On Rocky Ground - Excursions at Gothenburg's Southern Coastline

Images from a coastal stretch within the Gothenburg city limits. Visited mostly in summer for access to the water. Oddly, the other seasons don't see a lot of visitors. A few walk their dogs, some joggers, very rarely someone with a camera. The terrain may confine a number of people to the few trails. Unfortunate, since all it takes for safely entering the rocky parts is footwear with good grip. Panorama views of the many islands and islets will be the reward. True, you'll encounter even virtually inaccessible sections, due to chasms, rifts, steep or negative grades, thorny bushes, water holes, swamps and aggressive ant colonies. But usually there is a way around these obstacles. One of my favorite places, near and far!

 

Fascinating Barcelona -- caught en passant by two people with three different pocket cameras

 Pictures from some years back. Came to mind in the course of considerations about the role of small "pocketable" cameras today, have they been completely replaced by smartphones? It's undeniable that these phones can deliver surprisingly effective pictures. They never stay home and the large bright screen can't be beat. But - will they ever satisfy a dedicated photo enthusiast, craving optical zoom, quick exposure adjustments, handling shutter speeds and aperture size, buttons and dials instead of odysseys in the menu labyrinth?

 

The Hammarkullen Carnival 2026 - Gothenburg, Sweden

Nice weather, nice turnout, some new Carnival groups present, some older ones not there. Being here for a day means a marvelous dose of good feelings, sensuality, music and rhythm, some friendly contacts, peaceful atmosphere. A reason to be thankful that so many people enjoy each others company, rather than being embroiled in hurting and killing - some aggressively, some desperately defending home and life . Sadly, this is the reality for millions not far from our country. 

September Snow - White Meets Yellow in the Jämtland Mountains

No Indian Summer that year in the Jämtland mountains. Weather ranged from gusty to stormy, with horizontal blizzard-like snowfall sweeping the mountainsides, still clad in autumn colors. Now and then came surprising lulls and sunny breaks, most of the time the photo-outings were a challenge. My walks were short, hands stiff and wet, the equipment in danger. My camera is weather-proofed, the telezoom - a cheap one - is not. And a single snowflake on your lens can spoil all your efforts. On one occasion I had to use the car as shelter, turning it in a direction where I could open the leeward side window for some shots. On the whole: a refreshing experience, after a summer with long stretches of unbearable and unnerving heat.

Haze and Rays

A hazy day with both rain and some sunny breaks on the Swedish West Coast. Images from an area presenting rather challenging terrain, once you stray from the few trails there. A bit of a surprise for a stretch inside the city limits of Gothenburg.

Lasting Impressions

Among my precious memories are occasional experiences of an intense interaction with nature. Episodes - and sometimes only moments - that struck a chord and left a lasting echo. My mental impression is connected to the photographic image, but for me it also reverberates beyond the image. Some of these strong experiences start out as an ordinary photographic search for appealing landscapes, good viewing angles, interesting subjects etc. At times though this activity gradually - or suddenly - becomes very intense. Something touches you. It can arrive on different channels. It can be an overwhelming sense of beauty, an unexpected characteristic, an unusual lighting, a rare atmospheric condition. But it can also be an everyday scene that somehow presents itself in striking freshness, purity, balance, clarity. Sometimes you have time to respond with the camera to the best of your ability, at other times you are in a "ticking moment" situation, leaving you fumbling nervously with the gear, hoping that somehow you'll succeed to catch the "experience". Even pictures with no genesis in a memorable "on-location" experience can be special. They have a growing long term effect, a kind of afterglow. They can be a slice of reality that you may have failed to comprehend or appreciate fully at the time of taking. This is a personal collection of lasting impressions.
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Stockholm: The Nacka Nature Reserve

Living on the Swedish West Coast, winters often deliver an abundance of different types of rain. In the absence of snow! Many desire an occasional escape to areas that usually do turn white. There is also a way to combine this with BIG city life. Stockholm usually offers this. The Nacka Reserve is not far from the city center. Snow can't be guaranteed, but the chances are good!

Way Out West - Vancouver Island's Pacific Coast

 

Way Out West  is an excerpt from a longer slide/sound show on Western Canada These pictures were originally taken on 35 mm slides. In the 90s I put them together to a lunch hour show at the Chalmers Technical University. At that time I used several carousel projectors, dissolve controls and a special cassette recorder playing sound and providing synk pulses. The visual impact of such big-screen shows has yet to be matched with purely digital technique!

