iPhone photography: city walls Visby

Here’s my letter from my journey to Visby on Gotland, my snapshots, my postcards, some of my thoughts and visual inspirations. A letter from “the island of roses and ruins”.

iPhone photography: blue cottage with roses, Visby, Gotland

This adorable cottage covered in roses is one of many in Klinten, the upper part of old Visby. So picturesque that it’s almost surreal! And yet, Klinten used to be a poor part of town. Today, these properties fetch a high price.

iPhone photography: ruined cathedral, Visby, Gotland

In the old part of Visby there are so many ruined churches from the 11-13th centuries that you can easily lose count. But why are the ruins still there? Why, in all these centuries, didn’t anyone tear them down? These ruins in the middle of a city that played such an important role? Because all ruins start off as derelict buildings, and it isn’t until hundreds of years later that we can appreciate them as ruins and even think of them as romantic.

Some sources claim that after the churches were abandoned, they were used to keep cattle in and that the city by then was so poor that they couldn’t afford to pull down the buildings. It’s intriguing. And to think if there will be any ruins left from our time? To imagine people in hundreds of years, strolling through ruins built in our days, snapping photos and imagining our time…

iPhone photography: poppies

On my way to the beach to gather my thoughts, I came across these poppies and I snapped this shot before wandering along the seashore.

iPhone photography: the baltic sea

I was thinking about cities, and how they grow with time, how the patchwork of different times gets stitched into the weave of the city and how it reminds me of growth and “imperfection”. Memories living on the same doorstep as day-to-day life. That a city evolves much like a human, with bits and pieces from different times, with scars, additions, broken parts, victories, plans, dreams and losses. That all these layers of truths, or identities, each as valid, blend into the identity of the city. Or the person.

iPhone photography: purple poppy

As I cut through the Botanical Gardens, I took a photo of this purple poppy. When I got back home I was struck by the serendipity of it! What happened? Where did the glow come from? I don’t know, but it looks magic.

iPhone photography: flowers on patterned table cloth

At the crêperie in Visby I’m taken aback by the combination of romantic flowers in a vase and a bold, modern, black and white pattern on the table cloth.

iPhone photography: peacock pattern

Café Krönet has the most amazing view of the Baltic Sea as well as the most imaginatively designed restroom with this fabulous peacock pattern on the wallpaper as well as framed as a picture.

And finally, another serendipitous photo, this time of a poppy. Ordinary magic.

iPhone photography: poppy

Tags: identity, imperfection, iPhoneography, layers, patterns, serendipity, travel

Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupting. Photo by Sverrir Thor.

It all started with a volcano erupting. Our airport closed and so business people were getting taxis to take them further south in Europe (for huge amounts of money) in the hope of catching their flights or getting to their destinations, and because of that, traffic on ground was crazy. Trains, busses, cars and subways came to a halt. So I showed up late for an important phone conference. “I’m so sorry I’m late, a volcano just erupted”.

“No, no, no, thankfully it’s not anywhere close to here, it’s Eyjafjallajökull on Island, but it still has an impact on lives here in Sweden.” I thought about firebirds, the Phoenix and dragons and after the meeting I talked to friends and family who had trips, dreams and hopes planned.

Next there was a power cut. And it lasted a whole day. I couldn’t use my computer to finish my illustrations and icons for clients who were expecting them. And I wasn’t able to communicate with my clients to tell them what was going on. I couldn’t get out on the internet, my cell phone was out of a charge so I couldn’t use that and my phone runs on the broadband so that was out of sorts too. Cut off. No communication. Until late in the evening when I found a wobbly bar stool in a hotel with a broadband connection. By then I could use a drink. Or two.

Then Marmalade Moon went offline. Just to add some spice and excitement to life. And my blog was gone for five whole days. I don’t like to point fingers so I won’t leave an explanation to what happened. Let’s just say the dog ate someone’s homework, and that I’m very happy that I could restore my site yesterday. I felt so disconnected without my blog and missed you all! It was like my window to the world closed. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for visiting, and a huge thank you for all your kind e-mails of support when the site was down!

Next, I had to spend the weekend catching up on work, since I was behind on my illustrations because of the power cut. So I couldn’t go to the weekend course I’d signed up to and paid for, to draw and paint dancers in movement.

I almost forgot this, it turns out that I have to buy a new printer to be able to make prints of my new paintings! Why? My five-year-old printer is too old to want to talk to the latest operative system for the Mac…

Oh, and it snowed today! Come on, it’s the end of April!

It’s week seven of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron hosted by Suzy Greaves on The Big Peace Blog. This week two interesting topics are in focus. Perfectionism and jealousy. And with all the events of the week I can definitely say that I’ve had to let go of any attempts at perfectionism!

Isn’t it ironic that this week when I’ve felt so cut off from the world, we’re recovering a sense of connection? We’ve been learning to accept the possibility that the universe is helping us with what we’re doing and to expect the universe to support our dreams! That’s not exactly how I’ve experienced this week… although the power cut was a reminder of just how much we rely on electricity and how much participating in an online community means to me. I suppose one can say, that I did recover a sense of connection, in a very real way!

