Vassing.com Recent Content

Multimedia link added

Morten — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 20:26:52 +0200

From the very beginning in planning this extensive photographic website I decided that I wanted a multimedia section to show off various audio visual productions, i.e. an automatic slideshow with running audio - either spoken words, ambient sounds or music - to better tell the story with an added dimension.

It is not altogether new territory for me as I have previously attended visual workshops for photographers who wish to add that extra something to their pictures, namely the sound that normally goes with a situation we are out shooting.

For more on my multimedia ventures click here. But be warned that this section is purely experimental and currently deemed as under construction.

Though, I hereby pledge that 2007 will be the year when I fully implement multimedia productions into my roster of professional services offered.

Snoop Dogg Photos Syndicated Worldwide

Morten — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 10:11:39 +0200

Recent news has not been too kind to US rapper Snoop Dogg. First he was stoned to the bone as he was detained for possession of illegal substances in Stockholm, Sweden. Then he was denied entry into the UK for his upcoming London gigs with fellow rapper P. Diddy. I have yesterday arranged for worldwide syndication rights for the photos of Snoop and Diddy arriving at the Diddy Black Party in Copenhagen from this site with the London based celebrity picture agency Big Pictures. So look for the pictures in your local tabloid soon.

Crown princess Mary at vassing.com

Morten — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 16:09:35 +0200

Having been a staff writer for the Danish weekly gossip magazine KIG IND for over five years I know my way around the Danish royals and in particular the popular crown princess Mary whom I have covered for the media since news of her romance with crown prince Frederik first broke in 2002.

Today, however, I got to do what I like best: Take pictures. And even though it’s not a royal first for me it is still a thrill to be able to add nice photos of the affable family to my online archive.

For full disclosure on today’s royal photo shoot, please click here for beautiful, sunny spring pictures of Mary and crown prince Frederik walking little 18 month old prince Christian to his first day at the local nursery in Fredensborg north of Copenhagen.

By the way, Mary is 8 months pregnant on these photos.

New multimedia presentation

Morten — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 12:56:37 +0200

In 2004 I attended the Visual Workshop where some 16 photographers and photojournalists got to grips with Macromedia Flash MX 2004.

For a fist-timer that two minute running production took forever with that Flash program’s counter-intuitive interface.

Now, with Soundslides I have easily updated that presentation. And you can see and hear it right here beginning a new era of audio-visual productions to become a steady part of the services that I offer.

Regular stringer for Reuters, AFP

Morten — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 11:41:26 +0200

I have yesterday inked a deal to become a regular editorial stringer and stock photo contributor with Denmark’s largest picture agency making me in reality a Copenhagen stringer for the Reuters news agency as well as Agence France-Presse (AFP) and EPA.

In signing on to become a fully associated stringer with the Scanpix A/S Danmark picture agency I insure maximum exposure for my editorial work as an active news shooter in the greater Copenhagen Metropolitan area as well as obtaining a much needed wider audience for my highly specialized architectural photography of particularly the inner city of Copenhagen for the past 15 years.

It is my profound hope and aspiration that the deal I completed Wednesday with Scanpix Managing Editor Tine Ålsbøl will blossom into a mutually beneficial partnership - and by way of the EPA, AFP and Reuters representation worldwide hopefully my photos will soon begin to appear in a paper, magazine or website near you when news events in Copenhagen or other parts of Denmark warrant it.

Gone to Århus

Morten — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 12:23:34 +0200

Being in Denmark’s second city, Århus, which also is the hometown of my alma mater, The Danish School Of Journalism, I have just today embarked on a three day trip toward multimedia nirvana. Or at least a better comprehension of making multimedia productions with photos and audio mixed together in an automated slideshow for this website - and potentially for clients later.

Under the guidance of instructor Jens Dresling, who is an able press photographer at the Copenhagen daily paper Politiken, med and 15 others shooters get to grips with the Audacity and Soundslides programs that make up the core software for these multimedia production.

I will keep posting updates as the seminar progresses and slideshows are ready to be added to vassing.com.

Going home

Morten — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 16:44:07 +0200

It’s a amazing what new technology let’s you do. This post here is written on the train blazing through rural Jutland from Århus en route to Copenhagen. Amazing that I can pop in a PCMCIA card in the laptop and go online with speeds of up to 3Mbit/s.

After a much rewarding course in Soundslides production during the past three days I pledge to make many more productions available in the near future. Please feel free to contact me with advise, ideas or subjects to cover.

For a first-time production at the seminar go here

Happy Birthday, Your Majesty

Morten — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 17:59:21 +0200

Denmark’s popular queen celebrates her 67th birthday today. And I was right in the middle of the fun catching the sights and sounds that made the day unforgettable - not only for queen Margrethe II of Denmark but also for the thousands of young and old well-wishers who turned up to celebrate. See and hear it all here.

My Rig

Morten — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 17:36:06 +0200

People often ask me about what equipment I use. Since getting burnt with too small and generally weird and quaint Macs at journalism school and then again at Scandinavia’s premiere magazine publishing house Aller Press A/S (where luckily I lobbied successfully for a shift to Windows PCs) I am today a dedicated PC guy with a still powerful rig as my primary computer. Although from time to time I still drool over some colleagues and their impressive little 13-inch MacBook featuring an Intel Core 2 Duo processor - and how quickly they get their RAW files through the workflow to the final recipient.

But back to my current primary desktop computer: I built it myself in November 2005 and it is still going strong though the 2GB RAM limit is beginning to bog down some hardcore RAW processing up to deadline. But here are the main specs:

Chassis: Shuttle XPC SN25P Barebone
Motherboard: FN25 NVIDIA nForce™4 Ultra MCP 1GHz
CPU: AMD Athlon64 X2 4200+ Socket 939 Dual Core
Belkin FireWire 800 PCI Express™ Card
System Drive: Western Digital Raptor 10.000RPM SATA 74GB
Data Drive One: Western Digital Caviar SE16 7200 RPM SATA 500 GB
Data Drive Two: Western Digital Caviar SE16 7200 RPM SATA 500 GB
Optical Drive: NEC ND-3550 16X DVD±RW Dual Layer Black
Memory: Corsair TWINX2048-3200PT 1024MB RAM
Memory: Corsair TWINX2048-3200PT 1024MB RAM
GPU: ASUS NVIDIA7800GT/Dual DVI 256MB PCI-Express
PS: Silent X 350 W Integrated Cooling Engine

I am still impressed with this little creative monster. A bit noisy but still swift and nice for my particular workflow. I will have more info on the technical matters pertaining to the photojournalism trade a little later on as time between shooting assignments permits.

For a full run down of every conceivable gadget or piece of equipment in my possession go here.

Inside The 180Grader.dk Website Reception

Morten — Wed, 02 May 2007 20:44:42 +0200

On May 01, the traditional worker’s day, two enterprising young right-wing idealists in Copenhagen held the inaugural reception for the launch of their news site that will address all news items from a traditional conservative angle - as an antidote their claim of a generally leftist leaning mainstream press. And I got in on the action and produced this multimedia production.