Just back from a long run in the early morning sun. Thought of something during my jog around Malmö. Today’s the 45th time I’m celebrating Sweden’s National Day since moving to Sweden in 1978. It’s also the 20th National Day since I became a naturalized Swede. I do still have my American citizenship if for […]
After so many years (decades) in Sweden, this is about as close to Stockholm’s amusement park Gröna Lund I’ve ever been. Went for a long run this morning along the water in Hammarby Sjöstad where we’ve rented a small aparthotel for a spell. This is our second longer stay in the district and we seem […]
The sky was blue with little fluffy clouds was nice but chilly when the ancient train finally pulled into the Swedish capital’s central station late yesterday afternoon. I’ve always found it hard not to be impressed by the larger scale of everything here in Stockholm. Especially when coming from provincial Malmö. It was cold and […]
This is from a fountain in the old town of Marbella. I tried capturing the fountain’s water drops just a few short weeks before the pandemic shut down Spain and much of the known world. For some reason unbeknownst to me, when I saw the image in my archive yesterday – and because associations often […]
Here’s a new painting aptly titled Artificial Delirium. It’s 60 x 90 cm and I painted it on traditional canvas with traditional acrylic paint. The idea for the painting came to me after reading several articles about Artificial Intelligence. While I’m far from smart enough to understand the inner workings, I have no problem whatsoever […]
Here’s an aerial view of the canola fields in southern Sweden with Malmö and Västra Hamnen in the background. I’ve not had an opportunity to enjoy the canola flowers up close this spring, but there are plenty of images stored in my archive with photos and footage of the beautiful, blooming yellow flowers captured from […]
If you know me well enough, you’ll know that one of my creative pursuits is cooking. While I’m not particularly interested in making fancy or too complicated meals, most of my signature dishes are usually appreciated and most arguably qualify as tasty comfort food. I am of a generation that tends to be almost ridiculously […]
It’s Mother’s Day here in Sweden. So many great tributes from loving daughters and sons to celebrate their mothers. I can’t help but feel a little blue on a day like this. My Swedish mother was never really my mother. Biologically, yes. But not much more than that. When so many friends congratulate their mothers, […]
This one of my latest paintings, a fairly large acrylic on canvas, 88 x 116 cm. The painting’s title, “The Loyalty of Mister Matsumoto-san” stems from one of my favorite film noir flicks, Ridley Scott’s “Black Rain” with Michael Douglas, Andy Garcia and the always splendid Japanese actor Ken Takakura who plays Assistant Inspector Matsumoto Masahiro.
I painted these two square acrylic paintings a few weeks ago but I’ve not shown them publicly before. The more I look at them, the more I like the colorful abstraction they represent. There was no particular conscious thought or feeling when I painted them, yet of course, there was. Sometimes it’s hard to know […]
Here’s my Google Review from the hotel we stayed at in Larnaca, Hotel Indigo. I see my reviews on Google as a mere writing exercise, a way to keep my English honed and maintain my lightweight travel journalism. Here’s the link to the Google Review version of this review. As soon as the airport taxi […]
Between previous visits to Greece and our current trip to Cyprus, where we are for the very first time, I’d kind of forgotten how much I like Greek food. Yesterday, we indulged in a delightful Sunday dinner at family-owned Militzis, a charming and traditional tavern situated by the sea in Larnaca. The place was bustling […]
So my goal before officially becoming a “sexagenarian” – a person who is between 60 and 69 years old – is to have three new photo books available for sale on the Amazon (print-on-demand) bookstore. My long-time trusted book designer and fellow photographer David Pahmp is making the final tweaks to Silhouette Surfers and it should […]
This is the beautiful cover of an amazing book of memoirs by Laura Raboff. Laura’s my cousin on my father’s side of the family. She’s an accomplished artist, art teacher, writer, and a reliable source of creative and intellectual inspiration. I remember Laura mentioning her book project a while back and was happy to be […]
From a film project in 199 for HSB Malmö in Sweden. The objective was to showcase the views from the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava’s then yet-to-be-built skyscraper, Turning Torso. #vintagefootage
From last summer’s boat trip to Copenhagen with an old buddy, skipper Hans-Jörgen Hansson on his vintage Monark 670. Hans-Jörgen’s boat is designed by boat designer and competitive sailboat racer Pelle Pettersson who apparently dabbled a bit in the motorboat design genre. In my youth, I sailed quite a few times on Pelle Petterson’s Maxi […]
From yesterday’s 12k hike in a nature reserve near Båstad. Like all the other trails on the hills of Hallandsåsen, the Axeltorp route was stunningly beautiful and surprisingly empty of other hikers. This is such a beautiful time of year to hike in southern Sweden. Spring leaves are a bright, chlorophyll green which contrasts wonderfully […]
I clearly have a relatively severe case of chronic Industrial Fetish. It’s not as bad as it once was, but it nonetheless still lingers and demands a fix now and again. I got a nice dose on Thursday when a friend of a friend invited me to a low-level basement in downtown Malmö. I’ve collected […]
This is from early this morning as I inspected the eight ginormous prints of my photographs from the Dockan area in Västra Hamnen. The client, Whilborgs Fastigheter, has purchased the images to decorate the walls of their new corporate headquarters.
