A gentleman in red, a photo from Sodermanland, Svealand

Photographer's Note

A few days ago I happened to walk along a block on Sermalm island in Stockholm where I don't go often. When I reached two huge "gates" I realized that wall was like an open air art gallery. So I decided to take photos the way I normally do in ordinary museums and galleries.

I stood there for a while, waiting for suitable persons to pass by, or someone to watch the art. I didn't really get what I wanted, and instead of a lady in red I had to console myself with a gentleman in red. I know that I should have taken this a second earlier, but I had to wait for a car to disappear, and then the perfect moment was gone.

That's what happens when you take photos in busy streets.

Here is a larger version.

This "gate" and another one, seen in a WS, were created by the artist Mikael Pauli in 1992, when this building was added to a power plant from the early 20th century. A few years later the original power plant was taken out of service and eventually turned into a mosque. The architect had been inspired by "Oriental" designs, so the conversion was quite simple. A part of the building had a suitable dome, so basically only a minaret had to be added. This new part is still used by the electricity board.

The other WS shows the corner of this house and a view into the side street that includes a small part of what is now Stockholm's central mosque.

The "gates" were created through a complicated experimental process, involving copper, concrete, iron, various items and a controlled explosion. They are meant to symbolize the power of electricity.

The map coordinates 59.31593 18.07586 will take you here.

pajaran, Fis2, ikeharel, pierrefonds, johnjmoe, jhm, worldcitizen, macjake, ktanska, Hansaphotos, PiotrF, aliabazari, jimmyjimmy, papagolf21, jean113, mcmtanyel, COSTANTINO has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

pajaran (115805) 2020-03-16 1:51

Pozdrav.
Lep pogled i trenutak, interesantan i dobar tekst ...
Lepa stara vrata.
Lepo pokazano, dobro uhvacen trenutak.
Lepe fotografije u radionici.
Zelim vam lep dan, sve najbolje u novoj nedelji koja je pocela.
Paja.

Greeting.
Nice view and moment, interesting and good text ...
Nice old door.
Beautifully shown, well captured moment.
Nice photos in the workshop.
Have a nice day, all the best in the new week that has begun.

Silvio1953 (221493) 2020-03-16 1:59

Ciao Gert, lovely composition with passing man and fantastic gate, thanks for entire view and other passing person in WS, wonderful colors, fine details and excellent clarity, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

Fis2 (170669) 2020-03-16 2:03

Witaj Gert!
A very nice shot from street.
The gate is impressive, I like it.
Good framing and colros.
The man add flavor to this composition.
Well done.
Good morning.
Krzysztof

mesutilgim (0) 2020-03-16 2:04

Hello Gert,
Another nice and interesting capture/entry in your gallery.
Perfect layout and sharpness.
The red anorac of this man infront of the green panel creates a nice graphism and contrast.
As allways in your case, many interesting notes.
TFS and best regards
MESUT ILGIM

pierrefonds (114371) 2020-03-16 4:56

Hi Gert,

The man with the red coat is an eye-catcher. The point of view is showing the details of the big doors. The light has a good effect on the colours. Have a nice day.

Pierre

CLODO (45116) 2020-03-16 5:11

Hi Gert

Informative note to describe how to get the picture which is not perfectly what you had in your mind. Street photography is rather more difficult than taking in picture sunsets or castles as the situation is not predictable and evolves every second.
Welcome to the man in red in the stage! There are more than 7 billions persons living on Earth, they must be more important than the post cards landscapes!
Cheers
CLODO

Gerrit (62042) 2020-03-16 6:05

Hello Gert,
That's a really impressive metal window. It is so big the man in red seems to be a dwarf.
Wonderful composition,.
Thanks and regards,
Gerrit

Royaldevon (85862) 2020-03-16 7:33

Hello Gert,

The figure, dressed in red, really added a sense of movement and vibrancy to this metal gate. I like how the figure also gives a huge sense of scale to the gate.
I thought, at first, that it had been used for target practise until I read your notes.
The other gate is a puzzle as well as a work of art. If you study it carefully, you can find lots of different features!
It's a fine exposure and the photograph is a work of art in its own right, with related textures and shapes.

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

jhm (211736) 2020-03-16 7:42

Hello Gert,

***Reply to your write, the place with graffiti of the picture was private, also the car of course. With the corona virus are poeple very affraid. Certainly for the children. I remain always deciplined to other people Gert. Thanks for your visit***

The man with his red jacket gives life to the picture.
Very well composition and pleasant presentation.
Nice done, TFS.

