At the end of September two Italian photographers came here for a vacation, and stayed one week at our hostel; guests for the first time, then, in the term's classical meaning. Nature and outdoor enthusiasts as they are, they got things going in the right way, exploring the territory without sparing any energy, following the hints by yours truly. This way they have been able to enjoy most of the beauty of these latitudes' autumn, albeit a weakening one. I am glad to give visibility to their passion and niceness devoting this post to a gallery made with a selection of the pictures they made here around: thereby, they are guests a second time. At the same time it's a way to show what results the commitment and a correct approach could produce – from a wildlife standpoint – even in such a short period of time, and not in the very best season, at least for the animals.
Ladies and Gentlemen I give you, in strict alphabetical order, the dynamic duo Perlino & Pons (Luca and Massimiliano respectively), whom I thank here for the helpfulness. By the way, the Chronicles are today passing the milestone of 400 pictures, since May 2007. I once again went back to Fulufallen, close to Fulufjället National Park, where a river creates, along a half kilometer span, ten waterfalls nestled in the forest for a total drop of about 80 mt. It's a perfect place to photograph the water and the trees reflections with long shutter speeds, above all in autumn.
Found a suitable water jump and set a 1/8 s speed, I was ready to do my usual things, when a passing white cloud lit up the water surface with a fan of bright brushstrokes. That slightest mental flexibility which still strenuously holds up clinging to some obscure spot in my brain made me change my mind at once; so I switched from 1/8 to 1/80, in order to preserve the individuality of those shining curtains, which would otherwise dissolve one in another with the overlapping from the long speed. The resulting structure bears itself the whole image composition (click on the photo to further enlarge it). Just a few shots from August, little more than a divertissement, with a bit of backing in love to some uncertain shapes... waiting for the autumn colors, some already visible on the mountains.
And to be precise a marsh marigold, shot during a long session in a hide on the shore of Särna lake, when the light of the approaching sunset was combined with the rippling water: as a matter of fact the true subjects of the picture, with the plant that merely acts as filling and contrast element. The gift December brings me is the gold from the scarce water which still freely flows in the rivers, colored by the winter sun reflected by snow-covered trees; or the amber tone of tannins dissolved in it, made evident by a white, spotless ice which is forming as I see it, in the very moment a new wave touches an icy rock.
It is the silver forest encrusted with thick rime, when it’s already freezing but little snow has come. It is the red of the pines lit by the last sunset moment, standing out against the bluish shadow as corals or sea fans in an underwater picture. Entirely natural colors, migrated like you see them from the original scene to the memory card, and from there to the screen ... which makes the gifts even more precious.
Söderåsen National Park, Skåne. A park well-known for its beautiful and extensive beech forest and for the rift which creates fairy forest and stream scenery, to say the least. Despite being rich in species (including Stock Dove, symbol of the protected area), its main attraction aren't birds; however, it is just the winged presences in the small lake of Skärdammen that I want to focus on. They all are wild, it goes without saying, starting from the Whooper swan pair, part of a small population wintering in Germany that stops in the south of Sweden rather than all the way along the traditional route to the northern taiga quarters. In last years the couple is regularly back to nest in the small site, and has become an attraction in itself for the many visitors of the Park (the Visitor Center overlooks the pond). Went to Skåne on a landscape-oriented trip (therefore with a maximum focal length of 300mm), with a little surprise I found myself having fun with birds, trusting on the trust - if I may use the expression - typical for animals accustomed to continuous - and above all well-disposed - human presence. Those are opportunities not to be missed, in order to try new approaches with a calm and availability not normally granted. In this case the idea was to play with the light and the peculiar reflections, kindly offered by the young leaves of the surrounding beech trees at dawn, and to combine them, whenever possible, with a motion blur.
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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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