facebook in a way is a year-round Christmas spirit with friends, colleagues, acquaintances and fb friends that gives us positive pushes and “likes” the positive things that happens to us in our life, and with simple small presses of a button, we all have a chance to mean something to someone else, and share their joy and life experiences.
I know I’m going a bit far with the analogy above, but somehow I feel that Facebook with all the “friends in real life”, colleagues, acquaintances and fb friends that I share my experience with means a lot to me, and I am grateful for the people I have been fortunate to have around me, both there and in ordinary life.
Merry Christmas to you all, the followers of this blog, my Facebook friends, and whether you have the best Christmas as you hoped for, or for some reason have one of those less enjoyable “middle Christmases” that puts the rest of the year in a better perspective, I hope you get a great end of the year, and that this Christmas is what you want it to be.
So, a few days more have gone by since I bought my Sony RX-100 as my new “carry-with-me-cam” and I must say I’m starting to really like this small friend of mine. Of course there are down sides, but overall it feels like a really good camera, price and size included in the comparison.
On the down sides… I still can feel a little bit frustrated about the time factor, since I’m used to faster cameras, and I sometimes struggle to find a good focus. I also find it hard to adjust some of the settings that’s usually found directly on buttons, instead of in menus. The later can be solved partially by attaching functionality to the buttons (like the fn-button).
Here are some new photos taken with the Sony RX-100. The photos are unedited if it doesn’t says other under each image, except for adding the text in the bottom. All photos are saved “for web” in Photoshop with an image width of 1200.
Last of all. This test isn’t a professional test where I compare this camera against 10 others. This is just my personal opinion about the Sony RX-100.
I hope you all have a great ending of this weekend, the last one before Christmas.
The first article “first thoughts” will be found here
Photo taken in Sundbyberg, Sunday the 9:th of December 2012
So, the day after I posted my thoughts on buying the Sony RX100 I went out and bought one due to all the positive feedback that I’ve got. Thank you btw for your comments and e-mails!
My first impressions:
I’ve only taken like 20 photos so far (just for testing and nothing else) and my first impressions are:
Really good (actually awesome considering the size of the camera) image quality
Easy to use
Lens
Slow focus in the dark
When you’re used to a DSLR many controls are in the menu instead of in front of you
I haven’t discovered a way to do Time Lapse so far (maybe due to handling error)
Well, this is just the first day. I’ll get back with more reviews along the way.
Take care
a
One of the things I enjoy most with Photo is that an area might look awful if we just look at it as a whole, but when we start to look more closely we’ll find those small details that can be absolutely amazing. With cropping, it’s exactly the same.
This is the same photography as I posted a few days back “Flowers against wall”, but this is the cropped version of the flowers at the bottom. I actually think that this image works better because I had the focus on that specific area at the time and I think the image in itself works better with those flowers trying to hang on with the snows heavier weight on them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
– Albert Einstein
I hope you have a great day!
I’m getting a bit curious of buying a Sony RX100 as a complement to my DSLR, and as an upgrade to my old compact, Olympus XZ-1. Seems like a good camera with a reasonable big sensor, bright lens and still a really small camera.
Does anyone have an opinion on this one?
– Walter Hagen
“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.”
― Emily Dickinson
Currently we’re receiving a lot of snow here in Stockholm. The airport is closed, the public transportation system is out, but the roads are still pretty ok.
It may sound strange but I kind of like these situations (as long as nobody gets hurt), because it brings people together. Everybody is friendly, and starts to talk to each other without anything more to talk about than the current weather. Maybe that explains why Londonders and Dubliners are among the most friendly people in the world (due to all rain)?! 🙂
This is a pic from the early stages of the snowfall, and it actually snows even more right now. But as long it’s possible to stay inside there is no reason for complaining.
Best of wishes for the evening
“A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.”
― Steve Martin
The first snow has arrived in Stockholm just in time for Advent.
Cold days like this are super for a morning stroll, and when it comes to many photographers best time of the day, “The Golden Hour”, it’s great for us Swedes that we easily can combine a good long sleep and still enjoy those early moments. At least in Winter….
One of my first posts on this blog was about which iPhone Photo-apps I preferred. And since then I now and then have posted and reposted that list.
(link to app-store) – From my previous post
If you like filters and sharing images with the rest of the world you’ll love Instagram (my nickname on Instagram is @pedrohansson). I’m surprised how creative and actually really beautiful images that are shared at Instagram. And many of those just using their iPhone (1) What I think separates Instagram from many other “filter-apps” is their strength as a company. You can feel the quality.
© Pedro Hansson – iPhone-Image using Instagram-app
Upplands Väsby Sweden
(1) A portion of the images at Instagram are shot with professional equipment
One of the downsides with “phone-photo” is usually noise, and dealing with the small sensor. With this app I’ve rescued many images that sometimes get to dark, with to much noise, and so on.
