Sprouting water

A sure sign that spring is here, is when the water in the fountains start running again. Here it's one of the frogs on the Stork Fountain that is gushing water.

History burning

 

Yesterday was a sad day in Denmark, as the city of Copenhagen woke up to a burning Freedom Museum. This museum holds the collection of artifacts from the German occupation of Denmark in 1940-45. Luckily all or most of the items and the very important archive from the occupation was saved, but the building is beyond saving, so it will be a while before it's possibly to visit the museum and learn about these dark years of Danish history.

 

Watch your step

In Dyrehaven there's areas where you have to watch your step, less you get wet feet. And they're the places where you'll get these swampy photos with lots of reflections. Put in some mist and you could be in another world entirely.

From gloomy to golden

Walking in the park Dyrehaven north of Copenhagen on an early spring morning is a favourite pastime of mine. Especially when there's a morning mist slowly clearing, as the light changes from gloomy over mystic to golden.

New ride

 

One of three new rides in Tivoli this year is this one, a mini version of the golden tower, which will please the younger kids and give them a thrill.

 

Get there early

The area of Christianhavn in Copenhagen is considered rather hip by many, maybe because of the alternative lifestyle at the freetown of Christiania, maybe because of the canals that cross through or maybe because of its many old and rustic apartments. When I go there I like to go early so I've got the views to myself. And the water in the canals is so much calmer and with so much better reflections before the local boats and canal tours are cruising.

Looping

 

There's lots of photo-ops in Tivoli in Copenhagen, so it's a favourite haunt for me whenever I "need" to head out with the camera. I've captured the loop on this roller-coaster numerous times before but I like this backlit version taken with my iPhone last weekend.

 

Cheating

 

Tivoli opened a almost two weeks ago. They have a reputation as not only an amusement park but also as garden with flowers no matter when you're there. This season opened before the spring really kicked in so they apparently had to cheat a bit to have the flowers that the guests expect. Hopefully the flowers will be the real deal for the rest of the season.

 

Spring has sprung

 

It finally seems that spring has decided to come to Copenhagen. And about time it was. Now the flowers, plants, birds and people has a lot of catching up to do. This photo was taken with my iPhone in the centre of Copenhagen on Gammel Strand, where the communal flowerpots has been planted with narcissus.

 

Bullying

 

The hooded crows are both pretty shrewd and they've got a lot of nerve. One is going for the meat, the other bully the seagull by pulling at its tail feathers. In the end the seagull surrendered to the two bullies and flew away to get easier food. It only shows that two small ones can get the better of the big one if they work together.

Fighting for food

When the polar bears in the Copenhagen Zoo don't eat up, the birds take over. The seagull here have a bit of a fight with the two hooded crows, that keep harassing it until it gives up. They do keep their distance, though.

More activities at Carlsberg

Signs at the closed Carlsberg Breweries in Valby, Copenhagen, show the way to the different activities that has taken over old industrial buildings and outdoor areas. Art galleries, go-kart racing, skateboard areas, dance theatre, cafés, architects, designers and many others have all found room here.

A place to climb

After the Carlsberg Breweries has stopped production at their Valby plant, the area has been opened to the public. Among the many activities opened is Klatreskoven, the Climbing Forest. Here kids, youngsters and grown-ups can climb along different routes in different heights above the ground under supervision of experienced climbers. It's opened in the weekends and on school holidays.

Looking out for their legacy

The Carlsberg Brewery in Valby, Copenhagen, is full of wonderful details, like these two busts of brewer Carl Jacobsen and his wife Ofelia. They're looking out from the balcony and seems to be keeping an eye on their legacy.

Not a Nazi

Many places at the Carlsberg Breweries in Valby is adorned with swastikas, but the reason is not that the old brewer Carl Jacobsen was a national-socialist. Instead it was used as a symbol of prosperity and good fortune, and the Carlsberg version had four dots. It was even used on the labels of the beer bottles until WWII. So the swastika on Thor's wagon is just an old trademark.

