My first Fokus cover

E-democracy and transparency equals square portraits?

This weeks story is about something a bit less tangible than bicycle nerds. Sweden has always been proud of it's transparency when it come to its government affairs. Basically everything that isn't classified as secret is public. So far so good. This way of affairs came about in the 18th century and is supposed to work as a power check. The citizens shall be able to hold the power accountable for its actions. The only way to do this is to know what they're doing. Thus transparency. The idea still stands but the technologies are new. And with new technologies new demands on our government arise. One new demand is that the information that is legally unrestricted and open should be handed over to the people in digital form. This is not something that is happening, yet. The law doesn't state in what form the open information is supposed to be handed over. The government say that the info can be handed over in digital form but cannot force its departments and ministries to do so. The rumor have it that refusing to hand over information in digital form is used in order obstruct inquests into public purchase. Thus rendering it hopelessly impossible to check any potential wrongdoings by public representatives.

So while the U.K and the USA is currently working on opening up their systems to the public Sweden is already there but the question is whether we are moving forward towards an even more open society or are we circumventing the open society? And is this happening now when the digital era has made it possible to actually process great amounts of data more easily thus rendering it possible for us to critically appraise those in power? The jury is still out.







This is how it looked in the magazine. I shot the photos and the eminent
Torbjörn Nilsson penned it all down.

Photographers as thinkers?

Isn't this a bit of a conundrum? Photographers who think? Not really, to say that photographers don't think is to generalize which I'm allergic to but sadly quite good at. Nevertheless, I often hear things like "don't over-think it" or "stop thinking to much, just shoot". They are both good advices and both are in a way horrible. But yeah, what about the conundrum? If photographers think and avoid trying to generalize then the conundrum is that the photograph in itself tends generalize in and of itself. What to do? Asim Rafiqui writes about photographers going to war in a post on his blog some time ago. I just finished reading it and while I can't say that he surprises me terribly it is still a very interesting read.

Another thing I think about is why I don't know all that much about Rafiqui. He's been living in my native country for 9 years or so. As a photojournalist in Sweden I tend to be aware of and have some knowledge about many of my colleagues. But Asim Raifqui I find out about through american blogs? Why is that I wonder? Anyway, he got awarded the Aftermath Grant this year and is doing what I reckon is a really interesting project. Check out his blog to follow him and when you do don't forget to read and think!

A teaser for my final project at school that I did last year. It's time I start trying to find venues

to show it. So give me a holler if you're interested!

Fixed gear...and shit.

I got this fun assignment for Fokus, it read "Shoot a bike story". So I did.

Multimedia - not always good. But this is.

This is quite a good example of decent multimedia. No fuss. Video when it's needed, interviews that informs us and stills that show atmosphere and mood. Visual poems so to speak. I'm not too keen on classical b/w photojournalism that deals with issues of this kind normally, but in Trapped - Mental Illness in American Prisons Jenn Ackerman show me how this can be done using the modern way of multimedia. So old and new in a good mix. Great storytelling!

Btw, thanks Lars who is a constant source for photo stuff online. Keep it coming!

Useless post

Ok, so this is a bit of a useless post. I've left Sweden for a few days. I'm on assignment which almost sounds a bit pretentious. Nonetheless, I'm not sure if I can post here what I'm doing and where I am, so I won't. Currently I'm tucked down in a hotel bed with the rain pounding against the window. Tomorrow will be a busy day. Lots of interviews booked and lots of photos that needs to get shot. Wish me luck, or maybe not. Once I did have a short career in theater and one of the things I learnt was never to wish anyone good luck. So don't, tomorrow I'll create my own!

Old picture, nevertheless the message is as valid today as it was whenever it

was created. Sofia, Bulgaria 2006. ©pettercohen

Blogs as a mean to discover...something

Before I even intended writing this blog, I mean not this specific post but rather to start blogging, I read a lot of blogs. Not to do research on how to blog (isn't it pretty obvious that I'm not that great at it?). Rather because I genuinely like reading certain photography blogs, and other types of blogs (Tony Karon's Rootless Cosmopolitan is a good one but rarely updated). The ones I like the most are the ones that don't have to do with just one photographer. That is to say that I probably wouldn't read my own blog all that often. A Photo Editor is a blog I often get some really nice tips from. Check him out if you're interested in what's going on in the photo industry in that big country out west that always seem to be extremely contested. This video came to me through his blog. It seems quite amusing. Just one question though, Vinnie Jones in a film about art, WTF!?!