Kindest regards,
John.

rychem (72187) 2020-03-16 8:49

The artistic vision of the gate is really unusual, but the green copper gate is a good backdrop for the man in red,
well captured
regards Ryszard

ChrisJ (171818) 2020-03-16 9:39

Ciao Gert,

The important compositional element here is that the man is not dead centre, which is certainly the case in this image. Red and green-cyan are perfect color opposites. As well as the blood red coat you have a rust red border around the green patina metal gates. Good sharpness too. Tfs!

jemaflor (147046) 2020-03-16 9:55

Hi Gert,
Well taken with a good timing with this man in red walking, interesting colors contrast, perfect sharpness, good Ws too, tfs.

worldcitizen (16048) 2020-03-16 10:26

Hello Gert,
Having this man in red anywhere in the frame looks good to me. :-) These large, artistic "gates" are interesting, and I also like the worn down look of the building itself. Take care!

macjake (98408) 2020-03-16 11:57

Hi Gert
First off, you may want to read my critique of Brenda's newest post, I mentioned you. Now THAT's a Door! and that's NOT a woman in red hahaha...i prefer women in red Gert, come on now :) That gate/door is massive, you know there will be someone out there saying its created by and for aliens, that's why its so tall :) Look how big the hinges are too. its great that you decided to come to my side of the photographic world and show some beaten up rusted ol' architecture. this is a great set of shots, the WS too.
cheers
Craig

ktanska (44738) 2020-03-16 12:07

Hej Gert,
Without reading your note I couldn't have guessed this is a piece of art built on purpose. Quite wonderful. And of course the guy in red coat makes this more of your style. Workshops are very interesting too.
Kari

jmdias (115072) 2020-03-16 12:09

gert

I liked more the last WS because it has more elements like musical instruments and the aspect remind me an archaeological discover. a curious artwork and building, a pity the vandalism in the walls. fortunately boys from my town are so poor to spend their precious money with spray ink..

take care

jorge

Tue (92312) 2020-03-16 13:15

Hej Gert,
Det er sv誡t med at fange lige pr訥ist det ene eblik man sker n蚌 man tager billeder ude i byen, men i hvert fald laver mandens re frakke en god kontrast med den grne baggrund. Det er et inefallende kunstv誡k, som mange der g蚌 forbi m蚶ke helt g蚌 glip af.
Lars

Miguel82 (47110) 2020-03-16 13:21

Gert, it will be more and more difficult to walk in the streets due to the coronavirus. This impressive big gate looks metallic but it was created with copper and other materials. The lonely guy animates the scene. Fine colors, good sharpness, interesting photo note, regards.

GyurMaster (24818) 2020-03-16 13:33

Dear Gert,

You can't always get what you want! - As the Rolling Stones sings. On the other hand its quite a good shot despite that 1 sec delay. I like the contrast between the enermous gate and the small man, the red and the bronze green.

Best Wishes,
Gy

Hansaphotos (11381) 2020-03-16 14:20

Hei Gert

Det var en gigantisk port med en spennende historie. I landet som ga verden Ikea, er vel dette s� langt fra Ikea man kan komme, antar jeg, haha. Det er spennende ogs� � lese om produksjonsprosessen. Den gj seg jo naturligvis ogs� sv誡t godt p� bildet, og selv om du ikke fikk din "woman in red", s� danner mannen med den re jakken en utmerket kontrast til den kobber-grne porten. Du konkluderer jo selv med at du skulle trykket utlerknappen et sekund tidligere, og det kan jeg v誡e enig i, men slik er det av og til. Herlig historie om port og bygg i din kj誡e by:)

Hilsen Erling

lousat (139198) 2020-03-16 14:22

Hi Gert,really interesting this post dedicated to this building that has often changed its intended use to end up being a mosque. The two large doors you show us are truly original, the boy in red contrasts the colors of the background well. Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

PiotrF (54572) 2020-03-16 17:13

Hello Gert,
An interesting scene from the street.
Interesting photo of part of the mosque in the workshop
Picture with nice composition.
Fine presentation
Regards
Piotr

jimmyjimmy (6164) 2020-03-16 21:36

Hello Gert

Just an observation on your great image in contrast. At first glance the color attracted my attention. But as I looked further I surmised a very unique take on your image...�..are you ready......here it comes. I see a young VLADIMIR LENIN in his RED jacket walking next to his IRON CURTAIN. My crazy imagination. Just sayin

Jimmy

aliabazari (22099) 2020-03-16 21:50

Hi Gert
A beautiful shot of this artwork. It's not written like a book. The presence of the man in the box shows us the greatness of this work of art. Well seen. With respect ...

Nicou (193806) 2020-03-16 22:19

Hello

quel homme tout en rouge comme une partie du mur superbe s鐵he et quelle hauteurs cette porte elle est immense et tout en vert superbe
Bravo et amiti�
Nciou

ifege (47993) 2020-03-17 0:32

Hi Gert
A good combination of art and street photography.
cheers
Ian

willperrett (14215) 2020-03-17 2:48

Hello Gert

Graphic, gritty, groovy! Yes maybe one step back would have been better, but still, a street shot that works for me.

Kind regards

Will

saxo042 (38078) 2020-03-17 12:22

Hej Gert,

En r onf蚣gare ger alltid liv 蚯 vilken bild som helst! N舐 jag inte l臠ger upp s蘚ana bilder l舅gre f蚌 ju du ga det. H舐 finns dessutom en mycket fin f舐gkombination med den dominerande gra bakgrunden.

H舁sningar
Gunnar

clic (76) 2020-03-17 15:53

Hallo Gert Your disappointment when a car blocked your mental staging before triggering the exposure is quite understandable; I felt the same emotion for my last poster 'Emotions' ENRICHED (!) of the sudden intrusion of the couple!
Mikael Pauli is quite an accomplished master of painting in faux relief; I closely scrutinized the two faint graffiti appearing on each side by the lower hinges in order to arrive at this conclusion. Street photography is not an easy task and you succeeded beautifully despite a little frustration! Cheers

emka (158058) 2020-03-18 1:58

Hello Gert, This gate reminds me the gate in the building of the Polish Supreme Court (you know it), you can see it in my first picture from Warsaw https://www.trekearth.com/viewphotos.php?l=8&p=778756.
Lady in red would be nicer, but the guy also can be :). Interesting also two Workshop pictures.

Kind regards MAlgo

papagolf21 (152607) 2020-03-18 3:25

Bonjour, cher Gert,
Les diff駻entes portes sont int駻essantes � d馗ouvrir, particuli鑽ement la derni鑽e pr駸ent馥 en atelier avec ces formes en bas-relief. De plus, elle semble accessible depuis le trottoir, ce qui ne semble pas forc駑ent le cas pour la porte principale !
Tr鑚 bien vu.
Amiti駸.
Philippe

jean113 (27819) 2020-03-19 14:40

Hello Gert, these 'gates' are like the pages of a book in the way that they are formed.
Their design and creation is very imaginative; I particularly like the pair in the w/s where the components are easily identifiable.
The man in red certainly adds to the shot.
Very informative notes.
Kind regards, Jean.

mcmtanyel (68421) 2020-03-20 23:36

Hello Gert,
The "gates" are interesting. I like the one in the WS photo, too. This fellow with the red parka walking in front of the greenish work of art was a good photo opportunity. 👍🏻👍🏻
Regards,
MT

ikeharel (113273) 2020-03-21 7:48

Hello Gert,
The man in red gave extra vivid color to the old walls and green painted gate. Only after reading the note realized that this would be art - but humbly I say, thought this was merely painted doors.
Perfect moment, cheers for that.
Wish you a nice weekend,
Ike

Ilonka1974 (10289) 2020-04-29 16:12

Hi Gert,
Beautiful picture,
Excellent presentation.
Lovely composition.
Well done.
Best regards
Janusz

kasianowak (17676) 2020-05-13 5:23

Hi Gert
I like this very graphic architectural design and your even more graphic and creative photo of it. I don't mind at all that the man is almost in the middle of the gate and that he is a man rather than a lady! Sometimes our photographic ideas to work 100% in practice but the results are great for the viewers who have not gone through that creative process.
The gate in WS is more interesting but the man in the main photo is a better subject because of his red jacket. I'm sure that's what you were thinking as well!
Best wishes
Kat

foxy (3461) 2020-07-18 10:49

Hello Gert,
I was in Stockholm 2004 for a short time. I think about time to re-visit this wonderful city.
Wow...I've never seen such a big gate in my life. It's meant for the Giants. I would imagine that an elegant dressed lady will be more suitable - making it much more softer side with the feminine-touch to the scene. The streets seem quite quiet to me.
I also like the WS2 - I do agree with you. The graffiti and reflection is the selling point to me. All in all, this street doesn't look-like Stockholm I know.
Thanks for sharing.
Loong

COSTANTINO (116405) 2022-01-14 23:07

Hello dear Gert
have a nice week end
the beauty is into the
simplicity...
and this man is dressed
in red....creating
an eyecatching focal point
regards
Costantino