Share the swan

Share the swan

We once received a tip off (at the last newspaper I worked for) from a guy who had spotted a family of swans walking down the road. “Wow, what a scoop,” I said sarcastically to the editor. “It’s a great story,” she frowned, “get down there.” Indeed it was actually quite a nice story in the end and the picture made the front page the next day.

So yesterday, as I cycled through town, I saw a small crowd gathered and I went over to see what was happening. The police had stopped all traffic down Hyskenstræde due to a rogue swan sitting in the road, and if experience has taught me anything it’s that swans make great front page news. No? So I papped away, whilst all the time wondering which newspaper out of the dozens in Copenhagen is going to want this. Well, avid reader, I can confirm that the answer is zero. Zilch.

Long before I moved over here I was gearing myself up for a newspaper industry that had so many more interesting stories to run than those concerning small family businesses, cake stalls, local fund-raisers and swans. But then that was always one of the reasons I wanted to move to CPH in the first place. A self-promotion, if you will. A city on the world stage has much to talk about.

But here is what I find interesting, and I’ll put it to the masses as a question: What do the readers want? Scandal; politics; celebrities; social injustice… or how about reading about the everyday people and their remarkable stories? Or those normal folk who deserve to get noticed for their hard work or small but important achievements. And in a world full of war, global warming and recession, why is a quirky, fun picture of a swan in the street any less newsworthy than a picture of a famous couple arguing?

So, people of Denmark; let yesterday’s picture of a swan – your national bird – be a gift to you all. A symbol for the everyday people, whose stories never get told but are equally important. To those who raise money for charity; bake cakes for the poor; walk away from their conglomerate slave masters to try and make better lives for themselves and their families; or simply spend years making tiny cardboard villages out of cereal boxes (complete with people) for their own amusement. This is for you.

All I ask is one thing: Simply send this picture – or a link to this blog – to anyone you know who deserves some recognition for their positive actions and deeds; to let them know that someone out there cares.

Share the love, people. Share the swan.

Copenhagen Photographer Casper Sejersen’s One, Two, Three, Four.

Casper Sejersen Debut Exhibition. Set to the beat of a drum, Copenhagen-based photographer Casper Sejersen takes us on an unsettling visual journey in his debut exhibition.     Alluring Yet Uncomfortable. Copenhagen-based Danish photographer Casper...

Photos Reveal Copenhill Ski Slope on Amager Bakke Plant.

    Copenhill Ski Slope atop Amager Bakke Plant. Coloured in vibrant shades of green an artificial ski slope on the roof of the Amager Bakke waste-to-energy plant in Copenhagen has been captured in images by Danish photographer Rasmus Hjortshøj.  The centre...

The Five Best Photo Locations in Copenhagen.

  A summer break in Copenhagen is highly recommended if you have never been to Denmark. The sun and heat is enjoyed by all the locals.   As an introduction to the most common places you must visit we’re presenting you with this 3-hour photo walk. If you wish...

And Slash Makes Four

It’s not everyday one gets to say this, but I do believe I’ve completed my to-do list. In this case it’s a list that involves four musicians, who I always hoped I would one day get to photograph. Copenhell Festival Last week saw the rock festival Copenhell return to...

Behind The Scenes: Royal Run.

Keep the diary open Whether it was wishful thinking or simply experience, when I first heard about the Royal Run back in 2017 I decided to keep the 21st May available in my calendar. “We won’t be needing you for that particular race,” I was told, but a voice in my...

Future King of Denmark Joins In Birthday Celebrations With The Royal Run.

In merely a few days time the future king of Denmark, Crown Prince Frederik, will be celebrating his 50th birthday and all over the country flags will be at high mast. A total of five Danish cities are involved in celebratory shenanigans which began on May 18, and...

Master Class: Visual Language For Tech Leaders.

Tech Workshop Last Wednesday, bestbrains.dk ran a Master Class: Visual Language For Tech Leaders workshop which Matt went out to shoot. Participation in this event was strictly limited to a mere ten people and they were vetted by an entry assignment. Sorting the wheat...

Copenhagen wins international climate prize

Reducing the Carbon Footprint Reducing our carbon footprint means saving energy as well as the planet. With the recognition of Copenhagen as a cultural centre comes strict monitoring of energy consumption in schools and daycare institutions alike. With this...

Game of Thrones Star Joins Climate Change Talk

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau returns to his home country to take action An overwhelmingly massive wall of ice on regular display is one of the many stunning visual images in the popular television series Game of Thrones in which Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau plays...

Nordic Race: A mudfest for my camera

My first Nordic Race photography experience I don't know about you, but personally I like to be warm, dry and clean at this time of year. It's the reason I wear nice thick gloves, waterproof trousers and jackets, and a pair of boots every time I leave the house. On...

Calm sea; rough ride

From the Archives: My experience moving to Copenhagen in 2012 I grew up in a small town 40 miles south of Manchester - home of Smiths, Oasis, and other great High Street retail outlets (insert smiley). And it was from Manchester Airport that I left England for what...

