Black and white are the colors of photography

This is Maria and Ismael. They are Romas and come from a Romanian town. I learned to know them in the summer of 2014. I used to visit them and their friends at their camp in Huskvarna. I hope that I shall be able to visit them, their children and grandchildren in Romania in the nearby future. A color version of the photo has been published in a Swedish Magazine. But personally I prefer this black and white version.

It happens every now and then that I get the question why I prefer black and white? Robert Frank has already given a better answer to that question and therefore I choose to quote him:
- Black and white are the colors of photography. To me they symbolize the alternatives of hope and despair to Which mankind is forever subjected. 

Text and Photo: Mikael Good

Can women wear bikinis in Saudi Arabia?

A couple of years ago I visited Sharm el Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsula together with my family. The town was filled with tourist from all around Europe, I could hear people speak Russian, English, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch and even some Arabic. The temperature was quite nice and most of the tourists gathered at the beaches were they enjoyed the sunshine and the sea.

I came in contact with one of the Egyptians who worked at the facility. When I had talked to him for a while I asked him the following ironic question:

- Are there similar tourist facilities on the other side of the Gulf of Aqaba and can women wear bikinis there?

He didn't understand my irony, and his answer was quick: 

- No, no, it's Saudi Arabia on the other side they practice a fundamentalist form of Islam and women aren't allowed to dress in bikinis or swimsuits there, they have to cover their whole bodies. He made a sweeping gesture with his arm over the beach to emphasize what he just said. 

That's when he realized that two Russian women in bikini took photos of each other on the reef. The reef is very vulnerable to damage and it's forbidden to walk there. He ran away from the conversation and started to yell in English that they had violated the ban to walk on the reef. The Russian women didn't understand him and waved cheerfully to him and continued to take pictures. The Egyptian got angrier and angrier. A Russian man who could speak English came to his aid and informed the women that they wasn't allowed to walk on the reef.

Text and Photo: Mikael Good

Street Portraits from Huskvarna part 5

The local footy team Husqvarna FF (HFF) played in the second division for one season before they were degraded to the third division because of a poor result. In april 2014 they met the Swedish team GAIS from Gothenburg. A match that HFF won with 2-0. The stadium was almost full, but everybody didn't want to pay 100 kronor to see the footy game. There was some free riders outside the stadium who did their best to see the match without paying for it.

Text and Photo: Mikael Good

Street Portraits from Huskvarna part 4

Many street photographers travel around the world to find interesting people and environments. I like to wander around the streets of my hometown and document the surroundings and the people that i meet. Two persons that I have met on the streets is Cornel and Peter. They belong to the Roma minority and come from a village in the north-east of Romania. They came to Huskvarna with the intention to get a job and an income in order to provide for their families back home. They earn some money through odd jobs, working as street musicians, collecting cans or selling the Swedish street magazine Faktum.

Text and Photo: Mikael Good

Street Portraits from Huskvarna part 2

When I was a street photographer I used to use a 35 mm lens. I don't call myeself a street photographer anymore and when I document my surroundings I use whatever lens I prefer even if it happen to be a tele zoom lens. I had a nice chat with the gentleman in the picture after the shoot and I took a photo of him and his best friend with my Leica.




Text and Photo: Mikael Good

The Boy and the Sea

Text and photo: Mikael Good

The egg came first

In the beginning of the month I asked this question in my blog: Which came first the Leica or the egg. I was quite sure that the Leica came before the egg until I saw this picture. I admit that I have to capitulate before the visually striking evidence and I'm now convinced that the egg came first.

Text and Photo: Mikael Good

Leica - Das Werkzeug für Kenner und Könner

The first Leica M-camera was introduced in 1954 and the first models M3 and M2 soon became the primary tool for legendary photographers who also gave the camera it's nickname Das Werkzeug which is German for The Tool. 

A Leica M is a tool that requires it's photographer. To put the camera in automatic mode and hope that the picture will be good is a little bit risky and will certainly give you photos that are unusable. To make good use a Leica M you first have to understand the relationship between aperture and shutter speed and know how to read the light. 

There's a certain amount of mythos surrounding the Leica M. And that is not surprising since the hand-made German rangefinder camera has been the first hand choice of many legendary documentary photographers. Many famous photographies has been taken with a Leica. That's because a Leica is a excellent tool that can deliver photographs of the highest class in the hands of the right photographer. Even if a brand new Leica M is quite expensive tool today it still a tool for professionals since it demands expertise and knowledge of a keen photographer to master it. 

Previously I have been working with big and bulky professional cameras from Canon and Nikon, they are also excellent tools for professional photographers. But no other camera says that I'm serious about photography like a Leica. But I didn't choose Leica because of it's mythos. I choosed it because I prefer to work with rangefinder cameras. And I also prefer cameras with a minimalistic feel that are not filled with buttons, levers and knobs that confuses me.

I have used my good old Leica M8 on many assignments, in desert conditions in Egypt, festivals with high humidity and at high risk demonstrations. I have used it as my every day camera in winter conditions and in summertime at the beach. The good old Leica always delivers good images and I know that I always can count on it. Even if there's never models around I prefer my M8 and I will make good use of it as long as it last.



Last but not least, remember that a camera is only a tool, it's your ability to see and catch the fast moving moments of times that matters. You can even use a cell-phone or a hefty Canikon for that purpose but according to me it's far more fun to catch the moments with a good old range-finder camera.

