Almost there...
This picture was taken last sunday on my last flight for the day. Very exciting moment since at this stage I only have two flights left to go until I get my glider pilot's licence, which hopefully will happen next weekend, time and weather permitting...
I am sitting here in a Discus B just before take off. A single-seater glider that at first feels wild because of the lightness of its controls, but once one understands it it becomes the most gentle and pleasant of gliders. To make me understand the Discus it actually took a bad take off and a hard landing that followed with suggestions and coaching from Gunnar and Anders (my instructors for the day at Stockholm Segelflygklubb). I now feel at home in the Discus just as much as in an ASK 21.
This has been an extremely exciting summer with an indredible amount of flying experiences, new friends and fantastic weather here in Sweden. Experiences both from Långtora (my club) and Ålleberg, where I spent one week as a test student, flying with numerous teachers and learning something new in every flight. Here follow some pictures from my days at Ålleberg:
Gliding is really something I could strongly recommend to anyone. The feeling of freedom and concentration at the same time, forgetting one's problems for a while and the feeling of being in control of something as big as flying.
As soon as I get my licence I gladly invite anyone I know up in a glider as a passenger jst to be able to offer this great experience.
Brand i strippklubb på Hornsgatan
Original prints finally for sale!!!!
I have just published the new gallery to sell original photographic prints from my forthcoming book Swedish Fetish.
Many people had been asking to buy prints from the book already since my exhibition at Marie Laveau in January, but I had decided to wait until the actual publication of the book was a bit more imminent, which it is now.
To see the gallery, and hopefully buy a print or two, you should go to
http://belluso.com/fetish/prints/index.htmThere you can also find some original prints in a limited signed edition.
The quality of the prints is really high, these are not inkjet cheap prints but the real mc. coy.
Here is just a little taste of some of the various images and styles you can find there.
Well I am now wanted in the studio since they are ready with the make up on yet another fetish girl waiting to be photographed for the next edition of the book.
Have a nice evening!
Riccardo Campogiani
I have been meaning to blog from London, writing about my trip down memory lane and interesting things that happened there, but I have been totally destroyed by the terrible news that hit the Swedish newspapers the other day. A 16 year-old boy got brutally murdered by some other 16 year-olds that he actually knew, not only, whose parents where friends with the victim's parents.
The boy was the son of a friend of mine, Dado, one of the kindest and warmest people I have met, and also one of the people who has had most sorrow in his family life.
What really makes me be speachless is the brutal way in which young Riccardo was killed. Being a father myself I wonder what one can do, as a parent, to keep our children in safety, when they are obviously not even afe in the company of their own friends, whose parents we know.
Where have we come to? What is this terrible place I have brought my son into? How can teenagers be so brutal these days? Is it the influence of films, computer games or lack of close family contact?
These are serious social problems, especially since e live in a so-called civilised country that is supposed to be one of the safest in the world. This terrible incident should be a real eye-opener not only to parents and teachers but to everyone.
I send you, Dado, my deepest condoleances. Riccardo, may you rest in peace. And you four cruel animals that brought his death, I can only wish you that someone has mercy on your souls when your day comes.
This blog will be in silence until next week as a sign of respect and deep grief and if you want to participate in our grief and also as a sign of protest against street violence, please send everyone you know to this blog and either simply pass by and read these lines or simply reply by just putting a + sign.
http://gfx.aftonbladet.se/multimedia/dynamic/00426/10s08-rick-218_jpg_426122b.jpg
http://intressant.se/intressant
Three weeks after the beginning of my new healthier life I have lost three
Three weeks after the beginning of my new healthier life I have lost three kilos. But the point is not the loss of weight that became a significant health factor for me, since all the weight was very, or rather still is, very evenly distributed around my waist, and as such is causing me serious back problems with my hernia. Now I sound like an old fogey, I know, but at my tender age, the combination of a bad diet and lack of excercise is not a good one. I now train three times a week and I eat healthy food. I still eat a lot, but the food I eat actually helps me burn unnecessary fats. One more thing is that I have discovered water. Crazy as it may seem, I never used to drink water, in fact I never used to drink, period. The times I ingested liquids where rare and often in those rare social occasions with friends. Of course this transition period is tough. The body takes some time to adjust. But the fact that, in spite of being carnivorous and actually liking meat, I chose to only eat meat in rare occasions is also making me feel better. I first decided not to eat meat because of principles. For many years I lived with the contradiction of loving animals but still eating them. You hear how terrible it sounds. Then a few weeks ago I saw a picture of a cow at a slaughter and I made up my mind. A single picture changed my life. I said this to my personal trainer when we went through my new diet, thinking he would tell me that I would need meat. But the opposite happened. He told me that meat, as well as being very hard to digest, also contains fats that are extremely difficult to break down. Fish instead contains omega 3 that actually helps break down bad fats. Vegetable fats are the easiest to break down. I have not become a vegetarian, but I limit my meat intakes to three or four times a month. Once a week I go on a binge, to compensate my sugar and other needs. All of this sounds rather boring, but it is the awareness of needed changes in my lifestle that is important. The fact that I want to have a healthier body. I want the next half of my life to be better than the previous one. Eating cakes and meat and all of those things that are now only rare treats, was good for my soul and not too bad for my body while young. Now it's different. I want to underline the fact that I am not starving. I am probably eating more than before and certainly more often. I am just eating healthier. Starving would have the opposite effect as well as being dangerous. Now I'll have a nap:)
Today was a perfect day for flying. It felt good to be back in the a
Today was a perfect day for flying. It felt good to be back in the air after such a long time. Shame the field is so far from home. A few more flights before winter then await several months of studying theory, but that's fun too:). Now an evening with a film.
