On this grey last day of the year, grey at least in Copenhagen, I hope that this photo from Friday's sunrise in Helsingør might cheer you up. With the background noise sounding more and more like a war zone (why is it that we Danes think it's so wonderful to listen to fireworks at all hours in the days preceding New Year's Eve?), I hope all your wishes come through in the year to come.
Apart from the time lapse video I showed you yesterday I also got a few other shots Friday morning in Helsingør. This one is of the merman in the harbour, starring at the rising sun. The sculpture called Han (Danish for he) is made of steel by the artists Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset in 2010 as a modern version of Copenhagen's Little Mermaid. It got a mixed review by the public; the county and the politicians loved it but the department in charge of the castles and public buildings, the landscape architect responsible for the new harbour area in Helsingør and the foundation that financed the new area were not pleased.
I'm still fascinated by the Nikon D800's time lapse function. Today's video is from yesterday morning's sunrise over the Danish town of Helsinore (Helsingør in Danish). With a weather report promising a clear day, it was just a matter of grabbing an early morning train and find the right spot at the harbour. I managed two shots, one of the sunrise with the ferries crossing every 10-15 minutes and one of Kronborg of Hamlet fame, all edited in the YouTube editor.
The towers and spires in Copenhagen is at the moment being outnumbered by the construction cranes. Here it's the metro construction site at the central island of Slotsholmen, where the parliament is, that is competing with the tower of Nikolaj Church.
Today is Christmas Eve which in Denmark is the day where we traditionally have our Christmas dinner with family and friends. The menu for tonight in my family is roasted duck with caramelized potatoes, red cabbage, something sweet, something sour and brown sauce. The desert will be rice pudding, called risalamande with hot cherry sauce. And afterwards it's time for coffee and the exchange of presents.
The kids are having fun in Tivoli during their Christmas opening. In the background is an friend of yesteryear; the copy of the Russian Vasilij Basilica.
Last year the Russian Christmas in Tivoli was debated hotly among the regular crowd of the amusement park. It was not Danish enough to many and people threatened never to set a foot there again. This year Tivoli has compromised by keeping the Russian area but also by having a Nordic area. I quite like the Russian area myself, but I guess it's a matter of taste.
The alternative Little Mermaid (and small she is) is still sitting gaping at the Royal Library called the Black Diamond. In the background is the bridge called Langebro (Danish for Long Bridge).
At this time of year in Copenhagen, the sun is an all too seldom guest, but when it finally shines a bit the city lights up. The bridge being graced with a few sun rays here is the so called Marble Bridge. It was built by Nicolai Egtved in 1739-45 and it connects the back of Christiansborg (the Danish parliament), where the Riding Ground is with the street Ny Vestergade.
The most read Danish writer, Hans Christian Andersen, was front-page news again. An unknown fairy tale of his, The Candlestick, has been found in an archive, hidden among a lot of other papers. This fairy tale was one of a very young Hans Christian's first attempts at this genre and it's not even close to being his best. Nonetheless the news went around the world, showing just how popular he still is.
Even though winter is here, the sightseeing boats of Copenhagen is still sailing. Only when the ice is closing the canals down, will they take a winter rest.
Walking through central Copenhagen on a Saturday or Sunday morning might remind sensitive people how Copenhagen was before the sewers were common. It seems like there's way too few toilets around for public use as the stink of urine will greet you and your nose every time you pass a stair well, a dark gate or anywhere else, where someone thought it was appropriate to pass water. The actual problem in my opinion is not the lack of public restrooms, but the lack of good manners in a lot of people.
Not all musicians in the streets of Copenhagen plays an accordion with only one tune or a guitar amplified loud enough to give permanent loss of hearing. From time to time there's someone giving a good performance on violins or, as in this case, a flute. Let's hope for a few more of these, please.
An art work has appeared on the central square of Rådhuspladsen in Copenhagen; a figure made of colourful yarn connected to a bell and a peace sign. It's another art work by the street art group Streetheart, made as part of their Christmas Calendar happening with one new surprise each day of December until Christmas Eve. This one is from December 4th and is made by Tejn.
Even the pigeons feel the coldness of Copenhagen. They seek the ventilation outlets on the central square of Rådhuspladsen and pack together to beat the winter weather.
As some readers might have noticed, I love to use this kind of angle in my photos of paths and roads as the lines lead the viewers eyes into the photo. This one is from a winter path in Søndermarken.
Behind the trees in the park Søndermarken in Copenhagen lies this little yellow house, very cozy dressed in white. This is not a residence but a restroom.
What to do when there's what the Danish news call a blizzard (and the Swedes would call a mild snowfall) hits Copenhagen on a Sunday and you have a craving for some photography? How about some more time lapse photography, this time with three burning Christmas tree candles.
Another time lapse movie, this time of flows in Copenhagen; the sky, smoke, the people, the traffic and the pigeons. I guess I'm hooked on this function in the D800.
I'm still playing around with my new Nikon D800 camera and I'm still struck by awe. One of the new features in it is the time-lapse function and a few days ago I just had to try it out on something. Into the freezer Santa went and out again the next day, now embedded in a block of ice. The camera went on a tripod with the macro lens, a black background went up and a spotlight was used for the main lighting. But as I didn't want to stand around for hours, waiting for the ice to melt, a hair dryer was very handy. Setting the time-lapse function was easy enough; a photo each 2 seconds and 30 minutes of shooting and off I, or rather the camera went. 30 minutes later the the ice had melted and the video was in the box. A few things I needed to improve the next time; manual focus on Santas face, a wider depth of field and a more solid platform for the tripod (or is it the hair dryer moving Santa a bit?). Not too bad for a first try I think, though.
