Lenses, cameras & Late Friendships
Shot with Leica M8 50mm F2 Summicron.
30 Years of Almost
A late reunion with Magnus ( https://www.instagram.com/magnusode09 ), which stretches all the way back to the 2000s . Or maybe already in the 90s.
That’s the strange part. We recently discovered he was connected to my former neighbors back in the day. Same circles. Same streets. At the same time. Somehow, we managed to live parallel lives for almost thirty years without actually syncing up.
Both are into photography.
Both are walking similar paths.
Both were probably standing a few meters apart at some random event in 1998, shooting something completely different and never realizing it.
We’ve basically been two satellites orbiting the same planet, waiting for someone to press “merge layers.”
Last week, I called him. “Join us for a photowalk.”
That was it. And just like that, thirty years of almost turned into coffee cups steaming on a cold platform at Sinsen.
Magnus Ødegård Serville´s IMAGES from the walk
Conversations Between Frames
The best part of these photowalks is not the photos.
It’s the gaps between them.
Standing there talking about how we met decades ago.
Laughing at how small Oslo suddenly feels. And how it is to be a father and all the other things that are related to getting older, wow, I felt old just writing this, haha.
We also talked about realizing that photography has this quiet way of dragging the right people into the same frame, even if it takes thirty years to focus properly.
I’ve always said that photography is one of the best ways to clear your head. You step outside, meet other people who just want to wander around with a camera, and suddenly you’re talking about everything. A YouTube video you recently watched. A lens you’re thinking about buying. A camera you definitely don’t need but somehow still want. And in between all that, you forget whatever was weighing on you.
After a little while, André Wulf (https://www.instagram.com/youpique) joined us on the walk. I can tell you all, I have never met a more
knowledgeable camera gear guy in my life. If a secret lens is being manufactured deep within a factory in China,
He will be the first to know about it. Trust me on that.
More laughs. More walking. More “wait, look at this and that.”
André Wulf´s IMAGES from the walk
At some point, something shifts.
You stop thinking about sensors. You stop thinking about brands. You even stop thinking about settings.
You just look. And when that happens, the camera becomes secondary. It’s just a tool trying to keep up with what your eyes are already doing.
That’s my favorite part.
I don’t really know how to explain it, but there’s always a moment when things just fall into place while you’re taking photos. Sometimes it takes a cup of coffee and a sandwich, and then 30 minutes later, you’re suddenly in the zone, seeing things you would normally have walked past.
There’s something powerful about learning from others and shooting in a group. Watching how someone else frames a scene you would have ignored.
You absorb it.
Then you go on solo walks and process it quietly.
You refine it. You strip it down. You find your own rhythm.
Learn from the masses. Walk alone. Return stronger.