In the glider, just before take off.
In the glider, just before take off.
Segelflyg
Today I had planned to go flying, but the weather seems a bit unstable. I have recently become a member of the SSFK (
Stockholms SegelFlygKlubb) and I plan to take my soaring licence next summer. I will do my theory during the winter/spring then take the final exam in Borås, where I will be for about a week to do the final practice. A bit depressing thinking that winter has not even began....
But I must stop ocmplaining about the long winter, the cold, etc. I chose to live here, I should shut up and stop complaining, agreed :-)
Have a lovely saturday!
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Autumn is here. Cold, rain and I already long to warmer places. Today%
Autumn is here. Cold, rain and I already long to warmer places. Today I lost the possibility of a shooting trip to Marocco because I was too expensive for the client. Instead I'll be going to London to see my agent and then to the Rubber Ball, which should be fun.
Having dinner at Back a Yard, a new Jamaican restaurant on Södermalm.
Having dinner at Back a Yard, a new Jamaican restaurant on Södermalm. The owner and chef cooked the birthday dinner for my friend Daniel and the food was just amazing. This is a late dinner after training and I'm exhausted.
Kedjebrev
Don't you just hate them? Chain mails. I mean, who in their right mind wold send a chain mail to someone they actually like? Why put the pressure of a chain mail onto a friend? "Send this to at least 20 friends within the first 24 hours. If you do so you will receive great fortune, wealth and health, if you don't you'll be cursed till Doomsday" or "If you send this to 10 friends but only 2 replies to you then you are a bad friend". Should it not rather say "if you don't receive any replies then you hve some very good, considerate friends that don't want to bother you and tell you that you are an idiot to send them such crap mail.
And how come that still today, i 2007, people do not realise that most chan m ails are actually a form of server boycot that has absolutely nothing to do with fortune, misery or angels?
Just so you know once and for al, if you ARE a friend, please do NOT send me any chain mail :-)
Mobile blog on the go. Today I feel too tired to blog, so I post o
Mobile blog on the go. Today I feel too tired to blog, so I post one of my paintings. The photography, text and painting are by me and printed on large canvas. Good night.
Old blog from My Space
Just to keep my blog all in one place I post here old blog entries from My Space...for those that did not read it there...
Now that I have discovered that I can blog from my phon this blog should get more interesting. I plan to blog from some of my shoots sometimes, from my trips, etc.
Enjoy and please do comment:-)
17 Sep 2007  | BORING F*****G weekend!!!!!
Current mood:  confused
Category: Art and Photography It all started on Friday, which should have actually been redated to the 13th. One of the worse shoots in ages, when I did not get to do the first picture until almost 3pm because of various "technical difficulties" with the rest of the crew. Finally, when I was able, or maybe I should say "allowed" to shoot, I saw that I was about to embark in a shoot that was not at all what was asked for by the client. The stylist (that will remain anonymous since it actually is a stylist that I like working with and that is usually very creative) misinterpreted the indications given by the client. The shoot was supposed to be for an underwear special in a magazine and in the styling there hardly were any pieces of underwear... It was way too late to change anything at that point. Styling a shoot takes several days and there I was with a full team on a Friday afternoon. I started to shoot...hoping that the client would somehow be able to publish the job. We used some collector's cars in a couple of the shots, crs that are in a garage next door to my studio. One of them, a gorgeous MGA, was rather dusty and in order to give my assistants a hand while they where busy in moving my lights and cameras from the studio to the garage, I decided to dust off the MGA. As soon as I was done with that, the model suddenly decides to literally jump on the bonnet with dirty feet. You can imagine my reaction. One os my assistants, Linda, caled me the next day to tell me she'd never seen me loose my temper and patience with a model as I did then in all of the 3 years we've been working together. I finished shooting at 11pm, exhausted, cheesed off, but the pictures turned out gorgeous, ven if I say so myself. The hair and make up where great, the styling was also great, even if it did not match the client's directions and requests...this is getting to be like a docu-soap...I'll let you know what the client said during the course of the week... Then came Saturday, and I was really looking forward to a nice relaxing and enjoyable weekend with the family. After the wonderful surprise of being woken up by my wife and son that treated me to breakfast in bed, we got ready and went to get the car in the garage. The whole right hand side of my car had a keyring scratch on it. How can some people be so pathetic, distructive and simply nasty? I have a suspect. I had noticed a BMW M5 in the garage that moved parking space every other day and for the last few days it was parked behind my car, but in a space that is not normally rented out because it's impossible to get in or out of it if there is a car in front of it.