Ny Tap going down

Parts of the old Carlsberg Brewery in Valby, Copenhagen is being torn down to give room for residences, offices, shops and a school. Ny Tap, as the building was called, is slowly being demolished as is a part of the administration.

Patterns

I often photograph patterns of different types, like the shadows on this stone wall. Patterns, shapes, lines and light all creates an image that is almost abstract and which can make the viewer stop and think about the photo.

Sunset

Followers of this blog know that sunsets and sunrises are among my favourite subjects. But I also like to be a bit creative and use silhouettes as a point of focus. Here it's the grass at the beach that gives a bit of extra to the photo

Enjoying the feed

One of the most common birds in the Danish gardens, the titmouse really enjoys the bird feeders. This one sure seemed to like the offered seeds.

Look inside

Yet another photo of birds at the bird feeder from my interval shooting session during Easter. These two greenfinches hogged the feeder for quite some tine, so I got a good selection of them.

Blue tit in da house

 

Yesterday I told you about my experiment with interval shooting the bird feeder in the garden. Here's another result; a blue tit is trying to decide on the menu in the lofty restaurant.

At the bird feeder

 

As told in previous posts I like to explore the functions on my Nikon D800. During Easter the time had come to try the interval shooting, and what better object to try it at than a couple of bird feeders in the garden? So I put the camera on a gorillapod, placed it near the feeder, filled up the feeder with seeds and started experimenting with the settings. I ended up with doing an interval of one shot each minute for two hours. And then it was coffee time. The result was a lot of empty photos, a lot of photos with half a bird or a blurry one leaving or arriving, and a few good ones of different birds. This greenfinch seemed to know something was going on. I'll show some more in the coming days.

 

Bringing out the focus point

 

Another example of mine of how to use selective colouring in a photo, this time on one from the Maltese carnival. This one was taken with the Nikon D800 and edited in Colorblast for the iPhone. With all the clutter in the background it really brings focus to the important part; the girl enjoying a bit of sunshine.

 

Selective colour

 

With the iPhone selecting colours have become really easy. Just snap a photo or import it from somewhere else, open it in one of the many apps that can be used to select colours, select the area you want to have colour and the rest will be monochrome, and then just remember to save it or export it to your favourite social media. This one was taken with the iPhone in a park near my home and edited in Colorblast.

 

Nothing fancy

 

You don't always need to go out to snap a few photos and you don't always need a dslr to get the snaps. This tulip was shot at the dinner table with an iPhone with a piece of white paper as a background and then converted in the app Snapseed.

 

A wolfs head

The downspouts on the University Library in Copenhagen are very detailed. I've passed the building hundreds of times without noticing them, but the other day I realised just how beautiful the building is with all its details in red brick, stone and copper.

Finding the perfect spot

If you own a camera (and who doesn't in this day and age) finding the right spot for your shooting is always the trick. At Nyhavn, one of the must-sees for for all tourists in Copenhagen, the spot seems to be on top of the public restrooms, as you can get high and clear a lot of the clutter of harbour front. Another spot here is the bridge at the far end of the harbour.

Baffled

Some of the art in public spaces in Copenhagen baffles me. This metal goat near at one of the canals is such a case. Is the McD bag on purpose or has someone decided to make it better? I don't know but it makes a statement in this way.

It's allowed

Denmark is a society tightly regulated by rules and regulations. So sometimes it's easier to tell what is allowed instead of what isn't. Usually loose dogs are not allowed whether on the streets or in the parks (which is ignored by many dog owners), but in some parks there's an area where you can let your dog loose to play. Just please remember to pick up anything they might otherwise leave around for others to step in.

Fenced in

The equestrian statue of King Christian V must fell pretty fenced in behind the high green wall surrounding him and the metro construction site at Kongens Nytorv. And he better get used to it as the construction will go on for the next 4-5 years.