La Mer Nordique‘s July Gothenburg photography walk was in Ringön last night. The first Wednesday of every month, it’s an excellent opportunity to check out different parts of the city, meet new people, and be inspired by other local photographers.
Last night was the third time I participated in one of the walks, and, though I have been to Ringön a couple of times, I found angles and motifs I never noticed while attending the annual ÖFest.
Home of warehouses and hipster breweries, Ringön strikes me as somewhere on its way to becoming one of the areas of Gothenburg still rough enough to be cool, while cool enough to allow venues to charge 70kr for a draught beer.
Just over the bridge from the centre of town, Ringön is almost the first spot you pass through on your way to Hisingen from Greater Gothenburg. It’s home to an extensive collection of grungy cars, boats and caravans, variously abandoned, stashed and extremely well taken care of.
There’s an almost Christiania-like vibe here, which makes sense, given Ringön’s reputation as Gothenburg’s little Copehagen. A mish mash of hippie, hipster, derelict, and a little bit dangerous at the wrong time, for the wrong person.
After days of rain, and followed by another day of rain, it was wonderful to be afforded an evening of perfect light and dry skies.
I’ve said it before, but a big part of the appeal of La Mer Nordique’s photo walks is that I get to explore places where I’d never end up and would never want to end up alone. To have the safety-in-numbers vibe that permits me places I’d otherwise feel unwelcome.
And, of course, it was a pleasure to end up at Ivan’s Pilsnerbar after a couple of exceedingly pleasant hours of beautifully lit snapping.
