One fourth of the year is over and I have another 31 images to write a blog post about…my March “harvest”. It’s been an interesting month photography wise, because at long last it looks like the snotfest we call winter is finally over and we’re on the way towards better light, which is pretty crucial for photography…at least if you want to take anything more than “moody” gray photos (nothing wrong with those though if that’s what you’re after).

So…let’s talk about the six photos I’ve picked for this blog post, starting with the cover image. It was taken in Limhamn, a part of Malmö, Sweden on a day that had very changing weather - just a few moments before I took this picture the sun was shining and then the clouds in the back of the frame were massing on the horizon and my constant photo buddy (a.k.a. Dad) and I decided it was probably wise to make a hasty retreat to the car before we got drenched! It made for a cool picture though, once I had “massaged” the picture a little bit in Snapseed to emphasize the ominous clouds.

So many monochromatic tree trunks that a black-and-white film shooter like me just had to try and capture them…even if it was with a phone! This was taken at the Skrylle Recreational Area outside Lund on one of the shorter running paths, and it is definitely not one I plan on going back to until after pollen season is over (it’s beginning to kick in now at the end of March), since I am allergic to the darn things! Before the trees release their offspring though I am okay to be near them, so I was able to get this picture.

The 17th of March has become almost a habitual Copenhagen journey for me by now (I’ve been going there for St:Patrick’s Day since 2012, minus a sick day here or there), and it’s just a whole lot of fun, regardless whether you shoot a lot, a little or nothing at all (yeah right…as if that would ever happen with me). Everyone is so happy to take part in the 3-legged race or the celebrations at the Town Hall Square or the Parade and it’s just plain FUN. That makes it a whole lot easier to get good pictures of people enjoying themselves, rather than trying to take pictures of people at a protest march or some other potentially antagonistic event. This shot was taken just as one group of runners in the 3-legged race had taken off from the starting line back at the tent in the background on their way to the first pub on the route, and I was trying to get a good shot and NOT get bowled over in the process. Thankfully I came home with both the phone as well as my health! :-)

This is one of those pictures that became interesting only after I did my postprocessing on it, turning it from a pretty ordinary snapshot of a building site in Malmö to an almost graphic art piece. It may not look like it but it is taken on a sunny afternoon, but with A LOT of Snapseed effects applied on it I came up with this picture. I like it for the repeating patterns of the steel frames, yet to be insulated and covered up, as well as the three steel beams used for a building platform to go up and down the structure.

I think this is one of those pictures I probably wouldn’t have attempted if my Samsung phone didn’t have the “Selective Focus” function where you can throw the background really out of focus (like a “real” camera) using software functions. Since it does have that function I found it interesting to try to capture this location at the Citizens’ Hall in Eslöv, Sweden, an architectural gem of a building (it’s a National Landmark even) with so, so many details dating back to its construction in the 50s. This was taken at the railing of the balcony in room A, the bigger of the event spaces where many performances take place every year.

*March 30 - Day 89: Bridge to Somewhere*

This might be a bit heavy handed when it comes to post-processing, but I like it all the same. It was taken at a birdwatching station in Silvåkra near Lund in Sweden (you can just about see the roof of the hide at the end of the bridge). I liked how the wooden walkway twisted and turned into the reeds and my post-processing steps were to emphasize the mystery a bit…where is the path going? Also I applied a red filter effect in Snapseed to darken the sky and increase the impact of the clouds (the few that were there that day).