So, it's almost 10 years ago, i set foot for the first time on Sicilian soil - back in Oct 2014 while living in Giuseppe's apartment in Catania and later meeting Sal - albeit without any further contact, email or anything. Yet, 8 month later, meeting Sal again, would also change my life in the future.

Sal and I started dating since June 2015 - and from there i flew 31 times between between Stockholm and Sicily, between 2015 - March 2020.

But in the past 4 years, I haven't been to Sicily again. Making me feeling strangely "unfamiliar" with flying, preparing and everything else around the task of going to another country. It all feels odd to me now. And makes me nervous *LOL* as there are only 34 hours left.

Saved by the bells

I still have a night shift duty to work - and i almost blew the entire journey... if not a colleague of mine, Christos, offered me to work my night shift towards Saturday.

I totally missed to apply for a vacation day on Friday, and realized only the other day, that my shift ends at 05.16 at Gullmarsplan on the same morning of departure, Saturday at 05.16. While hours later, our flight to Sicily would take off.

A got a sudden WTF moment there. (Wondering how on earth could I forget that fact ?!)

While my job couldn't help me about it (back and forth), bla bla bla - lucky circumstances lead into that Christos will work my night shift - and I will work for him once day in May. Kind of like a switch. What makes it so fantastic is, that Christos himself took the initiative, offering to work in my night duty.

Amazing Christos

I thought that was simply amazing of him !!! It almost felt strange that somebody would help me, you know. And here it came from totally unexpected direction, out of the blue. I remember during that break in the middle of the night, meeting Christos. I was so tired that i had to take a power nap. But something sort of pushed me towards, telling him what just happened (with me fucking up my last working day). That's when he offered me his help. I almost didn't tell him about it, that tired I was...

The ever question...

What am i going to take with me in terms of Camera and lenses ? Well, in the end, after months of thinking about it - I have so far, decided to just take with me the Canon EOS R6 camera, since it is extremely versatile. And the bright champions such as Laowa Argus 28mm f 1.2 lens, the Canon RF 50/1.2 L as well. Those cover all possible social events, when we meet many of Sal's friends and former students.

I may also add a manual Canon FD 20mm f 2.8 for "walk around street photography", as well the super tiny RF 28mm f 2.8 STM lens, because it is so small, and so incredible sharp (= going small), which also serves as a very small travel camera during the flights. And i will likely add the Canon RF 85 mm f 2 IS, and the formidable Canon EF 135mm ƒ 2 L for daylight portraits, and if the Etna volcano makes some red fuzz at night - i get at least a little bit closer.

I could of course take the Olympus with me - and it's formidable lenses which I have more than enough with me. But i feel... I don't know. I don't feel for it, to be honest. It would feel like i take too many camera + lenses with me. And therefore i rather take the Canon EOS R6 with me, with a few lenses.

Basta.

Examples of Street photography
with a 20mm lens in Catania, Sicily (2014)

• Guy with a t-shirt saying "LOST angeless"

Why didn't I refine this street photography style !?

One thing I don't understand...

Why didn't repeat this technique and refine it more ? (Read; exercise, exercise, exercise ?) I mean by using a very wide 20 mm lens and capture people "on the fly", in the streets, walking by, or doing things ? I had so much fun with it in Catania when i visited it the first time in 2014. I remember it so well, that i would liked to do this again...

But i never (!) did.

A few of the images, I like a lot - because they so untypical for my photo style. I mean, it's now been 10 frikking years, but i never did the same. Why didn't I refine this photo technique ?!

Interference with Gay Cruising ?!

Or was I always so busy cruising in the parks ? (I love gay cruising in parks - but unfortunately that phenomena has died out in Stockholm entirely. It was a thing in existence back in the 80s around the City Hall of Stockholm and the tiny park nearby, as well in the Park at Zinkensdamm. But somehow towards the end of the 90s it disappeared. Except at Freskati - which still has some activity during daytime, because it is also a place where gay people love to take a sun bath. (Apparently it was a cruising place for at least 100-130 years).

Well, that may not explain why I never tried to repeat this photo style... Yes, I do love cruising - i certainly love that. It is exciting. Quite often i preferred to go out without a camera. But still... having a camera + lens with me in a little bag - doesn't really speak against going cruising later when the sunlight started to fade ...

Am i not committed anymore ?

Maybe I am just not so committed to photography anymore ? Certainly not at the same level like back in the 90s. On the other hand, I still have periods, where i pull the trigger and make beautiful, even fun photos. The Carnival images I truly love to have done. Despite wine and beer in my veins, i still nailed it

It felt vital, colorful, splashy and fun - and wasn't about perfection either. Maybe it was because of all our guests... the people, the faces, the fun, the action giving birth to inspiration (an photographic exercise). An energy which moves though me, inspires and always had a special kind of activation that comes naturally!

(Oh hello Sicily, i am sure the upcoming 10 days will have plenty of opportunity to make lovely portraits "on-the-fly"... It should be really fun - and it has been a very long time). Maybe THAT is what I did the most in Sicily after 2015.

As Sal often took me to meet his students, family, friends and buddies - I made tons of lovely portraits, many times during 2016-2019

Maybe the problem is this:

That I often forget what I have done in photography... Especially since I also take away large parts of my PhotoDiary here, say every 5 years. So, i focus mainly on the current year - and far less on what I have done in the past, both recent and distant past.

Here some fun from Winter 2019 in Sicily.

• Gabriella and Anna in action... (2019)

• Anna - a little bit like Greta Garbo (2019) | Sony A7s / ISO 10.000

• Rosella and Leo

• (May 2019) • Sal in Nicolosi, Sicily. The (only) time we built a simple "studio"with my very old studio lights from 1988 ...