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Gary Oldman is Winston Churchill
These images are from last night’s inspiring movie, “The Darkest Hour” with the always excellent, Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill. in his rise from First Lord of the Admiralty to Prime Ministor and the political turmoil and emotional struggles he went through days before WWII.
We saw the movie at Spegeln/Mirror here in Malmö – a beautifully decorated and well-kept boutique theatre with a currated repertoire focused on an adult clientel and where they among many tasty treats – including homemade popcorn – also serve beer, wine and cava.
The whole family has been glued our screens watching “The Crown” for the last several weeks and though John Lithgow’s Churchill is arguably more entertaining, Gary Oldman’s enactment is possibly more realistic. I think it’s his career’s finest work – so far.
Aside from the phenomenal prosthetics and makeup that provide a stunning resemblance that help augment his brilliant portrayal of WC, no actor I know of is capable of commanding as much rage as Oldman. Like in “Léon: The Professional” with another favorite actor, Jean Reno) from 1994, in this his latest role, Oldman’s given several opportunities to show us what being genuinely unbridled anger looks and sounds like.
The film’s cinematography, together with wardrobe and set design make this film a fabulous feast for the eyes. Every frame looks like a masterfully composed painting. And regardless of whether or not you’re interested in the historical aspect, the film is worth seeing for it’s homage to cinema as a form of creative expression.
I’m heading to London for an extremely short & sweet gig next week, and after seeing “The Darkest Hour” I can’t wait to be at least in the general vicinity of where it all took place, almost 80 years ago.
Dreaming of (good) Sushi
Just added a new slideshow that merges my impressions from visits to Tokyo’s Tsukiji Market – where much of the country’s high end fish and seafood is sold and from where much is exported to the rest of the world – as well as photos in the forefront that I shot for a now defunct take-away sushi shop here in Malmö.
As I was putting the slideshow together, I couldn’t help but ponder that over the years, I have eaten much more take-away sushi than I should have. At best, it’s been a barely palatable, albeit visually acceptable, experience. At worst, it’s made me want to regurgitate every sliver of fish, wafer of nori and bite of rice. I feel like a knucklehead every time I find myself being disappointed! Yet amazingly, I keep giving these subpar sushi places and their disinterested owners yet another chance. The lust for sushi is obviously much stronger than my ability to refrain from what will ineviteably dissatisfy me.
Like most other raw dishes from Japan, sushi and sashimi should be served “a la minute” by a passtionate chef that not only knows what he or she is doing, but that also takes great pride in serving a truly quality eating experience. Come to think of it, I think it should be manditory for anybody considering opening a sushi bar to watch someone like the sushi master, Jiro in the excellent documentary, Jiro Dreams of Sushi.
Visby in January
After yesterday’s workshop in Visby and before dinner, I went for a long walk along the coast carrying a backpack with my camera and a lightweight tripod. It was windy and cold, but bearable. Refreshing, even.
I haven’t been on the island wintertime for about 25 years but remember vividly how much I love this time of year here. And though a little sad that I didn’t get to photograph the snow that fell a couple of weeks ago, the barren trees, rough sea and beautiful moon light was enough to inspire me throughout my evening promenade.
Shibuya Crossing
From my last visit to Tokyo where I spent a few good hours figuring out how best to visually convey the intensity of Shibuya Crossing. I used a monopod for some of the shots and a Gopro for the ground level angles. The top level viewpoint was shot from a hotel that I managed to get into using some “American style” social engineering.
The Yoga Factor
This is yet another yoga pose with Tora Rosenkjaer – probably the most flexible individual I will ever photograph.
Speaking of yoga (as a Padawan Learner, it’s a subject I am delighted talking and writing often about), I woke up at the crack of dawn this morning just so I could attend a yoga class at 06:30-07:00. I had a meeting at 08:30 and after these last two days of intense restaurant shoots, I needed a little extra boost to get me (and my bones) into gear.
Hardly unexpected, the remedy worked perfectly and I can once again attributed much of my current well-being to a few upward facing dogs, humble warriors and camel and pigeon poses.
Travel Spontaneously
Here’s some of the travel guides and articles we’ve produced so far. I don’t have time or the drive to keep up the necessary pace that working full time as a travel photographer demands. I still travel a lot compared to most folks and I maintain two valid Swedish passports (and a US passport), just in case two trips overlap and each requires a separate visa application.
It might be easy to conclude that someone that’s on the road as much as I am would have much of the year’s trips planned out by now. Not so much. In actuality, we don’t usually plan further than 1-2 months in advance.
It might sound a bit whimsical and yes, we often lose out on cheaper flights and have fewer hotels to choose from. But on the other hand, we feel that this level of spontaneity offers more wiggle room if, for whatever reason, we decide to switch destinations.