Already my first contact with the open Pacific at the Wickaninnish Beach campsite made quite an impression on me. It was during an Easter break in Vancouver when three fellow students and I made it over to the island in two Volvo PV 544s. At that time the only access to the West Coast included 60 km of dirt track used by logging trucks. Without signs, guide posts or protective side rails the track took us steeply up the mountainsides, into deep snow, rewarding us with unforgettable outlooks. I remember a panorama with Sproat Lake way below, smothered by a tight string of small clouds looking like a dragon. As to be expected, everything generally greyed out as we came closer to the coast, a light drizzle soon turning into a steady downpour. But what a vista through the gaps between mighty cedars and Douglas firs: moving rows of white-crested surf, emerging from the grey wash of that day, advancing gracefully through the shrouds of rain! I never took a picture of this (I didn't have a camera then!), but that sight ingrained itself firmly in my inner image bank.

It rained for two days without interruption. We had a tough time starting a fire, but once we got it going we never let it go out. There was an enormous deposit of coarse (and drenched) firewood at the campsite. We hauled it over to our place, building up a pile fairly close to the fire, at least partially protected from the rain by a large tarp we had managed to string up. The firewood was quite useless without being dried first. We found space to sit down under the tarp as well. And while it was pouring all around, we were getting warmer and drier all the time. We were comfortable! Miraculously the inside of our tents kept reasonably dry throughout the ordeal.

On the third day the grey slowly broke up, leaving widening islands of blue sky with high-up white clouds rushing through them. Finally the sun broke forth, drying the land within a few hours. We headed for the beach, walking, playing with "Ritter", a black retriever. Eventually we sought shelter from the breeze behind huge driftwood logs, dozing, reading and sunbathing! After two days of straight sunshine we started the trip home with suntans! Amazing. Unforgettable.

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Three Excerpts From A Dance Performance -- Atalante Theater, Gothenburg

Vintage footage from a performance in 2013, recently dug up from my "archive". The material was of a slightly better quality than earlier web-versions.

The choreography was by two world artists, Juan Giuliano from Argentina and Mireille Leblanc from Canada.

My filming gear at the time was quite basic, but luckily unobtrusive, it did not draw any real attention to it. This was important for filming during a sharp performance with a paying public. 

The falling curtain actually closed the chapter of this type of dance education in the Swedish High School system 😢.

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Two more vintage dance films came forth recently from my "archives"

Wave   From the 2013 graduating class as well. I remember showing this film once to my cousin, director of a major theater in Germany. He commented very favorably on the performance!

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Six Steps was also a graduating performance at the Atalante Theater, but already from 2003. An interesting choice of music is matched by a close relation between music and the motion on stage. At the onset the participating students introduce themselves in a prerecorded video. Later they come back the same way revealing their values in life and visions of their future. The projected images were toned down, which suited the mood, but proved difficult to reproduce in this film. And of course English subtitles for the students' statements would have been desirable.

The performance took place under a shadow of tragedy, the death of one classmate some weeks earlier. No direct reference was made, but a sense of a touching seriousness was noticeable. Yet equally present was a determination in tackling the task nevertheless, leading to a joyous relief in the end.

Magical Sensations: Midsummer 2023 - Gothenburg, Sweden

Thousands of people from many walks of life gather in the Slottsskogen Park at Midsummer. The general mood vibrates with some kind of multicultural magic, right here, at this hotspot of the most Swedish of all traditions! Seems like we get to be ONE when we all smile and have fun! A very uplifting experience, so direly needed in these unstable times. A useful historic summary on Midsummer in Sweden:

http://realscandinavia.com/midsummer-... 

A quote from it:
The tradition of dancing around the Midsummer pole is an old one, though of course the dances have changed over the centuries. Today organized Swedish Midsummer festivals typically include exhibitions of folk dancing in traditional costumes, as well as ring dances and games for people of all ages to join in. No Midsummer celebration is complete without Små grodorna, a dancing game in which people of all ages hop around the pole while singing about little frogs. The goofiness is part of the fun. Midsummer was considered to be a time of magic, and anything to do with nature was thought to have a special power. Gathering flowers to weave into wreaths and crowns was a way to harness nature’s magic to ensure good health throughout the year. Even though most people these days probably are unaware of the magical origins of the tradition, weaving crowns of flowers is still a major part of any Midsummer observance. The magic of Midsummer also extends to the realm of romance. A Swedish verse says: Midsummer night is not long but it sets many cradles to rock.

