Danish Imports: The Freaks

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 to boot, Enigma and freak show partner Serana Rose stopped by in Copenhagen for the city’s 2013 Ink Festival. “I’m very expensive,” he tells me.

The interior of a Scandic hotel was as much of Copenhagen that Enigma got to see during his stay, but he’s no stranger to Denmark, having performed once before at the Roskilde Festival. And as well as performing on stage with musicians such as Nine Inch Nails and David Bowie over the past 20 years, Enigma has also starred on The X-Files and countless talk shows around the world.

An artist and trained classical pianist, Enigma’s gentle off-stage persona was a true paradox of his touring self. And the queue of people waiting to be photographed with him said enough about his strange, exotic appeal. But I would have loved to have photographed him glaring menacingly outside Amalienborg during the Changing of the Guard, with a chainsaw in one hand and an empty black bin bag in the other. I think it would’ve caused quite a scene.

The Danes in the audience didn’t look massively impressed with the show, even when Enigma sliced in to an apple, placed carefully in to Serana’s mouth, with a chainsaw. The lack of crowd support made the show uncomfortable to watch, for all the wrong reasons. I wondered whether our generation has seen it all and is hard to please these days.

Enigma and Serana Rose (who was equally polite and charming) now appear in their own comic book called Show Devils. The misadventures are best described as ‘Scooby-Do meets Rob Zombie’s The Devil’s Rejects .’

Getting the Shot

It’s true that this story deviates slightly from the original theme, but I still felt it was important to include. And although Enigma and Serana Rose don’t live in Denmark, technically they’d come here to work, and they had a good reason for it.

Backstage there wasn’t much to use in terms of props or backdrops, but it just so happened that this pair had everything I needed. Plus they were used to being photographed, so it was almost too easy. I simply nudged them in to the right spot to get everything looking just right, and they did the rest.

The lighting wasn’t anything special either. Standing against a non-reflective black surface and covered in ink and make-up, a simple light source was enough here, and it was a speedlight sitting in a hotshoe softbox. I held it in my left hand high above my head and to the left, and started shooting. As always, I moved the light around as I snapped, because most of the time the perfect light is just a few inches out. So by shooting non-stop and moving the flash I was able to “shoot and prey.” One of them would work, I thought, and I was right.

This blog post originally appeared over at matthewjames.dk

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Danish Imports: The Boxer

Danish Imports: The Boxer

This entry was originally posted on my main journal over at www.matthewjames.dk

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 is perhaps one of the friendliest people I’ve ever met and is full of positive, life-affirming quotes.

Originally from Poland, Michal moved to America when he was 18 and spent the next four years living illegally and learning to speak English. But due to citizenship issues, he had to give up his dreams of becoming a fireman and was forced to move home.

At the time (2003), Poland had just joined the EU, so it made sense to Michal to return to his family. But after just one month, Mike was back on a plane and heading to Copenhagen. He explains: “The Polish army were hunting me down for conscription, which was mandatory back then. Fortunately for me, an ex-girlfriend contacted me to say she was working as a sushi chef in CPH and wanted me to go over. So she bought me a ticket, lent me some money, and two months later I started training and working as a sushi chef myself.”

Danish Imports: The Boxer

Two-and-a-half years passed by for Mike, who eventually chose to go back to Poland again, this time with desires of becoming a Personal Trainer. Things didn’t go according to plan, however. “I just couldn’t keep up with the training,” he admits.

Mike found himself back at Sticks ’n’ Sushi in Copenhagen, but 18 months down the line was forced to quit on medical grounds. He used this opportunity to start learning Danish at Copenhagen Language Center and also became a boxing club volunteer at Christianshavns Idræts Klub, which is where he met Oliver – a 13-year-old Danish boy training to box. Through Oliver’s father, Mike found work as a qualified Doorman and subsequently providing official security for asylum seekers and refugees who have fled to Denmark.

“Most of them don’t speak a word of Danish or English, so the right body language is essential,” he tells me.

It’s been a hard and gradual integration process for Mike, but the Danes have made him feel very, very welcome. “If I was fluent in Danish then I’d feel totally integrated,” he explains. “I never feel like an outsider when I’m around Danish people, it’s just that sometimes I can’t understand what they’re saying. The language has been the biggest problem here for me.