Turning Torso in a Meteorological Anomaly
I shot this earlier today during what I consider a meteorological anomaly – a trifecta of sort which only happens a few times a year when the sun is shining, the wind is hiding and a wonderous fog rolls in over the coast of southern Sweden. I love when the Turning Torso gets swept in by a white blanket.
Launched: Kickstarter Project
For several years now, I’ve been yearning to share my images from over 2 decades of visiting the ancient fishing and farming village of Vejbystrand. So this week, I finally got my ass in gear, joined Kickstarter and started working on the project description and a video presenting some of the images I’ll use for the book.
So…if you share a love for books, quaint villages that barely anyone outside of Skåne/Sweden has ever heard of, you should seriously consider investing in this lil’ project.
If you can’t read Swedish, get in touch with me and I’ll let you know the ins and outs of the project. Bottom line though is that you won’t pay anything at all if the book doesn’t get funded. And if it does, you’ll be the proud owner of yet another one of my super-niched photography books.
Yoga by Louise
I shot this for Health & Training Academy and Kockum Fritid in December. I’ve been a fan of Louise Hedberg’s yoga classes since day one. She’s soft spoken and has a really smart pedagogical way of getting you to challenge yourself. I’m still struggling with some of the tougher poses, cow face and I will likely never be BFF, but I’m still hopeful for the crow pose.
Midwinter Morning in Malmö
It’s the middle of January and we’re in a pocket of gray and cold right now. On mornings like today’s, I need four cups of industrial strength coffee to bolt me into production mode.
Once there, however, creatively, for all intents and purposes, this is a really good time of the year. And since returning to Malmö from Costa Rica, I’ve set in motion a few new audacious goals – which always feels supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, in a Mary Poppins, carefree sort of way. ÷
Instagram
Using a really old handle, Kim Raboff, I recently joined the legions of hyper active patrons on Instagram. Not exactly sure how to make the best use of this photo centric social media channel, but so far, I enjoy sharing some of my imagery there. Like this shot from Paris. You can follow me by clicking here.
Santa Teresa in Costa Rica
A selection of scenes from our recent trip to Costa Rica. Produced for Charlotte’s extremely popular site for folks in the airline industry, www.airlinestaffrates.com Most of the footage was shot on my iPhone 7+ and for the aerial shots, we used the DJI Spark minidrone. For the beach, surf and sand scenes, I used the now almost ancient GoPro 4 Silver which I’m finding increasly hard to color grade. Time to buy the new GoPro 6 as they’ve lowered the price by close to a €100.
Back in Malmö
Santa Teresa – San José – Newark – Zürich – Copenhagen
We were a little uneasy about flying in the same type of small aircraft (Cessna Caravan) after the Nature Air mountain crash a few days before we left Santa Teresa. But to be totally upfront, I felt slightly more trepidatious when we boarded United’s vintage 737/800. After the captain pulled us up over the clouds and we hit our cruising altitude, I calmed down. At least until we landed at the always inspiring Newark Airport where chilling cold weather and the usual chaos welcomed us. Like New York City’s subway system, the state’s airports (I’m including New Jersey’s Newark here) are in really, really bad shape. I don’t get how you can let three airports and one of the world’s greatest city’s subway systems just fall apart until their current state of dilapidation.
Come to think of it, I actually do understand how that can happen – and anybody that knows me well enough will also get what I’m talking about here. Nudge, nudge. Anyway, it’s called neglect and its pathology stems from an unwillingness to recognize or acknowledge that action must be taken for things to get better and not worse.
The flight with Swiss to Zürich and then with Lufthansa to Kastrup were both uneventful. I slept through latter and watched and really enjoyed the latest Tom Cruise flick, “American Made” during the cross over the North Atlantic. Maybe it wasn’t the best movie to watch whilst on a plane as there were a ton of daredevil scenes (performed by Cruise himself?) in a small turboprop.
So, we’re back in Malmö now. It’s been amazing weather since the taxi pulled up here Sunday afternoon. Foggy at night, though. A prerequisite for fog is however that there’s barely any wind – which is unusual here where the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic converge.
Speaking of the Baltic Sea…
In a couple of weeks, I’ll be visiting an old friend and revisiting one of my favorite islands in the world, Gotland. I think Gotland is nothing short of magical. Yes, even this time of year. I lived, worked and studied there off and on for 5 years. So I’m obviously biased. Hope they have some snow when I get there. A snow covered Visby is about as pretty as can be.
