Thinking of...

Thinking of...
Originally uploaded by svimes

Thinking of green pastures
galloping madly in the sun
fresh hay between my teeth
or just savoring the freedom.

Lightroom Presets

Lively Discussion
Originally uploaded by svimes

I am really fond of the new preset templates I found on the Adobe Website for Photoshop Lightroom. Well, to be honest I'm thrilled because someone had created three Ansel Adams presets, which replicate the "Kodak" tone control created by Ansel Adams. My BW shots just got better tones from now on. ;)

Chateau Gaillard

Chateau Gaillard
Originally uploaded by svimes

The white rocks of Les Andelys on top of which Richard Lionheart built Chateau Gaillard were unconquerable, were it not for the sewers. :)

Avenues of the Sea

Avenues of the Sea
Originally uploaded by svimes

It was quite interesting to watch the steady stream of ships making their way to their destination, slowly but surely.

Fun, Fun, Fun, in the Sun

Fun, Fun, Fun, in the Sun
Originally uploaded by svimes

Saint Malo has a very idyllic beach, which was bustling with activity when we visited it.

Low Tide

Low Tide
Originally uploaded by svimes

I think I enjoy sunsets more in monochrome, since you can get really nice contrasts and tones with that light.

Test of Time

Test of Time
Originally uploaded by svimes

Test of time: water against wood.

Lycanthropic Vision

Lycanthropic Vision
Originally uploaded by svimes

The moon is calling to me
and my blood is singing.

Brahehus

Brahehus
Originally uploaded by svimes

Cold tones have rarely set on my images, in the post process, but somehow the bleak history of Brahehus called for bleak colors. Brahehus sit on top of a hill close to the village of Gränna in Sweden. It is a magnificent place overlooking the lake Vättern. I climbed the footpath up the steep hill to take this picture. On the top I realized that the lazy people could have taken the E4 to it. ;)

Poesy

Just created a new Flickr group Poesy

Had I Known

Had I Known
Originally uploaded by svimes

Had I known what those languid summer days brought back to me.

I would have never required you to do anything else except just to be there.

Déjàvu

Déjàvu
Originally uploaded by svimes

Several times I have been struck by the feeling of promnesia when either capturing an image or being in the process of post-processing one. This feeling that someone has already captured this shot is so strong and prominent that one tends to reminisce whether one has witnessed a marvellous image which has been embedded in the subconscious and upon capturing the new image one is struck by the feeling of precognition. Precognition itself is the alternative, whether in a dream state or something that is foreseen. I personally am in favor of the previous, where I believe our influences stem from what we have seen and popular sights are bound to be recaptured time and again, hence the Déjàvu.

Electra

Electra
Originally uploaded by svimes

I am fond of old bicycles and motorcycles for that matter. They seem to possess the aesthetics that modern appliances lack. Well I guess utility beats aesthetics, since I would not like to take Electra for a ride in the woods. ;)

My HCB Moment

Espresso
Originally uploaded by svimes

I like coffee and apparently so does he. To be honest him walking into the shot made it a photograph. Otherwise it would have been a bland shot down the street taken in the old town of Köln. You cannot plan these shots, you just have to be there with your finger on the trigger I guess. :)

Creative Commons

Streaks
Originally uploaded by svimes

I've started noticing that due to the licensing I have chosen, people have started using my images (with due credits) in various places. For example this photo appeared in http://www.yesmagazine.org/blogs/sarah-van-gelder/the-meaning-of-the-solstice-in-a-finnish-village

Since I'm not trying to make a living out photography I can afford to license my photos in this manner. Even if I were a professional photographer, I think Flickr might be a nice channel to promote once work.

After all, let's face it, if you post something publicly, there is very little control you have on its usage after the fact.

Slowly

Slowly
Originally uploaded by svimes

One of the big topics for this summer was low light photography and in the coming weeks and days, I will post a number of low light shots taken in Germany, France and Sweden. I think this shot benefited from the movement of the barge across the shot. Rendering it with a high contrast also added a nice mood to the shot, don't you think? I used bulb for the exposure, that's why the exposure time is an odd 1.6s.

Pic a Day

Rhein
Originally uploaded by svimes

I have a backlog of images to upload taken on my vacation, but this year I thought I would upload the public photos one per day. This will not be visible in my photostream per se, since the photos are added into the stream the date they were taken. Time travel is possible after all. ;)