Förlorad och återfunnen kärlek

Efter några år med Canon och Fuji är jag tillbaka med Nikon och det känns helt rätt. Då menar jag inte nödvändigtvis tekniska specifikationer och hur bilderna slutligen blir. Det går att ta alldeles fantastiska bilder med i princip vilken kamera som helst och det som alla märken levererar idag är fantastiska maskiner! Det som framför allt känns rätt med Nikon är hur kameran ligger i handen, hur layout och funktioner är placerade och inte minst på vilken håll man skruvar på objektivet. ;)

Nikon D750 - Mauritius

I den digitala världen är det framförallt två Nikon-kameror som jag använt flitigt. Den första på listan är Nikon D750, en fantastisk kamera som lanserades i september 2014. Kameran blev känd för sin exceptionella bildkvalitet och mångsidighet, vilket gjorde den populär bland både professionella fotografer och avancerade amatörer.

“Nikon D850 är inte bara en kamera för mig; det är en symbol för äventyr, upptäckter och oförglömliga minnen. Jag har utsett den till min absoluta favoritkamera genom tiderna, inte enbart på grund av dess tekniska briljans, utan också för de extraordinära upplevelser vi delat.”

— Me

I den digitala världen är det framförallt två Nikon-kameror som jag använt flitigt. Den första på listan är Nikon D750, en fantastisk kamera som lanserades i september 2014. Kameran blev känd för sin exceptionella bildkvalitet och mångsidighet, vilket gjorde den populär bland både professionella fotografer och avancerade amatörer.

Nikon D750 - Stångby

Kamera nummer två, släppt i juli 2017, står ut som en favorit bland många. Tack vare sin mångsidighet och prestanda var Nikon D850 en väldigt populär kamera. Denna digitala systemkamera var utrustad med en imponerande 45.7-megapixel fullformatsensor som gav bilder av hög kvalitet med enastående detaljrikedom och skärpa. Dessutom bidrog frånvaron av ett optiskt lågpassfilter till den övergripande bildkvaliteten.

Nikon D850 är inte bara en kamera för mig; det är en symbol för äventyr, upptäckter och oförglömliga minnen. Jag har utsett den till min absoluta favoritkamera genom tiderna, inte enbart på grund av dess tekniska briljans, utan också för de extraordinära upplevelser vi delat. Kamerans perfekta ergonomi och en bildkvalitet som fortfarande konkurrerar med de bästa, gjorde varje fotograferingstillfälle till en ren njutning.

Nikon D850 - North of Sweden

Nikon D850 är inte bara en kamera för mig; det är en symbol för äventyr, upptäckter och oförglömliga minnen. Jag har utsett den till min absoluta favoritkamera genom tiderna, inte enbart på grund av dess tekniska briljans, utan också för de extraordinära upplevelser vi delat. Kamerans perfekta ergonomi och en bildkvalitet som fortfarande konkurrerar med de bästa, gjorde varje fotograferingstillfälle till en ren njutning.

Vad som verkligen gör D850 speciell för mig är alla de otroliga stunder vi delat tillsammans runt om i världen. Tänker på vågsurfande under Sydafrikas strålande sol, där kamerans snabbhet och precision fångade varje ögonblick av adrenalin och glädje. Minnena från Svalbard är lika levande, med bilder av majestätiska renar i den arktiska vildmarken, fångade i perfekt detalj trots de utmanande ljusförhållandena.

Nikon D850 - Cape Town

Närmare hemmet har Nikon D850 varit en trogen följeslagare i Skånes lantliga landskap, där enkelheten hos en maskros förvandlades till en konstnärlig bild som fångar naturens skönhet. Och vem kan glömma de fantastiska upplevelserna vid ishotellet i Jukkasjärvi?

Nikon D850 - Jukkasjärvi

För mig är Nikon D850 mer än bara en kamera. Det är en reskamrat som hjälpt mig att dokumentera livets största äventyr och skönheten i vardagliga ögonblick. Det är den kamera jag har varit mest förälskad i, och varje bild är en påminnelse om de fantastiska upplevelser vi haft tillsammans.

“Men som ofta händer i historier om förlorad och återfunnen kärlek, har jag återvänt till Nikon. Den här gången är det Nikon Z8 som har förnyat min passion.”

