2012-01-21 | 12:41:18

This is Australia I

Australia is a land consisting of neverending roads and the biggest fields I've ever seen. It's frightenly huge and getting lost in the desert here would be a nightmare. Your only company would be scorpions, snakes, spiders and who knows what else? But honestly, I don't mind the long hours in the car, driving through the dry, barren land. It is, very beautiful.

The weather is hot. Crazy hot. And the sun is blistering, almost scorching on your skin. I, who never had to use sunscreen ever got burns after a short hour in the sun. However, I'd rather have the scorching, burning sun than no sun at all, as it was in Sweden before I left.

My first destination was the airport of Adelaide. Adelaide is the capital of South Australia. South Australia is the place where everyone knows everyone. When you meet a complete stranger on the street, you can be sure that he knows somebody you know. This kept surprising me wherever I went. However, the first thing I did was to drive with Deni to Murray Bridge (in the picture above you can see the Murray River, australias longest river) where we had a typical australian lunch with her lovely family. We had fish'n chips and WHY haven't I eaten this before? It's crazy good.

This is Deni. She was an exchange student in our class in Sweden during 2010 and the biggest reason I went to Australia. She's the best Australian I know and also the best companion one could have when travelling this huge country. We spent a couple of days at her parents farm before leaving for one of Australias nicest cities.

We took the train, which is in fact pretty uncommon in Australia. Australians tend to think that it's exciting, they usually grab the car so taking the train, it's almost a treat. I think Deni was more excited than I was (I take the train at least once a month).

As we travelled through the countryside it slowly got greener and greener. We were passing the border between South Australia and Victoria. Victoria is situated southeast of Australia, the home to its capital Melbourne, our destination.

Our first dinner in Melbourne was at some sort of Italian resturant where we got complementary wine and bread. One can't say no to that? Deni had a risotto and I had this lovely pasta with a creamy sauce filled with mushrooms, avocado and chicken. Might have been the best pasta I'd had during 2011. And believe me, I eat a lot of pasta.

We headed to a place called Softbelly which we named our homebar since it was fairlyclose to our hotel and quite cosy. We only went there once.

The next day was our shopping day. It was a day filled with dresses and shoes. Although I only bought one dress and a lot of lattes. We were at Starbucks, I always go there when I get the chance since we don't have it in Sweden.

The backstreets were filled with graffiti and all sorts of art. This one in particular.

Melbourne has a lot of amazing architecture. Actually, Australia is filled with crazy modern structures, some of them are just incomprehendable. But it's a sight to be seen. Especially Federation Square, I thought it was really, really nice.

If I was to live in Australia. Melbourne would be the place.

Travelling | Kommentarer (14)

2012-01-14 | 12:43:50

Back

I'm back. And I miss Australia already.

Travelling | Kommentarer (15)

2011-12-22 | 08:23:31

London - Kuala Lumpur - Adelaide

So, I was pretty careless and forgot my memory card reader at home. Which means I can't upload any photos until I come home (except for these ones from my iPhone). But I'm writing this post anyway because... I'm in Australia!!!! I got here about a week ago, and it's amazing. It's really hot, but in a nice kind of way because it's pretty breezy and not humid. I was in Melbourne a couple of days and got to Deni's place near Adelaide just this morning.

And also, Australia is pretty amazing.

Travelling | Kommentarer (14)

2011-12-12 | 00:08:30

Wedding

I realised that I hadn't shown you the photos of the amazingly beautiful wedding I had the honor to photograph. It's my dear friend Johanna and John who got married in September. They look so incredibly good together. So happy for them. Thank you Johanna and John for inviting me!

And also, from 2012 I will be able to take on weddings. Email angelina@bellebergenwall.com for prices and enquiries.

