Oslo and Hamar 2010
A long awaited return to Norway.
Oslo and Hamar
Piles of snow at Alexander Kjellands Plass.
It's been a tough winter; the snow is a lot thicker than I have seen it before at this time of year, seen here on the banks of the Akerselva.
A huge group of people rolling in the snow at night. Why? Apparently they are doing self-defence martial arts training, and this is supposed to toughen them up. Looks fun.
Coffee rack. Melt into the moment.
Failed to dig out the car before the snow turned to ice? Don't worry, you won't need it until spring, right? Those who do brave it have to launch their cars over the icy ramps, while conducting parallel parking manoeuvres with just a few inches to spare. Really puts the rest of us to shame.
Snow and light. Aker Brygge.
Akershus.
Rådhusplassen and Oslofjorden.
That has to be cold. In fact, there was a used condom wrapper under one of the statues on Skansen - that was brave. Or stupid.
Skansen.
Hardy dunnocks, puffing up their feathers, and trying to pretend they're warm.
Light on Skansen. Some (other) tourists saw me take the picture, quickly got out their cameras and hurried to where I was. Then they looked confused and walked on. Eye of the beholder.
Orgy mural on the wall of a McDonald's. It's a family establishment, you know.
Misted halos on a lonely road.
The recently revamped Holmenkollen ski jump. This highlights an interesting point about the Canon image stabilised lenses; the stabilisation applies only to the main subject of the picture - lens flares are not stabilised.
Vorma at Eidsvoll, seen through the dirtiest train windows in Norway. Just before here we had nearly hit a Moose (sudden stops in a train are fun), which then proceeded to fail to jump a fence. Why can I not point cameras at these animals fast enough?
Mjøsa, the longest (117 km), most voluminous (56 km3) and largest (362 km2) freshwater lake in Norway, as well as its fourth deepest at over 400 m deep. Of course, there are many fjords with more impressive statistics, but they are not freshwater lakes.
Tangen.
Filthy melting snow thrown by the snow ploughs in Hamar.
It's those trees again.
Residential roads. Next time a Brit complains about driving in the snow, show them this picture.
Railway bridge over Åkersvika, looking over the widest part of Mjøsa, towards Torsæterkampen (841 metres), the tallest mountain in the area.
Stadium and distant Vang Kirke church, seen over the Åkersvika branch of the lake. The stadium dates from the 1994 winter Olympics, when it served as a subsite for the nearby Lillehammer.
Dog sleds on the frozen Åkersvika.
Watchtower used to take the pictures. Not sure why it's here, but it probably has something to do with the stadium.
Pier into what should be the Svartelva estuary on the lake. However, the reduced flow (all the river water is frozen) has caused the lake level to drop a few metres over all of its massive length. The old level can be seen as ice hanging from the pier supports.
Ski tracks on Svartelva.
The 200 year old Vang Kirke.
Buried Graves (it's not supposed to work like that). The birds are ornaments.
Pump. Perhaps it produces Slush Puppies.
Monuments.
Backlit lamp.
Interior and organ.
Matthäus-Passion
The main reason for being in Hamar was to watch friend Claudio performing Bach's Matthäus-Passion (St. Matthew Passion) with his orchestra. This would be the first time I had heard him play, despite having known him for many years. Taking pictures of this is a lot harder than it may seem, with very little light, even in this well lit church. A flash is not appropriate. In addition, musicians do not stay still for long enough to allow pictures to be taken. Countless pictures were thrown out to get to this final selection.
Assembled double orchestra and double choir, as the music begins.
Accompanying children's choir.
The soloists soloed.
The flautists ... er ... flute players ... fluters ... flutists fluted. Anyway, these would be Claudio and Pauliina. Such immaculate lighting on her hair.
Then as the sun began to set, the light slowly swept across the singers, red at first.
Then the solo cello. Incredible light, and so much drama in his eyes, and hers. While it must be immensely hard to pay attention to the conductor with the sunlight shining in your face, it has to be worth it to produce images like this.
Such light.
One of the soloists managed to escape it, but then he also had the longest and most monotonous parts of the music anyway (as the evangelist), so you'll have to forgive me for not caring.
