November, 2009

“I was so pleased to find your books in my mailbox today.
Thank you for working so hard to get them here,
and also thank you for signing each book and the slip box.

The interview at the conclusion of “Suspended” was strong. I’ve read so much of your writing, but I still learned something new about you. Your spirit in the interview is much more bold, confident, and fearless. I copied the quote, Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind into a list of things that I read every day to help me remember who I want to become. They are good words to live by.

The preface to “Emotions” by Bodil Malmsten was perfect because it framed my mind for the photos that followed. Well done. You’d explained some of that to me before, but Malmsten summarized it nicely. Your juxtaposition of your family generations in the context of Jamtland is powerful, and you’ve created a sense of place inhabited by such distinct and intriguing personalities.

Your Granny comes through as both alive and used up by age, a spirit that’s free to eat out of a saucepan and play with cats, and that at other times feels alone, forlorn, and breathing fire. And then your cousin and granny come together, playing with lip gloss, and the contrast is magic.

I hope you will take it as a compliment when I say that not only are the photos in the books wonderful, but your more recent work since publication eclipses all that came before. I hope you know that’s true. I look forward to collecting your work for a long time. Intentionally or not, you’ve chosen a life of extremes - the suckiness of building your own business, and the abundant brilliance that will surely come.

The important thing is that you’ve done it on your own terms and in your own way.

You’ve taken a camera and, where others saw only their normal lives and surroundings, you’ve made something memorable that reaches across continents. It’s your gift, and it’s powerful.

Winter is newly arrived in the Rocky Mountains, and the snows this week are the first to stick and frost the tree branches. (Skiing…soon!) My cat is bothering me for something mysterious and I know it’s not food because she has plenty. Maybe she wants me to brush her, but I don’t want to right now. I’m eating toast with butter and Sylt Lingon from Ikea and enjoying your books and thinking about how far you’ve come and how dark and hopeless it seemed at times.

That’s inspiring to me because things have been a bit gloomy here for the past six months, and I need hope the same way you once did. I need the strong spirit that got you through your long Jamtland winters and agoraphobia, and then out into the open, onto busses and airplanes and across oceans into the sun of Italy and Africa, and then finally into the arms of your wonderful man.

It’s a good story but it’s only just begun for you.

Kind regards from your friend.

Bleasdale.

Snor förresten hela Micke Bergs inlägg för jag kan inte skriva det bättre själv (fast jag har fetat viss text här):

“Jag kommer ibland i diskussion med folk på olika fotosajter om varför det är så svårt att leva på att ta sådana bilder som jag tar. Dom fattar inte att det svenska fotoklimatet handlar om att babbla om kameror och sälja prylar. Det är huvudsaken inom svensk fotografi idag. Att hitta något nyskapande fotografi är ju nästan helt hopplöst. I helgen var det fotomässa i stan. Som vanligt handlar det om att kränga prylar till stor del, men den här gången fick vi se lite bilder också. Det var också en fotoauktion, där en massa bra fotografer sålde bilder till välgörande andamål. Ett klart fiasko. Inte många bilder såldes, det var nästan pinsamt dåligt.

Där har vi problemet i svensk fotografi.
Och så till något helt annat.

I Paris blir det fotoamässa.
Läs själva.

Présentation
Paris Photo, l’événement majeur pour la photographie,
présente un panorama de la photographie 19ème, moderne et contemporaine.

- 89 galeries et 13 éditeurs, provenant de 23 pays
- 31 nouvelles participations
- 7 nouveaux pays (Iran, Liban, Maroc, Tunisie, Portugal, Russie, E.A.U.)
- 75% d’exposants étrangers
- 38 000 visiteurs attendus (30% d’étrangers)
- 500 photographes internationaux

Här handlar det om bild, visa bilder.
Inte ETT jävla ord om Nikon, Canon, feta objektiv, pixlar… fattar ni skillnaden?
Just det, som natt och dag.”