Carnival Time in Gothenburg, Sweden -- 2023

 

The Gothenburg suburb of Hammarkullen has been the home of a spring-carnival since 1974, by now the largest event of this type in Sweden. The population of Hammarkullen reflects the influx of immigrants to Sweden in recent decades, not unlike developments in other ”concrete” suburbs in this country. Yet, many people will witness that Hammarkullen has developed a somewhat special cosmopolitan spirit, often described as ”friendly”, ”tolerant”, ”inviting” and the like. And this not just noticable during the three short days of the carnival. It's not far-fetched to assert that the carnival tradition has influenced this spirit a great deal. And ever since a brutal invasion took place not far from this country, it has become clear: It is not self-understood that people are free to join in celebrating life, smiling, singing, dancing, presenting skills and fancy costumes. It is indeed an achievement, something of utmost value! Just as misguided – or simply unfortunate - people elsewhere, we all could be swept along with a wave of violence, unable to return to a peaceful life. Best to be strong in our pursuit of happiness. Just as vital as food and the air we breathe are all the good things that bring people closer together.

 

Bastei - Germany's spectacular sandstone formations

 

The Bastei area is one of a number of hotspots where an ancient seabed has eroded into spectecular shapes. They are found in a fairly large region almost equally divided between Germany and the Czech Republic. Well worth a visit, maybe combined with the cities of Dresden and Prague!

 

Life Is Life = Love Is Love Pride Parade Gothenburg 2022

An estimated 20 000 marched supporting equal rights for people given to different modes of love. At the same time, this was a joyous and powerful celebration of the distance covered breaking away from the dark ages of discrimination and persecution. Soundtrack: I'm aware of that "Life is Life" is heard (too) often in the context of rousing sport events, at least in Europe. Nevertheless, this is at least a slightly different version. The simple lyrics fit rather well to solidarity-events like the Pride parades.

A Late-Fall Uplift

 

The month of November in the northern hemisphere has a bad reputation. Words like "grey", "wet", "dark" come to mind. A well deserved reputation? Probably... Yet, many nature photographers know that the apparent dullness is only one side of the coin. Not only that "dullness" itself can be made interesting in images, but also that light and color can literally break through and create a magic that makes ninety percent of all summer pictures cringe with envy...

 

Sweden's Nr. 1 Carnival is Back!

Due to the pandemic, no Carnival in 2020 and 2021, will the event survive? The year 2022 would give the answer... And what an answer it was! More aglow than ever, more smiles, more friendliness, more sparks between public and performers! And even participants from the Ukraine, reminding us all that this type of celebration is not self-understood and must be upheld with fervor!

National Holiday In Sweden - a nostalgic flashback from another time

 

June 6th is the National Holiday in Sweden. In Gothenburg the renowned Symphony (GS) invites all to a free outdoor performance in the largest city park. Due to the ongoing pandemia, 2019 was the latest such event, which seems ages ago. It was the inspiring music used here that sparked the flashback leading to this little image show. It was not performed by the GS, but they had some similar crowd pleasing film music pieces in their program.

 

A New Year's Day Walk - Gothenburg - Lindås 2021

In uncertain times, likely to weigh down, I always experience slow 'serious' music in a minor key as a benign, understanding ally. The same holds for certain landscapes and landscape-images that match both music and my mental state. To not resist being absorbed by the gravity of a situation - or mood - very often comes with benefits. Darkness reveals traces of light, which we can choose to be guided by.

Eleven years old, me and my classmates had gathered for a regular music lesson. Rather unexpected the teacher started to talk about classical music, how it can be a comfort for people in difficult times. He gave some short examples on the grand piano. Beethoven was among them, the other ones I don't remember. The teacher was a rather young and sporty guy, full of good-natured jokes, with a discernible dose of self-irony. An unusal property in those days. Needless to say that he was popular with us. But still, I always wondered what had given him the courage - and trust - to talk to us pre-teens about music as a source of solace in the face of misery and suffering. There may have been a slight hint in his voice that he himself might have undergone a crisis. But then, it could also have been a general empathic ability. At any rate, one look around convinced me that I wasn't the only one in class to be touched by his words, his manner and the examples. I have always remembered this lesson and I'll never forget Günter Dubber, the outstanding music teacher.

