Happiness is....

...a warm fireplace on a cold, stormy night.

Right now the wind is howling, the rain is pounding on the windows and the trees are bending so as not to break, while daring cyclists are fighting to stay on their bikes though hardly getting anywhere.

Oh yes, Denmark is having its first true winter storm. On a night like this, a warm and cosy fireplace like the one in this picture post would be nice to have. This particular fireplace, however, is a French one. I took the photo last year in november, while enjoying a late autumn holiday in the French Alps.

Creepy-crawlies

To those of you who might experience a true sense of disgust, when faced with creatures like these, I do apologize. Had these small bugs been more...well...spider-like, I can assure you that I would have never got anywhere near close enough for a close-up. These, however, fascinate me with their large eyes and sort of alien-like appearance.

Therefore: Enjoy...or don't - it's completely up to you.

Sicilian Summer!

Not really loving all the rain in Denmark at the moment, I'm already reminiscing about our fabulous summer holiday in Sicily two weeks ago. So here goes: A couple of pictures that I feel capture some of the amazing essence of the Italian island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.

Sleepy Sunday

I think we all know the feeling. I do, at least, and I bet that you do too. That sleepy, dreary feeling that life, at this particular point in time, is best lived asleep. Maybe it's very hot outside (yes, that actually does happen in Denmark once in a while), you've had a bit too much for lunch, and suddenly that siesta-thing makes sooo much more sense to you.

Or maybe it's just Sunday. Maybe you were out last night and are now battling a throbbing head, something which we all know is best done from deep under the covers. Or maybe that sleepy Sunday feeling has just got a hold of you, for no particular reason, but, hey, it's the weekend, so why get up, when you really don't feel like it. And even if you do get up, a little nap on the couch in the late afternoon feels like the best idea you've had in a long time.

Today, on this particular Sunday, I woke up with a bit of that feeling, loving the fact that sleeping late was definitely an option. Therefore I wanted to share some pics (pun intented) with you that I feel capture the essence quite well.

In colour!

It's spring and the world is full of colours. And this year the shops are full of them as well, as summer fashion is an explosion of bright colours to light up the world in these times of crisis.

To quote Ole Henriksen, I LOVE it! Therefore, this post is dedicated to life in colour - enjoy!

Graffiti Love

Now, I will make this short, and leave it up to my photos to speak for themselves this time. Just wish to share that I happen to live in the midst of graffiti central, aka Nørrebro, here in Copenhagen - for better and worse. Now, in my opinion this street art has two sides to it: one which is simply annoying and destructive, that is, the constant scribbling of words everywhere. But it also has another side to it - the art side. Because grafitti can actually be quite interesting, making the urban scene colourful and expressive, when done "right", whatever the recipe for that is. And, for my purposes and interests, it definitely makes for some great shots, I think.

I would love to hear your opinions on the subject!

So here goes: The Graffiti Love mini-collection - named after the first of the photos.

Staging product placement?

Now, this picture may make the most sense to you, if you are a Dane - or speak Danish. Therefore, here goes a translation and explanation: The sign says "Det danske vejr er Gajol vejr", which translates into "The Danish weather is Gajol weather ". Gajol is a Danish cough drop, making the slogan well suited for a country with some quite, let's just say, schizophrenic weather, where sun may quickly turn into bitter-cold wind and rain - and an accompanying cold.

However, once in a while the Danish weather shows its more pleasant face, like on the day this picture is taken. I was strolling down Vesterbrogade, a central avenue in Copenhagen, together with a friend of mine, enjoying one of the first real spring days here in DK, when we came across this neon sign. Now, that kind of ad board has been around for ages, making it as central a part of some cities as the town hall or well-known tourist attractions. Just think of Piccadilly Circus in London or Times Square in New York - or, for my Danish readers, the Irma hen by Dronning Louises Bro.

While these signs definitely demand attention at night, at daytime they normally seem more anonymous. But this Gajol ad is actually quite brilliant (pun intented), as it, whether planned or not, works as product placement with all the sky as its stage. On this day, the slogan came across with a positive note, however, no matter the weather, the sign fits - because the changeableness of the weather IS the essense of the message.

So, in an age when micro-targeting through social media is replacing - or at least competing with traditional mass media advertising, this sign, to me at least, still works. It's concise, it's culturally adapted (let's face it, we Danes speak of the weather quite a lot), and it's brilliant. Nothing more, nothing less.

What do you think?

Playground Collection

A little something to look forward to

Now, in case you didn't notice from my last post, January here in little Denmark far up north is often quite dark, rainy or even sporting snow (no pun intended). But what it does offer - except for a good reason to curl up under a blanket with a movie and a hot cup of chocolate - is some of the most beautiful mornings on those cold and clear days.

Still, winter CAN get a liiiittle too long - in other words (and to quote miss Olivia), you start longing for those su-ummer ni-ights - and days. It's moving in the right direction, though. Days are getting longer and we see more light during a day, so, though it is still freezing cold, spring is closing in on us, and so are those summer days and nights (tell me more, tell me more...).

So today's post is meant to be a teaser. A little something to shake that winter-weary head of yours and dig out the memories of summer days passed to remind you (and myself) what this little northern country also has to offer.

Remember those summer days, which may be few but then are even more blessing, when the sun shines on us, when the evenings are mild, when everything is in bloom, and when butterflies like the one above flutter around us. Got the image in your head? Good! Now, hang on to that for the next couple months, and before you know it, summer will be here again.

The awakening

What is it about January? It's cold, and it's dark. Getting up in the morning is difficult, because the pitch blackness makes it seem like all the world is asleep. And maybe it is. Though you are not the only one battling the wind, rain, snow, or whatever else the elements may throw your way, to get to work or school, it does seem like it takes the first couple of hours of the day, before anyone is actually awake. We are all a bunch of winter zombies, relentlessly striving towards some end destination without a thought in mind, except, perhaps, for longing for the day's first energy fix of morning coffee.

And then suddenly one day something happens! The lazy sun, who, unlike ourselves, gets to sleep in, yawns and stretches its rays above the horizon. The sky fills with gold, and the darkness yields to unveil a winter wonderland as beautiful as ever.

Those days make it all worthwhile. Though you had to get up at an unearthly hour, when everything was dark and depressing, the natural wonder, playing out live before your eyes, revives you like no cup of strong, black coffee could ever do. You stop in the middle of whatever you were doing to simply look. To take it all in. That's when you awake. Your mind, soul and body seems to rise with the sun.

The picture in this post is taken on one of those days, when the sun was just starting to grace the world with its rays of light. As it happened, the post has turned out to have a more poetic strike than normally, which was actually not intended, when I started writing. But that is what those sunny winter mornings do to me, so actually I find the tone quite fitting for the theme.

Happy New Year!

Today is January 1st 2009, and, like many others, I am looking forward to seeing what the new year has in store for me. Hopefully some adventure and a bunch of great experiences with, for example, taking photos.

I find the above picture quite fitting for this first day of 2009, as it demonstrates a cosy tradition that I and a bunch of other Europeans follow each January 1st, namely the ski jumping competition in Garmish-Partenkirchen in Germany. The photo is a shot of the tv screen, which is why it is somewhat blurry, but I actually find that it makes for quite an interesting effect. The blurred people in the background show the movement of the skier in front, although he is not completely in focus either. This, however, in my opinion at least, actually gives the photo a kind of artistic feel that I quite like.

What do you think?