A few days ago, I came back from a week-long trip to Kökar, which is an island in an archipelago of Åland, right between Sweden and Finland, in the Baltic sea. My mother and father live out there and I have as child spent most of my summers out on this little island in the middle of the sea. Nowadays, I return for a week or two once every or every second year. Still, though, the island moves me deeply and gets me into a meditative mood. Doing nothing but thinking and being is how I prefer spending my time when here. There are plenty of time to photograph, and I could easily spend hours exploring a subject. In my twenties, I also painted, in oils. I had even more time those days. Plenty of time and being in the middle of nowhere, too far away from home to be able to handle anything that possibly could come up – all this are like balm for my mind. The thing is that nothing ever comes up, you’re out of reach more or less. Though mobiles work nowadays, I usually forget to turn my on.
Most of the days I spent this week were all sunny. One day, though, the rain pored gently, making the sight somewhat misty when the rain water condensed on the warm rocks. The overcast was not very thick and plenty of light came through, painting the wet rocks and the otherwise very dry greenery in deep, saturated colours. I simply had to get out making pictures of all this beauty and decided to use the Lensbaby to try it out in this kind of dreamy light. The pictures came out very well, in fact, exactly as I felt it while being there. This is Kökar to me – on a rainy day:
There were sunny days as well, but that’s anoher story.
These might be equally as lovely in b&w. What’s the temperature there?
Yes, especially the one with the boat. I tried it out but decided to stay in colour since it felt most right to do seeing all pictures as a group. No rational reason at all, I’m afraid.
The temperature is about 25°C, it has been raining quite a while now and the temperature is dropping…
Holy cow! You should be selling Lensbabies! These are absolutely dreamy, and yes I intend the double meaning. I hope you have printed these and have them displayed. They are stunning.
Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!
That’s a good idea, I will make prints of these.
I’m not sure about the B&W – I guess you would loose a bit of the soft, rainy light that gives the photos its special character.
Sounds like a nice retreat – and I certainly wouldn’t switch on my cellphone. Better dig it in somewhere…
Yes, I’m with you on the b&w or colour question, the washed out colours makes these pictures in my opinion and in b&w would all more or less be in the same grey tone, rather flat.
I came back to this post for a second look at these beautiful pictures, and they are just as satisfying the second time around.
Thanks a million, Anita! I have started to think up what to do with them, where to hang them, or with which other they fit. It was your former comment that got me started, thanks for this!