It’s not a traditional photo app with ton’s of filters and picture bending operations, but it’s a great tool to use to enhance images.
Link to the company:
I think that almost everyone that’s interested in taking pictures with the iPhone have come across this app. In my opinion it’s one of the easiest out there to use, and it comes with quite a lot of features as well.
Here’s a youtube review of the app:
Link to the company: http://www.snapseed.com
Link to app-store: https://itunes.apple.com/se/app/snapseed/id439438619?mt=8
I downloaded Snapseed quite a long time ago (in technology terms) and I immediately liked the GUI. Professional and really easy to use at the same time. I can’t say that this app is the best in terms of amount of filters or in number of parameters you can change, but I think it’s one of the best apps in quality and GUI.
(link to app store) – From my previous post
I guess Adobe don’t need any further presentation. In the image-industry they are one of the biggest, and the Photoshop-software have been around for quite awhile. With Photoshop Express you get one feature that I think is necessary if you’re keen on getting the noise out of your pictures, Noise Reduction (this feature is actually the single feature that I use in this app but Noise is almost always a problem when you’re using mobile phone cams so I use it on almost every pic I share).
Below you have the same picture, with and without the reduce noise function in Photoshop Express.
iPhone-image of Visby sunset without reduce noise function (Click image for large version)
Same picture as above, but now with reduce noise (Click image for large version)
A note to using this function is that, when you reduce noise, also loose details so the result will, as always, differ depending on what you want to show. Photoshop is free but you have to spend a few bucks on getting the Reduce Noise Function
Link to the company: http://www.eyeapps.com/Home.html
Link to app-store: link to App-store
One of the apps that I’m using the most. The iPhones built-in functionality for HDR is quite good but this app is so far ahead in terms of control and image quality. If you don’t know what HDR is and are interested in getting some new ideas for your photographic session I suggest that you look into it. In short HDR is using several exposures (over- and under exposed) to create one image. By using several exposures you can use the lighter information in the under exposed image and vice versa. HDR-apps can also being used for creating motion and ghost-like effects.
Another side-effect with HDR is that you can find colors that otherwise aren’t possible due to over- and under exposure-difficulties.
A side effect of using two images is that you need keep the camera absolute still, otherwise you get some blurry effects.
© Pedro Hansson – iPhone HDR-image of
South Kensington Station in London
I hope you can use some of the app-tips above. Happy for comments. What is your best photo-app and how do you use it?
Link to the company: http://www.eastcoastpixels.com/cgi-bin/product.php?p=4
Link to the app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/phototoaster-photo-editor/id433671262?mt=8
This is, together with ProHDR and Photoshop Express the photoapp I’m using the most. I started off with using the “junior-version” but upgraded to the full version later. What I really enjoy with PhotoToaster is that it has some really nice filters to enhance the picture without making them look “too funky”. Focus on many of the filters are almost like a pre-set Photoshop app.
Link to the company: http://powercam.wondershare.com
Link to the app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/powercam/id453180850?mt=8
The last app on this list is PowerCam. This is app that I only use when I wan’t to do Tilt-shift images. With Tilt-shift I don’t just mean the effect when things will look like a miniature world. I use it more frequently when I wan’t a nice bokeh (from Wikipedia: the blur,or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image). This app does that better than any of the other I’ve tried on the market.
How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.
~George Washington Carver
Sometimes we pass those persons with a really strong character. It doesn’t matter if they stand up and shout, or as this woman, just sits at a bench, they have an aura.
Before I took this photo I exchanged some words with her, and I really got the impression that she was so calm and satisfied with her life, the way she had lived it, and I guess that gives an aura in itself.
At the end of our small conversation I asked for permission to take a photo, and she just said ok, and went back to her earlier calm, relaxed pose…
Earlier today I entered Rodposse. photo contest. I’m not sure whether I’ll fit or not, but I thought that I might do something more with my photos.
Link to the contest: http://rodposse.com/2012/11/19/15th-challenger-the-dogs/
My contribution was a photo from a while back, that I thought turned out well, especially when it comes to lighting.
Best wishes for the evening
This is my photo, and you’ll find the story about it here -> https://saarimner.com/2011/11/19/a-man-with-two-dogs/
I think Autumn has a special purpose in terms of reflection. The autumn isn’t always sunny, warm or cozy but it gives us time to breath and reflect. To stop, and listen to where we are, what we are, where we’re going and maybe serve as our yearly soul examination.
Soon the “bright white winter, the alpine season, the long walks in snow-season” will be here…
This is a photo i took last year while walking along Nacka Strand. It was a really great feeling in the summer air, and this couple really draw attention. I can’t really say what I like with this photo other than it, for me, reflects life.
“Where there is love there is life.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
Best wishes for a new week
Saarimner.com 
