The city of Jaipur was just waking up when a spanish-born balloon pilot filled a gigantic blimp with hot air. It slowly rose, until it was light enough to take four senior ladies off the ground. Dead silent it floated high above the people on the roofs, making their morning toilette. From the balloon you could see the elephants, walking towards a days work in the forrest.
While people in Europe and North America keeps their eyes glued to digital video games, the young and old of Cuba tends to bring out the more physical ones. Domino and chess is definately the most popular ones. If you do not count baseball, of course….
The old cars in Havana is amazingly beautiful to look at and they gives the city a feeling that you won’t find anywhere else. But the antique motors working under the hoods are spewing out fumes. In the evenings, after a hard days work, the cars have left the air heavy and hard to breathe. The skin feels oily.
Tagged: cuba, habana vieja, havana, malecon, photography, photos, travel
The 8 km long esplanade in Havana. When the sun is setting, hundreds of people gather around the worn stone wall. It´s said that the only thing you need at Malecòn is a girlfriend and a bottle of rum.
What is the one thing you miss about being a child? The time when nothing was impossible and no one could stop you (except, some times, your parents). Then you grew up. And lost it all, as most of us did. But the really good photographers retained some of the attributes they had as a child. Here is ten things that children do, and so should you.
1. Explore
Our job as photographers is to find people and places that other people haven´t seen yet. We need to find out what´s behind the next corner. Under every stone. In the end of every small road. But it takes energy to do so. You’ll have to force yourself not to take the easy road. So waken your inner Indiana Jones and find something we haven’t seen yet.
2. Look at everyone as a new friend
You will constantly run into people when on the road, especially when travelling alone. But most of us will just run pass everyone. The magic happens when you take the time to stop and talk to one of them. Are you old enough to remember the time before smartphones? Or even computers? If not; in that ancient times people spent their time by talking to each other. Yeah, i know that you´re talking to people too. I mean face to face! You will learn amazing stuff from someone you meet on the street. Even if you can´t speak their language. Take your time, and don’t just rush away.
3. Trust you gut
My girlfriends seven year old son is very… determined. He’ll pretty quick know if he likes someone or not and most of the times he can’t say why. It just feels right or wrong. And he goes with that feeling. So should you. You will usually know within a couple of seconds if the man that just approached in the streets of Mumbai has genuine interest in you or if he’s just in it for the money.
4. Continue to learn stuff
While growing up the brain feeds on new information and new knowledge. But it will always feel good to learn new stuff. Before you travel abroad, take as much time as you can to learn everything you can get your hands on about the country or cities that you are going to. Learn the language, even if it is just a few words. That will get you right into people´s hearts. Everyone are proud of their country and if you can show that you respect them enough to actually learn about it, you’ll be half way there. And besides that, when was the last time you bought a really good book about photography?
5. Do what you are not supposed to do
Sometimes you just have to arrive late to that evening supper. Because you found something else that was just so interesting that you couldn’t leave. That´s ok. Be selfish and childish sometimes. It feel’s good.
6. Keep it simple
A child doesn’t need a trunk full of toys to play for a full day. Neither do you. Before you leave – wheter it´s for a month long trip or just for the day – spend a few minutes to think through if you really need everything that you’ve packed. Maybe you usually just shoot with two of your twelve lenses? It will save you time, and it will save your back!
7. Be fearless
You won’t find the good stuff it unless you step out of your comfort zone. At least a little bit. As a child you actually don’t have much of a comfort zone. You just jump in the water, without thinking much about how deep it is. Or you just swing from the rope without thinking about the half dead tree it’s being tied to. I’m not telling you to do things that will kill you. But most places, people, activities WON’T kill you. Even if it feels like it just before you stepping of that cliff into the water.
8. Don’t mind other people
When i got my first digital DSLR, my photography interest really sky rocketed. The first three years the only thing I shot was live concerts. I did hundreds every year. When you’re working as a concert photographer you usually have the first three songs to shoot away in the ditch between the crowd and the stage. Then you have to get out of there and join the rest of the crowd or go home. At first I didn’t wanted to obscure the view for the audience so i crouched around alot. But pretty quick i started to not give a damn about if I was in the way. I had the three songs to get my pictures, they had the rest of the concert for themselves. Sometimes you just need to be a little bit in the way to get what you want.
9. Play
As a photographer, you don´t have a real job. You have something much better. I´ve never felt like I had a real job, it still feels like I´m getting up every morning and starting to play around. Testing new stuff, coming up with new ideas that I can do whenever i want. And you should use the same way of thinking while “out in the field”. There´s no limits of how you are supposed to take your pictures. Sure, you should safe up with the pictures you need for the job, but then you are free to do what ever you like to. Go wild. Climb, jump, throw, run. See how far you can push your CEO model. Nothing is wrong if you are a child. Or a photographer.
10. Realize it’s easier to apologize after than asking for permission before
You know how it is. They know they are not supposed to crawl trough the sewer lines. But if they do it anyway, they have had their fun and just have to deal with the consequences IF they get caught. So jump over that small fence, and just act a little stupid if you get caught. (Use this tip with caution in any country where a lot of people are allowed to carry big guns.)
And remember, the only thing to know how something works is to completely disassemble it.
Im having a hard time understanding it. Why the inhabitants in a country as good and wealthy as Sweden, doesn´t stand up and dance whenever there is music. Why they don´t just swing by a friends house, without making an appointment beforehand, and shouting for them to throw down the key through the window. Why they don´t smile more or why there isn´t live music in every street corner and in every restaurant.
In a country as Cuba, where the monthly salary is around impossible 25 dollars, there is.
During 2011 I went pretty easy on the travelling part. I spent a month in India and did a shorter trip to Rome, both in the beginning of the year. That was all. Related to what my year usually looks like, that´s a reeeeally calm year. It was a concious choice that I made. I needed to stop and think. A lot of things had happened in my work and private life. I just needed to stand on solid ground for a while. Figure stuff out.
I´ve spent the last year working on a plan. I´ve teamed up with Amit and Martin, two brilliant minds that can do all the stuff I can´t. Together we created Studio Jens Lennartsson. We´ve learnt a lot and are happy to share it with you in the nearest future.
I´m writing this text in Madrid airport. In one hour a plane will take of, hopefully with me in it, and fly to Havana. I´m not sure about the internet connection over there but hopefully I´ll give you a photo update every other day at least.
See you soon.
Snapshot from the rally of the xenophobic swedish party Sverigedemokraterna. Shot in Malmö yesterday.
Tagged: AFA, malmö, speach, sverigedemokraterna
A sneek peak from a shoot we did in the end of the day, in the beginning of the summer.