— Me

Min relation med Nikon D850 har varit en resa av passion och upptäckt, men som med alla berättelser, kom en tid för förändring. Det som förändrade allt var inte en sviktande kärlek till D850, utan snarare en oväntad förälskelse i ett annat objektiv och kamerateknik. Det var Canon RF 28-70 mm f/2 som stal mitt hjärta. Denna upplevelse introducerade mig för världen av spegellösa fullformatskameror, en värld som visade sig vara lika spännande och innovativ, och ledde mig till att lämna Nikon - åtminstone för en tid.

Nikon D850 - Cape Town

Denna förändring var inte enkel. Att lämna Nikon D850, en kamera som varit så central i mitt fotografiska uttryck och så nära kopplad till många av mina äventyr och upplevelser, var en känslomässig process. Men utforskandet av nya tekniker och objektiv var en resa jag kände att jag behövde ta.

Nikon D850 - Norway

Men som ofta händer i historier om förlorad och återfunnen kärlek, har jag återvänt till Nikon. Den här gången är det Nikon Z8 som har förnyat min passion. Den kombinerar den älskade ergonomin jag alltid uppskattat hos Nikon med den senaste tekniken inom spegellösa kameror. Dessutom tände Nikkor 135 mm f/1.8 Plena objektivet återigen gnistan i mig, en gnista som påminner om den jag först kände med D850.

Nikon D850 - Skåne

Denna återförening med Nikon, genom Z8 och dess fantastiska objektiv, har återställt en relation jag trodde var förlorad. Det påminner mig om att fotografiska verktyg är mer än bara teknik; de är förlängningar av våra kreativa själar och partners i vår konstnärliga resa. Nikon Z8 har inte bara fört mig tillbaka till Nikon-familjen, utan också påmint mig om kärleken till fotografi och det eviga sökandet efter det perfekta ögonblicket att fånga.

Nikon Z8 - Lomma

2023: Ett år av passion, förändring och gemenskap

Ett år går till historien, och vilket år det varit! 2023 har för mig varit ett år fyllt av äventyr, personlig utveckling, och framför allt, en resa genom mina passioner. Från att omfamna nya möjligheter i min karriär till att utforska världen genom min kamera, har varje ögonblick varit en del av en större resa som formar mig till den jag är.

Att forma och vara en del av ett högpresterande team med fokus på vad som är viktigt, på riktigt! Att byta arbetsplats under 2023 var ett av årets bästa beslut.

Min resa detta år innebar bland annat en betydande förändring i min professionella bana. Jag tog steget att byta arbetsgivare inom IT-sektorn, en sektor som ständigt utmanar och inspirerar mig. Det var ett beslut som inte bara handlade om karriär, utan också om att följa min inre kompass och göra något som verkligen kändes betydelsefullt. Att få möjligheten att arbeta i en organisation där IT är mer än bara teknik och själva affären. En verksamhet där vi skapar verklig skillnad för människor i sina svåraste stunder, är oerhört givande.

Många mil i bil har det blivit under året. En höjdpunkt var familjens bilsemester genom Europa med slutmålet Gardasjön.

Mötet med Simon Sinek för några år sedan, och hans tankar kring "Start With Why", har verkligen burit frukt detta år. Hans ord har inte landat rätt där jag arbetat innan, där har det övergripande målet alltid varit att ge ägarna större vinster.

På det personliga planet har familjen varit min största källa till glädje. Att få vara friska och tillbringa tid tillsammans har varit oersättligt. Våra äventyr, exempelvis bilsemestern till Gardasjön med stopp i Österrike och Tyskland, har fyllt oss med gemenskap och skapat minnen för livet. Det är dessa stunder, stora som små, som ger livet dess rika färg.

Fotografering har fortsatt vara en stor del av mitt liv. 2023 var ett år då jag djupdykte in i sportfotografering, en genre som kräver skicklighet och snabbhet. Från att dokumentera ungdomsidrott till att fånga ögonblicken i en volleylandskamp i Sparbanken Skåne Arena eller följa handbollslandslagets VM i Göteborg och Herning, varje ögonblick har varit en lärdom. Ett stort tack till Johan, Hans och Stefan hos LUGI Handboll som gav mig chansen att utforska detta område ytterligare. Att under en period varit en del av LUGI Handbolls utveckling, att nästan på egen hand lyfta klubben från total mediaskugga till bäst i klassen, har varit en resa i sig. Hoppas de kan fortsätta på den vägen.

