The Quiet Picture

The weather forecast said it would be -4°C degrees in the morning. Bah. It was -8 when I got up, and -5 when I left. Not that I’m complaining, because it meant that there was frost everywhere. In some places the frost was so thick it looked like snow.

I had a plan, at first check out Svartåmyran because it was open enough for the sun to reach it in the morning, and it was a sunny day – no a cloud in sight. It didn’t quite work out though, I took quite a few pictures but in the end I deleted almost all of them. All hope was not lost though, the second part of my excursion was my old favourite, Svansjöbäcken. I haven’t been there all year but I was really hoping to find an icy lining to the water… but it turned out that there was quite a lot more ice than that. It wasn’t just a lining, it was a full ice cover everywhere but in the waterfalls.

So you’d think that I was disappointed, but no such worries. What makes this place so great is that there’s more to it than just the water, so I turned my eyes towards the forest instead. There’s a lot of old fallen pines around and now that they had a frost all over them, it wasn’t hard to find something interesting to shoot.

But all that standing around in the frozen moss, my toes were freezing. Seriously. The kind of thing that hurts when the circulation comes back. Note to self: the hiking boots are not rated for four seasons!

We are now in the time between where autumn comes to end and the waiting for the snow begins. The nights are cold and the weather forecast said that it would be a sunny weekend, so I was really looking forward to a morning shoot at my favourite tarn of the year (it keeps changing, because the tarns are so small that the photo ops are soon exhausted). When I got to the place, I sure wasn’t disappointed. There wasn’t as much ice on the water as I thought there would be but as long as it was calm, the open water worked just fine. The moss was almost frozen and half the time it carried me without breaking, giving me this surreal feeling of walking on water and then on the next step an actual feeling of walking in water when the crust broke…

As the sun climbed higher on the sky, it started melting the frost and the magic. It was surprisingly warm, actually, but I knew that I had already taken my keepers so my heart wasn’t in it any more and I left. But I will tell you one thing… my disappointment at missing most of the autumn colours is gone. I couldn’t possibly have any regrets after a morning like this!

The weather forecast said it would be sunny. Right now. I looked outside and the sky was overcast. I had a plan though and I intended to the follow it, maybe it would be clear out a bit later… so I drove to my spot and found out that I had nothing to do there and the cloud cover didn’t show any signs of lightening up. I took some pictures with the analog camera to try out what 16mm really feels like (so the pictures will be worthless but what am I going to do with slides anyway?) and had the 300mm lens on the 40D because I had this great idea that I would use the wideangle on analog and then shoot dragonflies with digital. The only insects I saw though were mosquitoes so I just walked back to the car, it was pointless. I had no plan B so I had to sit in the car for a while and figure out what to do. In the end I decided to drive to the little tarn I discovered earlier in the summer, there’s a nice wind shelter where I can drink my coffee and wait for the sun.

There was a little bit of wind that broke the surface of the tarn, but sometimes the wind quieted down and gave me nice reflections. I really like this tarn, you can walk all around it and the shoreline is filled with interesting features so there’s always something to catch the eye. You just have to remember that the shore is really just more or less moss floating on water so watch where you step and be prepared to fall back and you’ll be fine.

Of course it would’ve been nice with some sunshine but it just wasn’t happening and I wasn’t too disappointed to be honest. I might be a little bit odd but I don’t mind overcast weather, it’s not necessarily a bad thing for landscape pictures. Purists may scorn at it, but maybe it’s the flower photographer in me that can settle with flat light! By the time I had done one and a half rounds around the tarn, I saw that the clouds were a little bit brighter in the horizon. I didn’t bother to wait and see if they would clear out, I was happy with the shooting I had so far and didn’t feel the need to take the same pictures all over again in the mid-day sun. So I drove off and on the way home when the sun really did come out, I stopped at another tarn and walked around it in search of dragonflies. I found some, but need a little bit more practice before I’m going to post any dragonfly pictures here!

* * *

I’m already good friends with the new Tokina. I know I have to work harder on my foregrounds and I also need to figure out how to take horizontal pictures because I’m mostly taking verticals at the moment. Then again, I’ve always liked verticals… so maybe I shouldn’t blame the Tokina for that. I also took some pictures at f2.8 and the centre sharpness is really good. At first I was horrified though at the corner sharpness until I realised that it’s more of a DOF problem than sharpness issue as such so I’m not worried about it. It’s a great lens and I can’t wait to see what I can do with it in the mountains in September on my vacation!

