© Pedro Hansson - Stockholm - October Morning

Stockholm In October

In the realm of photography, I’ve always been an all-or-nothing kind of person. There are times when I dedicate countless hours to honing my skills, while at other moments, I may go two months without touching my regular camera.

However, the allure of autumn never fails to captivate me. The vibrant colors, crisp air, and overall enchantment of the season always reignite my passion.

Just yesterday, I awoke early to capture the beauty of Stockholm. The weather forecast had predicted a splendid morning, and they were spot-on! It was truly breathtaking.

Wishing you all a delightful autumn!

© Pedro Hansson - Stockholm - October Morning
© Pedro Hansson – Stockholm – October Morning
© Pedro Hansson - Stockholm - October Morning
© Pedro Hansson – Stockholm – October Morning
© Pedro Hansson - Stockholm - October Morning
© Pedro Hansson – Stockholm – October Morning
© Pedro Hansson - Stockholm - October Morning
© Pedro Hansson – Stockholm – October Morning
© Pedro Hansson - Stockholm - October Morning
© Pedro Hansson – Stockholm – October Morning
© Pedro Hansson - Stockholm - October Morning
© Pedro Hansson – Stockholm – October Morning
© Pedro Hansson - Stockholm - October Morning
© Pedro Hansson – Stockholm – October Morning
© Pedro Hansson - October - Sunny morning
© Pedro Hansson – October – Sunny morning

Stockholm – Third Advent

© Pedro Hansson - Stockholm, One Week Before Christmas
© Pedro Hansson – Stockholm, One Week Before Christmas

This is a photo from yesterday. The photo is taken from Riddarholmen towards city hall and Kungsholmen. We’re currently experiencing the warmest November – December in 133 years. Strange with rain in Stockholm, and snow in Egypt…

Autumn Photos – Last time?

This last weekend we had marvelous weather here in Sweden. Blue Skies, 12-16 degrees and bright autumn colors everywhere. Unfortunately there seems to be some problem with my camera at the moment, so I only got out a few that I think came out well.

I hope you all get a great start of the week.

© Pedro Hansson - Autumn Leaves
© Pedro Hansson – Autumn Leaves

Some final thoughts about the project “Best Album Of All Times”

© Pedro Hansson - Stockholm Sunset
© Pedro Hansson – Stockholm Sunset

Some final thoughts

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So the final post in this series – that’s been my most enthusiastic project on this blog – has been written! I’ve spent almost four weeks on this project, with 2-8 hours of music listening, reading lyrics and moving albums up and down every day, but what an amazing journey it has been! I’ve always dreamt of doing this, and now it’s done.

The hardest part was to stay true to the rules. The Best Album, not just an album with 5 good tracks with 3 bad ones; the full album was what counted.

In retrospective I think that Sixx A.M should change place with Toto. Heroin Diaries is an amazing album that no one should miss. Since it’s also a true story, with such a good purpose it may even be higher up. I also placed both Keane and Journey on a shared number 1-place, but I think that Journey is the true number 1. It’s almost silly how perfect that album is. Every single note is so good, on all instruments and the vocals from Steve Perry are truly amazing.

So, do I miss any albums on the list? Yes I think that Simply Red, Magnum, Don Henley, Frank Ocean, Iron Maiden and The Hooters should be somewhere on the list, but I’m not sure where. The lack of full albums without a track that you just want to skip is hard to find with those artists. Maybe Magnum is closest?

Thank you all that have followed this top-list. It’s been a pleasure to hear your thoughts both in person, on the blog and in e-mail.

I leave this series with a great track that actually wasn’t on the list; Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey

I hope you all get a good start of your week.

P.S If you want to go back in the series, there is a new menu at the top of this blog where you can find all the posts D.S

Best album of all times – Number 13

© Pedro Hansson - Stockholm in Gold
© Pedro Hansson – Stockholm in Black (-nuss), Blue and Gold – Nikon D7000

Best album of all times – Number 13: Blacknuss – Gold (2004)

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Oh, now things are heating up. Thirteen albums left, and I think every one of them are totally awesome. At 13:th place I’ve placed an album, that I think I’ve said in every post, could/would’ve been placed higher up. This album is one of those that I return to every now and then, in short a real goldie, literally; the album Gold from the Swedish Music Collective, Blacknuss.

Blacknuss plays a combination of RnB, Soul and Jazz in a great mix, and among the musicians you find many of the Swedish elite. Only one person have played on all albums, the drummer Martin Jonsson.

I’ve been fortunate to watch Blacknuss live at Mosebacke in Stockholm, and when it comes to rhythmic experiences, and “people just can’t be standing still”-experiences, that’s still my nr. 1.

It’s hard to point out some favorites, since all tracks has its place on this awesome album, but if I should try, you shouldn’t miss Thinking Of You, Rising To The Top (with the amazing Lisa Nilsson on vocals), Dinah, Last Night a DJ Saved My Life, It Should Have Been You… or… just listen to the album. This is one of those albums, that after a few plays will stay in your library forever and really hasn’t any big weaknesses.