Fall Scenes From the Central Swedish Highlands

Late September and early October days in this area can be everything, lovely, stormy, rainy, foggy, snowy, cool, warm, you name it. Full of surprises.

Five sequences, fifteen minutes in total.

 

Noctilucent Clouds Stockholm, July 28, 2020

Shortly after 1:00 on July 28, 2020, the northern night sky visible from the Stockholm area offered an impressive display of night shining "clouds", consisting of ice crystals and meteorite dust in the mesosphere, at a height of  > 80 km.
This is not a particularly rare phenomenon. But it can only appear at certain times and places. You'll see it only in summer twilight, some time after sunset or before sunrise. And it is confined to a latitude belt that in European terms reaches roughly from Southern Germany to Mid Sweden. If you go further north, the summer nights are too bright. There is a corresponding visibility belt on the Southern Hemisphere, but very little land to watch the icy clouds from.
There are lots of interesting facts on noctilucent clouds on the net. And Youtube features some awesome time-lapse films. In reality the motion of the bright wisps is rather discrete, but with time-lapse technique you will marvel at the beautiful motion. Try the impressive photographic work of Adrien Mauduit, for instance this film, and don't miss the drama of this one.

Corona Consolations - Nordic Walks In And Near Gothenburg, March - Mai 2020

Suddenly in 1986, huge amounts of radioactive fallout from the catastrophic explosion of the Chernobyl reactor descended on Europe in an uneven pattern, due to prevailing winds and rainfall. This country, Sweden, was the first to discover the contamination, in panic searching for a suspected domestic source. Large parts of the country were severely hit, amongst them an area where I happend to work at the time. But even the rest received unnerving amounts of radiation.
One of the worst aspects was that nature itself had suddenly turned into a threat. The fallout was everywhere, covering everything. It was even being absorbed by animals and plants. And it was here to stay for an uncertain length of time. You had to avoid the outdoors, home was a safer place, buildings, rooms, basements. The deeper behind walls and barriers you were, the less exposure to the danger you had. It was a devastating feeling to not be safe in the great wide open. Even the very air you breathed, rain that fell on you, nothing could be trusted anymore. Nature had let you down, it was your enemy. But then, who let down whom... I think, everybody knows, to echo Leonard Cohen's eery song:
Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed

And now Corona. It has hit us severely and scared us in a way we never felt before. Yet for the time being we are spared the horrible feeling that the natural world had become a threat (not counting the virus itself). On the contrary, nature suddenly rose to a level of integrity it had not enjoyed for some time. Especially the air quality got much better. In some countries, like India, dramatically, but noticable almost everywhere through the absence of airplane condense trails, with their irritating aftermath of weird artificial cloudscapes.

Other than a call for social distancing, there were no restrictions in this country in the freedom to be outside. So nature stayed your friend, welcomed you. I quit my training sessions in our shared basement gym, it felt a bit unsafe since a number of people use it. Instead I intensified my nordic walks, using arms and poles for a good part of the forward thrust. During the months of March to Mai the weather was unusually sunny, with the exception of two days, which were the most memorable. They featured a blend of sunshine and short gusty episodes with forceful graupel (soft hail) showers! No pix possible, but to stand there exposed near the shore with a 360 degree clear view, feeling this marvellous, coolish caress on the sweaty face, straight from Mother Nature herself, unforgettable. Freedom itself!

Nordic walking and photography don't go together so well. You don't want to carry heavy equipment, handle bulky cameras, or change lenses. A light, pocketable camera is ok, sometimes you can use your poles as a makeshift tripod. My pocket camera provided me with a somewhat downscaled type of photography but came to play an 'upscaled' role in the entire experience: Being outdoors was even more “intense” than normally, more special, less self-understood. I also observed the dignity of other living things taking care of life and growth. All in all, my walks where helpful in coping with the many concerns, pressures and fears arising in this - for us - unprecedented life-situation.