Fotografering kommer vara en stor del av mitt 2024, men kanske lite mindre fokus på sport. Fler natursköna vandringar och ett alarm som ringer i god tid före soluppgången.

Detta år har också varit en tid av att fira gemenskapen inom sporten. Att arbeta med spelare och ledare, från representationslag till ungdomslag, har varit en källa till glädje. Att fånga deras energi och entusiasm, lära känna personer som Lovisa, Perla, Adrian, Kasper, Ofelia, Filippa, Mads, Cornelia, Anton, Timo, Axel och alla andra har varit en ära. Att se våra ungdomslag, som Pojkar 14, kämpa och växa på och utanför planen, det har varit en påminnelse om sportens kraft.

Jag har även haft förmånen att vara en del av andra stora sportevenemang. Att få vara en av få utvalda fotografer på Skidspelen i Falun var en upplevelse utöver det vanliga. Att fånga Jonna Sundlings kraft och intensitet var en av många höjdpunkter. Mitt arbete för Svenska Volleybollförbundet och att dokumentera vårt landslags framfart i Golden League var ett annat stolthetsmoment. Damernas VM i handboll avslutade ett härligt sportår!

När jag nu står här vid slutet av 2023 och ser tillbaka, känner jag en djup tacksamhet för alla dessa erfarenheter. Det har varit ett år av att utforska nya horisonter, av att lära och växa både professionellt och personligt. Med 2024 runt hörnet ser jag fram emot att fortsätta denna resa. Mitt fokus kommer att skifta något, från sportfotografering och tillbaka till natur och landskap, resor och vandringar med kameran fastsatt på ryggsäcken. Men oavsett vad det nya året har i sitt sköte, är jag redo att ta emot det med öppna armar.

Tack till alla som varit en del av mitt år. Jag ser fram emot att dela fler berättelser, äventyr och upplevelser med er under 2024.

Ta hand om er därute så bjuder på ett lite axplock från 2023. 📸😊

An intense year

So another new year begins. It's funny that we divide our commitments and promises so closely tied to this event. Why can't you start over on April 23rd or set a goal on August 3rd? I do the same as everyone else, of course, summarize the past twelve months and draw up some plans for the future around the last calendar day of the year. Just like every year.

2022 was a year about a few, but big things and the theme was MOVE. The short story is that we left the villa in Vallkärra, with the final goal being an apartment in Lomma. On the way, we had a stopover in the center of Lund. In April, parts of the family stayed in a hotel in Lund for a few weeks. I, our youngest son and the dog lived in our motorhome at a campsite in Lomma.

From the beginning of the year until the middle of May, most was about preparing us and the house for sale. Late spring and until autumn about moving and partly living in a duffel bag.

Another significant event was, of course, that one of the children moved away from home. No one took so much time and energy and more of a strange feeling. So the goal for this year is simple, not to move but live and enjoy.

The photo year 2022 may have turned out differently than I imagined it would. The plan was to have more time in nature, more days in the motorhome, and an exhibition in the fall with the year's pictures. It turned out differently than that; there were only so many landscape pictures and there was definitely no exhibition.

What it turned out to be, however, was a lot of dog and sports photography. There were dogs at work, dogs on show and dogs that were allowed to be themselves. On the sports side, there was a lot of handball, partly Emil and his team, but also a lot of senior handball and photography before and during the world's largest indoor tournament for handball youngsters.

The handball year ended this Friday, January 6th, with me being a photographer at the national team's warm-up match before the World Cup against Serbia. Not the best of games and indeed not my best work, but great fun and something I love to do more of.

I also had the opportunity to photograph a wedding in the fall, something I had yet to do and, honestly, had no interest in. But it was fantastic fun, and working with our middle son added a golden edge to the assignment. I like to do it more often, so if anyone needs a photographer, get in touch.

So what's planned for the year of photography in 2023? I'm moving the goals from last year with me. There will be dogs and sports, of course, and maybe a wedding. But the focus will be to once again run exhibitions. We'll see each other in front of one of my new pictures at an exhibition near you. Well met!

Time flies

Time flies, weeks that hang like a tail on the present fade faster and faster. I think the speed increases exponentially the older I get. Therefore, it can be sound to actively stop for a while, reflect and maybe adjust some things if it feels necessary.