Britain’s Prince Harry Visits Copenhagen

Special Request Back in September of this year Kensington Palace announced Prince Harry's official visit to Denmark. The Prince is in Copenhagen today (Wednesday 25th) and tomorrow, and Matthew has been placed in a special press pool to gain access and provide...

PBMJ: Now we are 2

I've only got one pair of hands... until now! Finding a solution to doing everything myself has long been at the top of my long list of priorities. I've found over the years, that it's definitely getting easier to outsource some of the work I do, especially when...

Getting the Shot: RaiseNow Group Portrait

Somebody once asked me, "Do you find that it's always the first idea that works?" in regards to planning and executing a photoshoot. I admit I had to think about it. Sometimes definitely, and in these scenarios you can pat yourself on the back for a job well done. Go...

Following in the footsteps of Obama

Where would a former President of the United States go to eat when in Copenhagen? For my first blog post in nearly two millennia I thought I’d tackle something a little light-hearted. Despite never really pursuing a career in food photography, it appears it has found...

Who needs a photo education anyway?

Is it really worth paying to learn to be a better photographer? ”Sixteen hundred kroner!” So cried the partner of one my clients recently when she found out what he was paying me to teach him. More than once this week the conversation has turned towards education....

Fact: Danish Newspapers don’t care about swans!

How a chance encounter with a big white bird didn't really amount to much In this industry, every day is a fresh start. Sure, you have the usual amount of daily tasks – social media, sending invoices, archiving images – but the commute to work every morning is a...

Being Part of History

Original Photograph Featured on Postage Stamp When was the last time you received a letter in the post with your own stamp stuck to it? This was the scenario for me back in summer, when an envelope dropped through the letterbox addressed to the business....

Best Instagram Photos of Copenhagen 2016

Copenhagen has to be one of the world's best places to photograph I’ve been fortunate enough to live in many special places around the world over the years: France, Australia, many parts of the UK, and of course Denmark. Each and every one of these places has been...

Using Lightroom to edit your iPhone photos

Even with the new iPhone 7 causing a stir with its brand new camera functions, the old iPhone 6 is still a heavy-hitter when it comes to High Quality images I always tell those who join me on my Beginner's Photography Workshops that activating the shutter is just the...

Back to Copenhagen

It's been a while... Hi folks, what's going on? Jesus, it's been a while, hasn't it? I bet some of you are even tired of me saying something along those lines. Anyway, I just wanted to say 'hi' and tell you what to expect from us here at PBMJ in the lead-up to...

Remember: You don’t know EVERYTHING

How a recent photography workshop taught me how to focus ”The D800 isn’t very good for sports photography,” said my very unreliable source. It was my first summer here in Copenhagen and I was working for a company photographing running events. I didn’t know it at the...

Journal Challenge Day Two

This blog entry first appeared over at www.photographybymatthewjames.com Work, sunshine, work, parties, repeat Day Two of the Daily Journal experiment, and I’ve had to force myself to start writing. I’ve got exactly 97 minutes before I need to be somewhere else, and...

Danish Imports: The Neuropyschologist

This blog post originally appeared over at matthewjames.dk Grasia Maria Banegas initially moved to Denmark from Honduras in Central America as a volunteer for MS (Action Aid Denmark), to join an educational program called Global Change, where she trained to become a...

Teaching Photography in Copenhagen

This entry was originally posted on my main journal over at www.matthewjames.dk One area of photography I don't shout about too much is my Shooting Copenhagen Workshops, but after this week it's probably about time I gave myself a pat on the back and shared the story...

Danish Imports: The Opera Singer

We've come to the end of our revisit to the Danish Imports exhibition, and today we're finishing off with somebody who I'm very fond of. I hope you've enjoyed reading these interviews and the images that accompany them. A lot of love and time went in to the planning...

Danish Imports: The Freaks

"I won't tell you the name I was born with, because what's a name, anyway?" These are the words of wisdom from the polite, baratone vocals of the tattooed gentleman that is Enigma. Covered from head to toe in jigsaw puzzle tattoos and sporting a pair of silicone horns...

Danish Imports: The Neuropsychologist

Grasia Maria Banegas initially moved to Denmark from Honduras in Central America as a volunteer for MS (Action Aid Denmark), to join an educational program called Global Change, where she trained to become a campaigner and youth facilitator.  Coming from one of the...

Danish Imports: The Psychologist and her son

Due to some technical issues we're running a little behind here, so let's get back on track with our Danish Imports exhibition from last year's photo exhibition. Today we take a look at the life of Chilean Psychologist Paula and her son. Paula Cavada gives multiple...

To refugee or not to refugee, that is the question

Today I wanted to open up the floor to a close personal friend of mine and fellow expat, Michelle Exarhos. Michelle was born and raised in the United States but is, in fact, half Danish. Here she shares her views on the recent refugee scenario playing out in Denmark...

Danish Imports: The Boxer

The next story from last year's Danish Imports photo exhibition comes from Michal Jezierski, who had a very long and interesting story to tell about his move to Denmark. Michal Jezierski is perhaps one of the friendliest people I’ve ever met and is full of positive,...