Finally taking a closer look at my vacation pictures. Found one HDR which needed processing, did it manually because I didn’t like the result that any HDR software produced. It still needs some work but I’m undecided if it’s worth the trouble. I was waiting on Flatruet for the sunset to happen with glorious colours, it didn’t do it but a herd of reindeer came running by. In the low light, I got some serious motion blur but it was a concious choice, I wanted to see how it works out.

It was nice to see the pictures from the unforgettable evening at Måns-Erstjärnen. I’m well pleased with some of them, but they all remind me of what a wonderful experience it was. I can still feel the warmth and hear the eerie cry of a loon echo from the distance… just amazing.

In fact, I think I’m still basking in the glow of the vacation. My shutter finger isn’t itching yet, although it did feel good to shoot the white waterlily today. One thing I wonder though, where are all the mosquitoes? There weren’t any at the lake. But… I’m guessing I will find them in the forest. I have some orchids to shoot there and I also need to find some blueberries and raspberries to pick… and I need to get my exhibition ready, it opens on Saturday. Nervous!

Another trip to Messlingen, with a mission. I’ve gotten over the disappointment from the last time, and I’ve actually made some significant process – I’ve found a reliable craftsman who can finish the cabin. Although it won’t happen until after midsummer, but I don’t have any vacation until July so that’s perfect. Today’s job was to do some cleaning and furniture assembly because I intend to spend my first night in the cabin in two weeks’ time and I wanted to prepare for it. No toilet or running water so I will have to rough it, the cabin is kind of a glorified tent at the moment… with solid walls and proper roof, and a microwave oven.

But I’m getting ahead of things.

Before I even got to Messlingen, I checked out the calypso orchid which is just a short detour. Normally they are in bloom in late May/early June, so there should be some buds by now. And yes there were buds, and also a number of individuals in full bloom so I reckon they will peak in about a week. I already have a lot of closeups so I will attempt some environment shots instead, like the one here.

When I arrived at the cabin, I set to work straight away. Out with all the junk, clean the floor and put together a table and a chair. The floor will take more work though, even after vacuuming and washing there was still a layer of dirt on it so I will have to take more cleaning equipment with me next time. While I was working on the furniture, I heard a knock on the door. A neighbour! I was really nervous, I had been avoiding to speak with any neighbours because they must be furious at me for letting this construction work go on forever and the place looks like it does. So I was absolutely amazed to hear that he had no grudge against me, he understood that my contractor was the problem here and told me that I should absolutely not worry about any neighbours, they’re all nice people. I can’t tell you how relieved I was about that conversation, I was almost floating on air! I have been so worried about what the neighbours think that I have been embarrassed to park my car at the cabin every time, just hoping that nobody would notice me. When I finally had finished the table and the chair, I was truly happy to sit down and have my first cup of coffee in my cabin!

Time was flying by and my choices were to put together more furniture, or go for a walk. So I went for a walk, and I didn’t even consider other alternatives than the Fiskhålsgraven ravine. It’s just a 3 km hike on a good trail, but about half of it ascending – about 200 m to the top of the ravine. I’ve been to Fiskhålsgraven many times before, but this was the first time I came from the Messlingen direction and the trail gave me a pleasant surprise, which in the future will make the ascend a whole lot easier. The trail follows a small brook which is of course constantly falling so you just need to take your pick which particular section you want to shoot. Because this is still early spring in the mountains, there’s nothing growing along the brook and it’s not looking very nice. But come summer and come the green, it will be a whole different story!

When I was walking up, I had an epiphany. It was a real feeling of belonging, something I rarely experience. Normally people would have that feeling when they’re at home, I mean that’s were you belong, right? But not me… my home is just a place where I live. I’ve never felt that I’ve grown roots anywhere, it seems like everything is just temporary in my life. Even if I’ve had the same job for years and lived in the same flat for years, it’s still somehow temporary (it’s very evident in my flat, it’s full of temporary solutions!). Never trust anything, because the moment you do the earth will cave under you. So I’ve never belonged. Until that moment walking through a naked forest… I belong here. Amazing. The cabin that has been killing me in the past year is now saving my life, if you please pardon the dramatic license!

Back at the cabin, I had another cup of coffee. Do I dare to trust?

I’ve never been to the mountains at this time of the year, so it was quite exciting to see what they look like. But then I heard that this is a rather unusual spring, the snow has melted very early (it has been warm over there as well) so I guess I can’t draw any conclusions as yet.