Being a photographer is an excellent way to make time travel when you want and maybe stop speeding in life for a short while. I do not necessarily mean a photographer as in your profession, but more that you regularly take pictures of what happens in life. Today, almost all are photographers and several social media help us bring back memories from the past. It's probably the most appreciated feature for me on these media.

Leica APO-Summicron-M 90 f/2 ASPH.

When I stop this morning, it is partly to reflect and look at what my photographs looked like taken with a digital camera without many modern superpowers. And definitely without a sophisticated focus system that automatically ensures that you always get the eye in perfect focus if you so wish. My camera can take 4.5 frames per second and fills up the buffer after 15. Startup times are like an old computer with a modern operating system. Lack of zoom lenses and no really wide or long focal lengths. A lousy camera for me that primarily photograph landscapes and action. A camera makes you slower to a very high degree, although you can use some methods to be more agile and fast in some situations. Street photographers often use zone focusing, but I will not go further into it in this blog. However, I can say that I often use this approach in sports and action photography with my M cameras.

It's only been four weeks since I last posted something on my blog. At that time, we had not bought an apartment in central Lund that was to be completely renovated. We had not inspected our villa in Vallkärra before the sale in early May or been inside our apartment in Lomma which we will move to in September. I had not been asked to photograph a wedding this autumn or have had an Easter party with my colleagues in Malmö. Nor had we had spring temperatures of 16 degrees Celsius or setbacks with minus degrees and snow. I had not seen one of my developers give an excellent presentation as part of his personal growth voyage or learned how to photograph a Dobermann for breeding ads. We had not celebrated Anna's birthday at a nice Tarek Taylor restaurant in Malmö, nor had I finished my work as a test crew for a girl who is a trainee in training special search dogs. I had not been spammed by commercials for a specific health and fitness company in Lomma. Had not changed the starter battery on the motorhome so we can go on a trip again or seen Emil's last handball game in the youth series for this season. A painful loss must be said. The pictures from Butja had not yet reached us and one of our most beloved comedians had not passed away.

Leica APO-Summicron-M 90 f/2 ASPH.

All this is only a tiny part of everything that has happened. Big and small, pleasure and sadness, satisfaction and grief. And of course, I have not documented everything myself with my camera. Many images come to us through various channels very fast these days.

But I have photographed everything I usually photograph with my Leica M11. Mostly with my 50 and 90 mm lenses and a few wider at 21 mm. During a short period with a 35mm that I had to borrow from Mattssons Foto in Lund while one of my lenses was at service.

Leica Summicron-M 35 f/2 ASPH.

Documenting our renovation in Lund and the progress in Lomma. Our young boys and LUGI's men and women elite teams playing handball. Golfer in a beautiful sunset. Exor both at full speed and posing in the hazy morning light. There have also been big landscape images and intimate details in nature. Flowers in glorious sunshine in the middle of the day and blades of grass at sunset. A few product images on the terrace in mixed light, both natural and flash. I have also had the time for a corporate event.

Leica Summilux-M 40 f/1.4 ASPH.

So how has it worked out then? Difficult! But above expectations, as you can see in the pictures. Of course, photographing sports and action with an M camera is not optimal and perhaps nothing a professional sports photographer would think of doing. If I look at the camera system I brought to the last elite match in handball compared to other photographers. My entire system with one camera body, two lenses, and a digital viewfinder would fit inside one of their lenses. The camera itself and a Summicron 50 mm in one of their lens hoods.

Leica APO-Summicron-M 90 f/2 ASPH.

Are my pictures as good as theirs? No! Not by any means, not technically nor when it comes to the ratio of keepers. Actually not in 99 out of 100 categories I would say. There's only one category I won: my pictures category, my expression, and there are several pictures in that category no one else took. If others feel the same about these images I do not know and it is not the most important thing either. And neither should you when it comes to whatever you are creating, doing or thinking.

Leica Summicron-M 35 f/2 ASPH.

One thing that can be said is that the feeling of taking these 20-30 pictures over 60 minutes of handball is fantastic compared to the 2, 3 or 4 thousand pictures I can bring home after a game with a Canon or Sony. They may be far better technical but not as fulfilling to shoot. I will continue photographing action with Canon in the future for sure. They have their professional place.

Leica APO-Summicron-M 90 f/2 ASPH.

Finally, back to social media and the company that spams me with advertising about diet and exercise. Of course, it's not really the company, but Facebook thinks I'm very interested in them. The reason is that I often stop and watch this company's videos. I'm not interested in the content of the message at all. I think they consistently use a strange camera angle in all their videos. So because of this, I stop, smile a little and believe that someone should help them. But no matter what, they manage to get me to stop scrolling, and then the purpose is achieved I guess.

