This is Swedish punk legend Aldo Morot. Real name Peter Gartz. Played in the band Plast back in the late 1970s. Today a svartsmed (blacksmith), and tattooist among other things. He also carves wooden figurines. Took his portrait at the Viking festival in Handen over the weekend. He pretty much sold every figurine so it was a good day for the speed carver.

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I met a British Viking at the Viking Festival in Handen over the weekend. There were quite a few people at the festival selling their craft and Aaron was one of them. He also took part in the Viking battles and when I talked to him he had just finished battling. You can find out more about Aaron and the leather items he makes if you check out his Facebook site Amergin Leather.

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I met Kjell Åke at the Rudan nature reserve in Handen yesterday. It was a glorious day. Warm and sunny, although very windy. Kjell Åke was out jogging around the lakes and I pretty much forced him to try the brand new outdoor gym so that I could get a photo. The gym will not open officially until next Wednesday evening so chances are that Kjell Åke was the first one to use it, especially as one of the guys who took part in the construction of it had just left after taking a few mobile snaps of his work. We talked a bit about photography. Kjell Åke was a pretty active photographer back in the analogue day. He had a look at my Canon 6D and I could tell that he would like to take up photography again. We also talked about how silly some people can be, working out in an expensive indoor gym during the Summer months.

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Spotted this cyclist in Handen. The bike looked interesting so I asked if I could get a few shots. To get the conversation going I asked something like 'what muscle groups gets the best workout here'. That rather stupid question amused Anders Bäckman a bit as the answer was quite obvious. That would be the arms was his response. Four years ago Anders was out on a bike ride (on a normal looking bicycle), when he had an accident. A lorry driver had parked in the bike lane and Anders was left paralyzed after that crash. Hence this bike construction that he uses today. I asked him if he uses the bike often and he said that he rides more today than he did before the accident. Anders lives in Handen and works as an animator. What I didn't ask was anything else, but luckily for me Anders left a comment on flickr and a link to his web site. Turns out he is a world class Tetraplegic Elite Handcyclist, who won Bronze in the very recent world championships!

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Nalle came out from the Biltema store as I was on my way in. I noticed a big guy with a lot of tattoos and that was all I needed to see, so I asked him for a few portraits. Are you addicted to tattoos I asked, you bet was the answer. Lots of skulls and what have you on his body but also a tattoo of Heath Ledger as The Joker from the movie The Dark Knight. If you are wondering about the title on this post just look at his leg.

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I spotted a guy playing the guitar at the bus terminal in Västerhaninge the other day. He wasn't busking or anything, just waiting for his ride. This is Stefan Korpar. He lives in Sköndal. He is a student. A future musician he told me. But he is already a musician as he plays in the band Munnen. They play experimental punk. On the second photo Stefan is showing me an instrument that he is currently building. A Kalimba. Or African Thumb Piano. His will have a microphone added so that he can record loops to his computer. The bands latest release is called SMAKA NYA STADEN.

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On my way to Handen two days ago I spotted a guy trying to climb up the old execution rock at Hanveden. That is not something you see every day so I had to stop for a chat and a photo. Meet Per Åström from Västerhaninge. Climbing is his (new),passion. Be it bouldering or rope climbing. This rock isn't very high, but it was still a hard ascend because when I rode back an hour or so later Per was still there giving it another go. He told me a bit about the technique and how it can be hard on the fingers. He also told me that he had just arrived home from one weeks rope climbing in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc.

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Ingemar was relaxing on the lawn near the shopping center in Västerhaninge. He was out shopping with his ex-wife. They had stopped for gas in Jordbro earlier, and when she was about to pay for some items at a store in VH she realized that she must have left the card at the gas station. So while she went back to try and find the card Ingemar decided to work on his tan. He told me that it was a good thing that he had bought lettuce, (isbergssallat), and not bacon, as he was using the sallad as a pillow, funny guy!

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A couple of days ago I spotted two guys on skateboards. One of them looked rather stylish so I headed that way and asked him if I could shoot a portrait. That's when we recognized each other. I took Alex's portrait a little over four years ago. His style has changed a bit since then. He first posed with his own skateboard but then his friend suggested he would use his as it looked cooler!

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This is how modern people walk today. It is important to stay connected. At least through social media. Hey you, mind that car!

