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Winter in Denmark
Danish weather is not know for it’s stability nor for it’s predictability, so no time to wonder when you experience the whole lifecycle off a season within 4 days. Friday December 10 2021 started out cold, below 0 degrees Celsius, and in the afternoon it began to snow. Saturday I was away and could not capture images of the snow lying in the garden. But Sunday December 12 temperatures was more than 0 degrees Celsius, making every branch, roof and lawn utterly wet. Monday December 13 it’s was like winter was over, not at trace of the snow. Just plain grey clouds providing a carpet of light rain and darkness.
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Drama in the backyard
Sometimes I have walked for hours gotten cold, tired, and maybe even a little wet and haven’t even gotten a single satisfying image of wildlife. So when a Eurasian Sparrowhawk landed in the backyard with it’s not cold prey it felt like pay-back. I succeeded to very carefully opening a window only 6-7 meters from the hawk, fitted my camera with the longest lens and began to work with the camera. At 10 AM the light on the north side of the house is not good, the house provides a shadow and it’s was a cloudy day. ISO was up to 1600 and maybe it should have been to 3200.…
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Red Deer in the Rutting Season
I spent a couple of hours in Jægersborg dyrehave to photograph the Red deer. Started the tour 1.5 hours before sunset and headed home about half an hour after sunset. This time of day provides the best chance to meet the deer, can also do it around sunrise.
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Hamburg
t’s the nearest big city to my home in outskirts of Copenhagen. It takes around 4 hours to drive there, so for a short vacation or long week-end it’s doable. Even though Hamburg was blasted to smetherines during the WWII it has been rebuilt, and historical part have not just be rebuild with 1950-60-70 architecture, but have reinstated the former architecture, an example of this can be seen in Speicherstadt (ware house quarter). But Hamburg was not only being rebuild, it was also being expanded with new buildings and it is still under construction. To experience the city I recommend to get the Hamburg Card. I provides access to all…
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Røsnæs – the most western point at Zealand
Røsnæs is a small peninsula and forms the western point of Zealand. The look of the landscape is quiet different from the Copenhagen area. First of all it has hills and along the coastline you find a variation of steep cliffs and flat beaches – with some stones. The climate is affected by being surrounded by the sea, almost like an island. The result is that the peninsula is one of the areas with the least rain in Denmark also it experience a slightly higher average temperature. The area provides a good variation of paths and roads that is suitable for a hike. On the site Røsnæs rundt, the site…
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A photo trip into the garden
A nice thing about having a garden is that i provides opportunities an easy way to go on a photo shoot. Especially during the summer when flowers are in full bloom and is attracting insects. So equipped with my camera, macro lens and tripod I walked the 10 meter long journey into the flowerbed. A sunny day with lot’s of flowers and insects provides several opportunities within a few minutes. I just set up my camera aiming at a flower, wait a few minutes and then the flower has a visitor, adjust focus and fire away. Next I’ll try to do focus stacking to get an image that is sharp…
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Can I take photos with an iPhone
Normally I mostly use my phone camera to copy paper documents or taking a photo to document an issue I need to remember, I do rarely think of my phone photos as part of a creative process. I don’t fell I’m in control of the photos. I can’t find how to easily switch to manual mode, the ergonomics of the phone is ridiculous compared to my cameras, optics sucks so most of the time I don’t take what I consider as photos with it. But on rare occasion I come to a motive that I just need to capture, even if I don’t have my camera at hand. Saturday July…
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Busy bees
Have you ever wonder over the name busy bee? I was sitting next to the flowerbed in the garden and I could absolutely understand why it’s named that way. I had my 105 mm macro lens on the camera and was trying to get a good shot of one of the buzzing fellows. I had the camera on a tripod, with the ball head loose. So I could get the nearby flowers into the frame rather fast, the lens was approximately in focus, so it could also focus correctly fast. I counted seconds, it took about 2-3 seconds from I spotted a bee until it was perfectly in focus. But…
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Summer among deer
Summer in the Nordics means long light evenings, so we get an extra opportunity to get photos of our surroundings. I went to Dyrehaven for an evening hike, but bringing camera and a long lens made it take a bit longer. There is a big chance to see the deer on an evening hike, but we have developed a saying that camera proximity keeps the deer away, as we often has experience that when we bring cameras we meet very few and when not bringing the cameras a lot. This Monday evening was quite different. Here on the evening of solstice the calves was born some weeks ago and are…
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Squirrel
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Myanmar – situation in 2021
I travelled in Myanmar in 2013, 2015 and 2016 when the Burmese people was optimistic about having a brighter future with democratic ruling. When we prepared for our first trip we were told not to discuss politics and don’t show images on Aung San Su Kyi, because it could cause problems for the Burmese we talked with. We were surprised that the taxi we took from the Yangon Airport has several pictures of the Lady posted around in the car. Thought all our journeys we have met friendly people warmly welcoming visitor to the country. We tried to chose privately operated hotels, transportation, restaurants etc. in order to support individuals…
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An hike in the cradle of Danish industrialism
The stream Mølleåen (Millers stream) north of Copenhagen is often referred to as the cradle of Danish industrialism. This caused by the fact that the stream has delivered power to mills since the 13th century. The mills has served as power sources for flour grinding, paper, gunpowder, cloth and clothing and metal ware production. Along the stream you can find paths that suitable for an easy hike. My wife and started from Fuglevad in Lyngby an early Saturday morning, walking downstream for about 4.5 km, crossed the stream and went upstream. Enjoying the historical sites and the nature along the stream. Even though you never are more than a few…
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Spring in Dyrehaven
Spring is definitely here, fresh leaves are all over and animals are presenting their new off-spring. I went to Dyrehaven north of Copenhagen the last couple of hours before sunset, hoping to get a few pictures of deer in the spring. Think I did, just browse through the gallery.