If I look ahead four weeks, the plan is that it has happened at least as much stuff. The apartment in Lund should be finished or at least very close. We have celebrated Easter and I have been on a business trip to Bulgaria. Emil has been to the handball cup in Denmark. Family from northern Sweden have been visiting and spring should really have come to stay. And hopefully images of families reunited in Europe again.

Leica Summilux-M 50 f/1.4 ASPH.

Happy Easter to you all!

Leica Q2 Monochrome

Compared to Leica's long history, I was very late in discovering these cameras. Even compared to many digital Leica photographers, I was slow to the table. And if you only use the brain and strictly look at IQ, it can be difficult to justify a purchase of a Lecia camera today. And this applies to both older analog rangefinders and new digital systems or pocket cameras. It's on the EQ side that Leica's cameras capture you and then never let go. At least that was the case for me.

In 2015, I bought my first Leica, an M3. A film camera from the '50s. It was in excellent condition and had just been on total review and service. Along with a classic Summicron 50mm lens, not many rolls of film were needed before I was stuck. I will probably never be able to fully explain why. The pictures are not necessarily better. It's more about the feeling of taking them. The feeling is that you just want to take more and more photos. You do not want to do anything else. But of course, there is something in the pictures, a Leica feeling that may mainly come from the lenses both designed and built to be photographed with wide open.

Today I primarily shoot with my Lecia M6 TTL, but I have had several digital cameras from Leica over the years. In 2015, I bought my first digital Leica camera that could only take black and white pictures. A Leica M Type 246. I had read a lot about its predecessor, the Leica Monochrome, Leica's first digital black/white camera. It became an instant love affair already at the first picture and this became a camera that accompanied me everywhere. Although I have had other digital cameras from Leica that take fantastic pictures, cameras that have had autofocus, taken color pictures and been real workhorses, it is still this Type 246 that has created the most joy.

I remember one day in the fall of 2015 at a café next to the camera shop in the city where I live. Some photographers gathered for a coffee but I do not really remember why or if there was any other purpose than a friendly chat about cameras and pictures. However, I remember clearly that one of the guys just bought a new camera that he let us know about. A Leica pocket camera with a full-frame sensor and fixed lens of 28mm. Leica Q. This Leica Q Type 116 had a full-frame sensor of 24MP and a fixed 28mm f/1.7 lens. The pictures were stunning but it did not feel like a real Leica. The feeling was not quite the same as with my M camera. My friend was back then one of the lucky ones who got hold of a Leica Q early. This camera, a bit of an experiment from Wetzlar in Germany, was a formidable success. Leica sold more than 10 times as many cameras as they had hoped for. This led to long queues and waiting times. Everyone wanted a Q.

But I never jumped on the hype as I experienced it back then. I continued to shoot with my M-cameras, both analog and digital. When it came to my professional work, I used a Leica SL TYPE 601, a fantastic camera with autofocus, a fantastic sensor and a beautiful 24-90mm lens even if it lacked a bit of character for my personal taste. But for work a perfect tool.

But late the sinner should wake! Since then, I have sold my Leica M Type 246 Monochrome and I have not had a digital Leica for some years. There have been other cameras that have helped me create many amazing images. But now I have one in my hand again. This time it's a Q, a Leica Q2 Monochrome. And just like with my Leica M3, after a few images I was in love again. This time it's both about the feeling of taking the photographs and IQ. The result and simplicity are hard to beat. The performance of this camera with its 47MP sensor, insanely good at high ISO speeds, a fantastic lens that is second to none. Just set the camera to Auto-ISO, auto aperture and shutter speed. Let the autofocus work and take fabulous images. Or do as I do and control the camera manually to capture the scene exactly the way you want. Whatever you do, the result is magic in my opinion.

Create videos alone

I often train alone and then it can be difficult to see or feel how, for example, the positions are. Sometimes you have access to mirrors, but not always. Therefore, I film my sessions and 99% of the material is only for my own part, or for my and Exor's part rather. When I get home, I skim through the material and take what needs to be worked at with me to the next training and then I discard the videos. Sometimes, the material can be used in more ways and perhaps be published for more people to see.

One camera filmed at 4K and moved in post-production.