Copenhagen Half Marathon Pictures

So did you take part in yesterday's Copenhagen Half Marathon, or know anyone who did? The streets were absolutely alive, especially for the first half of the race where optimism was high and the mood was positive. There were no less than 23.786 runners taking part and...

Danish Imports: The Journalist

Continuing the Danish Imports theme, today we take a look at Brazilian Noemia Colonna's story. “Sometimes it's good to be like the Brazilians," is Noemia Colonna's advice to the Danes. "We're easy-going, more flexible and and not too obsessed about planning and...

Danish Imports: The DJ

This is the third instalment of my Danish Imports blog posts, looking at the stories behind people's decisions to live, work or visit Denmark. Today's story focuses on Danish DJ, Nikolaj Yu Andersen. You can read previous stories about Meriel or Luke if you'd like a...

Danish Imports: The Architect

Today I'll be sharing the second story behind one of my Danish Imports subjects, Luke Lorimer. If you missed the first post then you can read it here. These images were used for my first exhibition, Danish Imports, which was held at Generator Hostel in Copenhagen...

Danish Imports – One Year Later

Exactly 12 months ago I was celebrating my very first photo exhibition here in Copenhagen. It was something I'd been thinking of doing for a couple of years and it was a definite learning curve for me. Not only was I under pressure to include a selection of images I...

It’s Marathon Time

You can't really miss all the maps, posters and warnings that are dotted around the city at the moment. That's right; it's that time of year again where 12,000 people put themselves to the test and run for 26.2 miles. The Nykredit Copenhagen Marathon (to give it its...

Same-Sex marriage in Denmark

Or, how Sasha and Anthony got one step closer to happiness written by Antoaneta Borisova This is the story of Sasha and Anthony, a lovely gay couple, who have been struggling to be together for more than six years now. I use the word “lovely” not because I want this...

Red Bull Cliff Diving Returns to CPH

If you've had your head in the sand for the past few weeks (or have just moved to the country) then you might have missed out on some pretty awesome news: the return of Red Bull Cliff Diving to Copenhagen. Back in June 2013, several of the world's bravest athletes...

Bikes in the Harbour: Is yours down there?

You'd be surprised at how many there are Man it was a chilly weekend in CPH. So I'm glad I warned my friends from the UK to bring extra clothing before they arrived on Wednesday afternoon. The couple flew in from the South West of England where temperatures are...

Getting the shot: Nykredit CPH Marathon

January is usually a quiet time for me and probably most photographers in the Northern Hemisphere, but thankfully there's been enough happening to keep me busy. Two weeks ago, for example, the Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten printed a massive full-page advert for the...

Super(villain)markets

Has anybody else noticed how unorganised a lot of the supermarkets here in Denmark are? I'd been living here for less than four hours when I was warned at the checkout in Fakta to always "check my receipt." The warning came from a friend, not an employee or a sign in...

Danish Imports – a photo exhibition

If you're new to Denmark, and even if you're not, you might be interested in my new exhibition taking place this evening (Wednesday 13th August) at Generator Hostel. Danish Imports aims to shine a different light on the many people who have in some way contributed to...

We have our Danish Imports!

Several weeks ago I wrote a blog calling for non-Danes to step forward to be part of a new exhibition I'm hosting. The response was insane, I'm pleased to say, and after some heavy vetting, I managed to narrow it down to just a few people. To quote the official...

Paptastic

Poor Princess Mary. And I mean that sincerely. For a good couple of hours she was hounded by men with cameras (including me, I should admit) and they just would not leave her alone. It was a couple of Saturdays ago here in Copenhagen and the weather was hot hot hot. A...

DK. Closed.

It's taking some getting used to, this holiday malarkey. In fact, just today I urgently needed to head to the shops to get some supplies and pick up a brand new bicycle lock en route. I'd lost the other one during the CPH Marathon a few weeks back. As I headed down...

Expats & foreigners wanted for new photo exhibition

Right then, who wants to be photographed? More importantly, who can tick off each and every one of the requirements on this list, and wants to be photographed? i) You were not born in Denmark ii) You have either A) Moved here permanently or, B) moved here temporarily...

Copenhagen Marathon 2014

Since 4:56am I've been scrolling through hundreds and hundreds of images from yesterday's Copenhagen Marathon and the same faces keep showing up. The difference in each picture, however, are the looks on their faces, as things gradually go from jolly and exciting to...

Office Chair Racing

The Office Chair Racing Championships returned to Copenhagen yesterday, as 24 brave - or crazy - men hurtled down the city's steepest and longest hill, Valby Bakke. This year's winner, Celli Shenar, aged 39, lifted the trophy for a second year in a row, after facing...

The Crookes

There's a great band coming to Copenhagen tomorrow (Friday 9th) night. The Crookes - who hail from Sheffield, England - will be playing Loppen from 9pm, and I definitely recommend paying them a visit. Drummer Russell Bates and I studied photojournalism in Sheffield...