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This is Allan. Met him in Handen. He gets around on a two-wheel self-balancing solar scooter, or powertrain. It takes around two hours to fully charge the lithium battery. Depending on the weight you can go a full Marathon distance, 42 kilometers with one of these things. Allan runs a business where you can rent a solar scooter.

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Took two street portraits yesterday. Can't remember when I last did that. Been such a cold and rainy Spring so the inspiration have been missing for that type of photography. This is "Mackan". Met him in Västerhaninge. His real name is Marcus but no one ever calls him that. I spotted his beard (twenty months old), and decided that it was time for a hipster portrait. Mackan lives in Tyresö (neighbouring municipality), and drives a delivery truck. When he is not busy growing his beard he enjoys motorcycles and snowboarding.

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I hadn't taken a street portrait for a few eons when I spotted a orange hat in Handen yesterday. It was Zebastian's. He was out on a health promenade, (a school thing), and he was on the clock, but he did have time for a few quick portraits. Where do you want me to stand, he asked, I looked around and figured that the green from the trees by the side of the walkway would match with the orange hat. And that was that. Then two funny coincidences happened when I uploaded the photo to flickr. One of my contacts, Magnus, a commuter train driver told me that he had also seen Zebastian that same day when he (Zebastian), entered the train at the Gröndalsviken station in Nynäshamn. That was the first coincidence. The other is that I first met Magnus when I took his somewhat unusual street portrait one Summer day nearly five years ago.

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When I arrived to the finishing area at Lake Rudan for the Sörmland Ultra Marathon race yesterday afternoon, the top seven athletes had already crossed the finishing line. This is one of them Victor Kabo. He was stretching after the tough 50K race and had time for a chat. He was very happy with the result and was waiting for his girlfriend to arrive with a change of clothes. Victor lives in Stockholm. He is originally from Växjö in Småland. He runs his own business producing and selling bike equipment. Victor has previously competed in a few orienteering events and also another Ultra race.

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Stig Nordén repairs bicycles in Vendelsö. I noticed a big hand made sign advertising his repair shop earlier in the week and decided to check it out. He has had the business for 26 years. I didn't ask about his age, but he told me that he worked as a bus conductor back in the early 1950s. Stig seems to be a great guy. He started telling me stories from that time while selling me a bike tire and fixing a bike in the shop. One of his hobbies includes painting, and some of the art he has made was hanging on the walls in the tiny shop.

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David Wåhlander is the Viking Carpenter. I met him during the Viking Festival in Handen. He told me the story about the lathe. It origins from ancient Egypt. 5000 years ago it took two people to operate the tool. An Emperor and his slave! David does it all on his own. He really loves his handicraft, and if you check out his web site you will find a photo gallery showing many of his works. www.snickarvikingen.com/

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I overheard a conversation the other day. And as I had the answer to the question that was asked, I joined in. This is Christer Blomberg. Back in the day he was a drummer in a punk band called Vilze i pannkakan. He told me that the band played a number of times at the legendary Ultra House in Handen back in the 1980s, and that he visited the house several times per week for a few years. I asked him if he had any interesting stories or memorabilia from that time, as a book is currently being written about the Ultra House. Turns out he had a poster, a few good stories and also an old EP with the punk band Inferno that he needed to return to it's owner, Jujja whom you have met on this blog before. We also talked a bit about photography and Christer mentioned that he liked to work with monochrome images, so I told him that the portrait would be one in black and white.

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I noticed Robert in Handen on Friday, continued past him before realising that I should ask him for a portrait, so I turned around and had to wave my hands at him as he was listening to music. Robert is currently looking for work as a graphic designer. His hobby's include drawing and painting. And when he is not busy with that he is probably out partying with his friends. Shot these portraits with the nifty fifty.

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Sebastian was out skateboarding when I met him in Tungelsta. He is studying music at the Fredrika Bremer secondary school in Handen. His interests include computers and photography. He shoots with a Nikon. Despite his musical education he wants to work as a photographer in the future. I shot this portrait with the nifty fifty.

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This is jarr-e. I figured him for a musician and that wasn't a bad guess. He is into Psychobilly. He sings in a band called Toothless Mike. He runs a Psychobilly club in Stockholm called The Retarded Love Club. He just arrived home from a punk/psychobilly festival. He travels around Europe meeting people that shares his interest. It's a genre that is quite big in Germany. jarr-e met a few hundred that looked just like him on his most recent visit! Next up is England and Spain. His plan is to help any band to get their music out.

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