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Gribskov hike
Lock down might be gone, but currently everything has gotten complicated and planning requiring. You need to have a negative test – not more than 72 hours old – to enter a bar, restaurant, cinema, theater, museum. So don’t go by sudden impulse, only go if you have carefully planned. My wife and I are planners for the work life, but there it seems to end. We love to have a vague plan for the week-end and then in the last minute decide what to do. It does not correspond with regulation these days. So we have decided to do what we can do without planning. A hike in a…
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How do you meet a stranger?
For my own part I seek to meet strangers with an open mind and being welcoming. I like to think of the next of kin as kind person who might be interesting and inspiring to me, maybe even capable of enriching my experience of life. I do not want to meet anybody with aggression or hostility, because everybody has the right to be stand out at present them selves in their best way without my prejudice applied. So when I saw this short movie I thought that’s about my point. Take a look and think do you own thoughts.
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A few shots from the garden
Sometimes when working in by home office I am distracted by a movement outside the window. It might be a bird or a falling leave. Today it was what I have come to think of as my little red friend – the squirrel. Got the camera and had the luck of squeezing the window open and get a few nice shots at it. Would have liked to have used a longer lens, but could no afford the time to change. When the squirrel had left I went out and shot this mornings build of stone piles. Even though it’s just in my garden I put into nature, because even a…
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Spring is folding out
Every day you can see a development in the signs of spring. I been watching the trees and bushes in my garden the latest days, and it’s quite clear that we are on the move towards brighter times.
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Spring is here, life is coming back
This week temperature has risen to almost comfortable levels – 10-15 degrees Celsius. This means that insects and flowers are emerging i larger numbers, so I grabbed the camera with the Sigma 105 f/2.8 Macro lens and spent an hour on the ground in the garden. Even though photos here are taken on f/10 to provide a large depth of field ( it’s not that large. I get a very small Even though photos here are taken on f/10 to provide a large depth of field (DoF) it’s not that large. I get a very small DoF because I’m using 105 mm focal length and because my focus distance is…
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Litter in Covid-19 times
Lock-down has changed my habits, I don’t ride the bike to-from work because I only go down the stairs to my basement office. But I need some regular exercise, so I’m up for a daily walk with my wife. We have always been visiting the parks and forests in our local area, but now it’s changed from once or twice per month to once a day. Others has made similar shifts in habits, so a lot of new visitor to the areas can be met. We met those newcomers, can spot them from far away. They walk slowly, deeply engaged in either conversations or listening to their device, many has…
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Burgers
Who someone says, ‘should we have a burger?’, what do you think of? Going to the nearest KingDonald and buy burgers in Styrofoam or do you think of a homemade meal that will keep you nourished several hours at the same time as it provides a culinary experience. I’m absolutely for the second option. So, either I go for a real restaurant version of a burger or I go to the kitchen to work. Over the years I have gathered inspiration and experiences around making a quality burger. First of all, I don’t eat meat, so the beef part needs some innovation. In my perspective the beef part doesn’t need…
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Indian inspired potato gratin
Ingredients 200 Gr root selleri 450 Gr large potatoes 300 Gr sweet potatoes 2-3 shallots 6 garlic cloves 4-6 tsp Curry 3-5 tsp ground coriander 4 tsp ground turmeric 1 tsp Cayenne Salt 300 ml Coconut milk Oil ProcessClean the vegetables and slice them fine (1-2 mm thick) and place the slices in water to avoid colouring. Chop garlic and onions fine. Pour oil in a pan and fry garlic and spices (don’t fry the turmeric), when the garlic begin to tender add the onions and continue to fry until the onions are tender, you need to keep things moving to avoid burning. When onions are tender remove from the…
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A cold morning at the beach