You can film yourself in several ways, of course, and the purpose can vary. For my own part, I like moving pictures. I think it's fun to watch videos where others share, for example, training. Although many videos only show the best, or funniest, or worst, they often provide inspiration. It is also fun to follow friends and their dogs and see their development and milestones on the way to their goals.

Here are some tips on how you can both follow up your training and create video clips for a larger audience at the same time.

• Keep your video sequences short. Kill your darlings!

• Film at high resolution so you can "move" the camera afterward.

• Adjust your video to the channel it is to be shown on.

Re-positioned the camera during training and added some sound effects in post-production.

Edit your movies

I know what it's like when you come home and look through your material. There is so much that is good, so much you want to show, leading to the video soon becoming very long. The risk is then that you lose the interest of your viewers. Many do not see the video to the end. So if you do not put so much energy into your editing, you should at least cut your video to make it shorter. Set a limit and stick to it. Some good benchmarks can be Instagram and their limitations for videos in streams of 60 seconds or 15 seconds when it comes to Stories. Although you can add more in a row, be careful to add too many because you risk losing the viewers. This editing is relatively easy to do. It can either be done directly on the mobile or in a program on the computer or iPad. Keep in mind that viewers quickly understand and quickly lose interest. If you show heelwork, 3-5 seconds is enough to get the message across. Few find it exciting to see lap after lap of heelwork. Even if you are thrilled with the dog's endurance in several minutes. Tell it instead, in words or text, if it feels important to convey.

How to edit a video is a big subject and I can not cover everything in this text. There are lots of programs and apps that all work a little differently. But in almost everyone, there is a pair of scissors!

Resolution and rotating camera tripod

When we watch a video clip, we quickly get bored if the material is too static. That is often the case if you place a camera next to the training field, film and then publish it. Often you need to use wide-angle mode on your camera and set the camera quite far from what you are going to film. The reason is that you want to include the whole area and in some training, you move over a larger area.

To create a little more dynamic and get closer to what we want to see, the dog and its owner, we can use different aids. I have met several, often horse people who use camera tripods that can rotate. With an app on the phone, the camera can follow what you set it to track. The result is a more dynamic video. You get closer and see more details and expressions. The disadvantages can be that the apps sometimes lose focus on what they are supposed to follow.

What I usually do is to shot in as high a resolution as possible. Resolution in this case means FHD 1920x1080, 4K 3840x2160 and 8K 7680x4320 pixels. We do not need to know exactly what all this means except that most social channels such as Instagram and Facebook show videos in relatively low resolution. Common is 1920x1080 or lower.

If I then film in 4K, I can zoom into the image 100% and end up at the 1920x1080 that social channels use without losing quality. So I can film with a wide-angle and afterward get closer to what I am filming. Since I then have more film than what is shown, I can "move" the camera vertically and sideways to create the feeling that the camera moves and thus generate more important dynamics.

To use moving platforms is not wrong. It adds complexity but can make the video more dynamic.

View the material

It is enough to have the video on my mobile or on my computer for my own training. But if I want more people to see it, it usually needs to be uploaded to some kind of services such as Instagram, Facebook or YouTube. There are many more, but these are probably the most common in video and still images. Here are some things to keep in mind. The first is whether the image is portrait or landscape. If you will post your video as a Story on Instagram, it is best if the video is standing in portrait mode, in feeds, landscape mode is best.

You can, to some extent, edit this afterward, but it is best if you think about it when you film. Many people choose to only upload moving material as Stories, but it workes just as well in the flow. Just remember to click on the small expand/minimize button in the bottom left corner, so the entire video is visible in the feed.

Good luck!

Take better photos

What is a good picture can be discussed. The taste is known to be divided. What I like is not necessarily the same as you like. But we humans have a tendency to prefer certain images more than others, even as a group. If you follow some rules, the chances are greater that more people will like the pictures. I have received many positive comments on my photos and videos. I thank you most humbly for them! Therefore, I thought I would share 7 simple tips you can try yourself to take even better pictures.

• Photograph in bright light. Strong sunshine is good!

• Try to have as short a shutter speed as possible.

• Hold the camera at eye level with the subject you are shooting.

• Enhance the image on your computer or mobile phone.

• Turn off the automatic mode and try to shoot RAW.

• Practice, practice, practice!

• Break the rules! :)

Thanks to Madlen Steén, who helped me with two of her dogs Jakeem and Cheri.

