As every year in early April, the cranes arrived. Not alone, I have to say: whooper swans, goldeneyes, goosanders and Canada geese came with them to fill every early crack which makes a pond in that slab of ice which still is, and still be for a few more days, the lake. And in the gardens chaffinches, bramblings, redpolls and siskins in blasts, in battalions.
The cranes are special, though. Special because of the animals they are, and special because they are here, just out of my home; I can hear them singing from my garden, as they explode their blaring calls from a distant shore, and you’d never believe that such a powerful sound could come out from such slender and graceful necks. They land in small groups or pairs, and slowly graze on the exposed banks. Some will leave soon, bound for new waters northward; others will remain in the area, choosing a swamp around here to nest . You can see them along all the shores: here nearby a couple who start a nuptial dance for a little while; behind it another group in distance, in the sky a family is gliding towards a bank out of sight, and each time they cross a look, a trumpets concert starts, only to vanish with an echo. The following pictures are unpretentious: they are just photo memories of special travelling companions. I have to be honest: I have no idea why it never came up to my mind before. Moreover, the snow is definitely one of the typical products from a Swedish winter; perhaps having it around for seven whole months a year made me giving it for granted, I don't know. So only last January, after five winters in Särna, I decided to check if it was possible to get decent photos of snow crystals, and just with a plain, homely equipment, so to speak. I realized I already had what needed: a tripod, a flash, a 105 mm macro lens and an adapter ring to join it - thread to thread – with a classic and cheap 50 mm, in order to achieve a higher magnification. A series of not photo-related items, which could be found in any house, completed the shooting set up. So far, so good: I just needed... the snow; but not any snow, of course, because we have shovelfuls of the usual one (literally, my back knows). There are specific conditions that facilitates the fall of snow in well-formed single crystals: absence of wind in height, temperatures between minus 10 and minus 15 degrees, and probably some other weather factors I'm not aware of, but which I suspect more directly tied to the good, old luck. As known, without it even the best technique is powerless.
And, of course, these conditions have to keep coming for several days, in order to get the best chances to find good crystals (which is all but obvious) with a continuity. From this point of view Särna climate proved to be a perfect helper; then it was just a matter of using a good magnifying glass and be patient (warm clothes were kind of useful, too). This way I put together a gallery of shots that worked as feasibility study, and which I plan to try improving in the winters to come. Here some of them, and please forgive a more intrusive watermark than usual. |
All site contents are: © Vitantonio Dell'Orto, all rights reserved worldwide. The Chronicles of Särna, and other stories from the North.
I live in Sweden, in Särna (Dalarna). The Chronicles are a photo diary about the nature (but not just) here around and from all the Scandinavian areas where my photo job takes me.
My book: "My Sweden - Tales from an Italian photographer in the North" is available in the bookstores and by the publisher.
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