Monochrome Forest

Sometimes, even in nature, colour just gets in the way.

Söderåsen National Park

Took a slow leisurely Sunday drive up to Söderåsen National Park today, walked up to the lookout point and was pleasantly surprised by the wonderful views. It was unfortunately a little overcast which restricted the view just a bit but I'm sure it must look quite spectacular on a sunny day, early morning or around sunset. Certainly worth another trip one day, meantime here are the best of what I got today from the forest and the view from the lookout point..

Easy drive up through the forest.

Swedish forest has an almost magical quality to it.

The view.

Gorgeous.

Boardwalk up to the lookout point.

Vadensjö Kyrka (Church)

There is a pretty church at the picturesque hilltop town of Vadensjö that can be seen from long distances away and driving towards Vadensjö today I stopped by the roadside to take this photo.

The Battle of Bunketofta Memorial

While out scouting for photos today I drove past an interesting looking scene with trees, flowering rape and a green lane leading through the rape uphill towards the trees. After doing a semi-illegal u-turn at an intersection (all in the name of art...) I pulled in to this scene:

Kinda interesting with the wonderfully saturated summer colours, the leading lines and culminating in a point of interest. Not a great pic but certainly worth stopping for. Then I took a walk up the green lane towards the trees and took another photo:

That is when I noticed that there was something amongst the trees, just what it was I didn't know, but it piqued my interest. So yet closer:

Turns out to be a historical monument as a memorial to something called the Battle of Bunketofta. Why on earth it isn't marked on the roadside is a mystery and I think this needs to be addressed. If you can read Swedish then there is a short Wikipedia page in Swedish here: https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaget_vid_Bunketofta but if you don't understand Swedish then here is the plaque that is at the site that actually gives much more information:

So quite a good find for the day even it was purely by chance. If you are ever in the area then look it up.

The Humble Dandelion

Many people seem to regard the Dandelion as a bit of a weed, a pest to be gotten rid of. However the Dandelion not only has health benefits for humans if used/consumed properly but also is great for the local bee population and hence good for our planet. Leave the Dandelions be and give nature the benefit of having them around.  Hurrah for the humble Dandelion!

 

Farm Building in Southern Sweden

 

Nature in Monchrome

This photo was quite boring in colour, just awash in pale green with nothing appealing at all to look at, however in monochrome it has more of a beauty for me as it highlights the leaves in a wonderful contrasty abstract pattern that puts natures order in the foreground. Amazing what stripping colour from a scene can do.
 

Flowering Trees in an Urban Area

 These trees (no idea what they are called) have been flowering for a couple of weeks now and are a really beautiful highlight in what is an otherwise slightly bland urban area. 

D850, 24-120mm, f/8.0, 1/60s, ISO8000, hand held and processed in DxO PL6.

Tree Silhouettes in Monochrome

Trees have wonderful shapes & forms and make great subjects for photography. Sometimes that great natural look is straight up. I used the 16mm Fisheye for this as it gives a great perspective. Converted into low-key black and white images in DxO PL6.

Abandoned in the Woods

While walking in the woods today I came across an abandoned childs push scooter looking a little the worse for wear but in working condition. I hope the kid finds it again... meanwhile I took the opportunity to photograph an abandoned childs scooter in the woods. 😁

Time To Reflect

Sometimes colour just gets in the way...

Spring Evening in Slottsparken

Just a few more assorted photos from the Slottsparken.

Art in the Slottsparken

The Slottsparken that I strolled around in earlier today not only has trees and flowers (as shown in the previous post), but there are quite a few artworks dotted around the park as well. Here are just a few:

Blooming Flowers Everywhere!

Spring is in full go in southern Sweden and there are flowers blooming everywhere. These are from a local park called Slottsparken.

These are all taken handheld on a Nikon D850 and my favourite lens, the Nikon 50mm f1.8G.

Landskrona Direkt

 A couple of my pics made it into the local News. Click on the pic to go to the post: