A journey through Namibia

A journey through Namibia

At the end of April I traveled for two weeks through Namibia in the southwest of Africa. This former German colony has a wide variety of wildlife and scenery to offer and some very unique landscapes. Namibia is twice the size of Sweden and slightly more than half of the size of Alaska. The country has only 2.5 million inhabitants, of which 325 thousand live in the capital Windhoek, in the center of the country.

The trip, specifically for photo-enthusiasts, was organized by Fotoresor i Fokus in cooperation with Aktiv Resor, a Stockholm based travel agency specialized in organizing active and adventurous holidays. Our tour guides, Elisabeth Landberger and Martin Agfors, are photo-professionals who offered a combination of energetic creativity and deep technological knowledge of anything photography.

The itinerary
From Windhoek we traveled north to the Etosha National Park, where we spent a few days spotting wildlife. From Etosha we traveled west to Damaraland and visited a Himba tribe village. We stayed in the Etendeka Mountain Camp, an eco-friendly luxury campsite that comes with the highest recommendations. It offers great home-made food and fantastic scenery all around.

From Damaraland we went onwards to the coast and visited the second largest city in the country, Swakopmund. This spacious and quiet city gives easy access to Walvis Bay, where tours for dolphin, seal and pelican spotting are organized.

Our last stop before returning to Windhoek was, for me, the highlight of the journey, a visit to the south of the Namib Desert, Sossusvlei and Deadvlei. Both areas offer unique landscapes of endless sand dunes that reach a stunning 300-400 meters in height and clay pans with dead camel thorn trees (Vachellia Erioloba). A true photographers paradise!

A wider selection of my photos can temporarily be viewed on the Namibia featured project page. A smaller selection will eventually be published in the Gallery section.

MEP – BSR features City Hall panorama

MEP – BSR features City Hall panorama

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One of my panorama photos is featuring on the front page of the website of the Model European Parliament – Baltic Sea Region Program (MEP-BSR).

The MEP Baltic Sea Region Program is a non-partisan leadership program for youth in Estonia, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Norway, Russia and Sweden. The aim of the MEP Baltic Sea Region program is to develop interest and skills in addressing high level international issues jointly among high-school students in the 10 countries around the Baltic Sea. The program is a training ground for future leaders and politicians.

The panorama photo of Stockholm’s City Hall was chosen to highlight the upcoming session of the MEP Baltic Sea Region Program in October 2014 which will be held in the capital of Sweden.

For more of my panorama photos you are welcome to view the Gallery – Panorama.

Wallstars

Wallstars

A selection of my work is now available via Wallstars (website in Dutch only).

Wallstars delivers your choice of photo from their webshop. It is printed on special textile fabric, which can be framed in an luxury aluminum frame. By using the latest UV printing techniques the colors are rich and truthful. No matter how big your wall is, photos and frame sizes are available from 1 meter up till 6 meter!

Due to the special mounting technique you can exchange your photo within the frame for an alternative photo within minutes. If you order more prints in the same size you can exchange them on a regular basis. Check out Wallstars short instruction video to get an idea of the ease of use to have great art photography on your wall.

Wallstars delivers standard in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Though, on special request they can ship to other countries as well.

Contact me for your special promotion code for a 15 € discount!

wallstars.nl

Paul Hansen wins World Press Photo 2012

Paul Hansen wins World Press Photo 2012

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Today, February 15th, it was announced by the international jury of the 56th annual World Press Photo contest that a picture by Swedish photojournalist Paul Hansen of the Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter has been selected as the World Press Photo of the Year 2012.

The picture shows a group of men carrying the bodies of two dead children through a street in Gaza City. They are being taken to a mosque for the burial ceremony while their father’s body is carried behind on a stretcher. Two-year-old Suhaib Hijazi and his older brother Muhammad were killed when their house was destroyed by an Israeli missile strike. Their mother was put in intensive care. The picture was made on 20 November 2012 in Gaza City, Palestinian Territories.

Comments on the winners by the jury

Mayu Mohanna, jury member from Peru, said of Paul Hansen’s winning picture: “The strength of the pictures lies in the way it contrasts the anger and sorrow of the adults with the innocence of the children. It’s a picture I will not forget.”

Santiago Lyon, vice president and director of photography at The Associated Press, spoke of the selection of prizewinners: “When I look at the results, as chair of the jury, I think that the World Press Photo of the Year, and all the other photos that were given prizes, were solid, stellar examples of first-rate photojournalism that is powerful, that is lasting, and that will reach whoever looks at them.”

The judging was conducted at the World Press Photo office in Amsterdam. All entries were anonymously presented to the jury, who discussed their merits over a two-week period. The jury operates independently and a secretary without voting rights safeguards the fairness of the procedure. The contest drew entries from professional press photographers, photojournalists and documentary photographers across the world. By the mid-January deadline, 103,481 images had been submitted by 5,666 photographers from 124 countries.

About Paul Hansen

Paul Hansen is a Swedish photojournalist and has worked for the daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter since 2000. He has received numerous awards, including being named Photographer of the Year by POYi in 2010 and 2013, Photographer of the Year in Sweden seven times, and two first place awards from NPPA. He is based in Stockholm.

About the World Press Photo

World Press Photo organizes the leading international contest in visual journalism. The foundation is committed to supporting and advancing high standards in photojournalism and documentary storytelling worldwide. Its aim is to generate wide public interest in and appreciation for the work of photographers and other visual journalists, and for the free exchange of information. The activities include organizing annual photojournalism and multimedia contests and global exhibition tours. The Academy programs strive to stimulate high-quality visual journalism through educational programs, grants and by creating greater visibility through a variety of publications. World Press Photo is an independent, non-profit organization with its office in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where it was founded in 1955.

Cuba Book Preview

Cuba Book Preview

I am thrilled today! The proof copy of my first photography book is of to the printers this week.

The book is showing a selection of my Cuba photos, including some never before published images. It has been on my to-do list for a long time, but I never got around to finish it, until now that is!

Below is a preview of some of the pages of the book.

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