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Hi!
This year I've found a new way to express myself that suits me perfectly. Self Portraits.
I installed a self timer app on my iPhone a little over a year ago and was immediately hooked.
I've been thinking a lot about self portraits and what it is that makes it so intriguing to me.
I think it's many things. I don't take a lot of selfies in the meaning of holding the phone infront of me and taking a photo. I like selfies a lot, but for some reason I prefer to see myself in the surroundings I'm in, not just a photo of my face that day. It's like I want to remember the place I was at and the mood I was in at the moment I take my picture as much as I want to remember how I looked that day.
Another, more important thing, is my love for theatre. I've been acting since I was very young and always really loved the way the stage contains a story. That is one of the things I love with photography as well; to set a scene and create a fantasy situation in the world I live in.
Self portraits is such a great medium for that because taking a pretty photo of a beautiful landscape is one thing but often I think there's a person missing, someone who can take that amazing scenery and bring it back to a situation that tells a story.
A really tall mountain can be pretty to look at but it rarely tells a story. But if you put a person next to the mountain you not only get a better idea of how large the mountain really is, you also see the photo more from the eyes of the person in the picture. What must it have felt to be there, at that wonderous place?!

I take self portraits on lots of different occasions and for many reasons.
I think it has made me a better photographer too, actually. It forces me to create a scene in my mind and really think of what the feeling in the photo should be.

In this post I will show you some tips on how to take better self portraits and what tricks I use to create moods.
And remember, all of these are taken with my iphone (both my old 4s and my new iPhone6) so no fancy camera equipment needed!
Here are my favourites from 2014.

DOCUMENTING AN EMOTION:
One of the reasons I love self portraits is to document a feeling I had that day. Sort of putting my emotion in a scene.
It takes a bit of acting but mostly just being myself a little bit more than usual to really get the feelings through the lens.
This photo is from when I had the stupid cold in Los Angeles in november. I was bored out of my mind and needed to do something! I was in LA for fucks sake! In a fancy hotel room for that matter!
It felt almost surreal to be forced to stay inside all day in this strange luxurious place that David and I could never afford for ourselves (David's producer booked the room for us) while the sun was shining outside. We had let roomservice know that they wouldn't need to clean our room that day because I was just a pile of fever and snot and weird dreams so the feeling of being all alone in a strange place was even stronger.
I work at a group home with 24 hour shifts. There needs to be someone there during the nights for safety but the person working the nights get to sleep at work. It's a weird feeling to stand in my nightgown, brushing my teeth in the bathroom at a completely quiet and dark workplace.
Summer at my parent's house. David is talking on the phone with people in Hollywood. Astor the cat watches sceptically as I'm dancing barefoot.
Sometimes life is wonderful and weird and quite silly.
(This also reminds me of the hundreds of photos I needed to take before I actually timed the jump perfectly, hah!)
Bored on my vacation. That should be illegal, right?!
A few weeks ago I went to the doctor to take blood tests. I have a stupid thyroid that needs to be checked a lot. Blood tests aren't really my thing though, so I fainted. But I got a lollipop from the nurse, so that was nice.
Here I'm waiting for David to come pick me up, all white in my face and wobbly legged.
And sometimes it's all about getting the feeling of sunshine into the picture to remember on cold winter days.
Like in LA when the cold kept ahold of me and the setting sun felt like the best medicin there ever could be.

FINDING PERFECT LIGHT AND NEVER LETTING GO:
Sometimes it's just a matter of finding a spot with perfect lighting and revel in it.
I can't really explain it, but colours and light can make my heart sing. It feels like music to me when I watch a photo (or anything really) with beautiful tones, light and colour.
This spot in a staircase with a dusty window is just perfect and gets me every time.
I MEAN LOOK! TRIPLE SELFIE!
This was all about showing off my new pink bike shorts that kept my thighs from hating on eachother during the warm summer months.
Oh.
Yeah.
This one and the one below. Music to my colour and light loving eyes.
The sombre tones adds to the atmosphere and I think you can tell I was having days when I wasn't feeling my very best. Those days are to be remembered too, you know.

One of the things I've realised since starting to take all these self portraits is that often times I don't even think of the person in the photo as me. It's just a person, or an emotion.
That is so freeing, you have no idea!
For me it has really been a great way to stop thinking about my body in negative ways. It might sound weird, but think about it, when you see a stranger you don't give them and their bodies the same scrutiny as you do yourself, right? They are just people. People with different bodies, emotions and looks, but you can't see on the outside what they think of themselves on the inside, and when you see a stranger for the first time you only get an idea of them.
This is something I've been thinking about when I look at the photos I've just been taking. I don't see myself as me with all the things that I am. I start seeing a "perfect stranger" that is just what this photo needed. It's so hard to explain but I hope you get the idea. -Let go of the things your mind keep hanging onto and see yourself as a unique person that is meant to look just like you do.

