Mountain Lake, Govggejávri, Lapland – July 2010
As I wander around in the mountains it often strikes me how vibrant I feel. How everything before me and everything within me seems alive. In daily life my mind is so often cluttered with thoughts. Here, however, my mind is as clear as the water in a mountain lake.
The image is from the latest trip and is one of my favourites.
Early Snow, Govggejávri, Lapland – July 2010
After a night of strong winds, snow and freezing temperatures the landscape was totally transformed. I had not slept more than a few minutes because of the wind shaking my tent. I went out with my camera to make a few photographs. It was simply beautiful. The sun was breaking through for the first time of the day. The wind had calmed down a bit making it possible to photograph.
After an hour or so I returned to the tent to try to get some sleep. When I woke up later that day the snow was gone, melted to water by the sun. Things were back to normal again.
Dissolving mist, Govggejávri, Lapland – July 2010
Govggejávri is a lake located about 1200 meters above sea level (a high lake in Swedish standards) in the Kebnekaise area of the Swedish mountain range. It is surrounded by a barren landscape, mostly consisting of stone. I spent the first couple of days of my most recent journey there and experienced everything from “t-shirt weather” to freezing winter temperatures (as you can see in the previous post).
This image is a little special to me in that sense that it was made early in the afternoon when I usually don’t come up with any good photographs because of the hard light. But the quality of the light is more than just about time of day, it’s also about the weather conditions and the reflecting surfaces. At the time the air was very humid after a heavy rain and there was still some mist left which helped to filter the sunlight to a beautiful soft glow.
The image was made with my 90 mm tilt-shift lens and I used the shift to gain resolution and a little wider angle of view (somewhere near 70 mm).
Here’s a short video from my latest trek in the Kebnekaise-area. I had a hard time sleeping that night because of the strong winds and the snowfall. It calmed down a bit in the morning and I had a chance to make some photographs, but still the wind was a problem. I had to protect the camera and tripod from the wind with my body to get sharp images. Although tired, it was a wonderful experience waking up in a totally transformed landscape.
Recorded with the 5D Mark II and 24 mm TS-E II.
Frozen Lake, Abisko mountains, July 2010
I have now been home awhile after my recent trip to the Abisko mountains and this image is one of my favourites from the trip. The lake, at 1050 m over sea level, was still completely covered with ice but there was some melted pools and open water near the shoreline.
The image was shot early in the morning of my fifth day out (03:30, is that even morning or is it still night?) and after photographing for an hour or two I returned to the tent for some well deserved sleep.
I enjoy the somber mood of this one and to me it shows the grandeur of the place in a little more intimate way.
Self-portrait, Luohttoláhko, Sarek National Park, August 2009
I’ve packed my stuff together and soon I will start my journey to visit a few new places close to Abisko. Being my first trip this summer I’m really excited. I will be back in a week and hopefully I have some photographs to share.
Twilight, Ramsvikslandet, April 2010
Ever since I started photographing I have been fascinated by the delicate quality of light that takes place before sunrise or after sunset. Twilight. The light at this time of day is directional yet the shadows are very, very subtle which, for me, worked well in this image.
As for the technical notes I was using a 17 mm tilt-shift lens and used the shift mechanism to make two frames which I stitched together in Photoshop. This gives me a square aspect ratio without having to crop (actually I’m gaining resolution instead). How lovely!
Blue impression, Öland, May 2010
Magic is all around us, even in the most simple of things. Same is true for photographs. Sometimes the most simple one is the most intriguing.
Receding wave, Ramsvikslandet, April 2010
Last month was a hectic, but fun one for me. I spent every weekend teaching workshops, which is something I love to do. I made this image after teaching a black and white photography workshop at Ramsvikslandet, a beautiful location on the Swedish west coast. This evening though, was all about color.
I found a spot where the waves made some graceful shapes while receding back into the ocean. The sun was just above the horizon when I made the exposure, painting the scene before me with warm, soft light.
Ice and Sky, Landsort, Stockholm archipelago – March 2010
I made this image during a workshop I taught on the island of Landsort (Öja) last month. What really spoke to me was the different tones in the landscape. The glowing bright ice against the dark sea and the contrasts of the cloudy sky. All coming together nicely. The photograph has an abstract and almost surreal quality to it. The lighthouse at the horizon, which is barely noticeable in this web-sized image, becomes an important element of the composition in a print.
The image is in fact three images made with a newly acquired tilt-shift lens and then stitched together in post-processing. The result is an image with great detail and one that prints beautifully.
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