“But Denmark isn’t the problem: it’s me and my lack of education. Being nice isn’t enough; I need skills to offer people.”

In the future, Mike expects to be fully integrated in to Danish society and hopefully open his own gym.

As well as Body Language, Mike speaks Polish, English, Danish, and a little Spanish.

Getting The Shot

This was one of those shots that took a fair bit of time to get right. The problem was, the boxing club was closing down for the evening, despite the fact that I arrived in good time. But I wanted Mike to be sweaty and fully pumped up before the photoshoot, so he looked as natural as possible.

I knew that I wanted him in the ring with his gloves still on and a book between his mitts, which is why he had brought this edition of The Art of Achievement with him. It’s also worth mentioning, that the background was still full of men, women and children who were packing their bags and getting changed before they left, so it was important that I used a fast enough shutter speed, a narrow aperture, and a lot of concentrated light on Mike. If you look at his right arm and the chair he’s sitting on, you’ll notice a sliver of light. That’s because one of the flash units was standing on the floor pointing right at him; it creates an outline which I quite like.

For the main light I used another flash inside a Lastolite hotshoe softbox. I held it high and to the left of Mike, so that the light would fall on his face, gloves and book. Any lower and we’d have some annoying shadows to edit out.

The final image was edited in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, where I created a green and yellow filter. I have absolutely no idea why I chose this combo, but it seems to work.

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5 Things Every Photographer Needs to Know

5 Things Every Photographer Needs to Know

Just starting out? Get to grips with these camera functions before anything else

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I was one of the lucky ones, starting out on a non-digital SLR camera. An Olympus OM-1 where loading the film was the first really important ‘setting’ I had to master. Then there was the ASA and the Manual Focus – two features that no longer exist / are necessary with today’s modern marvels.

The Photography Workshops that I teach in Copenhagen always start out in the exact same fashion, but each and every trainee learns in a different way. So today I thought I’d write a blog post to clearly outline the First Five Things you should understand about your camera.

ISO

This is where I start on every photoshoot. The first question I ask myself is, what are the lighting conditions like? Most cameras have an ISO button somewhere on the camera, or failing that, actually inside the menu settings.

Basically, the ISO controls How Sensitive the Sensor is to Light. The lower the number, the less sensitive. So on a bright sunny day in the middle of summer, when the light is super strong and bright, the sensor doesn’t need to work too hard to soak up any available light. So it chills out. I tend to set my ISO between 100-200 on a day like that. If it’s looking a bit cloudy or overcast, then I start around 400. Moving inside where the light is diminished? Crank it up to at least 800 and adjust as necessary.

Unfortunately increasing the ISO comes at a price: pixel noise and grain. The amount differs from camera to camera, but you can generally except that anything above 800 is going to give your pictures a grainy quality and even a few random dots of blue, red and green. This is caused by the sensor heating up as it goes in to overdrive. But remember, it’s better to have a noisy, sharp image than a blurry one. More on that later…

White Balance

Our eyes, over millions of years, have evolved to recognise whiteness. Camera’s, on the other hand, have not. That’s because white light is made up of the seven colours of the rainbow, and therefore not all light sources produce the same colour. Take, for instance, your bedside lamp. It has an orange tinge to it (quite a powerful one, actually) so the cast it produces over everything in the room looks a bit orange, too. In photography we call this colour cast Tungsten.

And then there’s that horrible green colour cast produced by fluorescent lights. My gran’s kitchen has them, and so do most buildings and subway tunnels that are lit up in the evening. When photographing in cities at night, the amount of background light from fluorescent bulbs is pretty high.

When photographing in these situations we have to tell our cameras what light sources we are shooting in. Most of the time Auto does a pretty good job, but that’s not always the case. For instance, on a cloudy day red is the first colour in the spectrum to fade away (just like underwater). Red has the shortest wavelength of them all, which is why it’s the first to go. So in these conditions the camera needs a little help putting the red back in. Selecting the Cloudy White Balance option will achieve this result, and it also helps make skin tones appear warmer. Most photographers will use this WB setting even when it’s not cloudy, especially when photographing people.