OUTFIT PHOTOS:
That "new to you" vintage find just needs to be documented! Even though the buttons bulge a little- but maybe that was intended?
In LA in my best dress feeling so very ready for a sunny day when Sweden was having rain rain rain for months.

SETTING A SCENE:
This might be my favourite thing to do!
It's all about using the scenery around me and get it to inspire me to create a little story.
Like a game of hide and seek in a Greek temple in the middle of a forest in Sweden.
Or a fantasy land where pink rhododendron flower petals covers all the land.
Or taking the messy kitchen combining it with a lens that should have been wiped, a person in a sailor cardigan and the skirt on sideways with a bleak look on her face and calling it ART.
Ha! I love this photo. I call it "Bored Sailor girl in mint green kitchen with unpaid bills and a loaf of bread."
It's a masterpiece, right?
Finding a fairytale forest and wanting to stay in this dream world forever.
(The iPhone is standing on a tree stump leaning on a pine cone, by the way.)
Nothing is as scary as the Lights Out Hallway.
Over the knee socks and a doll like face sets the scene.
Walking around like a ghost on a dark morning.
Having a cape makes it necessary to take spooky photos on the cemetery during dusk (and scare people out walking).
Is there still time?
Airport bathroom. Nothing more to say.
Knock Knock!
A little series of photos creating a story about an abandoned trailer in the middle of nowhere California.
Anybody home?
Who's there?!
HELLOOOO! Let me in!
I'll just let myself in then...

I edit all of my photos with the app Snapseed. It's brilliant!
You can change the exposure, contrast, saturation and all that but you can also edit small areas of the photo; like if there's a spot that is a bit too dark you can lighten it up a little.
The app has a bunch of really nice filter styles too and you can change how much of the style you use and also edit brightness and saturation in every filter. You can put a tilt shift effect to your photos, create a center focus and much more.
Snapseed costs a little but it is so very worth it. It's like a mini Lightroom for your smartphone! (No, I'm not sponsored by snapseed. I'm just a big fan.)

DOUBLING IT UP:
Then we have the extra curricular. The app PhotoMirror is a really fun way to turn your photos into weird and wonderful art pieces.
This spooky hotel corridor with a Lotta inside it is even spookier when there's two Lottas in it.
Bored Squared.
Happy and excited Squared.
Bonus Pic. David and Lotta as King and Queen from a deck of cards.


The self timer app I'm using is called TimerCam and I usually set it to 10 or 15 seconds so I don't have to run to get in place. As for making the iPhone stand I use what I have around me as tripod. Books, a fruit, a folded up sock; anything really! I never ever use the flash because it just makes skin tone and everything look horrible.

And yes, it feels a bit awkward in the beginning but don't worry, you'll get used to it soon enough. And before you know it you'll start seeing scenes everywhere around you!

I hope you found this inspiring.
If you do start (or already are) taking self portraits I would love to see some!
Add or tag me on instagram or twitter (I'm @lottalosten everywhere) and show me your scenes!