Saturday morning the M5 was there, behind my car, and I guess that the owner got pissed off with my car being parked there, in my allocated space, because he probably wanted to get out of the garage with his car. Quite right, when I returned to the garage on Saturday afternoon, the M5 was gone. This evening, Sunday, the M5 was back, it got in behind my space while I was gone. Tomorrow morning I will find out if the owner of the M5 actually has an allocated space in our garage or if he simply waits for cars to get in or out in order to get free parking indoors. I will also report the whole thing to the police, including my suspicions...I'll keep you updated even on this. To crown my weekend, my hernia decided to pay me a visit this evening. DAMN IT!!!! I hope it's just a false alarm...I really don't want to be stuck at home for weeks again! Or even less of walking with crutches again...definitely NOT sexy! Apart from that I had some quality time with the family:-) Tomorrow is another week and I intend to approach it with lots of positive energy.
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Picture Book
By Simply Red
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13 Sep 2007 | Black eyed Peas afterparty
Category: Music I've had a superstressed day at work today...tomorrow I'm shooting a fun editorial job. Now I'm stressing out of the studio to the gym (yes, I've started training again) and then off to the Black Eyed Peas afterparty. But first some drinks with some friends from ASW.
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12 Sep 2007 | Shooting with my new baby
Current mood:  awake
Category: Art and Photography Today I shot with my new baby, a digital Hasselblad. I just love it. You can see the results in my "beauty" album. The make up was of course done by Will, he's simply the best. The model was a girl called Polina, a 15 year old girl from Synk. Unfortunately my assistant Francesco was sick, but Mike, a freelance assistant I sometimes use popped in to help out. My dearest Linda who had been my first assistant for three years has now become freelance in order to go on and try her wings. That's hte sad part when you find a good assistant, Sooner or later they have to go on, it's in the nature of the job. I wish he all the luck in the world but I surely miss her. The great thing is that she'll be freelancing as an assistant for me too and we have plenty of jobs lined up together See you on Friday for the editorial shoot Linda! Apart from today's shoot I am quite stressed at the monent. Lots of work going on and my book "Swedish Fetish" is getting delayed with some printing problems. I can't wait for it to come out of the press so I can get on with life and the next project, which will probably be a part two of the book. I just wish more people would order my book...most have not understood that the only way to buy the book is from my site www.belluso.com/fetish. Most think it will be out in the shops sooner or later...wrooong! The other day I saw a new fashion shoot in the magazine MAN done by my good friend (and also ex-assistant) Henry Moshizi: WOW!!!! Fantastic shots Henry! I'm proud of you! Now it's time for me to get some rest...tomorrow I have to fork out the best part of 10.000:- to the mecanics of BMW who fixed my X5. I hate such expenses!!! After that I will go to the gym. Yes, I have started training again. Turning 45 suddenly hit on me and I need to keep in shape 
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17 Jun 2007 | Apologies to everyone!!!!!
