Öja Kyrka

Öja Kyrka just outside Ystad, both taken with the ultra wide 14mm. Get too close and the slope of the walls gets out of hand because of the upward angle of the lens... I think I'll just refer to it as "arty".

 

Old Buildings in Ystad

Ystad is an ancient town with some interesting old buildings. Here are just two scenes featuring well preserved wood frame buildings.

 

Greyfriars Abbey - Ystad

 Greyfriars Abbey in Ystad is an abbey that was founded in 1267 and belonged to the Franciscan Order. Well worth a visit if you are in Ystad.

 

Ales Stenar (Ale's Stones)

Ale's Stones (Swedish: Ales stenar or Ale stenar) is a megalithic monument in Scania in southern Sweden. It is a stone ship, oval in outline, with the stones at each end markedly larger than the rest. It is 67 m (220 ft) long formed by 59 large boulders, weighing up to 5 tonnes each. - From Wikipedia.

Waters Edge Sans Colour

The contrast of smooth fluid meeting textured hard rock.

Rust & Grime in Sunset Light - Ystad Harbour

 

Sunset on Ystad Pier

Sunset on Ystad Pier.

Nikon D850, Nikon 14mm f2.8, ISO 900, f/8.0, 1/500s, hand held & processed in DxO PL6.

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.