Ale stenar, the revival
Last summer we made a trip along the South coast of Sweden, and among the places we visited, the ship setting Ale stenar was one of the more spectacular. This morning, we had planned to continue on our sunrise chase to exactly that place. We planned it very carefully by determine how the clouds would move over that area and to, of course, check when the sun actually rise. And off we went from our house, at 7.40 to be precise. Sunrise was expected at 8.40, but hey, the sky already looked too interesting to leave our minds at piece. Were we missing the entire show now? No time to think, we hit the pedal and about one hour later we arrived at Kåseberga, where Ale stenar is situated.
The weather guys were right, the sun really rise at 8.40, but honestly, the light was much more interesting during the hour before that. Not that I didn’t know that, looking at this in retrospect. We call this hour the “blue hour”. The same type of light occurs after sunset. Well well, what could we do? We went out to hike up to the place were the ship setting is, and got our second shock for the day. It was -14°C and the wind was not hard but present, and mostly pretty damp since Kåseberga is located by the sea. We managed to get out to the stones, but we were already pretty cold before we even had taken our first photo.
I made a few, and managed against all odds to even change lens two times during the shooting session. It lasted at most ten minutes, then we had to get back to the car. It was terribly cold, and my hands were completely frozen. The first image is made with a soft focusing Lensbaby, with the sunrise in my back. It’s the moon you see in the image. The second one is taken against the sunrise (it hides behind the large stone in the middle), with my Summilux 25.
After having warmed up at a café, we took a long way back home, where I spotted an abandoned house that was located very dramatic on a height with only a tree as company (that’s the last image in the series, taken with my Lensbaby). All in all, it was a great trip, with some really good images to work with, so I’m pretty happy tonight.
January 3rd, 2010 at 22:08
The café was really nice…
January 3rd, 2010 at 22:17
If needed to keep you making pictures like these I send some gloves or electric socks or something. These are great.
January 4th, 2010 at 00:52
Ove, What an exciting early morning adventure and the resulting rewards, these photos, are wonderful! I love the strong contrast and tones of these shots.
January 4th, 2010 at 18:59
Thank you, all! I could use a pair of electric gloves.
January 5th, 2010 at 21:57
These photos are wonderful, Ove. They are very spiritual. Very peaceful.
January 6th, 2010 at 22:57
Thanks, Paul! It’s amazing how it doesn’t look how it really felt out there…
January 7th, 2010 at 20:05
Really lovely shots there, Ove. I especially like the first one. I looked up Ale stenar and discovered scientists believe it was created about 1400 years ago.
Good for you for getting up so early, and in the cold – I’m not particularly good at doing that myself, even though I know it’s a great time for photography.
January 7th, 2010 at 20:33
Thanks, Karen! Yes, it’s dated to be around 1400 years old, but regarding the origin, there are at least two theories. Officially, it is a ship setting, but there is also a theory that explains the stones as some kind of astronomical instrument.
January 9th, 2010 at 11:07
Ove, the first one is it for me, especially in large size retrieved from flickr. That path leading into the scenery is a key component in my eyes, as well as the balance by the moon. The latter is that icing on the cake that makes the image special not only graphically but also through all the symbolism we connect with this celestial body.
Re. the lensbaby I am not so shure if it really adds to the image. Of course it’s a matter of taste, but for my part I could envisage the same scenery tack sharp and maybe this technical sharpness would make the contrast between imagery and symbols at least as strong.
January 12th, 2010 at 09:48
Thank you very much, Markus! I’m quite sure the image had been satisfying to my eyes also if I had used an regular lens. I did change to a regular wide-angle after a few minutes, but I was really too cold to bather try to make the same shots again. It was terribly cold.
January 16th, 2010 at 14:15
This looks like a magical place. Thanks for sharing it Ove. I am particularly drawn to the top image – there is a certain mood and spirituality associated with it that I can’t quite place my finger on.
January 18th, 2010 at 20:04
Thank you very much, Mark! It’s the place per se.