Metering

Often overlooked by many amateur photographers, the metering settings can make all the difference to your photos.

Most cameras come with three basic settings: Matrix, Spot and Centre-Weighted. So let’s imagine our viewfinder as we look through the camera prior to taking a picture. Depending on the make and model, each camera has a number of areas located on the sensor that record the amount of light that hits it. If we imagine our viewfinder represents what the sensor eventually sees, then we can easily grasp what is dark (a black jacket, maybe), what is light (the sun in the background) and any grey bits in between (the road our model is standing on, for example).

In Matrix Metering (where I live 90% of the time) the sensor takes a light reading from as many of these areas as possible (again, depending on the make and model) and produces an average. In other words, yes the bright sun will play an important factor in the final image, but so too will the dark jacket and the light bouncing off the grey road.

But there are times when you don’t want all light sources considered. Like when the church doors open and the bride and her father are standing there for the first time. Behind them both you can be sure there’ll be a huge patch of bright light streaming in from outside. If this light makes up the majority of your scene, then the bride and her dad are gonna be silhouettes pretty much. Not good. In a perfect world you’ll be using flash, but that’s not always allowed or possible. So change over to Spot Metering, or maybe even Centre-Weighted. The difference between the two is that Spot will only take a light reading from the focus point you have set in your camera, whereas Centre-Weighted will do the same, but will also include anything that tightly surrounds this area.

A good way to practice this is to find something small and black, like a cup or a button, and place it in front of a bright light source. The sun or a torch will do. Then snap away using all three metering options and check out the results. Chances are, though, that you’ll remain in Matrix most of the time.

Shutter

The difference between a nice sharp image and one with motion blur is all down to what shutter speed you select.

Try to imagine water running through a tap and collecting in a bowl. The longer you leave that tap on, the more water you’re going to get. The same applies to photography, where the bowl becomes the sensor, the water becomes light, and the amount of time you leave the tap on equates to how long you leave your shutter open.

The shutter works a lot like a pair of curtains. If you opened the curtains for a split second then you’d’ only get a glimpse of what was happening outside. But if you leave them open for longer then you start to witness so much more. Cars driving past, or someone jogging by. How much of this you want to see depends on you and what mood you’re in.

Shutter speeds are measured in seconds and fractions of. So a three second exposure would appear as 3″ on your camera, whereas 250th of a second would appear thus: 1/250 or just 250.

Generally speaking, I was always told to never go lower than 1/80th of a second, simply because I couldn’t hold the camera steady enough. Nowadays I can hold it at much slower speeds, but it’s a good rule of thumb if you’re just starting out. Maybe even 1/125th just to make sure. Over time you can practice your technique and hone your skills, but for now this is a good place to start.

NB: If you use a flash on your camera, make sure you have a shutter speed SLOWER than 1/250, otherwise your images will get two underexposed bars at the top and bottom known as banding.

Aperture

Ah, the Golden Nugget and the subject I have to repeat throughout the workshops. The most confusing thing about it is the fact that opposites apply here. Let me explain.

Going back to our tap image, this time we’re going to have two side-by-side. The setup is exactly the same, but the diameter of the first tap is one inch and the second is two inches. By leaving both taps running for ten seconds, which bowl will have the most water?

Of course, the correct answer is the second tap, because twice as much water is escaping through the two inch diameter than the one inch.

In photography, the lenses that we buy each come with a minimum and maximum diameter. And because we photographers ‘paint with light’, then the manufacturers know that we want more diameter to play with, which equals a more expensive lens.

So if a perfect circle is represented by the number 1, then we know that the larger the number, the SMALLER the aperture. i.e. less light reaching the sensor. Take a look at any of your lenses and you’ll notice on the barrel or just above the glass a bunch of numbers. One group will look like this 1:3.5/5.6. This number shows us that particular lens’s MAXIMUM aperture (how wide it will go). The reason you have 3.5/5.6 is because (in this case) you’re using a zoom lens. In other words, a lens that can take a wide landscape picture, maybe at 17mm, and then can zoom in on something far away, say, 55mm. When shooting the wide 17mm picture, the widest possible aperture that can be achieved by camera and lens is 3.5, but when shooting at 55mm that aperture shrinks even more, giving you f5.6 (apertures are measured in Focal Stops, called f numbers).

