Michelle Makmann

Hej!

My name is Michelle Makmann from the Winter Park, Florida Bonnier Corp office where I work as the Multimedia Producer for the Enthusiasts Group (Water Sports, Mountain Sports, Action Sports). I hung up my swimsuits and dive gear for a bit and put away the underwater housings to come and work in beautiful, COLD, Stockholm, Sweden as a Photographer/Editor at TV4. From the weather to the subjects, this has been a huge transition!

Back home:

Water is my life. I absolutely love everything that has to do with it, from being on the surface playing with the waves or riding a board (depending on the location/sport), to diving down 100+ feet exploring a wreck or filming sharks and other creatures. If you have met me you know that I have a terrible time sitting still.

I've been involved in Bonnier publications for 5 years now and couldn't imagine doing anything else. I have been fortunate enough in my career to combine my two main passions, filming and the ocean. I participate in just about every title I work on, I am not saying that I am good at them all, but if I am not filming the Pro's, I am out practicing the sport myself. My other role at the company is the design and development of Interactive Media. We come up with creative solutions for both our titles and advertising partners. Lately it has been developing Virtual Test Drives for boat manufacturers and Virtual Destination Tours for various countries and resorts across the world.

And no.. Unfortunately, I don't get to visit them all, but my job has taken me to some exotic places like Papua New Guinea and Possum Kingdom, Texas where, oddly, no possums were seen, just massive bugs, rabbits and deer's. 

TV4:

It's cold, I wear more clothes in 2 days than I do in a week back home and I absolutely love it!

TV4 as been around for 19 years now and is the first commercial station in Stockholm.  Not only do they produce local and national news, they also have shows like our Current Affairs, Daily shows and the station itself broadcasts many programs produced locally and internationally.

I am working in the national news department, but have also been shooting for other programs like a new crime series or the morning show. Everyday, sometimes every few hours is something new and different.  I have been on assignments all over the country and had the opportunity to meet people and see things I never would have otherwise. I was even on air shaking a Prime Ministers hand my boss told me! 

I get to drive here (insert smile) for work! That is an experience all in itself, both for me and the reporters who have to ride with me. For starters, where I live there are no roundabouts and the traffic lights are overhead not right next to the crosswalk signs where you can get confused. When the lights turn green, its like a countdown for a race, red, yellow, green.. GO! My navigation system is set to speak English for directions and when pronouncing the street names, speaks the worst Swedish I have ever heard, sometimes it just gives up and spells the word instead.  It definitely provides daily entertainment. 

One assignment I was on, we took a long day trip to cover a story about Finnish immigrations and the new privileges. First we interviewed the mayor of the town at a school and had a snowball fight.. no, not intentionally.. the kids at the school thought it would be funny to first, dance behind him while we interviewed him. OK, not a problem, turn camera off and start over. Then, they decided to start pelting us with snowballs. As frustrating as it was, it was pretty funny. I have to confess that it did take everything I had in me not to throw one back.

Sweden:

Its cold, I wear more clothes in 2 days than I do in a week back home and I absolutely love it! Sweden itself is a photographers dream! Everywhere you look is like a hidden piece of art. The buildings all have faces and there are statues and waterways everywhere!  Getting lost which seems to be an almost daily occurrence, has turned into the best kind of adventure! I have ended up in little underground cafes that were light with candles and seemed as if they were carved in the rocks, hoped on ferries to different islands, my favorite has taken me to Sodermalm at sunset time where I met a friend and went up to the top of the Gondolen Tower at sunset for a view of the city which was absolutely breathtaking.  There is so much to do and see and I am so fortunate to be here to experience it. I will keep you up to date through out this journey!

HEJDO!