You can watch a video from the occasion above on the Swedish Doberman Clubs YouTube channel here.

Photograph in bright light. Strong sunshine is good!

Make sure you take your pictures when you have a lot of light. Preferably a sunny day outdoors. When you want to take pictures where the dog moves, you can hardly get too much light. This is even more true when you shoot with, for example, a mobile phone with a tiny image sensor and a lens that cannot let in as much light. When it comes to our athletic dogs that are dark in color and where we want to bring out every muscle in the picture, light is the most important thing! Do not forget the eyes! They need a lot of light to stand out and we like to see the eyes, whether it is dogs or humans.

Try to have as short a shutter speed as possible.

With a lot of light, we can have short shutter speeds and low ISO numbers. This means images without too much motion blur and with little or no noise. If the camera is set to automatic or uses the regular camera app in the phone, it will set this if there is enough light. If you have the opportunity to choose a mode on your camera for Sport, I recommend that you do so. In many cameras and some camera apps, you can choose to shoot with shutter speed priority. Then I suggest you test it with settings of 1/500 or higher.

Hold the camera at eye level with the subject you are shooting.

Make sure you have your camera at eye level with the subject you are photographing. I often see pictures taken from above, from a bird's eye view, but sit down, kneel or lie on the ground. You will notice that with this simple trick, you get more good and fun pictures. If you want to photograph a dog with a human in the same image, try to get their eyes at the same height. If this is not possible, think about what is most important in the picture, the dog or the person and choose the camera height based on it.

Enhance the image on your computer or mobile phone.

Feel free to use a program on your computer or mobile phone to "develop" the image. Many pictures appear better when you lighten up the black parts or give the picture a little more saturation regarding the colors. Other things can be to crop the image to get the right size for the place where it will be used. For example, Facebook and Instagram use different sizes of photos. Many photos will benefit from a little extra sharpness and often you can remove some noise. Tips on applications can be Lightroom, available for both computers and mobiles or Snapseed on the phone. But there are many other programs, both free and paid versions you can use.

Turn off the automatic and shoot RAW.

Most people shoot with their camera or mobile phone in fully automatic mode. The camera or app tries its best to understand and create an image that is as good as possible. Sometimes it goes well, especially when shooting outdoors in good light where the whole scene is evenly lit. But just as often you get a lovely sky as a background but a black blob as a dog or vice versa. Therefore, I recommend training to set the camera manually to fit the scene and what you want to achieve. In many cameras and in some camera apps, you can shoot in a format called RAW.

Simply put, this means that the camera captures as much information as possible. Still, you need to "develop" it in an editing program afterward otherwise the images may feel washed out and lacking contrast. The advantage is that you can do much more with the picture afterward. You can often rescue an image that would otherwise have been destroyed.

Practice, practice, practice!

As with everything you want to be good at, you have to practice! Work out, work out, work out! Learn your camera, all you can do with it. How the settings create different results and work more or less well in different situations. You will be amazed at how much you can adjust, thus taking better pictures. Soon you will see that your photos are starting to get better and better.

Break the rules! :)

Finally, I think you should practice compositional rules. Following these often creates images that more people like. One of the most common is the third rule which you can read about here https://bit.ly/3ufgneH

Learn the rules and then break them to create unique images that stand out in different flows. Good luck!

Dogs

In recent months as you have seen on my social channels, there has been a lot of photography and filming of dogs and their owners in various dog sports. I have not photographed so many other dogs than my own before. Still, during the autumn and beginning of this year, many other dogs and their drivers have been in front of my camera.

Emma & Lincon, Gothenburg 2021

The plan has been to expand my offerings within Dalecarlia Photo with pictures of active dogs and portraits. I know from previous experience that being genuinely interested in what you are trying to capture is key to take great pictures. That is why dog ​​photography is available as an offering here on the site now. I am good at capturing the moment both at the training facility, on the hike in the woods or in the home's quiet corner.

Emma & Lincon, Gothenburg 2021

In 2021, I am, among other things, involved in a couple of different projects when it comes to dogs, training and competition. It's about both photography and making films. You will see more here on the website when the projects are entirely official.

As with everything, practice is essential. That's why I've exposed my friends to my lens a lot since last fall. Learning different steps to try to predict moments is important. The right settings in different contexts are vital. Everything affects the result in the end.

Look under services for a list of my offerings.