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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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 official title) is without a doubt one of the flattest courses in the world. That means a lot to those taking part (obviously) – but then there’s the wind. And we all know how much we just want to punch that invisible foe when we’re cycling home from a long, hard day at the office.

For the second year in a row I’ll be taking the official photographs of the race, as it weaves its way through the streets, parks and harbour areas of the city. Last year I remember just how awesome the buildings and scenery looked once I was editing my pictures. And even though 12,000 sounds like a lot of runners, it pales in comparison to the Big Five – New York, Boston, Berlin, London and Chicago. Which is odd, really, because Copenhagen has to be one of the cleanest and safest cities to visit (and we’ve already mentioned flattest). It throws its arms open wide to all members of society, and getting from A to B is pretty easy.

Knowing just how important the event is to the organisers (and thousands of others involved), I decided that I really wanted to help put Copenhagen on the map. Which is why this year I will be designing a fantastic 38-page Photo Book containing some of the best images from the race.

Nykredit Copenhagen Marathon, cphmarathon, photographer in copenhagen, sports photographer copenhagen, fotograf i københavn, sparta, running, maraton

And for those taking part, all pre-ordered books will include the finishing time of the individual – plus race day statistics, such as average temperature and rainfall.

If you’re taking part this year (or know someone who is), this book will make a great visual memento of a brilliant race. Pre-orders (which will also be discounted from 300kr to 249kr) must be made before 11:59pm on Sunday May 24th.

For more information on the project, please visit www.matthewjames.dk

Hope to see as many of you out there on the course as possible. Don’t forget, your support along the route is so vital, so remember to bring your flags and music with you.

And of course, best of luck to all the runners…

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Behind The Scenes: Lasse Sjørslev

Behind The Scenes: Lasse Sjørslev

How do you get a nice image when photographing with fluorescents?

Last week I was given the task of photographing TV2 News Presenter Lasse Sjørslev, and how pleased was I when it started to rain and snow just a few minutes before the shoot!

Knowing that Lasse would have to change clothes at some point, I went looking for a warm and dry location close to where we’d arranged to meet, and ended up lurking around the graffiti-covered walls of Nørreport Station. With the stench of piss and drugs filling my nostrils, I was confident that I had managed at least to tick off one of the requirements set to me by those who had hired me: make it look gritty.

The fluorescent lighting down there was certainly a challenge (as can be seen on the video), and there’s no better time to experiment than when you’ve got a tight deadline. So I quickly slapped a green gel on over my flash and changed the camera’s white balance to accommodate for the fluorescent bulbs overhead and off we went.

We soon discovered that leaving plastic bags and other light items lying around on a train platform was a bad idea. Thankfully my friend and assistant Luke was on hand to make a mad dash towards the tunnel before they could disappear forever.

After a few portraits inside we decided to take a risk outdoors and Lasse slipped in to something a little more comfortable. He returned wearing his running clothes and thankfully the rain and snow had stopped for now, so we headed over to Israels Plads – a newly-built square just a few hundred yards away.

The whole point of the photos was to illustrate that Lasse will be running this year’s Copenhagen Half Marathon; a race that promises to be one of the best in Northern Europe. So naturally I had to get a safe shot in the bag, which we achieved with Lasse running towards the camera over and over again. The reason it took so many attempts is because none of us could figure out what face he should be pulling: smiling; determined, neutral; crying, perhaps? I’m pretty sure we settled for neutral. Well, that’s what we got anyway.

The last thing I needed was a super-strong portrait; something that combined the urban backdrop of Copenhagen, sport, and some awesome creative lighting. Off came the gel from the flash and down I went on the floor, getting completely drenched in the process. Once again, Luke was standing camera right with an SB-800 mounted inside a Lastolite Ezybox Softbox to soften the light, which I triggered with the Nikon D800’s built-in commander mode. Hey, I know this all technical jargon to most of you, but for the photographers out there this info is Gold!

A nice coincidence occurred with the light and the rain that had fallen: a beautiful reflection on the tarmac. I made the most of this and made sure that I could see Lasse’s entire reflection and didn’t cut any of it out. This just proves that you can plan for every eventuality, but there’s always something that can jump out and surprise you. Thankfully this time it turned out to be something rather nice.

Check out the video below and, as always, let me know your thoughts in the comments box.

Thanks for reading…

PBMJ Behind The Scenes: Lasse Sjørslev from Matthew James on Vimeo.

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