Before I sign off, here’s a quote from week 7 of The Artist’s Way that I found particularly interesting. “To the perfectionist, there is always room for improvement. The perfectionist calls this humility. In reality, it is egotism. It is pride that makes us want to write a perfect script, paint a perfect painting, perform a perfect audition monologue. . . . “A painting is never finished. It simply stops in interesting places,” said Paul Gardner. A book is never finished. But at a certain point you stop writing it and go on to the next thing. . . . That is a normal part of creativity – letting go.” What would you do if you didn’t have to do it perfectly?

Tags: communication, community, courses, illustration, imperfection, prints, technology, The Artist's Way

iPhone photography: Ice melting on the lake in April

Ice in April. As you can see, it hasn’t melted much since March, when the ice on the lake inspired me to make this painting and for all my efforts, I still can’t coax the printer into making a good print of Breaking Ice. In stead, it prints horrible washed out and pale, faded prints. I think it simply just won’t cooperate with the latest operating system, since everything was working fine before I upgraded. Isn’t it frustrating when dealing with technology is like walking in sand?! Two steps forward, and one step back. At least I got this dreamy, serendipitous iPhone photo out of the process.

iPhone photography: Test print of Breaking Ice

Tags: art, Breaking Ice, imperfection, inspiration, painting, prints, serendipity

iPhone photography: candy tulips

I’ve been asked a lot of questions about my photography and here’s the scoop. All of the photos on my blog are shot with my iPhone. I often use an app called CameraBag that recreates the magic of film without all the chemicals needed to manually use and develop film. There aren’t any settings or choices for each filter, you just decide which vintage camera you’d like to use, some of my favourites are the instant camera (that I used for this Polaroid of vintage graffiti), as well as the Lomo (in action in these over-saturated photos) and Holga (that I used to put a dark and moody edge on some of my summer photography). But sometimes I don’t use any additional software at all. Just raw iPhone photography. In any case they all fall within the definition of iPhoneography, which means images taken with an iPhone and processed with apps on the iPhone.

iPhone photography: Tulips at night

Last night I thought this bunch of tulips might wilt before I got round to taking some photos of it, so I took a few pictures with the camera in my iPhone, although it was almost midnight and the camera doesn’t have a flash. Tulips are an early sign of spring for me, even if you have to buy them at the store because the ground is still deep with snow and it’ll be months before they blossom here! I find these tulips so inspiring, but with all the excitement over Apple’s new iPad and the administration and economy that I handle at the end of each month I’m way too busy to do much more than capture them on film.

iPhone photography: Blurred tulips

I really like the rough quality that the low-quality camera of a mobile device can bring out! And the immediacy. There’s something very appealing to me in this blurred photo of tulips. Perhaps it’s the almost painterly quality… Normally I wouldn’t post this photo, but seeing as I’m talking about photography, and some of the unexpected beauty of the imperfections of lo-fi photography, I did.

I absolutely refuse to spend time in Photoshop editing photos. If I’m going to be creating using my computer as a tool, I’d prefer to work on my own art. There’s something endlessly satisfying about the simplicity of lo-fi photography, trusting the moment, seeing what happens. Finding moments of serendipity. It’s a liberating contrast to the sometimes laborious methods involved in designing icons and the endless and complicated options and settings available in the tools of my trade, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

iPhone photography: tulips on the kitchen table

I first got an iPhone because I was designing icons for the platform and I needed to see what they actually looked like in their own environment. At the time, I’d never guessed what a huge inspiration the iPhone turned out to be for me! A digital playground and a canvas to experiment with and to capture ideas with the built in camera, notes and voice memos. It’s become the place where my creative process often begins. But my favourite source of creativity on my iPhone is finger painting with Brushes! More about that another day!

iPhone photography: karamell tulips

Tags: apps, CameraBag, creative, creative process, ease, imperfection, inspiration, iPhone, iPhoneography, lo-fi, serendipity, simplicity, software

Frost Star

Finally some of the pieces for Christmas are falling into place. After many attempts, I found the right bulb for the new Advent star, it turns out it’s the same type that you use in an oven! Who would have guessed…

iPhone photography: Advent star with window reflection.

If you’ve heard my laments about the lack of sunlight this winter, you can probably imagine how poor the lighting conditions are for photography. So I gave up on waiting for sunshine, and I also wanted to show you some of my Christmas lights, so I reminded myself of how much I love the spontaneity of lo-fi photography . The gritty grain, the distortion, the overload and the pastels. Like playing rock ‘n’ roll, like feeding the distortion of your electric guitar back into the amp, like feeling the base in your body before you let your guitar play the sweetest song. Raw emotions with a minimum of editing and styling.

iPhone photography: Christmas lights on the balcony.

I’m so grateful for all the new online friends and acquaintances I’ve met this year. Carla, the creator of the wonderful iPhone app Gratitude Journal. The many brave soul seekers I met in the Unravelling course, and the inspiring, talented artists I got to know in Marisa’s fish bowl. Tracy, the artist and crafter of the Pink Purl. Jamie who created the Full Moon Dreamboards that it’s been so magical for me to participate in. Just to mention a few. You’ve all brought so much light to my life!

iPhone photography: A pale pink amaryllis

Tags: community, connecting, dreamboard, ease, gratitude, imperfection, iPhone, iPhoneography, lo-fi, serendipity, simplicity, winter