Downtown Fredensborg - Deserted

Taken at 23:03 at night and totally deserted it's almost eerie, but great for taking photographs. At this time of night there was still enough light in the sky to balance nicely with the street lights and end up with a single shot containing a wide gamut of fairly even exposure. This sort of photography always requires a tripod as we have to deal with longish exposures and hand holding is impossible without getting a blurry and unusable photo. Tripod = sharp and clear. Get a good sturdy tripod, it'll do wonders for your photographs!

Most people shoot until the sun goes down and then they head indoors for dinner. I try to hang around for an hour or two (or more) after sunset to get this sort of light. It can make for long, cold, hungry evenings, but it gets pictures that very few people are willing or able to take simply because they lack the dedication and commitment to suffer a little inconvenience to get the photo they really want. But then maybe I'm a little too obsessive about these things? ;-)

Nikon D300s, Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 VR, sturdy tripod, remote trigger, f10.0, 13.0s, 18mm, VR off, ISO 200, Auto White Balance, Matrix Metering, Aperture Priority, quick run through Dx0 Optics Pro 8, and then some adjustments in the curves tool of PSP X5.

Inside the Crypt of the Domkyrka in Lund, Sweden.

Nikon D90, Nikkor 35mm f1.8G DX, ISO800, Aperture Priority mode, f2.8, 1/6s, hand held, edited in Corel Paintshop Pro X4.

Swedish Country Scene - Alnarp

Nikon D90, Aperture Priority Mode, Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX, CPL filter, handheld, f/8, 1/40s, ISO 200  edited in Lightroom 4.

Harbour in Lomma, Sweden.

3 second exposure with camera propped firmly down onto a jetty while I am lying flat on my stomach.

I tore a strip off the skin of my little finger getting down on the old worn wood of the jetty, I console myself with the knowledge that at last I am suffering for my art! ;-)

...another church spire - Arlöv, Sweden

Asminderød Kro, Denmark.

Local inn and restaurant in the small Danish town of Asminderød.

Hälleforsnäs, Sweden.

Hamlet and Ophelia - Helsingør Station

The statues of Hamlet and Ophelia, from Shakespeare's play "Hamlet", grace the railway station in Helsingør. They apparently are only here temporarily after being moved to several locations since they were crafted in 1937. They have been here since 2008, and I hope they stay here as they really fit with the beautiful architecture of the station building, and of course they have a view from here of the castle in Helsingør that is believed to have inspired Shakespeare as the castle that Hamlet was based in. They were made by the Danish artist Rudolph Tegner, who was also supposed to do a statue of Shakespeare at the same time but apparently, for some reason, never got around to doing it.


Isn't history fun!? :-)

Ducks and Jetty - Lake Esrum, Fredensborg, Denmark

So I finally found out the actual name of Lake Esrum! I live and learn every day. :-)

Looking at history in Helsingør, Denmark.

There is a lot of history here in the land of Vikings! If only these old streets could talk, I'll wager they could tell us a lot about the original inhabitants and their daily lives. The origin of this place dates back to about 1231, with one debatable document claiming it's history goes as far back as 70BC. Whatever it is, I feel a great affinity with this whole area because, after all, my Scottish ancestors were from Viking stock originally!

I am having a lot of fun here in Scandinavia! :-)

Ferries arriving - Helsingør Harbour

These ferries shuttle people, cars, buses and trucks back and forth all day long from Helsingborg in Sweden to Helsingør in Denmark, linking the two "Helsings". Normally you can see Helsingborg quite clearly from Helsingør harbour, but the mist is shrouding it almost completely in this shot. Just to the left of this picture (out of picture) is the castle that Hamlet was based in from Shakespeare's play.

Typical Swedish country scene

Early Morning Walk in Fredensborg Palace Gardens

Walking through the Fredensborg Palace Gardens down towards the royal boathouse (Skipperhuset) at the lake, you can just make out the building erected by Frederik IV for the royal yachts. The mist gives it all a kind of magical quality! Well worth braving the winter cold.

A Fearsome Terror in the Woods!

Mooring Posts - Fredensborg Lake

Inside the Kyrka in Mellösa

They've taken the Hobbits to Isengard!

I have seen a lot of photographers lately that do these "cinegraphic" style photos and I haven't been bothered simply because I am too lazy to fanny about with such time consuming things... until now that is! The latest Picasa automates the whole thing so it can be done with a simple click or two, and the results don't look half bad either. If you want a simple graphics program, then Picasa might provide the answer. It is very basic and doesn't do much, but what it does do it does well. And then there is the fact that it is free, who can't love free? ;-)

Street in Hälleforsnäs, Södermanland, Sweden at sunset.

Nikon D90, Nikkor 35mm f1.8dx, Aperture Priority, f4.0, ISO400, 1/40s, hand held.

A Swedish Farm in Södermanland

I went for a drive in the Swedish countryside today and I really love the landscape here! This is a typical Swedish farm in a province called Södermanland.

Another of the Kyrka in Mellösa

This time colour worked for me. I think it may be because of the contrast of the red building with the rest of the scene. A little red always seems to liven up a photograph.