I shoot, with a camera | Kommentarer (23)

2011-12-10 | 00:00:00

Pieces of 2011

These are pictures of pieces that made up the year 2011. This year has had so many ups and downs, moments of greatness and so so many moments of pure stress. I've been so busy this year that I'd barely had time for anythin but school and a little bit of photography. In some ways I feel that it's good for me, I really feel like I'm moving forward, although I rarely share it with you guys, this is after all not a very personal blog. It's not like I intended it to be unpersonal, but I'm not very open with things in person either. I don't really know how to move on with this blog, either I'm going to continue like I did (hopefully more frequently, I would blog more if I'd hadn't been this damn busy), or I'm going to make it more personal in my own way, by writing more stuff about what I like and think about fashion photography itself. Or I'll just make the blog into a pure photography blog, where the photos speak for themselves. I'm going to give it some thought. You'll see what happens.

On wednesday I'm leaving Sweden for a while. A month to be specific. I'll be in Australia, away from all this work and stress for a while. I'll tell you, don't try to have your own photography business and go to science school at the same time, it wears you out. And I'm pretty worn out. I think this trip will do me good.

About me | Kommentarer (15)

2011-11-27 | 22:36:23

Birds

Here's some behind the scenes from today's shoot. And it went really really well. I had an amazing team. You'll get to see the pictures sometime in January I think.

I shoot, with a camera | Kommentarer (4)

2011-11-24 | 15:43:58

Into dust

Model: Therese @ Nisch Management

Styling & Make-up: Johanna Briét

Hair: Philip Dufva

I shot this together with Olof a couple of weeks ago. The weather was disastrous and we didn't get what we wanted out of the location but we got a few decent shots anyway!

I shoot, with a camera | Kommentarer (10)

2011-11-21 | 01:57:09

Rich kids blues II

Some black and whites of last months shoot.

I shoot, with a camera | Kommentarer (21)

2011-11-15 | 11:54:17

You broke my heart, you killed me

I just saw this trailer of the new movie adaption of the book Wuthering Heights. And I just have to share it with you. To say that I was impressed would be an understatement. And this is just one of many classics being adapted right now. 2012 will be an amazing year I think. We'll see Leonardo Dicaprio play the great gatsby, Hailee Steinfield as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Anne Hathaway as Fantine in Les Miserables and Helena Bonham Carter in Great Expectations. I. am. thrilled.

Feature | Kommentarer (3)

2011-11-13 | 00:03:06

The girl behind the camera II

It's been due a long time. A proper presentation of myself.

Who are you?

My name is Angelina Belle Bergenwall, as you might have guessed since it's pretty obvious if you look at the header. I was born in april 1993, which makes me roughly 18 years old. Currently, I live in Uppsala, a small town one hour north of Sthlm where I study science, or Naturvetenskap as we say in Sweden.

Why science? What about photography?

I'd love to study photography but I'd like to have some good basic qualifications before I lunge myself into the not-always-so-pleasant world of fashion photography. However, when I graduate in 2012 I plan to dedicate myself to photography only.

Do you travel often?

Yes! I love to travel. I've had the incredible luck of having open-minded parents eager to explore the world, I've been travelling ever since I remember. Perhaps it also has to do with my ethnic background. I'm not Swedish at all actually, I am part Moroccan, part Finnish and part Swiss. I do, however, consider myself, as a person, very Swedish. My favorite places in the world is probably London, Rabat and Paris. But there's more to come. I'd love to move to Paris for a while to practise my french, which is like, okay.

What do you eat?

I'm not particulary fond of Swedish food, I usually tend to like other cuisines. I am a big fan of sushi, which is really weird since I usually don't like fish, at all. I also like thai food and italian food. (These last sentences made me very hungry..)

What's your favorite band/artist?

Right now I'm obessed with Florence + The Machine but generally my favorite band is Muse. I've loved them ever since I was about thirteen. I've seen them live three times, twice in Sweden and once at Wembley Arena in London last year (one of the most amazing experiences in my life, truly). Telling you all the bands I like would however fill up this post to the point that no person in their right mind would bother reading it. Instead I'll hand this spotify list to you, with my very very favorite songs. Right here.

What provokes you?
Dishonesty. And lack of self-preservation.
Which person would you like to photograph most?

Arizona Muse.

Colour or black and white?

Black and white is beautiful but I will always prefer colour.