The day was glorious, blue skies and sunshine. [rant] Which was just well, because my cabin is a big dark thundercloud weighing on my head (and heart). It hurts, it really hurts. If anyone knows a reliable carpenter, I’ll be all ears – that darn thing has to get finished asap, if my contractor can’t do it then I bloody well take care of it myself! [/rant]

We took the scenic road back home and the same place which gave us those nice “in the cloud” pictures three weeks ago provided a great opportunity once again. This time with sunrays filtering through clouds, I had to use HDR to make any sense of it and the pictures need some more processing, I just quickly put them through LR/Enfuse to get a preview. I’m just not inspired to work on them at the moment, the cabin is killing both my creativity and my will to live. Ok, creativity anyway. But if you’re a carpenter or know one and can finish my cabin (it’s probably just a day’s job anyway), I’ll be much happier!

I had quite a day yesterday. In the morning I had the pleasure of having the squirrel as company and was quite happy about the resulting pictures, and then in the afternoon we did a skiing trip in Lofsdalen and in the evening I shot the perigee moon rising over the Hovärken mountain. I can’t imagine any better way of spending the day!

I didn’t get many pictures from the skiing trip, actually, but I don’t mind at all. When the light should’ve been at its best, the sun disappeared behind some thin clouds so the red glow never materialised. The only direction I cared about was east and initially the moon was hidden by some strips of clouds but higher up, it was all clear. Obviously, it was so dark by then that the only way of getting anything out of the pictures is to use HDR which in this case consisted of the light frame for the foreground, and a dark frame where I only needed to extract the moon and then try to make it look natural in the light frame. It’s surprisingly difficult, actually, and in those frames where I had clouds in front of the moon I almost gave up completely!

I’ve been in desperate need of a vacation, and now I finally have it – one week in the mountains in the autumn colours is just what the doctor ordered.

In preparation of the vacation, I had been studying the maps quite intensively. After all these years, I’m still finding new things, like this oddly name lake Uggtjärnen north from the Ånnfjället mountain. My maps told me that there is no trail to the lake, but satellite images told me otherwise – I could even see the sharp lines of duckboards in some places. After some more investigation, I finally found an old map where this trail was marked so I plotted it in my GPS to make sure I could find my way even if the old trail would disappear in the forest.

The trailhead to Uggtjärnen is marked from the road, it’s a small sign but if you just pay attention you can see it. And the trail itself was just fine, there was absolutely no need for the GPS so I really don’t know why it’s not in any of the current maps. When I got to the lake, I even found a wind shelter which is also not on the map. Very strange. Both the trail and the wind shelter were in good condition, no signs of decay that you sometimes see in trails and constructions that actually are on the map.

I had some great expectations about this lake. I figured it would give an opportunity to shoot Ånnfjället with the lake in the foreground, it would only work later in the day when the sunrays would reach the northern side of the mountain. It was a null point today, because as calm as the day was (when driving here, I saw that the big lake of Lossen was dead calm, I’ve never seen it like that!), there was just enough wind to break the surface of the water. And it was overcast anyway, but it looked like there would be some sun later so all hope was not lost.

It’s only about 3 km to Uggtjärnen and I had plenty of time, so I continued hiking north-east from the lake towards the Anåkroken peak. It was absolutely lovely to hike up there, my chosen route (there was no trail here, marked or otherwise) took me along the tree line so sometimes I was walking among the crooked mountain birch and sometimes out in the open. The sun was coming out just as predicted but the light was moving fast, so normally the light was gone by the time I had set up the tripod and camera for something that had looked perfect the moment before. No complaining though, my new mantra is that experience comes first and pictures second, and there was certainly nothing wrong with the experience!

The Anån creek starts from the slopes of Ånnfjället and I needed to get over it. I thought it would be easy so high upstream, but it wasn’t and I suck at long jumping so I found it a bit tricky. I had to walk up and down for a few times but I didn’t find any easy spots, so I had to pluck my courage and make the jump. It was either that or wade over, which I didn’t find an appealing option either as the water was surprisingly deep and flowing fast. But even before I got to Anån, I came across some water which I didn’t understand at all. It looked like it was flooding because there was certainly no waterbed here and water was flowing over grasses and bushes that I’m sure were growing high and dry earlier this summer. Very unusual, because everything else I’ve seen indicated that water should be low, I saw many dry waterholes and dry brooks on the way. But then when I was walking upstream in search for a place to walk over (it was not very deep, just very wide), I found a small pond and a beaver hut. Never expected that – the pond was above the tree line and the nearest trees were further downstream. Live and learn.

