Sunrise in Stockholm

Today was a beautiful day in Stockholm. Although the temperatures have dropped to around 20 degrees (Celcius), the sky was clear blue and the sun was visible during the whole day.

Because of the great weather forecast I had decided to get up early and take some photos in the city centre. At 4:30 the alarm clock rang and at 5:04 I sat in the first metro traveling to Gamla Stan (the Old City). From there I walked to Skeppsholmen, a small islet in the Stockholm archipelago from where you have an amazing view of the old city.

On the west shore of Skeppsholmen lies the af Chapman, a three mast sailing ship, that is now in use as a youth hostel. The ship was built in the UK in 1888 and originally known as Dunboyne, after a town in County Meath, Ireland. On its arrival to Sweden in 1915 it was renamed G D Kennedy and when the Navy bought it in 1923 it was given its present name after the shipbuilder and Vice Admiral Fredrik Henrik af Chapman (1721–1808). The Navy used it as a training ship and as such it made several trips around the world before serving as a barracks during WW2.

On the photos below you see the af Chapman and the view on Gamla Stan.

These images were taken with a Nikon D2X and a Nikon AF-S DX 17-55mm lens.

Agriculture in Skåne

Summer is one of the best seasons in Sweden, although it is often short (the pessimists usually say: “Summer is the longest day in Sweden!”), light is available almost around the clock, especially in the north. Also the south of Sweden is wonderful, with its vast agricultural landscapes.

Although landscape photography can be extremely beautiful in this part of the country I decided I wanted to do something different. When I recently visited Skåne, the most southern province of the country, I focused on some of the details in the landscape. My intentions were to create a collage of those detail images that would still breath a summer feeling and show what is so familiar to us while touring through the countryside. Here is the result.

These images were taken with a Nikon D2X and Nikon AF-D 24-85mm F/2.8-4.0 IF and Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f2.8 VR IF-ED lenses.

Skogskyrkogården II

Not far away from the cross at the entrance of Skogskyrkogården, where I recently posted an image of, lies the Holy Cross Chapel. In front of the chapel, in a dark corner, stands the Resurrection Statue. Several of the souls in the statue look through the hole in the roof and reach out to the sky waiting for resurrection. The statue was created by John Lundqvist in 1930.

I have made close-up images from some of the souls lying at the base of the statue.

These images were taken with a Nikon D300 and a Nikon AF-S DX 17-55mm lens.

Skogskyrkogården I

Skogskyrkogården (The Forest Cemetery) is a UNESCO world heritage site in Stockholm, with more than 90 000 graves on an area of one square kilometer. Several famous persons are buried at this cemetery, among them lies Greta Garbo (1905-1990), the world famous actress.

At the main entrance of Skogskyrkogården a large cross is situated. It is one of the most photographed sites in Stockholm, here is my version.

This image was taken with a Nikon D300 and a Nikon AF-S DX 17-55mm lens @ 17mm; f/8.0 – 1/80sec – +2/3 stop – ISO200.

Evening Colors at Eriksö

As mentioned in my previous post I would post an image from my time at the south east coast around Stockholm.

While we were camping on the island Eriksö near Vaxholm, which is about a 30min drive north of Stockholm, we took an evening walk to capture the evening colors. We passed by the local boat clud when I captured the below image. Luckily there were no swimmers anymore and there was just a slight breeze so I could use the needed long exposure time.

This image was taken with a Nikon D300 and a Nikon AF-S DX 17-55mm lens @ 17mm; f/16.0 – 8sec – ISO200.