Current mood:  sick
Category: Friends I just want to apologise to everyone for not hving been in touch lately. Work has been really hectic recently (well, for the past few months) and I have hardly had any time for anything else. This last week I have been paying the price for stressing and working too much. I have been home with a hernia (3rd time for me) and going around with crutches, like an OAP. I know many of you good friends have been warning me for a long time, I really appreciate your concern and I am sorry for not having paid attention to your warnings. The truth is that unfortunately someone has made the days way too short, I mean, 24 little hours for doing everything one needs to do in a day? I normally work between 10 and 18hours a day, I guess my average working day is of 13 hours. That does not leave much time for family, friends, relaxation, hobbies, etc, does it? There is so much more I want to do and need to do in this life that I don't know how I'll manage to. I have a wonderful team of assistants and agents and friends that support me and help me in my everyday work, to make my life easier, and I still don't have enough time for everything. Anyway, I will be off on a shoot to Brazil next week (hoping my back will allow me to fly and work properly), then I'll be on holiday without even coming home in between. A well-deserved holiday when I will take care of my son, my wife and myself I hope. I wish all of you a wonderful summer and I'll try to keep you updated on what is happening in the meantime. This coming autumn will be full of events, not forgetting the release of my first book. By the way, have you ordered your copy yet? (www.belluso.com/fetish). You do know it will NOT come out in the stores...only available on my site. Oh yes, one more thing...have any of you had time to listen to my music? (BuzzBlu). Not much to listen to actually...just curious to hear what you think...and do be honest..after all, musi is NOT my field :-)))
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02 Jan 2007 | Vernissage
Current mood:  creative Here we go...20 years later and I'm about to have my second exhibition. Time does fly, I say... It feels good to have come to thist stage, showing my private work to the public, since it means that I have been doing private work, pieces that reflect my inner thoughts and feelings, and this means that I have not just been a commercial producer of images. It really feels good, also because this is a double show with two sides of my personal work. One part is a mixture of painting, text and photo that I have litterally barfed out and put together. Ten pieces printed on canvas. Ten large canvases splattered with my guts. Then there is a small photographic preview of a book on fetish I am working on, and that is the result of a huge collaboration with lots of absolutely wonderful new friends, people who are helping me in my project, people that have reached another level of knowing themselves. All this sounds great, BUT...the fact reamins that I will be showing my guts to the world, and that feels creepy. That strangers as well as friends, colleagues have access to my entrails, shown in a public place is a freaky feeling and quite a scary one...hmmm...oh well, honi soit qui mail y pense, as they say... Having said all this I hope that many wil come to see my work, love it or hate it, it does not really matter, as long as it moves you in some way. The place will be Marie Laveau in Stockholm at Hornsgatan 66, the date for the vernissage the 11th of Janyary 2007, though it will be hanging for three months.
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05 Oct 2006 | Rape
Current mood:  infuriated
Category: Life Today I am in another city in Sweden, I am not saying where in order to protect the identity of a poor girl who was the victim of a terrible aggression. A 16 years-old swedish fashion model was in Paris with the agency mademoiselle and she was raped by a disgusting monster, for there are no other words to describe a person that would do such a thing. The reason why I do mention the name of the agency is because I want other models and model agents around the world to know what they have done, or rather, not done. I am in no way accusing the agency nor its employees for the hrrible act, since they were not involved in that, but for not having offered the girl in question any psychological help, nor legal help in the matter. Quite the opposite, they offered her money to keep the matter quiet in order to protect the agency's reputation. I am too distressed right now to go into details and I do not feel that it is relevant nor appropriate to do so in here, but I just want to tell everyone what disgusting attitude they had towards a minor. Life and people really do suck sometimes....sad.
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13 Sep 2006 | Pictures from my project
Current mood: sick
Category: Art and Photography Today I chose to post some few pictures from my "secret" book project.
I hope you like the images. Please feel free to rate and comment them, but please do not ask me what the book or project are about...if you don't know, then it means I don't want you to know..yet...You will know when it will be published. It will probably take me at least one more year to complete, and even more hard work with late nights, more blood sweat and tears being shed, I guess. For this project I have to thank first of all my wife for being so supportive and understanding and my son for being so patient with me. I Love you guys!!! The others that need to be thanked will be properly thanked upon publication :-)
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Välkommen till min nya blog på denna sida!
Idag har jag flyttat min blog på denna sida, och för er som inte känner mig så föredrar jag att skriva och prata på engelska eftersom svenska är min femte språk och jag hanterar inte den så bra:-)
Today I decided to move my blog from My Space to here, both because the look and aesthetical feel of it is better and also because it seems easier to manage. I have to work out how to upload pictures from my mobile direct on the blog so that I can update it during my shooting trips abroad with interesting and fun pictures:-)
Today I went to the doctor who told me to lay off training for two weeks because of my discla hernia, oh well.
Another change in my life is that I have decided to almost cut out meat from my diet. I love the taste of meat and I am a real carnivorous person, but I feel that way too many animals are treated badly and way too many of them are slaughtered unnecessarily, so I will only eat meat as a treat once in a blue moon. We'll see how it goes...
For those of you that don't know it, I am also the owner of a model agency
www.upmodels.com, but after having been in charge of it for several years I have decided to concentrate on my photography and let other competent people run it for me. The head booker is a girl called Camilla.
But my blog will hardly have anything to do with the model agency, it is mainly my blog as a fashion and beauty photographer, about myself as a person.
This working monday has almost come to an end, I just have some things to finish off at work and then I'll go home to my family and take it easy...
