Good Bye Summer!

With the advent of autumn the "lazy hazy crazy days of summer" are finally gone until next year. I will miss the long warm Scandinavian evenings of cycling along the coast and sipping beer on the patio while sunset lingers on seemingly forever.

Now roll on the magical snow filled "winter wonderland" instead!

Life is good!

Portraits are about People! (2)

Nikon sb700 Speedlight on a pole shooting through a smallish Elinchrom shoot through umbrella to camera left and triggered via Nikon's super CLS wireless trigger system. Nikon D90 on manual mode at 1/60s, f7.1, ISO 200, handheld, with the wonderful Nikkor AFS 35mm DX f1.8 lens attached.

Taken on a bridge over the moat at the Landskrona Citadel shortly after sunset.

Comparison between Polarised and Unpolarised images.

After all these years the effect of a circular polarising filter still seems a little magical to me. First picture is without and then a few seconds later I took the second with the circular polarising filter applied. I am sure you will agree which looks best!

Like I said... magic!

This is a beach in Landskrona, the building is a clinic of some sort and in the distance you can see the island of Ven. The concrete blocks in the foreground are left over fortifications from the Second World War that Sweden built just in case the Germans invaded. They remain unused to this day, to the great relief of everybody in Sweden.

Nikon D300s, Nikkor 35mm 1:1.8G DX AF-S, Circular Polarising Filter, M mode.

Krönetorps Mölla photographed with Nikkor 35mm f1.8G DX AFS

You may remember that I posted a photograph of Krönetorps Mölla in Sweden in June last year here: A "Normal" focal length Prime Lens as a Landscape Lens. Well, this one was shot on the same day but I zoomed in by walking several hundred meters closer than I was in the other shot and caught the sun a little lower down in the sky and hence a little warmer. I like the almost painterly feeling of the photo which is achieved by the wonderfully soft lighting.

Photography is all about the light, and to get your pictures a step up in mood and quality it is worth developing a patient attitude towards what you are doing and not rush it. If that means waiting all alone for hours on end in all kinds of weather, then so be it. But I can guarantee that you will be getting more keepers that way. When I am in a hurry I hardly ever get anything I would like to print and hang on the wall, but when I slow down, apply some thought to the process and savour the moment for it's beauty then my keeper count soars!

The Park is a Lonely Place in Winter

The Stark Colourless Beauty of Winter

-5° + falling snow = great conditions to test how tough the D300s actually is! Despite being soaking wet and freezing cold by the time I got home the D300s and Nikkor 35mm f1.8G DX combo never missed a beat and came through unscathed. A successful result I think!

Very Neat and Tidy Graffiti in Sweden

Manhole Cover - Malmö City

Old Brick Building in Malmö

Walking Street in Malmö

Nikon D300s and 35mm Nikkor f/1.8G DX AF-S lens. Lightroom 4.

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.

Elvis Impersonator in the Mall.

...and he was really good at it too!

If anybody in South Africa knows where I can get in contact with him, please send me an email (lanthus.clark*at*gmail.com) with his email address so I can forward some pics to him.

Nikon D90, Aperture Priority Mode, Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX, hand held, f/2.5, 1/200s, ISO400, Nikon sb600 pointing upish and bounced off the ceiling.

Tracks in the Wheat.

Nikon D90, Aperture Priority Mode, Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX, CPL, hand held, f/11.0, 1/30s, ISO200, edited in Corel Paintshop Pro X4.

Field of Wheat. (Simplicity Itself!)

Nikon D90, Aperture Priority Mode, Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX, CPL, hand held, f/8.0, 1/100s, ISO200, edited in Corel Paintshop Pro X4.

Grassy Simplicity.

Grass blowing in the wind, shot with a slowish shutter speed and hand held.

Nikon D90, Aperture Priority Mode, Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX, CPL, hand held, f/18, 1/13s, ISO200, 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.

Alnarps Slott på Hösten. (Fyra)

Closer up to the ivy covered walls of Alnarps Castle as the leaves display their gorgeous autumn colours. It is almost as if this is their final swan song before the drab colourless enduring morbidity of winter settles in. There is beauty in everything if you look at it right!

When taking photos of foliage a polarizing filter is absolutely essential to remove any unwanted reflected glare from the great light source in the sky (Sun). Without a CPL filter this shot would have looked quite awful,  drab and generally blah. ("Blah" is a highly technical art term) Please CLICK HERE for more info on what a polarising filter actually does.

Nikon D90, Aperture Priority Mode, Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX, CPL filter, tripod, f/10, 1/13s, ISO200, edited in Corel Paintshop Pro X4.

Alnarps Slott på Hösten. (Tre)

The other side!

Nikon D90, Aperture Priority Mode, Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX, CPL filter, tripod, f/8, 1/80s, ISO200, edited in Corel Paintshop Pro X4.

Alnarps Slott på Hösten. (Två)

Another angle. :^)

Alnarps Slott på Hösten.

Alnarps Castle in autumn. The leaves of the trees and vines are displaying beautiful autumn colours in southern Sweden right now so get out with your cameras and don't miss it!

Nikon D90, Aperture Priority Mode, Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX, CPL filter, tripod, f/10, 1/15s, ISO200, edited in Corel Paintshop Pro X4.