Tjingeling!
/Lotta
Hi!
SO much has been going on lately. Let's take a peek, shall we?!
It was almost Halloween and that got me in the mood of taking spooky self portraits. Here's three of them:
Vintage Nurse Cape weather on the cemetery at dusk.
Scared a few people by walking around the graves looking shady (or trying to find a good tombstone to lay my phone on and take a picture with the self timer).
The Lights Out hallway is a constant source of creativity.
One lazy morning, wearing the dressing gown sewn by my mother out of beautiful vintage lace curtains.
David and I made our horror short Coffer in time for Halloween. Here's a behind the scenes photo showing how David got in character.
And if you want to see how David and I made the film David did a Behind the Scenes video on Coffer. You can find that here.
A november rose at the cemetery.
Opening night for the play "Perfect Life AB" was getting closer and I had lines to learn!
When we emptied the chest before filming Coffer I found some long forgotten treasures in a bag.
My beloved Vintage nurse cape and, if I may say so myself, some Rita Hayworth-y hair!
And this has become a favourite outfit for me.
The red vintage hat is really lovely, but since I don't own any black coats it hasn't been used that much. It doesn't really go with any of the colourful coats I own so it has been hanging on the wall, forever waiting.
Until I realised I could pair it with my over sized thrifted cardigan and a big scarf!
I'm calling it my "Annie Lennox Look".
It's getting too cold now though so I might need to find a black coat soon...
One day I got a new phone AND sushi. It was a good day. As you can see.
Hair hair everywhere.
(see! The "Annie Lennox Look" again!)
Waiting for the rest of Teater Esther sitting on the pink plastic chair that very much resembles a toilet throne.
Teater Esther (well, some of us: Lisa, Frida and I) hard at work making scenography for our play.
We spent a day and evening making the scene look all pink and beautiful. David was helping with lights and stuff and here he takes a break on stage.
A little later in the evening. Time for Hanna to take a little break in the middle of the stage.
Me peeking though the curtains looking like a very happy and excited red apple.
Testing the cookies I baked in the middle of the night to sell during the play's intermission. The recipes is from my grandmother and it makes the best cookies ever.
Perky and Grumpy in the elevator. Part 2.
(To see part 1, click here.)
It was my birthday on november 7.
It might be one of my best birthdays this far. Coconut frozen yoghurt, great presents, sushi lunch, opening night of our play (It went AWESOME!) and after that Teater Esther and our friends went to a restaurant to celebrate. Such a lovely lovely day!
And don't be fooled by the number of lights in the frozen yoghurt and the childlike happiness in my face; I am now 33 years old.
A pre show selfie in the dressing room.
The colourful life of our neighbours.
My mother and father came to Gothenburg on saturday to see the play. I took the opportunity to trick them into a family selfie in the elevator!
Yesterday there was a rooftop meeting on the house next to ours.
And you know what!? David and I are going to LA for some still very secret, but oh so exciting, stuff! Sorry (not sorry) for the teasing but it just makes me so happy I might burst!
Sun and warmth and adventures, here we come!

Talk to you soon again!

Tjingeling!
/Lotta


Oh! And it has come to my attention that the link to the little video I made on how to pronounce my name in my last post didn't work.
It has now been fixed! You can see the video here if you want too.

Hello!

This was supposed to be a Two Two Two but there were just too many photos in my phone and some of them didn't match with any other, some of them fit together with lots of photos and I just AAAAAAHHH I want to put them all in a post!
So let's do that, shall we?

So, lately! I've been taking photos of sunsets:
Both from my balcony...
... and from a puddle one the ground.

We had a cat living with us for half a week!
Pixan's human Jossan went on a vacation and David and I were more than happy to have cat company for a few days.
David is one of those people that cats just seem to love. I'm more of an aquired taste, I guess. The cats that like me LOOOOVE me, but some are just "Meh, I don't care fore her". So I was a little nervous before Pixan arrived. And when she came I was at work and David kept sending me pictures of how he and Pixan were all cuddled up in the sofa, already loving eachother, and that didn't make me feel any less nervous!
But! She loved us both!
Here she is in the Lights Out hallway looking like a cute little ghost kitten.
One evening Pixan kept me company in the kitchen while I was trying to write.
Here she seems to be thinking "dumdidumdidum, I'm just sitting here all normal, don't mind me" while she's planning naughty things.
See how great she looked in our apartment! We miss her already.
I've been sitting a lot in the kitchen writing, learning my lines in the play I'm in, listening to podcasts and drinking tea.
One day I was feeling Bleh. Or Meh.
Wanted to do lots of creative things but had no ideas and ended up taking a zillion self portraits trying to capture the feeling of Meh. Or Bleh.
This was as close to it I could get (you should see the photo gallery in my phone though! Lotta all over the place, standing on the chair, stretched out on the floor, on top of the chest, infront of the door, it was a real circus!).
Last weekend David and I went to a HUGE antique store/fleamarket a 40 minutes drive from Gothenburg. It was so big, with so many things, that I ended up buying nothing. I met these cool mannequins though.
This girl seems to be having something wrong with her arms.
David and his big mouth.
Antique store selfie! And look at that awesome wall paper!
Feet selfies. Footsies.
Elevator selfies. Here with take away coffee.
Perky and Grumpy in the elevator.

(Can't stop laughing at this)
Dramatic self portrait with new skirt.
I got my vintage coats back from the tailors! This one has been smelling lots of Gothenburg air lately.
One morning I met up with a friend for breakfast at Antikhallarna. This is my favourite spot in Gothenburg, I think (together with Trädgårdsföreningen, of course!).
Most days my food look like just plain old boring food. But sometimes it looks like this!
Cold wheat noodles with salad, spring leek, mango, edamame beans, sugar snaps, smoked salmon, sesame seeds sprinkled on top of it and lots of dressing made of mustard, olive oil and white wine vinegar.
This is so tasty and I've made it several times in the last few weeks.
The self portrait spot in the well lit stairwell with the dusty windows has seen me a lot too.
Yellow tights!
Having a staring contest with myself.