Right now you might be asking, why would I want to use anything higher than f5.6? Well, there are two reasons. The first is that, obviously, going all the way to f22 can be useful on a bright sunny day. The aperture ring is tiny at f22, so less light is getting through, meaning we can have a slower shutter speed if we want to show something moving (think of the knob of the tap and the diameter of the tap working together in harmony to get just the right amount of water in the bowl – as you increase or decrease one, you must do the opposite with the other).

The second reason is Depth of Field. DoF determines how much of your image is in focus and how much isn’t. When we shoot at f1.4 or f2.8 we get lots of light to work with, but we also get a small depth of field. In other words, the subject is very sharp and in focus, but immediately the background starts to lose focus, as does the foreground. This is a nice technique for portraits or close-ups of products, because the viewer automatically focuses on what’s sharp – the subject.

But if we take a nice landscape of a beach with some mountains in the background then we want most, if not all, of it in focus. That’s when we’d dial it up to f22 or even f36 if your camera allows it. In these circumstances you’d probably need a tripod, because as the amount of light decreases through the narrow aperture, so increases the amount of time the shutter needs to remain open for to compensate for that lack of light. Remember, slow shutter speeds equal motion, so your camera needs to be super steady.

Which brings us nicely back to the start: your ISO settings.

The aperture or shutter speeds you choose are all down to the ISO you select in the beginning. If your sensor is sensitive to the light then a wide aperture letting in lots of light is gonna burn it. Like throwing bleach on a pair of jeans. But choosing a lower ISO makes that Bleach Assault seem more like a little sprinkling instead.

Of course, it’s entirely down to you which settings you choose, but hopefully this is blog post can help you make a much more informed decision. So get out there, start learning how to use that tiny but amazing machine in your hand, and let me know how you get on…



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Bikes in the Harbour: Is yours down there?

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 slightly milder than the rest of the country, so I expected it to be a bit of a shock for them and their 16-month-old daughter (who refused to keep her gloves on, by the way).

As with most Brits who experience Copenhagen culture for the first time they were shocked / intrigued / curious to see other babies and toddlers sleeping outside cafes in their prams and pushchairs whilst their parents sipped on a nice, warm mug of hot chocolate or chai latte inside. And of course they were impressed at the amount of cyclists streaming past, despite the sleet and snow and close to freezing temperatures.

bikes, bicycles, stolen, theft, harbour, holmens kanal, cykler, tryveri, københavns havn, photography by matthew james,

The team continue their search for missing and stolen bikes as onlookers take pictures. Temperatures that day were close to freezing

Which is when we all spotted something kinda cool down by Holmens Kanal: a recovery team retrieving abandoned bikes out of the crystal clear waters. There was already quite a little crowd taking pictures of the operation, which included a barge which was already heaving with rusty bicycles covered in aquatic plant life and the such.

bikes, bicycles, stolen, theft, harbour, holmens kanal, cykler, tryveri, københavns havn, photography by matthew james,

A bike is retrieved from the water by the team

The team was made up of at least one scuba diver that we could see, who was using a video camera connected to a monitor onboard the barge. Via the monitor we could see what he was seeing whilst listening to the dialogue between him and the crew. At this point my friend Laura pointed out how cold it must be down there for the diver, before her husband Alan – an independent Hot Tub specialist from South West Spas – replied that a supply of warm water was being pumped in to the diver’s suit, keeping him as comfortable as possible. Only a Hot Tub specialist would notice that!

Slowly and methodically the barge made its way down the canal, with the number of bikes being dragged out increasing every few minutes. Eventually Laura asked a very good question, “How the hell did they all get down there?” On average, 200 bikes go missing every day in Denmark, with the vast majority of them in Copenhagen. What’s more, just one in every 100 bike thefts result in criminal charges, reports the newspaper Politiken.

