The world through a Sinar, upside down.

I have a new front page collage up on the CameraLink site. Feels sort of late summer doesn’t it.

Just updated my portfolio at CameraLink. Have a look, call Alice and set up a meeting, lets do something really nice together. Yes?

I used to cut things out of magazines and shoot with my old Mamiya RZ II, with one desktop lamp as the only light source. I tried to do it on the balcony, for the light, but things would always get caught in the wind. Damn, that was a long time ago now. I sort of miss it.

They say its going be all lightning and thunder this weekend in Sthlm. Sweet.

From a shoot I did a couple of weeks ago. Styling by Joanna Lavén.

Studio floor

This weekend was very intense in a lot of ways. All of them very positive. On friday evening we had a daughter, Erika and I. She is so small and delicate and beautiful. We will name her Edith Isca Vallin. There are so many inspiring and beautiful Ediths throughout history, the Beals, Sedgwick and Piaff to name a few. She will be in good company. I really only know about one Isca though, although a very good one. Isca Greenfield Sanders. A couple of years ago we would sit in Björns gallery and put a couple of her swimming pool paintings in front of us. They represented so much. The media itself, the feelings of nostalgia and in some way sort of a common goal. Even though neither of us pursued painting as a career at the time. When we got married I bought Erika one of her pieces. I think its a good name to grow in.

I had a hard time sleeping this weekend and took the opportunity to read Just Kids, the new book by Patti Smith, about her life, and of course, the life of Robert Mapplethorpe. They both had a big impact on me when I grew up. Patti as an inspiration through her words and music and Robert of course by his photos. Come to think of it, his book Some Women, with the foreword written by Joan Didion, was the first photography book I ever bought. I found it while going through one of the two used book stores in the small town where I grew up. It was a hard time convincing my first subjects to pose for me with that as inspiration.

Just Kids is amazing and so inspiring. Their relationship is one of the most beautiful I have ever read about. The way they pushed each other creatively, gentle, but precise. Patti brings to mind something I have forgotten and will hopefully pick up again. The way music and words can interact. I have always loved to write but find it very hard at times. Strumming the guitar while writing poetry releases everything.

There is also a cute quote from Pattis mother, who says that what you do on new years day defines the rest of that year. Since the last couple of days have felt like the beginning of something very good I have spent some nights making collages and preparing for upcoming shoots. Its going to be a good year.

Now some sleep. Tomorrow a fashion shoot.