shaken.

someone with murderous intentions has attacked a free speech event in copenhagen which featured a swedish cartoonist who published islam-critical cartoons back in 2007. it's happening again. probably (tho' we don't really know that for sure, since photos of the perpetrator are very sketchy at best, as are descriptions). one of the people in denmark who means the most to me is a cartoonist. he wasn't involved in the jyllands posten drawings back in 2005 (he works for a competing newspaper), but he is equally sharp in his editorial cartooning skills. and it shakes me to the core to think that i have to worry about his safety as he goes about his everyday life here in denmark. but it probably really has come to that after charlie hebdo and now this attack in copenhagen. is it really possible now that people will die for free speech and being clever and skeptical? and is it worth it? at this moment, even in the face of the uncertainty over what has really happened in copenhagen earlier today (and we don't really have a clear picture of it yet as i write this), that might very well be the case. keep your loved ones close and tell them that you love them.

spring exhibition - movement

i probably didn't really tell you that at last i found a group of creative people to hang out with. it's weird,  i'm no longer compelled in the same way to share every aspect of my analogue life here (probably because i spend a lot less time alone in a hotel room). but i have indeed found a group of creative people to spend time with. yesterday, i helped out with setting up for the spring exhibition, which takes place today. i mostly helped out by photographing the process and then sharing it on facebook and encouraging people to attend.

i don't have anything of my own in the exhibition. i have to admit that since the vast majority of the group are painters, i didn't feel like anything i might have contributed would fit. i hadn't really seen one of their exhibitions before, so i also wanted to get the lay of the land before jumping in. that, and i've been very busy with work-related things of late. i know. that's quite a collection of excuses. but suffice it to say that i didn't feel ready to be part of the exhibition this time around.

but i will be the next time. because if there's one thing that i learned, it's that there is an enormous variety of styles involved. the theme this time around is "movement" (bevægelse), so i could easily have contributed photos of horse feet, nicely framed. i also had an idea of making a whole lot of teeny tiny origami birds and hanging them by threads, so that they would move when people passed by. but all of the writing i've been doing this week on various projects and proposals prevented that idea from materializing.  (hmm, there's those excuses again.) i am content to be the official event photographer.

there are talented painters and some less talented, but what's common to all is that they dare to show their work and that the group is open to everyone's level. all of the works were cheerfully accepted and something positive was seen in all of them. they have been carefully hung to their best advantage and today, there will be a reception where friends, family and the whole town can come and have a look. they represent a diversity of styles and passions and i find it comforting to be involved with a group where there is room and a welcoming spirit for all. it's so refreshing and it's what this whole culture house thing is really about.

next year, i'm definitely going to show some of my work too. who knows, maybe i'll even paint something!

double exposure

in many ways, it's my friend mik's fault that i'm as enchanted with photography as i am. he taught me to do jump shots and he taught me about lomo and he made me realize i needed a DSLR. he's a graphic designer and flash developer and truly one of the most talented, coolest people i know. if you want to know what the next big trend is, you've just got to ask mik what he's into at the moment, because he's at the leading edge.

so when he recently put these amazing pictures on facebook and called them a "happy accident," i asked him if i could share them with you here.  it's a roll of film that he took on a recent visit to japan and then accidentally double exposed on one of his frequent outings to the fabulous philippine beach paradise that is boracay. and i think they're some of the best photos i've seen in ages. and they make me really excited about my coming film swap photos with shookofeh and kristina.

this is my favorite one

scenic overlook

the beach meets mt. fuji

just a hint of mik there on the right.

so haunting

double exposure, accidental or not, gives such possibilities - the philippines vs. japan, city vs. beach, sand vs. mountains - it all speaks of something deeper and more profound than a single exposure can do on its own. it was a happy accident indeed, but i wonder if intentionality would have added anything in this case.  that's the question i'm pondering....but i suspect the art is in the accident.

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check mik's tumblr here. and more from this roll here on flickr. and thank you, mik, for letting me share your gorgeous, multi-layered, deep and profound (even if accidental) photos here...you should seriously have these up in a gallery.