The second attempt was much better. This time I skipped the hair dryer and went for a natural melting. A photo every 20 seconds for 5 hours and manual focus with an f=12 and the shooting could begin. Well home after work (the shooting started at 6am) I discovered that the battery had run out at some point so that the video was 25 seconds long instead of the planned 30 seconds, but I still got the whole melting. And I like the result! I've got a few more ideas to try out so this is not the last time lapse I'm doing.
Some of the Christmas decorations in Copenhagen are actually quite nice, even for someone who gets a bit annoyed with Christmas when the first signs appears in the stores in late October. These bundles of oats are one of those examples.
Just outside my door is a nice little park called Vigerslevparken with this little creek called Harrestrup Å. And with a coating of white it looks perfect.
With a 70-300mm lens it's not always possible to get all of your motive in the frame, so here I opted for just half of the bench. If it's good or just different is for the viewer to decide, but I quite like it.
Yesterday Copenhagen got its first large snowfall so it was a nice opportunity to break out the new Nikon D800 and start getting acquainted with it. Well, I actually started a few days ago, but there's still quite a bit of ground to cover before I'm proficient on it. This photo is from the park Frederiksberg Have.
Skip the rules and try something else, is the normal recipe when bored, and that is also true in photography. Have you figured put what I've photographed here?
Some of the new pavements in Copenhagen is actually almost a work of art in itself. This one is from the harbour front at Strandgade where a new urban park has been constructed. And before you ask, yes, I am trying to ignore the fact that this is the first day of the Christmas month:-)
The leafs has fallen on the cobbles of the square Gråbrødre Torv, named after the Franciscan friars who in Medieval times had their monastery near here.
When the sky over Copenhagen is grey and dull and the need to snap is high, why not go for something unusual instead of the ordinary? Like this reflection of a red car. For the next few days expect a few unusual shots.
The male of the lions in the Copenhagen Zoo seems to be king of the hill here. Even though I like to snap a few photos of the lions I mostly find them a bit dull as they pass most of the day sleeping. Only when the cubs are around are the adults a bit more active, mostly trying to fend off the sneak attacks of the little ones.
In Copenhagen we've got our very own savannah, well kind of. In the zoo there's an area where some of the species from the savannah are roaming among each other; zebra, gazelle and rhino are in the same enclosure, with the giraffe in their own area bordering the rest. Theses two youngsters seem to get along pretty good regardless of differences.
It's not only the big and famous animals in the Copenhagen Zoo that I find fascinating. They've got a fair share of smaller critters as well, like the banded mongoose on this photo. A very active and social animal they're fun to watch.
As told on this blog before the tigers in the Copenhagen Zoo are among my favourite models. They always seem to be on the prowl and it's fairly easy to get some nice shots, even though the background is often a bit of a problem. Not on this one, though, as the sun made a nice dark shadow behind the big cat.
Just a few days ago a new hippo calf was born in the Copenhagen Zoo. Maybe the hippo on this photo anticipated the coming new one and new that rest would be scarce, so it might as well start yawning beforehand.
The Copenhagen Zoo got a new giraffe calf, and even though it's only half-a-year old it's as tall as a grown man already. And already very used to people with cameras.
On fixed times throughout the day, you can watch the animals of the Copenhagen Zoo being fed and activated. And the zookeepers will give you a lot of information about the animals, their natural behavior and how to handle them in the zoo. Except that it's in Danish only, so tourists here will have a hard time following the action. On this photo the zookeeper is telling the audience about the sea lions.
The elephants of the Copenhagen Zoo have a very nice and big area and house, designed by Norman Forster. And they are kept on their toes so to speak trying to find the carrots and other treats, as they're hidden in all the odd places the zookeepers can think about.
The tigers in the Copenhagen Zoo have a nice enclosure with both places to lick sun and places to jump. And they've even got a pool, except it seems to pool guy doesn't visit very often. The tigers don't seem to mind, though.
It's not only the animals in the Copenhagen Zoo that get fed at lunchtime. The local population of seagulls, crows and herons are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to snatch a meal. This seagull was a bit quicker than the penguins this time around.
As told before, the polar bears in the Copenhagen Zoo will soon be moved to a new home. The new enclosure for these magnificent predators will be finished at the beginning of the new year and it is something to look forward to for both the animals and the visitors. It'll be possibly to watch the polar bears and the seals swim next to each other, only divided by a thick glass wall, and a tunnel will lead the visitors underneath the big basins. This area, called the Arctic Ring will also feature a bird cliff with North Atlantic birds.
In the weekends it's obvious that a lot of people enjoy the days with good weather. And it seems like quite a few are doing it behind a DSLR. This one wanted the same as me on this morning in Dyrehaven; early morning light hitting the autumn trees.
Sometimes the antics of the people working out in the parks reminds me of the old Monty Python sketch, Ministry of Silly Walks. Maybe it's just me feeling guilty about not getting enough exercise done at the moment...
When out with the camera I often look for pics that are a bit unusual. This one from the park Kongens have, where the head of the statue of Hans Christian Andersen "meets" a passerby is one such photo.
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