Name three photographers that inspires you?

I actually have three particular I love to death. Paolo Roversi, Nick Knight and Tim Walker. All because of different reasons. They are truly amazing and I hope that one day I can be as good as them. I have these big books by Nick Knight and Tim Walker that are neatly placed in my room. Whenever I feel uninspired I take them down from the shelves.

Who takes photos of you?

Very few. I don't like being in front of the camera, and if I am, I usually ignore it. But sometimes my friends grab a shot, or I take a self-portrait if I really feel like photographing.

Do you have high expectations on yourself?

Yes, very. But I'm the kind of person who needs to have high expectations, or else I have nothing much to work for. I'm generally a very lazy person so in order to motivate myself, I have high expectations, and they grow higher as I'm getting closer to reaching them.

What inspires you, here in life?

One would think that it's photographs. It's not. To be honest I think it's movies, I've always been fascinated by moving images and how they always seem to move me in one way or another. I always try to capture that kind of feeling in just one photograph. I know that I probably try in vain, but that's no reason to stop trying.

Are there any other people, other than photographers that inspires you? Like actors, designers or people in general?

Of course! Actorwise I am a big big fan of Carey Mulligan, Cate Blanchett, Johnny Depp, Audrey Tatou, Natalie Portman, Jamie Bell, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence and my heart does beat a few extra beats for James Franco. I have only one favorite designer and it's Alexander McQueen, although I do like a few others but that's just the clothes not the whole brand.

What do you dream about?

Oh, travelling. And capturing the things that goes along with it. I also dream of not only to capture the moment, but also creating it, in it's true essence. I think that's why I want to work with fashion, creating has always been close to my heart, even before I started to photograph people.

Do you watch any tv-series?
Sure do. I'm a big big fan of Mad Men and Game of Thrones. And right now I'm following Pan Am, Glee, Terra Nova, New Girl and How I Met Your Mother.

How do you edit your beautiful photos?
Ah haha, I wish I could sum it up in just some sentences. I can't. It's a big process, and it differs from time to time. But I do edit in both Photoshop and Lightroom.
What is your best advice to not give up, feel unsuccessful and tired of your own photos?
You will, at some point, feel like you're not getting anywhere and that compared to others, your photos are nothing. I do lots of times, but I have kind of turned it around and I view it as a challenge and think: "Yeah. They're better than I am. Then I just have to work harder in order to get there." And that motivates me a lot. Nobody starts off with photography and takes brilliant photos without any experience at all. We all need practice.
Your three favorite photoshoots?
These three I think.

Is it any photography sites you get inspiration from? Except for those photographers you've already featured.
Fashion Gone Rogue and The Fashionisto is my daily photography inspiration. Otherwise I follow some fashion tumblrs who are really really good.

There was a couple of question that didn't fit into this post. I will do a separate post about them soon!

Feature | Kommentarer (4)

2011-10-31 | 13:56:35

Rich kids blues

Models: David & Rebecca @ Elite
Stylist: Johanna Briét
Hair: Philip Dufva
Make-up: Vanessa Belovarsky

And special thanks to Daniel G Johansson for fetching the bowtie for us.
I will release a black and white version of this shoot later on because there were so many photos I wanted to publish but there's a limit to what one post can take and many of them looked much better in black and white.

I shoot, with a camera | Kommentarer (22)

2011-10-25 | 21:55:08

Ivy & Gold

The days pass by so fast and I can't believe that winter is approaching. I don't really want to believe it. But I have some news for you guys, some of you fellow bloggers who lives in Sweden probably know about the new magazine SHOOT Magazine. For those who don't, it's a photography magazine that will be available in Sweden in december. And I'm featured in an interview done by Jakob! So if you feel like, pick up the magazine in december!

About me | Kommentarer (6)

2011-10-13 | 23:09:15

Until death do us part

There's a lot of things going on right now. I have an incredible amount of photos just waiting to be published, however, that will have to wait. Instead I'm giving you a picture from the first wedding I ever shot, in the beginning of September. The wedding was so, so beautiful.