I shot the above photo of our neighborhood yesterday, Monday afternoon with the help of a little flying friend we call Sparky. Want to see more images from Västra Hamnen here in Malmö? Then click on over here.
Travel Photography with the “Q”
A long flight home
Shot the above image through the window of a Cessna Caravan as we flew past the airport here in San José on our merry way to the coast.
Three weeks have passed by in what seems like light speed. Time to leave Costa Rica behind and fly back through time and space to catch up with reality. Our reality, anyway.
Yes, we’re impressed by this country. For sure. Would love to see more of Costa Rica’s rain forests and perhaps test the surf on the Caribbean side.
Though much of the roads outside of the capital are in desperate need of repair and pavement, the country as a whole seems to work just fine. In 1948, Costa Rica dismantled their armed forces and has since invested heavily in education (96% literacy rate, about 10% higher than the US), in healthcare and environmental protection.
It’s cool in San José this time of year – cold even – and we’ve been wearing sweaters for a few days now. Though after my workout at the hotel’s gym this afternoon, I went for a swim in the heated pool and thoroughly enjoyed a few laps.
Our flight home will be somewhat masochistic. All told, it’ll take about 27 hours from door to door – with plane swapping in both New York and Zürich.
In the future, airline staff at the airport will gently put passengers – whom will be lying down in full-length sleeper capsules – into a medically induced coma. After their flight, each passenger will be awaken as soon as they’ve arrived at their hotel. Everyone will feel relaxed and rested. And probably really, really hungry.
As I write this from a comfy king sized bed in our hotel room, just a few minutes from Costa Rica’s International Airport, I can’t wait to climb out of the taxi on Sundspromenaden in Västra Hamnen/Malmö, take a long, hot shower, unpack my dirty laundry, brush off my sandy camera gear, back up my media files, eat a crunchy, homemade salad and then, finally, jump into bed and hope the jet lag won’t be too bad.
Sloths
Photographed my very first sloth earlier today at the Toucan Rescue Ranch outside of San José. The ranch’s 40 some specimen are either rescued from poachers, traffic accident survivors or orphaned baby sloths. Apparently these distant relatives to anteaters and armadillos move much faster in captivity than in the wild and I was a little surprised at how agile they were. And yes, they’re extremely cute, too.
During the afternoon visit, we we’re given an extensive tour around the ranch and saw several two and three fingered sloths as well as spider monkeys, parrots, owls and a few other animals in various stages of recovery.
San José
So, now were in San José. A place I have some mixed feelings about. I like it here. But it’s not really that likable.
San José is livelier [yet much, much safer] than Guatemala City. It’s quieter than Havana and architecturally speaking, an almost unfathomable patchwork of pleasing and displeasing styles, materials and hues. Come to think of it, the Costa Rican capital’s almost comically wide array of architectural styles isn’t too dissimilar from that of Malmö. Aside from the mostly well-kept Art Deco buildings on display here.
Barrio Amon, a few blocks with the epitet “old town” was interesting but took some time to find. During our quest, we almost got ourselves into a precarious situation with some shady dudes whom wouldn’t have been entirely misplaced if transplanted to a street corner in L.A.’s South Central.
Like on the coast, folks here are extremely polite and genuinely friendly. And it’s certainly not hard to find interesting subject matter.
Tomorrow we’re going to visit a sloth or two.
Last Iguana Breakfast
Finally had an opportunity to capture one the hotel’s many chillin’ iguanas today during breakfast. Lizards are fascinating creatures and we’ve seen a lot of them here along the coast.
The Raboff’s are heading back to San José later this afternoon and hope that we have a safe flight. It’s been 10 very pleasurable days of surfing, practicing yoga, Qi Gong and enjoying a very agreeable climate. I’ve also worked a few hours on most days and eventually, I’ll cut together an inspiring video about our experiences in this relatively untouched/unexploited part of Central America.
Looking forward to exploring Costa Rica’s capital to see if I can find something intriguing or challenging to photograph and thereby counter San José’s reputation as a lackluster destination.
Morning View: the Pacific Ocean
My morning view from just outside our hotel as 2017 comes to a close. The Pacific Ocean has always and will likely always hypnotize me. It’s the combo of salinity, color and smell that puts me into some kind of spell.
As much as we’ve unreservedly savored our visit to this stunningly beautiful beach, and I think I can speak for the entire family here, we are now yearning for a less sandy existence.
A day after 2018 arrives we’ll depart this unforgettable coastline and fly back to San José where we’ll stay for a few days. On the agenda in the capital is a visit to a famous coffee plantation and a much anticipated tour at a sanctuary for sloths.
Tropical Yoga
Shot this during yesterday’s yin yoga class here in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica. Amazing weather and the perfect location for yoga.