“If you register your new, expensive bike as stolen, but we do not have a suspect, we cannot investigate the case further,” Kaj Lykke Marlund, spokesperson for Copenhagen Police Station City, told Politiken. “So we can only find it if it is turned in as lost property, if we see it listed on Den Blå Avis, or if we stop someone who is riding it.”

bikes, bicycles, stolen, theft, harbour, holmens kanal, cykler, tryveri, københavns havn, photography by matthew james,

A member of the team throws another bike on to the pile of recently discovered bikes, tyres and trolleys

But the question still remains: if a bike isn’t stolen for financial gain then what is the reason? Kleptomania, perhaps? A quick getaway from another crime? Throwing a bike in to the harbour seems like a simple if not temporary way to hide evidence. Or maybe it’s the actions of drunk people on a night out. There are dozens of reasons, no doubt. In England we don’t have as many bikes to throw in the rivers that run through city centres, though interestingly, shopping trolleys seem to find their way in to the murky waters on a daily basis. I’d say there’s definitely a link here.

So if you’re new to Denmark and think that crime rates are low then you are absolutely correct. But, don’t forget to spend a little extra on a decent bike lock, otherwise you might find yourself identifying your precious mode of transport in a Canal Barge lineup this winter.

bikes, bicycles, stolen, theft, harbour, holmens kanal, cykler, tryveri, københavns havn, photography by matthew james,

Bikes and a mobility trolley can be seen onboard the barge

What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen recovered from the waters of Copenhagen or your home town? Sign off below, with pictures if you have them.

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

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And Slash Makes Four

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Further To The NorthSide

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Master Class: Visual Language For Tech Leaders.

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Copenhagen wins international climate prize

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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...

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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...

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PBMJ: Now we are 2

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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...

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

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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...

DO IT FOR MOM (Do it for Denmark)

It's highly unlikely that you've missed this one, but if you're reading this from outside Denmark then you might want to read on. This is the new tagline for a funny commercial that came out recently in Danish media. It’s a video that starts off with an older lady...

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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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It’s Marathon Time

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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...

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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

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Danish Photographer wins prestigious prize

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Terror attack in Copenhagen

Terror attack in Copenhagen

Denmark pays its respects

It’s actually quite hard to describe the feeling in Copenhagen this morning. People are going about their business as usual, that much is clear; but as soon as I left the house I could see something different in people’s faces.

On the train I watched a guy scold another for banging in to people with his bike. When the man with the bike apologised, the complainant looked him square in the eye and told him it wasn’t just once he’d done it, but several times. The trains are always packed at 9am, so I thought it was a unfair of the passenger to get angry with the cyclist. But looking around the train it’s obvious that everyone was thinking about the shootings, and anger and confusion go hand in hand.

blomster, copenhagen, Dan Uzan, danmark, Denmark, Finn Norgaard, flowers, freelance fotograf, freelance photographer, gunman, jews, københavn, krystalgade, Lars Vilks, Omar El-Hussein, photography by matthew james, photojournalism, photojournalist, police, politi, professional photographer, professionel fotograf, shooting, skyderi, suspect, synagogue

School children were amongst those who passed by to pay their respects to 37-year-old Dan Uzan

I stepped off the train at Nørreport Station, as did the angry man, and we remained side by side as we climbed the steps together. It was at this station that video footage emerged of people being evacuated as the gunman went on the run after shooting his second victim. I couldn’t help but visualise this as I carried my bike up the stairs; imagining the panic wasn’t difficult, but coming in and out of this station daily made it that much more surreal.

Normally I would’ve gone straight ahead and walked the 150m to my office, but instead I took a slight left and seemed to slip in to a stream of people all heading the same way, including the angry man, who was now toking hard on a newly-lit cigarette. In silence everyone headed down Fiolstræde towards the junction of Krystalgade, where we were met by the sight of two armed police officers standing on the corner.

blomster, copenhagen, Dan Uzan, danmark, Denmark, Finn Norgaard, flowers, freelance fotograf, freelance photographer, gunman, jews, københavn, krystalgade, Lars Vilks, Omar El-Hussein, photography by matthew james, photojournalism, photojournalist, police, politi, professional photographer, professionel fotograf, shooting, skyderi, suspect, synagogue

The iconic Round Tower in Copenhagen flies a Danish flag at half mast, as armed police officers stand guard on the street

Now, I’ve been in this situation before. Documenting the news means just that, and emotions aren’t really meant to come in to it. Being impartial and telling a fair and unbiased story is important and feelings can get in the way. But even I was genuinely surprised at how I felt when I came round the corner. It was like hitting a wall of sadness. On a street that is usually alive and thriving with pedestrians, it had now become a solemn shrine of remembrance where the wounds were still fresh and all too easy to feel.

