Sweden

One of the amazing things about living in Gothenburg is the closeness to nature. A few of us left from work on a Friday and took the train up to Surtesjön, a lake north of Gothenburg. A quick hike from the station and we found a spot for camping, cooking and swimming by the edge of the lake.

Reached easily from Central Gothenburg via Angered Centrum, Vättlefjälls Naturreservat is one of the largest nature reserves in the area and a lovely place to spend a weekend camping and hiking.

Brunnsparken often has Palestinian protestors bringing attention to the ongoing situation between Israel and Palestine. Today, the protestors are bringing the protest to the city, driving in a convoy of cars, flags waving despite the heavy rain as more and more international attention focuses on what is happening.

Much like my wander on Christmas Eve, I took an hours break from obsessively scheduled cooking to get some air and sunlight in the nearby Slottskogen Park. Winter sun is a tricky thing, it can be very bright, but its so low in the sky that you get long shadows or it is easily hidden behind low hills or high buildings, plunging your photos into the gloom.

Not one for staying indoors all day, I headed out to the nearby Göteborgs Botaniska Trädgård, walking through Slottskogen park to get there. Even at 1 pm, the sun was low in the sky as we are only two days past the Solstice, when the night is longest and daylight a brief golden splash of a few hours.

Still waiting for my replacement tripod to arrive, I once again decided to do some hand held shots of the moon. Getting the crystal clear sharpness is incredibly tough hand held, and I'm still not that happy with the results.

Sometimes you just chance on strange things. Outside my window, a stream of motorcycles, all dressed as Santa passed along Linnégatan. Beeping their horns and revving their engines they gathered a surprised audience.

Bohusleden's hikes run from Lindome to Strömstad and are broken up into twenty-seven sections of an average length of 12.6km giving a total of 340 kilometres. Over time, I have been exploring sections in one or multi-day hikes.

Despite the Corona virus, more than four hundred cities around the world have marched in protest of George Floyd death and the lack of accountability for the detaining officers. Gothenburg's march brought thousands out in peaceful protest. Starting at Heden and travelling in a large circle around the city past Vasa, past Domkyrkan and past the stadium.

Recently, the Elk (or Moose if you are American as the North American Elk is a different species) in Slotskogen park have given birth to two calves (or Mooselings). These babies have caused much excitement and many visitors.

At the end of the season, a friend and I headed out to the forests east of Gothenburg for a short weekend hike. It was the first evening that the temperature dipped to -4 degrees and so we had a very cold evening.

Its been quite some time since I did any astrophotography, but my new 100-400 lens has been waiting for the nights to get dark enough to start trying to catch the moon again. The ongoing issue of the weight of the lens, extender and body on my travel tripod makes maintaining sharp focus a challenge, and next time I'll be plugging my laptop instead of using the rear viewer for focusing and getting the shot centred. I may also borrow the heavy duty tripod from the office for a weekend.

Ladonia is a micronation, proclaimed in 1996 as the result of a years-long court battle between artist Lars Vilks and local authorities over two sculptures. The claimed territory is part of the natural reserve of Kullaberg in southern Sweden.

Some friends and I went hiking in Bottenstugan i Svartedalen, an area of natural beauty north of Gothenburg. The trails connect to Bohusleden, meaning you can trek back the 50 or so kilometers to Gothenburg, something a few of us plan to do.

The Stockholm National Museum is situated at the point where one island ends and the bridge to the next would take you to the Modern Art Museum. The building itself is old and imposing.

The Fotografiska Museum is on the banks of one of the many rivers that divides Stockholm. A long building, likely a warehouse in the past, of dark brick with a bronze fruit outside.

Stockholm is a city on the water, looking into the Baltic, passed its many islands, the city itself forms a crosshatch pattern of islands connected by bridges over the inlets and rivers. In the winter many of these rivers freeze, and its common to see the locals skating across them.

A sculpture park created by architect and sculptor Carl Milles in the grounds of his home in Stockholm, the statues are primarily set on tall columns to frame them against the sky and the sun.

Six of our headed out on Saturday morning for Brännö island, off the coast of Gothenburg. Part of the Archipelago that is easily accessible by the many ferries.

Friends of mine were in Copenhagen and suggested we meet for the day in Malmö.

On Swedish National Day, I decided to dust off my bike, which had sat unused through the winter and spring to cycle down to Lerkil

A few of us got up early Saturday morning and hiked the route from Angereds Kyrka to Kåsjön.

​In Gothenburg this weekend, a group of Neo-Nazi's decided to hold a march through the city.

I hiked and camped in the wilderness near Gothenburg.

I recently went on an evening shoot around Eriksberg.

With some friends from work, I headed up to Orust and took a Kayak out for the day.

I recently went to the Maritiman museum in Gothenburg

​Slottskogen is a large park in Gothenburg, and it is often the venue for a number of social events.

It has been quite some time since I did any dedicated macro photography.

Getting to Marstrand was less easy than it should have been, there is a train which connects to...

Today was the Gothenburg Green World unveiling. A series of popup greenspaces.

​I recently went to the Volvo Museum, considering how I spent my day...

A had a friend over and took them out to the Archipelago.

I recently joined a Meetup Group in Gothenburg NightScapes and I attended the first meetup

It was finally time to head to the southern archipelago of Gothenburg.