After a few initial hurdles due to print quality with Amazon’s Print-on-Demand (POD) service, Heavy Metal in Sieng Gong’s Talat Noi – my 20th book – has just been published. Such a perfect way to finish this long-running project. I’ll probably visit Sieng Gong next time I’m in Bangkok, but only out of curiosity as to how far […]
Here’s yours truly yesterday, standing in front of a couple of my new, surf-themed acrylic paintings and my trusty old retired shortboard at Clarion Hotel Sea U in Helsingborg, Sweden. The exhibition opening was a cozy affair with plenty of friends and guests stopping by to say hi and take a look at the collection […]
With all the buzz about AI and the wonderful benefits we’ll soon be enjoying, I wonder why Apple Inc and other tech companies aren’t using it to block the spam emails we get every single day. No, I don’t want to find a Russian doll. No, I don’t need an expensive juice to reverse erectile […]
I’m in the midst of a really optimistic, creatively productive flow right now. Hopefully, it’ll last a few more days, at least until my exhibit on Friday. Above is today’s palette. I probably spent about an hour of my 7-hour session just mixing colors and figuring out what hues would work for the two paintings […]
This Friday, May 5, my exhibit “Silhouette Surfers” opens at Clarion Hotel Sea U in Helsingborg. The vernissage is between 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm and if you’re in the vicinity, I would love to see you there. My images will be shown at the hotel until June 30, in case you can’t make it.
This is what it looked like last night during the traditional Valborgsmässoafton bonfire celebration here in Västra Hamnen. I was expecting there to be some folks, but the turnout was surprisingly large. Valborgsmässoafton is actually a German tradition and is celebrated in Germany and the Baltic nations as well. In German, Valborgsmässoafton is called Saint […]
Almost every summer for a quarter of a century, this is where Charlotte, Elle, and I chilled out for a few weeks with countless sunset-lit dinners, and visits to the harbor for swims and ice cream. During the pandemic, we spent a lot of time here and provided the house with long overdue tender loving […]
With all the traveling I’ve done since my very first flight to Sweden in 1966 from Los Angeles to Göteborg, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to assume that I love flying. Truth is, I really don’t. I don’t hate flying, but the only time I feel totally relaxed during a long-haul fight is when I’ve […]
From my ongoing project, “Letters I Never Wrote nor Received”. Dear Mom, Today is your birthday and even if you passed away nearly 45 years ago, on the 26th of April, I still spend some time thinking about you. I’m not a huge believer in the whole heaven and earth spiel, but wherever you are, […]
This is the view of the harbor in the old coastal village Mölle-by-the-Sea, about an hour northwest of Malmö. Turns out that 2023 is the year of two significant milestones. Firstly, on August 15 1998, Charlotte and I were married at Brunnby Church, just a few clicks from Mölle. While I do remember fragments from […]
As long as I have some way to express my creativity during the day, I’m usually a happy camper. At my age and with the breadth of stuff I’ve worked with over the years, including writing, photography, film, and design, I have a lot of ways to satisfy this need. I find it interesting how […]
Yep, it’s that time of year again. Spring never arrives casually in southern Sweden. It literally breaks out from one week to the next. A kind follower from this page let me know the other day about the courtyard where she lives and how beautiful the cherry trees are right now. I went over there […]
A couple of years ago, I was invited to document the factory environments at Kockums Fabriker, a slew of enormous manufacturing and assembling buildings just a few hundred meters from where we live in Malmö. Of all the scenes I captured during my three days walking around in those abandoned industrial spaces, this, piece, which […]
Walked by this utility station the other day. Regular readers will know that I am always on the lookout for these stations, wherever I happen to be in the world. As far as I can remember, it’s the only original, old-school utility station that I’ve ever seen in over 25 years of living in Malmö. […]
Everywhere I travel, I hope that when I leave, I’ll take with me a moment or a scene that in some way represents the core soul of the place. The humanity. The vibrancy or tranquility of life as it plays out there and then. The image above of an elderly woman casually watching over her […]
Shot this short video for the Re:surfaced art project while we were in Napoli. It’s an excellent example of a surface I fortuitously stumbled upon while walking down a busy market street somewhere near the city’s train station.