Carefully I removed my camera from its bag and watched as the angry man paused to pay his respects. He looked genuinely moved as he wrapped his scarf even more tightly around his face and pulled the collar of his long jacket up to his ears. He took one look at me as my lens clicked in to place and continued his journey.

The role of the media

Of course I wasn’t the only one there with a camera. Reporters and journalists from DR, TV2 and even Sky News were talking live to their audience, bathed in warm lights on an otherwise grey and dull morning. In the background, colourful flowers, bottles of beer, candles and even signed basketballs lined the pavement outside the synagogue where 37-year-old Dan Uzan was shot dead.

Sensitivity will always be an issue when covering stories like these, and I’ve met plenty of people who are shocked and disturbed when the media arrive to do their job. You can feel it, too; a look from someone that says, “How dare you profit from this situation.” I felt it this morning, and I wondered whether these individuals felt the same way about the dozens of other people taking photos with their Smart Phones and pocket cameras.

blomster, copenhagen, Dan Uzan, danmark, Denmark, Finn Norgaard, flowers, freelance fotograf, freelance photographer, gunman, jews, københavn, krystalgade, Lars Vilks, Omar El-Hussein, photography by matthew james, photojournalism, photojournalist, police, politi, professional photographer, professionel fotograf, shooting, skyderi, suspect, synagogue

Members of the international media setup their equipment on Krystalgade at the site of the second shooting

It doesn’t change anything, though: terrible incidents occur and people react. Our reactions are what make us human and every story needs that angle. How we deliver it is what is important.

The weekend terror attack in Copenhagen may not be on the same scale as London, Paris or New York, but that doesn’t make it any less of a disaster. This city I’ve been calling home for over two years feels more like a large urban village than a sprawling metropolis. There are no skyscrapers and many of the streets are still paved in cobbled stones; many of the buildings still standing from the 18th century. Often I recognise the same faces passing by as I cycle through the streets. And, because so many of us cycle, it means we feel a connectivity to most if not all areas of “town.” From Valby in the west to Østerbro in the East, every part of Copenhagen connects to the other in both a physical and emotional way.

blomster, copenhagen, Dan Uzan, danmark, Denmark, Finn Norgaard, flowers, freelance fotograf, freelance photographer, gunman, jews, københavn, krystalgade, Lars Vilks, Omar El-Hussein, photography by matthew james, photojournalism, photojournalist, police, politi, professional photographer, professionel fotograf, shooting, skyderi, suspect, synagogue

Flowers, candles and signed basketballs have been left outside the synagogue by friends, family and members of the public.

Many Danes simply aren’t aware of how important Copenhagen is on the world stage, but speaking from an outsider’s perspective I can say that it’s huge. Denmark leads the way in the fashion, architecture, climate and entertainment industries around the world, and it’s no coincidence that the capital is seeing such a huge influx of people right now. Its green living, family-friendly society and low levels of crime and violence make it a desirable place to live.

Nothing should change that.

The violent actions of a small minority should never change the way we live our lives. If anything they should make us stronger; more in touch with one another. Petty arguments on the train pale in comparison to the bloodshed of innocent victims. But this is just stating the obvious.

Freedom of Speech / Dissing Religion

Despite the deaths of these two men, Copenhagen must continue to defend freedom of speech. Sadly the Swedish government has been quoted as saying that cartoonist Lars Vilks – probably the gunman’s original target – is on his own. “He got himself in to this,” they said, “he can get himself out of it.” Thanks Sweden.