Text and Photo: Mikael Good

A affordable digital rangefinder camera

Some people think that only rich people can afford to buy Leica cameras. I use to say that I can't afford to use another camera than a rangefinder and I prefer to use one as my everyday camera. I wish that more manufactures made digital rangefinder cameras but there's only the German company Leica that makes them. Leicas cameras often come with a quite hefty price tag but that is not surprising to me since they are made by hand by workers that work in good conditions and have a decent paycheck.

Even if I can't afford to buy a brand new Leica there's a second hand market that are filled with affordable M-cameras. I bought my Leica M8 and Summicron-C 40mm lens for a bargain price a couple of years ago. Even if the camera is quite old it's still a really good camera and I use it on assignments every now and then.

Text and Photo: Mikael Good

Which came first, the Leica or the Egg?

I bought the Leica M2 from a Swedish photojournalist, who in his turn bought it new in the early 1960s. The camera is quite worn but the mechanics and the rangefinder works perfectly. I bought it as a manual backup to my battery thirsty digital cameras and I load it with a roll of Tri-X every now and then. In my opinion is the M2 the best Leica M ever made. If you can find a Leica M2 in working condition that has a calibrated rangefinder - buy it!

I believe that the Leica must have come before the egg because cameras can't lay eggs and I don't think that it's possible to fit a Leica in a Kinder egg!

Text and Photo: Mikael Good

Kolja and the puppy

I met Kolja and his family in their apartment in St Petersburg, Russia on mothers day. They had just bought a puppy. The photo is not arranged I took it in the right moment just before Kolja put the puppy in my lap. The story that I wrote about Koljas mother was published in Junia magazine.

Text and Photo: Mikael Good

I can see a Rainbow Rising

What is the probability that you'll see a double rainbow while listening to the song Stargazer by Rainbow? It happened to me yesterday when I went to downtown Husqvarna. I think that the double Rainbow must be some kind of PR stunt for the upcoming reunion of Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow this summer!

Stargazer Rainbow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVXy1OhaERY

Text and Photo: Mikael Good

A Properly Dressed Photojournalist

For many photojournalists is important to blend in and be like a fly on the wall to be able to capture the flying moments of time. I'm not like them since I like to be in the center of the situation fully visible and connecting with people in order to earn their confidence. Photography is socialization for me, it's a good way to learn to know interesting people. I prefer to use Leica and Sony cameras when I work since I don't like to hide behind a big bulky camera and lens. A good old Leica is still a perfect tool for photojournalists who wants to capture once-in-a-lifetime moments.

Text and Photo: Mikael Good

The Lord is my shepherd

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3 He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
4 Even when I walkthrough the darkest valley, I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
5 You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

Text: David. Photo: Mikael Good

Two photographers ruled the stage at Sweden’s Photographer of the Year Award

Two Photographers stood out among the rest at Sweden’s Photographer of the Year Award that was held in the Concert Hall Spira in Jönköping 5/3-2016.

One of them was Magnus Wennman (above right) who works for the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet. He won the picture of the Year Award with a picture from his photo project "Where the children sleep". Magnus Also won the awards for photo reportage, multimedia and he took first, second and third prize In the category portraits! The other photographer who ruled the stage was Anders Hansson (top middle) from the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN) that was awarded photographer of the year as well as winning the prices for best news image of the year award in Sweden and abroad.



I took the opportunity to ask Magnus a question about winning so many awards when I had a small chat and congratulated him to the awards:
- I am proud and very happy for all the excellent prices that I won today.



Text and Photo: Mikael Good

Bedouin at the summit of Mount Sinai

Saint Catherine's Monastery and mount Sinai (Horeb) are located in an area of the Sinai peninsula which is controlled by a terrorist organization that has close bonds with the Islamic state (IS). Today tourists are strongly recommended to stay out of the area since the Egyptian regime can't guarantee for their security. There's a immediate risk of being kidnapped or even worse. There's been a drastic drop of tourist in the area during the last years. Bedouins and native Egyptians that was dependent on tourism to get an income has lost that possibility. They now have to struggle hard to provide for their children.

Text and Photo: Mikael Good

The Leica M8 is still my favorite “Pro” camera

Writing articles and taking photos are a essential part of my job. And I also work as a freelance photojournalist and reporter every now and then. I use many different cameras when I work but there's one camera that I prefer to use. A camera that has become a natural extension of what my eye sees.



During the last years I have used my Leica M8 as my main professional camera. I have used it on assignments in Egypt and Sweden. The camera performed well in the Sinai desert as well as in the challenging light conditions of a fast paced concert.



When I use my Leica M8 I often get the following question by fellow photographers:
- Why do you still use a nearly 10 year old digital camera when there's newer and better alternatives around? My answer is:
- It's old but it's still good, everytime I choose to bring another camera I miss my good old M8. It's hard to explain but the Leica M8 together with the Summicron-C 40mm gives my pictures a certain mojo that I prefer. It's like shooting with film without the boring job of developing and digitalising the images.




I prefer to shoot Black and white but most of my customers prefer color and thats the main reason why I don´t go for a M Monocrome. The M8 is the next best alternative for Black and White and it also gives me the opportunity to deliver color images to customers.



I don´t like using Canon and Nikons oversized cameras and lenses. I have tested Leica M9 and M 240 and I own a Fuji X100s and a Sony A7. It's definetly good cameras, but I prefer the picture quality of my M8. And I will use my M8 until it stops working.



Text and photo: Mikael Good