it was 7:00 AM, the thermometer showed -12C when I pushed START button on the dash board in the car, to drive the 10 Km to Bellevue Beach park. The aim was to be there before sunrise, which was at 7:38 AM, no problem. I have on other occasions visited this beach for sunrise, it has been a rather lonesome experience maybe an occasional wanderer, a dog walker or a winter bather. But never 5 or more on the beach at the same time. This morning there was several people on the beach when we arrived and the numbers increased as fast a the day light approached. Everybody was keen…
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A hike around Bastrup Lake
Almost 11 months ago my office was shut down due to covid-19. I had taken to work from home a couple of days before due to a sour throat, so I just continued working from home. In between shop, cinemas, museums, theaters, malls and almost anything else has been subject to lock-down, reopen and lock-down again. In parallel we have be advised or commanded not to gather with others and crowds has been limited. To not going crazy from being locked up and not seeing anything my wife and I has taken on walking. 1 hour to 1.5 hour every week day we hike through the forests near our home.…
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The missing fisherman
In the beginning of January 2021 I visited Gilleleje in North Zeeland, I found this motive interesting and is curios of where have the poor guy gone without gloves. Is he on the bottom beside the pier, in the nearest tavern (it’s lock-down so it can be ruled out) or at home beside the fireplace. Your guess is as good as mine…
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Reersoe, it used to be an Island
At the west side of Zealand (Sjæland in Danish) you find a small peninsula called Reersø. Ending with an Ø indicates that it was named as an island. And sure enough it has been an island, but during the 17 century sediments in the bay between the island and Zealand made a connection and in 1852 a road was established on the isthmus. Now the island had become a peninsula. The attraction to my wife and I was that the area provides wandering routes – the clover paths – which can take you around the island and it can provide some nice scenery for a photo. So to entertain us…
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Squirrel in the rain
Today I have been working in my home office 10 months and 1 day, so I have settled some routines for the day. First thing in the morning is to get in some fresh air and have a look outside into the garden behind the house. Today I was surprised to hear a rather loud scratching noise. It was easy to locate it to one of the fence poles, and in the dark I could see the squirrel. I sneaked back in to the basement to get my camera, first I mounted the 150-600 mm lens, then I pointed it out from of the window. Got a few shots (f/6,…
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Visiting a Buddist temple
A year a go I woke up on a thin madras laid out on a tiled floor. It was pit dark, it was 4:30 AM and I was woken by the roosters in the village starting to crow, they new that the sun would rise within 1,5-2 hours. As you can imagine I was not in my comfortable bed in DK, I was in Phosim village in Laos near Savannakhet where I was visiting a Laos family. We had a guide with us because very few Laos village people speak English or European languages. After a short while I could understand from noises in the house that it was time…
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365 days ago
365 days ago I was not in my home-office, neither in the company office with all the colleagues. I was traveling through Vietnam and Laos for my annual long vacation. On January 4 2020 I was visiting Savannakhet in Laos. We had walk in the city and met with our guide for next couple of day. Our ambitions for the day was low due to hard traveling the previous night and day. To get to Savannakhet we had left Hanoi with the train on January 2 in the evening. Sleeping (or trying to) for 12 hours until we disembarked in Dong Ha, waited 3 hours for the bus and drove…
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Sunset at Sophienholm
I actually went to the local museum Sophienholm to have a look at exhibition of art works with light, exhibited in the park. But didn’t fancy the works that much so I enjoyed the sunset most.
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Fireworks, is it beautiful?
When I was a kid and young I was fascinated by fireworks, it was a thrill to light the fuse and wait for the ignition. No matter if it was a rocket or a fountain, it was a thrill! (firecrackers was banned in Denmark in the early 70’s due to inflicted damages). My father ran a shop where he’d sell fireworks during the last 2 weeks before new years eve, being thrilled by firing it of I assisted with packing and selling the fireworks, expecting it to pay off on new years evening. It did, many years I had a big bag of stuff to fire off. Most of it…