Get closer, find more colors!
One of the basic “rules” in photography that I’ve heard over and over in the 25 years or so since I started to explore photography with more than a casual holiday shooter’s interest is to “Get Closer, Get Better Pictures!” While a good zoom lens is a good thing to have, there’s not really any substitute for using your feet to “zoom”.
Cold by the coast
When the sun shines on a cold winter morning (the thermometer was at -6 C or 21 F) it feels just right to pack oneself and the constant photo partner (a.k.a. Dad) into the car and head down to the coast at Falsterbo. There’s just something special about seeing that horizon line that makes me feel more harmonious inside!
Taking my camera for a walk again...
Once again I found myself in my usual little woodland area, not too far from my home, namely Skryllegården, just outside Lund, Sweden. I had gone there more for the fresh air and a bit of a leg stretch along the 3 kilometer jogging/walking path, but it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t bring my camera! So pictures were of course taken…and they are now shared on this blog.
Colors in the Park
For those who are used to seeing my often high-contrasty black and white street photography this blogpost might be a bit out of the ordinary, but I too sometimes crave colors! When the skies were clear, the winds low and there was a hint of warm late summer warmth in the air I decided to drive over to the park and gardens at Alnarp Agricultural University outside Malmö, Sweden. There I could see that there were still plenty of colors to be seen, and I was able to capture some of that in these images. There is an abundance of different flower and plant varieties, and I am not able to identify a single one. That is okay with me though; they’re pretty to look at and that is enough for me! Pretty is good!
Early fall at the mansion
It’s been quite some times since my last uploaded post to this blog, mostly since I’ve been “buried” behind a screen with an ongoing book project and some other things lately. My photographic output has been quite low, and not really worth making a full blog post about. Now though I do have a bunch of pictures that together are worth uploading.
It was a lovely Sunday and the sun was shining from a nearly flawless blue sky with warm enough weather to leave the house with no jacket on. I figured I could do with a bit of a photographic as well as physical exercise so on the way to the Svaneholm mansion I grabbed my constant photo buddy (a.k.a. Dad) and off we went.
Late Summer Colors
Seeing and photographing vibrant colors does well for a mostly black-and-white street photographer sometimes! That’s why I’m glad I spent a few hours on a nice Sunday outing to go the Alnarp Agricultural University, outside Malmö, Sweden. I’ve been there so many times through the years but I still find things to photograph, since each time they have some new plant or flower on display.
A stroll along the water
It is a nice feeling to know that you don’t have to travel to an exotic location to end up with a lovely group of pictures…sometimes it is enough to look in your local area and you can find something nice. In this case the area around Höje River just on the outskirts of the city of Lund. The city in their wisdom has decided to preserve the area around the river from development and it is such a nice experience to walk along the water, take in the scenery and hear the birds sing.
Photography in a new place
As someone who has been out and about in the local area with a camera since around 2000 it is increasingly difficult to find a brand new location within, say half an hour’s drive from home. Therefore it was a bit of a thrill to head out there today when I found a brand new nature preserve not too far from home. The fact that the weather was different from the rain, rain, rain was also adding to the excitement. Not to mention I’ve been under the weather myself for a few days until yesterday so I was eager to go. There was even a faint hint of a blue sky as I stepped out the door to the car…fancy that!
Spring photos in black and white...isn't that against the rules?
Like just about all Swedes I’ve enjoyed the warmer days and greener surroundings that we’ve had since the start of April (although we did get some snow flurries just the other week), so of course I’ve been out and about with my camera to portray the changing season.
Therefore it might seem strange that all the shots in this post are in black and white, and not showing ANY of the green colors of the landscape. However I wanted to experiment with the Acros film simulation on my Fujifilm XT-3 camera and see how contrasty you could make the images, and thereby focusing the viewer’s attention on shapes and different shades, rather than saturated colors.
The 365 Project Mark VI - Month Eleven
The eleventh month of the year was one of lots of fall colors, but also a lot of rain, gray skies and increasing darkness. It’s usually a bit tricky to shoot during this month, because once the daylight saving time is over it gets dark pretty early in these quite northerly latitudes, which makes photography a bit difficult if you’re not using artificial lights…which I don’t…not yet anyway…perhaps that is something to strive for in 2022? We’ll see!
The 365 Project Mark VI - Month Nine
I’ve noticed a pattern with these monthly summary blogposts where I start many of them with how much of the year is now over, so I guess I should do the same with this one (consistency and all that ;-)). We've just managed to get through 3 quarters of the year and are now definitely on the home stretch. 2022 can’t come soon enough!
The 365 Project Mark VI - Month Five
The weather is warm, the days are long and the colors are plentiful. Early summer is here after a long and cold spring where we’ve all been waiting for the slow return to normalcy. For me personally it feels a lot better to be able to be out and about taking photos of things when there’s long afternoons to make use of, and even better that I’ve been able to get the first vaccine dose at long last, with the second planned for early July. There’s light at the end of the tunnel…and it’s not likely to be an oncoming train!
Walk in the rift valleys
There are a few reasonably “safe” spaces for people to hang out at now that we’re supposed to stay away from each other for the sake of everyone’s health - nature being one of them. Of course that only works if not “everyone” picks the same spot in nature to visit at the same time…which is what it felt like a few weekends ago when I went to the Söderåsen National Park in central Skåne, a very scenic area.
Ridiculously wide images...part three
Two weeks since my last blog entry, and I will put that down to a certain lack of enthusiasm that probably comes from the social distancing that I’ve had to implement, due to people near me being in the risk categories. So, there’s been no street photography for me for quite a long time now and I must say I miss it! But I’d miss my loved ones more and I would definitely NOT want to catch something from someone out in the city and pass it to them! So, no street photography for me for awhile further…I’ll stick with nature shots and places where it’s possible to stay a good way away from other people.
Ridiculously wide images...part two
This is my second blogpost with images in a unique format from the Hasselblad X Pan II camera I’ve got on loan for a month. I haven’t shot quite as much as I thought I would, since the whole world pretty much descended into Corona territory…but I did squeeze in a few rounds with it before we were all told to stay far away from each other, and I have a few rolls still yet to both shoot and develop, so my guess is that there will be a few more posts with images in this ultrawide format in the future!