Would they be so flippant with their comments if the catalyst for the shooting had been football or politics? Doubtful. If a Swedish man decided to shoot me in Stockholm because I once took the piss out of Copenhagen FC, is that still “my problem”? I don’t think so. Telling someone to tidy up their own mess in the world of Fundamental Religion is a dangerous and slippery slope, and governments around the world would do well to remember it.

blomster, copenhagen, Dan Uzan, danmark, Denmark, Finn Norgaard, flowers, freelance fotograf, freelance photographer, gunman, jews, københavn, krystalgade, Lars Vilks, Omar El-Hussein, photography by matthew james, photojournalism, photojournalist, police, politi, professional photographer, professionel fotograf, shooting, skyderi, suspect, synagogue

Armed police continue to patrol the streets in and around the area close to the synagogue

For my part I’ll choose to remember all the peaceful and caring Muslims I’ve been fortunate to meet over the years. The majority, I call them. My landlord in Nottingham, for instance, who made no profit on the house he rented out to me (even though there were pigeons living in the ceiling and shitting everywhere). And the Muslim teenagers who fed and watered my colleague and I at 2am whilst emergency services tended to their sick mother on the sofa. Despite my atheism, I still respect anyone who thinks of others before themselves.

It’s not a skill many of us possess in the 21st century.

blomster, copenhagen, Dan Uzan, danmark, Denmark, Finn Norgaard, flowers, freelance fotograf, freelance photographer, gunman, jews, københavn, krystalgade, Lars Vilks, Omar El-Hussein, photography by matthew james, photojournalism, photojournalist, police, politi, professional photographer, professionel fotograf, shooting, skyderi, suspect, synagogue

A woman arrives with a bouquet of red roses to leave outside the synagogue

So don’t be afraid, Copenhagen. Take action and deliver justice where necessary, and never forget those who have died needlessly. But above all else, keep doing what you do best. Provide welfare to those who need it; welcome those who choose to come here and live a better life; give people a platform to express their opinions without the use of force or violence; and set an example to countries around the globe, that Copenhagen is one of the safest, cleanest, least corrupt, and most hospitable places to live on this crazy planet.

blomster, copenhagen, Dan Uzan, danmark, Denmark, Finn Norgaard, flowers, freelance fotograf, freelance photographer, gunman, jews, københavn, krystalgade, Lars Vilks, Omar El-Hussein, photography by matthew james, photojournalism, photojournalist, police, politi, professional photographer, professionel fotograf, shooting, skyderi, suspect, synagogue

Many people expressed their sadness upon arriving at the scene of Sunday’s shooting

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Selfie Harm.

Selfie Harm. Witness the scary results of Photoshopped portraits done by teens at the behest of professional photographer Rankin as part of his project called “Selfie Harm.”     Unnaturally Perfect. Unnaturally perfect social media photos are being made...

Young Marketing Guru Who Helped Photo of Egg Go Viral on Instagram.

Going Viral Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few weeks you should be fully aware of the photo of an egg that went viral and claimed the top spot for having the most liked photo on Instagram. The simple photo of an ordinary, brown egg has garnered...

The Story of the Desert as Told by the Dubai Photography Exhibition: Inhabited Deserts.

Dramatic Landscapes. Some of the most dramatic landscapes across the world have been captured by UAE-based explorer Max Calderan and Italian photographer John R Pepper through their much renowned collaboration. It was never going to be the usual desert landscapes when...

What Is The Best Aperture and Focal Length For Portraits?

Get The Basics of Portrait Photography Right. You’ve probably asked yourself what is the best aperture and focal length to use if you’re just getting started in portrait photography. You can produce very different effects with your subjects by changing the aperture...

Psychedelic Images of Tokyo by Jean-Vincent Simonet.

Psychedelic Experience. Tokyo at night can be a near-psychedelic experience in itself, and this is echoed in the warped images created by Swiss photographer Jean-Vincent Simonet who prints onto plastic paper then washes the photograph with chemicals, all part of his...

The $90.3 Million Painting That Reveals Unique Photography Methods.

A Masterful Piece of Art. The 1972 painting entitled “Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)” by legendary British painter David Hockney fetched the highest auction price ever for a living artist as it sold for a jaw-dropping $90.3 million last month. A man in...

X-Ray Apparatus & Concrete Pyramids: Guy Hollaway’s Photography Studio.

