Well, it’s the morning bus from Lund to Fågelsång, which is some eight kilometres outside Lund. We were out shooting early, Karin and I, to catch the morning fog. Where we are staying, there are perhaps a mere 50 metres in altitude to the road on which the bus drives. This is why this particular place is perfect for chasing the perfect fog, which as said was our prime intent. We felt like storm chasers, light, hahaha.
I don’t know how many times I wanted to get a shot on one of these buses while it seemingly drives over the field. There are plenty of such views, but every time I have had one in my viewfinder and a bus approaches, there has either been too dark or to much back light. Too many times, I didn’t have a camera at all (because I was out running). So, after a few years of longing for a clear shot on this scene, I think I made it. The light was not perfect but close enough, the fog and the strong sun light coming in slightly from the left made it difficult getting any details. After some serious photoshopping, I got it it like this. Heck, I think I might have added a mysterious feel to it. The reality was more romantic, actually. Did you know that Fågelsång means bird’s song, in Swedish? I could have titled the image Next stop, Bird’s song, to make it more romantic. But I didn’t, because this is not how I have envisioned the scene these years.
Ove, I think you’ve achieved your mystery. I find myself asking questions as I look at this image… Is that really a bus? Where did it come from and where is it going? Who might be on this bus? …you get the idea. My eyes search the rest of the photo for answers but keep coming back to the bus.
Mission accomplí. Not only in capturing the mood in the right moment, but also in intensifying it during postprocessing you were successfull. The large size reveals those wonderful details of the passenger heads in the bus – definitely worth seeing it bigger than default. And in 1400×1050 it would make an excellent background image…
For me, it is now “Ghost Bus on the way to Bird’s Song” because all that fits together perfectly. The tiny bus in that vast space speaks volumes and whatever you did in post worked perfectly for me. Another one that sticks in my mind.
The photo was definitely worth the wait. Ghost bus says it all, it has that numinosity one expects in being transported to a different dimension of being.
@Earl: considering the early hour and the direction of the bus, I too wonder who might ever be on that bus… Must be ghosts on their way home after a night on earth.
@Markus: Your so right, I was somewhat disappointed with the resolution on the web friendly version. The reflections in the wet grass is also better viewed in the larger version. (But even the 1024 px version on Flickr lack detail, in my opinion).
@Anita: My pictures seems to stack up in your fav pile, let’s hope it doesn’t tip over and creates a mess. You have had your share of this. Thanks for your encouraging comments!
@Robert: It’s been interesting seeing what all of us sees in a picture, and I must say that your views always have fascinated me. I like your views, and in this case I might even have had a similar view of this scene as you have. The unknown, other dimension, emphasised by the lighter sky where the bus is heading. To me, it seems that the other dimension is lighter. It’s also the name of the destination, Fågelsång (Bird’s song), that helps me thinking this way.
Thank you all for the comments, I really enjoyed them all.