And here’s some more trivia. The peak I reached today, Anåkroken, literally translates to “The An creek hook” (where “An” is a name!). I never quite figured out what the hook is (well, never really thought about it), until now that I was crossing the creek (or brook as it still was up here). It flows east at first, then swings north and finally turns west to the Anån valley. And the Anåkroken moutain is there where the creek makes the big turn.

The light continued to be as shifting as it was earlier but by the time I was back at Uggtjärnen, it had become almost completely overcast. It looked like there would be little chance of a nice sunset, and I was actually genuinely hoping for a dud because my feet were killing me and I was absolutely starving. So my options were to wait for the sunset and suffer the hunger pains, or drive to the hostel and get something to eat. My stomach won, and I was relieved to see that the sunset was indeed a dud so I didn’t miss anything.

But oh what a great day it was!

I have another mini-holiday this weekend. And there’s only really one place where I can spend it – the mountains.

Today’s hike was at Ramundberget. I’ve read about the waterfalls of Tvärån and because the day was going to be overcast, waterfalls were just the right thing to shoot. Problem is… the waterfalls weren’t as photogenic as I had hoped for. However, I was impressed by the surroundings, especially up towards the tree line. Another place which will look just simply spectacular in autumn colours! But it’s a long hike there, 5 km just to get from the car to creek and then about 2 km upstream. The waterfalls are bigger downstream but it’s difficult to find a good angle, maybe it will be easier in the autumn where the insects aren’t quite as numerous. They can be a real inspiration killer!

And to be honest, the waterfalls further up were a little bit less exciting. It’s clear that the volume of water is very low at the moment, but I’m not sure if more water would help. But I wasn’t disappointed as such, I was just so happy to be there. Always. Hiking up to the alpine tundra cheers me up like nothing else!

And while I was up there, I also got a close view of Skarsfjället. It’s an impressive mountain at over 1500m, the highest peak of the massif is bit like a round-sided pyramid which is easy to recognise. Because it’s the highest mountain in the neighbourhood, it means it’s visible from a lot of places around here. When it’s visible at all – it seems like has its own climate and the peak is often hidden in the clouds. But not today, even if it was a bit of an overcast and dull day.

So what did I forget then? I forgot the macro lens and compass at home. I forgot the map in the car. I forgot to check the reserve batteries for the GPS (which I wanted to keep operational when I don’t have a compass and a map!). It turned out that the spare battery holder I grabbed when I left home contained used batteries which I obviously had forgotten to throw away back when the batteries were used! But no harm done, there was just enough juice to keep the GPS powered up so I could see when I was back at the car that I had hiked over 15 km. Not bad… but I think I will do a shorter hike tomorrow!

But most importantly… I forget all my worries!

A while back I was being a bit sceptical about the new Photoshop CS5. Then I found out that there’s one feature that might actually be quite interesting for me, the improved HDR processing engine. HDR in CS4 was quite bad, actually, but this new version (HDR Pro) promised an option to remove ghosts that sometimes appear in your HDR pictures when something has moved between the frames, for example tree branches in the wind. I had one such HDR that I’ve been trying to fix on and off since last September, so of course I had to test if I could finally get it done in CS5.

In short – no.

If you look at the picture, the first sample shows the ghosting that appears when the image is processed normally (samples are not downsized or processed otherwise than the HDR, just cropped from originals). I then applied ghost removal and used the medium exposed frame as the base for it. And it actually does a pretty good job, but only with some of the branches. On the right side, things look fine. In the lower left corner, it’s a total disaster.

So I loaded the same HDR but using the under-exposed frame as the base for the ghost removal. Now it looks acceptable (let’s oversee the serious CA, it’s not the point of investigation here), but instead of the ghosting, there is now some weird pixelated splotches all over the place. Look at the tree trunk, there are some black dots that are not happening in the other samples. And on the right in the brances, some green dots.

I tried to adjust all of the processing settings to see if I could get these artefacts to disappear. But nix, it can’t be done.

This particular HDR could work with just two frames, but the ghost removal option is not available for a two frame merge. It probably wouldn’t help anyway because the un-needed overexposed frame is not used for the branches anyway.

Maybe this particular picture is just too much for HDR Pro. Let’s not forget that this is the first version of ghosting removal and first versions often just give you a taste of the tool. Just like the HDR tool in CS4 was crap and now it’s good, so there’s a reason to expect that ghosting removal will be improved in CS6!

But until then, I have to decide if I will keep this HDR or finally trash it after spending hours on trying to make it work. Currently my only option seems to be to combine the best bits from the two HDR versions with ghosting removal applied. After a while, I’ll probably decide that the picture wasn’t that good anyway!