Breathtakingly beautiful. Without a doubt the best portrait of the entire set. Thankyou for posing so perfectly, and for those eyes.
Last of the light.
Sunset through the windows.
And still the wonderful music went on. Over 3 hours end to end.
Viola da gamba.
What a setting.
Fin.
Piles of snow at Alexander Kjellands Plass.
It's been a tough winter; the snow is a lot thicker than I have seen it before at this time of year, seen here on the banks of the Akerselva.
A huge group of people rolling in the snow at night. Why? Apparently they are doing self-defence martial arts training, and this is supposed to toughen them up. Looks fun.
Coffee rack. Melt into the moment.
Failed to dig out the car before the snow turned to ice? Don't worry, you won't need it until spring, right? Those who do brave it have to launch their cars over the icy ramps, while conducting parallel parking manoeuvres with just a few inches to spare. Really puts the rest of us to shame.
Snow and light. Aker Brygge.
Akershus.
Rådhusplassen and Oslofjorden.
That has to be cold. In fact, there was a used condom wrapper under one of the statues on Skansen - that was brave. Or stupid.
Skansen.
Hardy dunnocks, puffing up their feathers, and trying to pretend they're warm.
Light on Skansen. Some (other) tourists saw me take the picture, quickly got out their cameras and hurried to where I was. Then they looked confused and walked on. Eye of the beholder.
Orgy mural on the wall of a McDonald's. It's a family establishment, you know.
Misted halos on a lonely road.
The recently revamped Holmenkollen ski jump. This highlights an interesting point about the Canon image stabilised lenses; the stabilisation applies only to the main subject of the picture - lens flares are not stabilised.
Vorma at Eidsvoll, seen through the dirtiest train windows in Norway. Just before here we had nearly hit a Moose (sudden stops in a train are fun), which then proceeded to fail to jump a fence. Why can I not point cameras at these animals fast enough?
Mjøsa, the longest (117 km), most voluminous (56 km3) and largest (362 km2) freshwater lake in Norway, as well as its fourth deepest at over 400 m deep. Of course, there are many fjords with more impressive statistics, but they are not freshwater lakes.
Tangen.
Filthy melting snow thrown by the snow ploughs in Hamar.
It's those trees again.
Residential roads. Next time a Brit complains about driving in the snow, show them this picture.
Railway bridge over Åkersvika, looking over the widest part of Mjøsa, towards Torsæterkampen (841 metres), the tallest mountain in the area.
Stadium and distant Vang Kirke church, seen over the Åkersvika branch of the lake. The stadium dates from the 1994 winter Olympics, when it served as a subsite for the nearby Lillehammer.
Dog sleds on the frozen Åkersvika.
Watchtower used to take the pictures. Not sure why it's here, but it probably has something to do with the stadium.
Pier into what should be the Svartelva estuary on the lake. However, the reduced flow (all the river water is frozen) has caused the lake level to drop a few metres over all of its massive length. The old level can be seen as ice hanging from the pier supports.
Ski tracks on Svartelva.
The 200 year old Vang Kirke.
Buried Graves (it's not supposed to work like that). The birds are ornaments.
Pump. Perhaps it produces Slush Puppies.
Monuments.
Backlit lamp.
Interior and organ.
Assembled double orchestra and double choir, as the music begins.
Accompanying children's choir.
The soloists soloed.
The flautists ... er ... flute players ... fluters ... flutists fluted. Anyway, these would be Claudio and Pauliina. Such immaculate lighting on her hair.
Then as the sun began to set, the light slowly swept across the singers, red at first.
Then the solo cello. Incredible light, and so much drama in his eyes, and hers. While it must be immensely hard to pay attention to the conductor with the sunlight shining in your face, it has to be worth it to produce images like this.
Such light.
One of the soloists managed to escape it, but then he also had the longest and most monotonous parts of the music anyway (as the evangelist), so you'll have to forgive me for not caring.
Breathtakingly beautiful. Without a doubt the best portrait of the entire set. Thankyou for posing so perfectly, and for those eyes.
Last of the light.
Sunset through the windows.
And still the wonderful music went on. Over 3 hours end to end.
Viola da gamba.
What a setting.
Fin.