<- Back to number 14


Love locks – A loving trend

© Pedro Hansson - Love locks Malta
© Pedro Hansson – Love locks Malta – http://instagram.com/pedrohansson

During the last month I’ve visited Malta and Amsterdam and of course spent time in my hometown Stockholm. In almost every scenic place around the world people are getting more frequent in hanging up locks to show their feelings for one another.

© Pedro Hansson - Love locks Amsterdam
© Pedro Hansson – Love locks Amsterdam

The tradition is to right something on the lock, hang it on a bridge, a wire or anywhere with the scenery behing it,  lock it, and then throw away the key.

In these secular times, maybe this is a modern way of getting married?

All the photos are taken with iPhone 5.

© Pedro Hansson - Love locks Stockholm
© Pedro Hansson – Love locks Stockholm

1 TB free upload, and brand new design – Flickr’s on the move

Today Flickr announced that they are increasing free storage to 1 TB / user. This was previously limited to professional users, but now it’s available for all users.

It’s evident that Flickr are serious in getting up to speed with the competition from 500px, Instagram/Facebook and so on.

Read more about this here

© Pedro Hansson - Goodbye - Man in Sundbyberg
© Pedro Hansson – Goodbye – Man in Sundbyberg

Woman walking in snow

© Pedro Hansson - Snowfall in Stockholm - Nikon D7000
© Pedro Hansson – Woman walking in snow – Nikon D7000 – http://www.facebook.com/saarimner

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

Morning walk

 

Winter morning Norra Mälarstrand, Stockholm
@Pedro Hansson – Winter morning Norra Mälarstrand, Stockholm – Nikon D7000

“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….

Last days of autumn

©Pedro Hansson – Last days of autumn – Olympus XZ-1

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…

What I see through my iPhone lens – Stockholm Söder

@Pedro Hansson - My life story is the story of everyone I've ever met - iPhone Photography
@Pedro Hansson – My life story is the story of everyone I’ve ever met – iPhone Photography

It was a cold and moist evening in Stockholm. One of those evenings when the sky is pitch dark, and the lights hit, in contrast to the sky, the ground with that magical reflection. While walking at Söder, towards Medborgarplatsen I thought that the lighting, and the people walking to their next destination felt really special.

Autumn is here

My favorite time of the year is here, the autumn. The colors are all there, the air is crisp and (at least I) have no expectations other than to be right here, right now.

Today I took a walk in one of Stockholms hidden treasures Bergianska Trädgården (just north of Stockholm for those who haven’t been there)…. what a great place to spend an afternoon!

Image

Sunlight

Since I’m working in the middle of the city I’m often walking around town to meet customers and colleagues. These little walks are almost always a good time for reflection both business wise and personal. Last week, during one of these rounds I passed a church and couldn’t help noticing the sun light on the street.

Many times when I take a photo, I often think about form and what “that square” can express; like happiness, spring time, pollution, racing, spare time and so on.

Maybe it’s because I’ve lived in the city for too long, but for me this image represented calmness. Those first leaves of summer, on an empty street, sunny but still in the shadow. What I liked the most was the form. Repetitive, and not absolutely square.

I hope you all have a great start of the week!

@Pedro Hansson – Light through fence – Summer through my iPhone

Early morning – through my iPhone lens

Summertime in Sweden, the sun rises early. Here in Stockholm the sun rises at half past three, and in the northern parts it never sets. This time a year I sleep a lot less than the rest of the year, due to all the light, and I guess it’s the same for many Swedes. At the same time the energy level is really increasing.

Recently I’ve started a new habit, to be at work a couple of hours before everyone else, get rid of all those administrative tasks, get a cup of coffee, and then head out for a little walk in a city that’s waking up. The most cosy part of the day, if you ask me.

This is a pic from the office, right after reading the news paper and I’ve had my first cup of coffee of the day. Really liked the light in the room when I got back from the coffee machine.

I hope you all have a really nice day!

@ Pedro Hansson – Summer through my iPhone lens, part 2 – Morning

Stockholm through my iPhone lens – NK, a little bit more creative

This is a photography of NK, a store in the middle of Stockholm. I normally don’t like too heavy usage of filtering, but I think it worked pretty ok in this photo. The photo is taken with Pro HDR for getting both the “motion-effext of people walking” as well as more depth in over- underexpsed areas, and edited with Snapseed and Phototoaster for the more artistic feeling.

Hope you’ll have a great sunday, and don’t get tooo fooled

Stockholm through my iPhone lens – Ulriksdal

This picture is taken at Ulriksdals Park in Stockholm, just beside one of the Royal Castles. I normally don’t use heavy filtering on my photos but on rare occasions I think it adds the atmosphere that I’m searching for, and this is a time when I thought it came out ok.

The picture is taken with the normal iPhone cam and the filter and framing is from the app Magic Hour. I’ve done some final touching up with blemishes in Photoshop afterwards, as well as adding a signature.

For more pictures in this category, click “Stockholm through my iPhone lens” in the meny on the left

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now.
~Chinese Proverb

@ Pedro Hansson - Ulriksdal Castle, park