At night time for a more dramtic look!
One evening David had me painting small, white dots all over my face.
All in the name of visual effects, and testing for an upcoming little film project. More on that another day hopefully!
David helped Teater Esther with the poster and trailer for our play Perfect Life AB. I wrote about that in my last post. David and I made the teaser trailer a few days ago and then yesterday we released it. I think it's so awesome! Have a look at it here if you want too (it's in swedish though).

The opening night of Perfect Life AB is november 7 which also happens to be my birthday so that is going to be an absolutely fantastic day!
If you are in the Gothenburg area during that weekend make sure to get your tickets soon! Last year we sold out completely and had to turn people down because there were no more seats left. Check out the Facebook event for more info.

Today is a stereotypical Gothenburg day. Super gray and rainy. Quite nice actually, at least when you're indoors looking out on the weather while sipping tea. As I am.
Hope you're having a wonderful wednesday!
Talk to you again soon!


Tjingeling!
/Lotta
It's the season when my wardrobe is in sync with the weather! Finally!
It only happens a few months a year so it's definitely celebration worthy, in my opinion.
Since I am a lover of hats and vintage outerwear I just can't seem to stop buying those things on my fleamarket adventures. To me it's like finding a treasure when my eyes land on that amazing coat, and if it fits me it would be a terrible crime to just leave it there, wouldn't it?!

Every year when summer starts to make its transition into fall I always feel so energized and inspired. I really, really love clothes and the creativity needed to pull together an outfit for every day.
Think about it, every day when you wake up you make a choice of what to wear and how you present yourself for the world, however small or big it is for you that exact day.
Is it a business meeting Monday? Is it a stay inside in your pajamas Tuesday? A Wednesday filled with errands? A Thursday with lots of paper work, a dreadfully scary Friday or is it maybe a stroll through the city with a cup of coffee in you hand Saturday? And then end the week with a Sunday when anything can happen.
I treat every day like a costume party, sort of (with the exception for the stay in my PJs kind of days) and the days when I feel the greatest is the ones when I want to be creative with what I wear. It boosts me so much to start off a tired and gloomy morning by thinking of colours, shapes and clothing combinations.
It might seem pointless to some people but a day when my clothes feel all wrong is not a good day.

Now my favourite season is here again! I was looking back at what I've been wearing earlier years, just to see if I had changed my style since then, and I thought we could take a peek at some really good days, clothes wise. Okay?
The. Best. Hat.
I remember the day when I first thought of wearing that yellow scarf with the wine red velvet jacket. It's such a wonderful combination of colours and I could stare at it forever. It is both soft and intriguing if you get what I mean. It's like music for my eyes.
My mother's beautiful schoolbag from the 50's is one of my most treasured things in my wardrobe. It's just so lovely!
Aaah, my wonderful wonderful vintage nurse cape! Soon it will be perfect weather for you!
I love this coat that I found in a vintage shop in Los Angeles of all places. I guess it wasn't needed by anyone there so I took it back to cold and wintery Sweden instead (I really don't appreciate winter though).
My grandmother's old suede coat with three quarter, trumpet, sleaves.
This raspberry dream and the striped coat in the photo beneath this is at the tailors right now for some tiny alterations.
I hope they will get to see a lot of beautiful autumn days this year!
(And look at that fantastic little raspberry hat/beret/thingy!)
Best shoes I've ever owned. Will cry when they are beyond rescue.
I got this duffel coat from a dear friend of my family when I was in my late teens. It was hers from when she was younger but she thought I would like to have it instead. Of course I did!
Today so far has been a pajamas all day kind of sunday, but I plan on changing that real soon. David and I are going out for indian food and a walk in the grey and calm Gothenburg weather. It's definitely time for the green hat.
I'm sorry for not having updated the blog very often. I have been in a non creative mood lately, but yesterday I felt how the need for creative work started to flow through me. I couldn't figure out what it was I wanted to do though, I just had the urge to make something. I made a pot of tea and a bowl of popcorn, but nothing that could stifle the creative need in me.
When I went to bed I felt sort of angry with excess restlessness, like my brain was mad at me for not realising what it is I should do.
I'm hoping this is a sign of a big creative explosion coming.

Until next time:

Tjingeling!
/Lotta
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