The Process Gallery. Distinctive works are created using X-Ray equipment, housed in a concrete pyramid chamber, by British photographer Nick Veasey, who has had a studio built and completed by Guy Hollaway Architects.     Inquisitive. Designed to be an...

Comedy Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards Reveal Hilarious Winning Images.

World’s Funniest Animal! And the world’s funniest animal photograph of the year goes to a squirrel who thinks he’s Tommy Cooper, writes The Express. The world’s funniest animal photograph of the year has been judged to be what appears to be a cheeky squirrel pictured...

Comedy Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards Reveal Hilarious Winning Images.

World’s Funniest Animal! And the world’s funniest animal photograph of the year goes to a squirrel who thinks he’s Tommy Cooper, writes The Express. The world’s funniest animal photograph of the year has been judged to be what appears to be a cheeky squirrel pictured...

Vanishing From The Museums.

Confronting the absent. Largely absent from Parissien museums are works and faces of photographic pioneers who have become invisible; so, curator Fannie Escoulen is inviting visitors to walk across the city and confront it.   “The history of photography has been...

Analogue Limelight

In an increasingly digitalised world, why is there still a special place for the physical? After connecting on Instagram around two years ago, James Moreton and Raph Hurwitz conceived AllFormat - a global photography collective. After developing a loyal community of...

A Career Shaped By The Photograph

Starting Out For more than three decades the biggest names in show business have been photographed by Derek Ridgers, but it all began by chance, one night in Finsbury Park, north London. With a Miranda SLR slung over his shoulder, Ridgers walked into the Rainbow...

Facebook Bans a Photographer Who Innocently Posted About ‘Shooting a Few Christians.’

Double Entendre When it comes to the word “shooting,” photographers can be subject to endless jokes. So when you post about “shooting a bunch of Christians,” the double entendre is there; this is what happened to one London photographer who found himself faced with a...

Jacob Cockle: in Life & in Death.

A life lived in the sea was a favourite past-time of one Jacob Cockle. Whilst learning to walk at a tender young age he also began to learn to swim and his natural element became water. Any opportunity to film surfing was the best of all options because he loved it so...

How a Shot Went Viral is Revealed by The Royal Wedding Photographer.

Viral popularity and huge amounts of praise were received for one particular photo during this past weekend as the world's attention was captured by the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The details of how the picture in question came to be have now...

Wildlife Photos Reveal Dirty Tricks as Insiders Spill: “There’s a lot of fakery.”

From trained tigers to glued insects many photographers are revealing the fakery in this niche as one such photographer lost an award for allegedly using taxidermy in a shoot. Inauthentic Capturing a shot at the entrance to a national park was how Brazilian...

One in a Trillion Shot Captures Food Chain in Action.

“What can you shoot with that thing?” “What can you shoot with that thing?” This was a question that photographer Doc Jon was asked when a passerby noticed his Canon 6D camera with 500mm lens attachment as he was walking along the boardwalk of Madeira Beach in...

How Well-Being is Improved by Photo-a-Day Projects: Following the Story of an Artist who Started Out in Project365

Project365 Well-Being is reported to be improved through the online sharing of everyday images shot by amateur photographers. To reference it, it is known as “Project365” in photo circles; it begs the question: how can your life be changed by a Project365? A precious...

5 Things Every Photographer Should Know

Just starting out? Get to grips with these camera functions before anything else I was one of the lucky ones, starting out on a non-digital SLR camera. An Olympus OM-1 where loading the film was the first really important ‘setting’ I had to master. Then there was the...

How Photography Can Be Ruined By Bad Habits

Leaving The Camera At Home Even if it's your smartphone the camera you have with you is always the best one. Not every photo you take will be of commercial value or be photography-competition material. Nevertheless, if you leave your camera at home what use is it...

Unethical Upselling

By offering additional products and services and convincing a customer to purchase them many types of businesses can make a lot of money and this type of “upselling” is a tactic that camera equipment stores can maximise their gains. But how far can this upselling go...

Very First Photography Show is Recreated By Virtual Reality.

Transported To The Past The world's first photography exhibition is being experienced once again for the first time in 150 years with people being transported back in time thanks to Virtual Reality. A selection of prints were then presented by photographer William...