Living in Sweden, Snappin' Photos
Stockholm
Melodifestivalen 2010
Mar 14th
So, I finally have had a chance to see “Swedish Pride” in full effect with something called Melodifestivalen. This is the precursor to Eurovision (the winner goes to represent Sweden there).
There are some rules to the songs (surprising!). They have to be original (unlike Idol), have to be under 3 minutes, also the last bit of the song needs to be an octave or note higher, you know, because it’s more effective that way, as well as you can be any age. Songs cannot be sold before the end of the competition either. I’m sure there are other rules, I just don’t know them. Remember, this was my first experience seeing this!
It’s a 6 week long competition where the people vote (how socialist eh?) on who goes forward. Unlike Idol, there are not judges, just hosts. The 6th week is the final week, and boy do they put on a show!
Anyway I was lucky enough to see the top 10 acts and the who gets to go forward. Unlike most competitions, there are voting “groups/delegations” which represent other countries (France, Denmark, Norway, etc) as well as sections in Sweden (Stockholm, Malmö, Luleå, etc). Each of these regions award points to each song/artists starting at 1, 2, 4, 8, 10 and 12 points. Yes, it is possible for someone not to get ANY voted… brutal eh. This is worth 50% of the final vote.
Then comes the peoples vote, worth another 50%, but in one HUGE bulk value starting at 11, 22, 44, 88, 110 and 132.
In the end, there can only be one and Anna Begendahl won with a song titled “This Is My Life”. Personally, I was hoping Eric Saade would have won with his song called “Manboy”. It’s got a catchy hook which will definitely hit the clubs of Stureplan this summer! JOY! Plus, it’s pretty lame, so it would be even better if it won! And yes, come Monday morning, I plan to annoy EVERYONE at the office with it… by singing, listening and humming the chorus! 
Personally, it was an interesting experience. It was like Idol, but people actually care… Actually, more than care, people get SOOOO worked up over it, as they represent Sweden in a few months. Now if only Sweden could get this worked up about hockey for soccer! 
Well, without further a-du, here are the songs that were performed.
Song 1 – Darin – “You’re Out Of My Life”
Song 2 – Pernilla Wahlgren – “Jag Vill Om Du Vågar”
Song 3 – – “We Can Work It Out”
Song 4 – Timoteij – “Kom”
Song 5 – Peter Jöback – “Hollow”
Song 7 – Jessica Andersson – “I Did it for Love”
Song 8 – Salem Al Fakir – “Keep On Walking”
Song 9 – Anna Bergendahl – “This Is My Life”
Song 10 – Eric Saade – “Manboy”
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Stockholm’s Dirty Little Secrets
Nov 22nd
So, I’ve been living in Sweden now for roughly 6 months, and I’ve been introduced/exposed to some very interesting things here in Stockholm. Some of them good, some of them bad, some of them just gross. I figure it’s time to share some of the dirty little secrets.
- Snus
According to Wikipedia (I know, I know, worst source ever) “is a moist powder tobacco product that is consumed by placing it under the lip for extended periods of time.” Wow, sounds like fun! Not only does it have a very distinct flavour, it also numbs that area of the lip. Sure it’s better than smoking as you only impact yourself, it doesn’t stink up your clothes, less carcinogens, but it’s still pretty freaking gross, and it’s even worse when women do it! When it’s done, you toss it on the ground, garbage or into the container (it has it’s own holder). To me, it’s pretty rancid, but hey, it’s been around since the 1400′s here in Sweden, on the rise and decline every few centuries, so it must be good right? - Candy
“I’ll take you to the candy shop // I’ll let you lick the lollipop // Go ‘head girl, don’t you stop // Keep going ’til you hit the spot (woah)” – Candy Shop, 50 Cent (YouTube Video). I’m not sure if 50 Cent had Stockholm in mind, but there is candy shops everywhere! There are actual shops that are just candy by the bulk. You can also buy candy by the bulk all over the place though! 7-Elevens, Pressbyrån, ICA, Coop, Willy’s, the kebab place down the street… Swedes LOVE their candy. The ultimate sweet tooth’s heaven. How do Swedish women keep so skinny with all the candy, I have no idea. - Smoking
This would be the flip side to snus. Smoking is still fairly big here. At least they don’t smoke in the clubs, bars or restaurants, but everywhere else is fair game! Smoking is usually right outside the door. Waiting for the tvärbanan, tunnelbana, in a queue to get in some where, there are always people smoking. One day I’d love a walk to work where I didn’t have to smell it. It got so bad in my building, that they don’t let smoking outside the entrances any more because people just tossed their butts everywhere! BARF. But then, I come from BC, where we have some of the best (worst if you’re a smoker) anti-smoking laws around. - Alcohol
Don’t get me wrong on this, booze is good. Wine, beer, both very important in life. However, when little Saturday comes around (Wednesday) and the weekend, it’s PARTY TIME! If you’re not out having a good time, something is wrong. And you need to get drunk. Or at least the people I hang out with, they want to get drunk. Maybe it’s to drown away the week of hard work? Maybe so the men will get courage to ask women out? Maybe because the government has made it so tabu or the thousands of years of pillaging villages and drinking mead to celebrate? Not really sure, but hangovers seems to be a very constant occurrence in the city, more so on Saturday and Sunday morning.
Well, those are all the dirty little secrets I have now for Stockholm. I’m sure come summer time, there will be more
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Some Random Photos
Nov 16th
Here are a few more photos that I finally got the time to work on and upload. Two are from Stockholm one is from Paris.
This was taken one overcast day on the south shore of Södermalm, near Skanstull.
I have no idea what the name of this pond/park is called. It’s by the Observatory on Sveavagen. Pretty decent reflection off the water.
Finally the Eiffel Tower. This was taken from the park where everyone relaxes at night, drinks wine and champagne and eats their cheese. Anyway, here is a nice photo of it, all golden and looking sexy.
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Stockholm at Night
Nov 10th
This is one of my first night shoots in Stockholm. This took place October 11th, 2009, on a very cold and snowy evening. I started off downtown at Sergels Torg, attempting to get a “night shot” of cars driving around it, slowly, working my way south through Gamla Stan. As I’m still learning about photography, not all the photos turned out amazing, but here are a few of the ones that I think turned out decent. These photos have gone through photoshop and I have put “other” effects on them to “enhance them”.
I first started off at Sergels Torg, trying to get a motion blur of cars driving by. Unfortunately it was already too late at night (around 7:00pm) and most of the traffic already was home. I’ll have to head back soon and re-try this photo, maybe around 4:30 to 5:00pm as work gets out.
Next I was off to Gamla Stan and took photos of the Swedish Parliament, the Sveriges Riksdag. This was a pretty easy shot too do. No traffic, no interference, just a simple shot. I ended up cleaning the color out as it was very yellow (like the next Gamla Stan shot), and I wanted to try for a clean, white look.
This was taken from south of the Parliament buildings, north of Gamla Stan. I was trying to get an older, rustic feel, unfortunately there were some signs still showing up in the photo (notice the green sign in the middle). I’m really pleased on how this turned photo turned out.
This is the photo of Sankta Gertruds Kyrka (St Gertrude’s Church) was able to actually pick up stars; unfortunately at this web resolution, it doesn’t show all that clear. However, I can put up a higher resolution one later. This is the southern most Church in Gamla Stan and can clearly be seen from Söder.
Please leave your feedback if you have any about my photos. Definitely want to learn more about photography, digital editing and image composition, and from what I’ve read and researched, it’s all about practice and understanding what you are doing, with more practice!
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