100 pictures - 10 months - 1 life © Jørn Stjerneklar/Mayday Press

PICTURE NO. 1

This is one of the defining - but never published - pictures in my life.

I was travelling in South America in 1977. Before leaving Denmark I had bought a small 100 dollar camera and ten rolls of slide film.

When this picture was taken I had been travelling for two months. I had shot a few pictures, but didn´t have them developed. I knew with the certainty of youth, that they could not develop slide films in a country like Brazil. I was 19 but felt much wiser :)

I was dirt poor, but by luck I met a fellow Dane and he gave me a ticket to the last night's carnival parade. Watching from the stands I looked at all these beautiful women doing the Samba. I saw professional photographers moving freely among them.

There was a fence and three meters to ground level. I jumped down to the procession thinking I could manage to behave like a professional with my small camera. Or get arrested.

Nobody stopped me!

That's where it dawned on me: What a great profession. You can live your life as a mere spectator - or you can participate where the action is!

To continue the tour click on the small picture below.

No.2

100 pics 10 months 1 life