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Nuclear Dusk
The Organic Forecast
Beau Vallon Beach, Seychelles
Last Night’s Plane
King of Palms
The Strawman’s Hut, Seychelles
Tyko Blake Eskil Raboff
Fifty years old. That’s what my younger brother Tyko would have been today, on the 21st of July.
Since his and my birthdays are just one day apart, I’ll of course always be reminded of Tyko’s tragic passing. And though today marks one of the year’s sadder days (the other being the date of his death), I still try to spend some of it reminiscing about our old times and remembering the sound of his contagious laugh, boundless, often off-the-charts sick sense of humor and perhaps above all, my brother’s unique ability to be brutally honest about how he felt. Which I intend to do more of going forward…
Rest in peace, Toddles.
Tiki Puka Puka at Trader Vic’s Seychelles
I haven’t been to a Trader Vic’s in probably 45 years. The last time was somewhere in West Hollywood in Los Angeles (on Robertson or San Vincente Blvd?) and it was likely with my mother and one or more of her friends.
I remember being a little freaked out/excited about the Polynesian sculptures, totem poles, warrior masks, ornately carved shields, wooden spears and the restaurant’s huge fire pit.
Tonight we enjoyed a sumptuous three course dinner at Trader Vic’s here in the Seychelles. Like I remembered from my previous visit, almost half a century ago, both the interior and exterior of this Trader Vic’s was richly decorated with the similarly, somewhat sinister looking busts and heads stemming from Maori, Hawaiian and Tahitian mythology as well as a whole lot of other less serious props and trimmings.
Before our meal, we enjoyed two classic Trader Vic cocktails at one of the most well-stocked bars I’ve been served at in a long, long time: Mai Tai and Tiki Puka Puka. The friendly bartender above was literally and physically behind our tasty beverages.
Creepy Crawly Creatures
Senior Sikh Seychelles
Generally speaking, street portraiture is a 50-50 challenge. At least if you like me, prefer letting folks know a few seconds beforehand that they’re about to be digitally eternalized.
No matter where in the world I might be, half the time, my subjects agree wholeheartedly to letting me capture a candid shot of them. The other 50% either turn their heads, raise their hands to cover their faces or get a little pissed off by my audacious behaviour. A combo of all these reactions happens once in a while.
In the shade
Slow Sailing Seychelles
Met these slow life specialists during today’s sail excursion to the once privately owned Moyenne Island off the coast of Mahé in the Seychelles.
At Victoria Market in Seychelles
Hot Creole Tuna and Pirates, oh My!
Creole, Indian, African, Chinese and Russian and all kinds of blends and cross pollinations. Yeah, the Seychellians represent a fascinating melting pot of cultures and ethnicities – a beautifully wide and colorful spectrum of folk spread across 115 tropical islands – way off the coast of east Africa in the Indian Ocean – and actually a popular pirate hangout – way before the Somalis started hijacking boats and ships.
Everyone we’ve met so far has been genuinely friendly and the vibe here is as about as easy-going as it is in most of South East Asia. It’s about as beautiful, too. Not quite up there with the Maldives, but pretty close.
A huge difference, on the other hand, is that the weather is considerably more agreeable on the Seychelles than in say, Laos, Burma or Thailand. It’s humid and hot, but with nowhere nearly as unbearably high temperatures or dense humidity. It reminds me of Hawaii’s singularly comfortable climate.
That said, I’ll admit that it was a bit hot and humid during this morning’s 5k jog and my paddle board session a few hours later. And I was literally drenched in sweat after our hour long evening walk along the narrow road to Treasure Cove Hotel & Restaurant. Then again, I was carrying a hefty bunch of camera gear on my back.
Speaking of restaurants, so far, we’ve had two formidable dinners: at the aforementioned Treasure Cove, where I enjoyed a cajun spiced, blackened tuna, and last night’s sumptuous red snapper in ginger and soy sauce at La Perle Noir near our hotel.
Speaking of our hotel…it’s nice and has a really sweet stretch of beach property right in front of our balcony. The staff is kind and helpful. I just wish they could hold off a little on the Karaoke serenading. Spoken like a true curmudgeon…
Meanwhile, in the Seychelles…
Smelly Health
In addition to choosing clothes, accessories and personal care stuff the vast majority of my packing time before a longer trip is dedicated to choosing what photography gear to bring along. Despite trying hard to minimize I still end up packing about 30% more than I end up using. That means if I pack 15kg of camera equipment 5 kilograms of it never actually gets used. Which is both a waste of space and a pain to schlep around.
One of the more crucial items I don’t comprise with is my invaluable stash of chopped oven-baked organic ginger. For about four years now ginger has been my prefereed snuff tobacco ersatz. This morning I made a huge batch for the forthcoming trip and dialed in an absolutely perfect oven temperature to get the little nuggets about 90% dry.
The smell during the drying process can be a bit pungent and the family certainly doesn’t waste any time complaining to me about it. Especially when I managed not to dial in the right temperature and end up charring a full tray of cut ginger. Still I’m pretty sure they’re okay with the occasional smell since the health benefits of my current root-munching habit easily out-way my old nicotine addiction – despite their nasal discomfort. Pros and Cons.
MANHOLE IN STOCKHOLM
Doors into the Future
Whilst in Stockholm, I’m thinking ahead. Not too far into the future. I had dinner with a buddy last night who’s going to be doing that…
No, my focus isn’t further down the road than September or October. As a freelancer, at least at my humble level, you’re never more successful than a few hours after your latest delivery. Which makes coming up with new projects that have commercial viability, a key ingredient to my survival.
Visited the capital’s and arguably Scandinavia’s premier photography mausoleum, Fotografiska, together with a couple of friends yesterday afternoon. Horses with celebs and a considerable collection of Irving Penn’s work is on display. Can’t help but wonder if I’ll ever have anything worthy of being shown there. Not that it really matters. I feel that I get a fair share of recognition through other venues and channels.
After Friday evening’s amazing summer weather with pit stops at Lydmar, East and Strandvägen 1, it’s mostly cloudy now. Hopefully Skåne will provide a couple of days of sunshine before it’s time to head south.
A weekend in Stockholm
On my way to Stockholm for the weekend. To capture a few frames of the capital’s gorgeous architecture and textures. And to see a few old friends. Taking the train. Nothing beats a train ride through Sweden’s lush summer landscape.
Pacific Coast Highway