ida kjærgaard

Street photographer, Copenhagen

sample post containing all components

See this post for how every post component renders in Index.

3 min read Ida Kjærgaard

My shadow on a painted stairwell

A year of walking home the long way turned into After Hours. These are the notes I kept along the way: what I carried, how I printed, and what I would do differently.

what I carry

I carry as little as I can. One camera, one lens, no tripod, spare batteries, ISO 3200, and the same route home.

film or digital

Both. Film for the slow nights, digital for the nights when everything happens at once.

a note on flash

Flash only when the street is already loud. In the bag:

  • one camera and one prime lens
  • two rolls of black and white film
  • a notebook for street names
  1. walk the same route for a month
  2. print a contact sheet every Sunday
  3. sequence the series on the floor

on waiting

Most of street photography is standing still long enough for the city to forget you are there.
Wait for the light, then wait for the person.

from the walks

People browse a lit bookshop, seen through the open door
People browse a lit bookshop, seen through the open door.
Someone waits at a bus stop in amber light
Someone waits at a bus stop in amber light.
Birds lift off the beach in the wind
Birds lift off the beach in the wind.
A woman stands under a red neon sign
Someone walks past a mural of giant eyes
Someone carries an armful of blue bags down the street
A face behind loops of blue neon
A woman in a plaid dress in warm red light
Five nights, five streets.

something to watch

0:00
/0:33
Eleven frames from a year of walking home.
CV
Exhibitions, grants, and publications (PDF)
ida-kjaergaard-cv.pdf
20 KB
download-circle

prints and news

Ghost: the best open source blog & newsletter platform
Beautiful, modern publishing with newsletters and paid subscriptions built in.
GhostGhost
see the cv
📷
Prints from After Hours are available in editions of ten. Write to me for sizes and prices.

What film do you use?

Mostly black and white at ISO 400, pushed one stop for night work.

after hours, print no. 1

A 30 x 40 cm pigment print, signed, in an edition of ten.

enquire

a header card

A small show of new prints opens in Copenhagen this winter.

see the work

the numbers

// shoot, edit, sequence
const story = frames.filter(f => f.keeper);
console.log(story.length + ' frames');
A code block.
yearexhibitionvenue
2026after hourshavnehuset gallery, copenhagen
2026small stagesfotohaus mitte, berlin
2023errandsstrandvej photo house, esbjerg

Next month: printing After Hours in the Nordhavn darkroom.