Around the city

Yep, time for another time lapse video, this time from around Copenhagen (we start with the sunrise at Helsingør, though).

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all readers of this blog. On this the first day of the year it's time to look forward. For some it's time to follow the same tracks as always, for others it's time to find the switch and change tracks. My best wishes to you all and I hope you find the right tracks for you.

Last day of the year

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.

He

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.

Sunrise time lapse

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 yearly visit

A once or twice a year I visit Helsingør and the castle of Kronborg. This year it happened to be on Occupation Day, 9th of April. I follow more or less the same route around the castle so I have tons of photos of it in every light imaginable.

Colours

 

At Kronborg Castle in Helsingør there's ample opportunities for a great shot with a lot of colours. This one is of the gift shop there.

Miniature in Copper

At the entrance to Kronborg is a new addition, a miniature of the castle done in copper. It's a nice way to get the big picture of the castle.

April 9th

I've shown photos from Kronborg Castle (the home of Hamlet) in Helsingør before, but as it's one of my favourite places to spend a few hours with the camera I go there regularly. This time it was on April 9th which is an anniversary in Denmark. On that day in 1940 the Germans occupied Denmark with relatively ease, and since then the flag has to go on half-mast until noon.

Chairs and Windows

With empty rooms at Kronborg, the hopeful photographer's got to find other motives, like this simple one of a couple of chairs and some windows.

Salut

In past times these guns controlled the entrance to Øresund, the waterway separating the Danish island of Zealand from Sweden. Nowadays they are only used to give a salute to the Royal ship Dannebrog or on special days.

Don't go there

On Kronborg certain areas are off limits for the public, but here they don't use signs here. Often they just place some kind of obstruction, and then they count on people being able to figure it out for themselves. Good thing that most people are well behaved, otherwise they might be tempted to go where no tourist has gone before.

Holger the Dane

In the cellars beneath Hamlet's Kronborg another legend resides; Holger Danske or Holger the Dane. The legend goes that in times of peril for Denmark, he will awaken to fight off the enemy. As he hasn't awoken yet during historic times, I take it that Denmark hasn't seen real danger yet.

An Empty Museum

One of the Danish places on the UNESCO list of World Heritage is Kronborg, the castle of Hamlet fame. When visiting this castle you might be a bit disappointed as it excels in big and often empty or half-empty rooms. Quite a shame as this castle is the perfect backdrop for great exhibitions on Danish history. I'll show you some more from here the next few days.