Af Chapman

Af Chapman

In central Stockholm lies anchored the old ship af Chapman, which has for the last numerous years been functioning as a youth hostel. It is a landmark of Stockholm, and one of the ones I am myself very fond of.

The view from the café of the Photographic Museum of Stockholm offers up a perspective of af Chapman where the masts are almost completely aligned, offering up this resulting view.

In this picture, I see a familiar scene: it reminds me of home, and of youth events I have organized in the past, where we used this hostel to house the participants. And nowadays, it also reminds me of the half-week I spent with my aunt Anna, talking about photos and pictorial composition.

And there are a few words to be said here. The picture has a few compositional elements going for it. There is a repetition throughout the picture of horizontal lines, projecting calm. The cross-bars of the masts leads the eye from the buildings on the left towards the lush greenery on the right, where the opposition of the white church spire in the green against the green buoy in front of the white quay launches the gaze back across the picture. It helps the composition that the transition from urban to forest goes by way of a vessel.

Sara, the mermaid

Zürich spider

Macy's in the golden hour

Evening approaches in SOMA

Tenderloin rooftops

I had to ruminate on this one for quite a while. Finally, once Rubin had shown me the Gradient tool in Lightroom, I was able to capture both the dramatic sky and the run-down ruddy houses below it.

Sun sets on Geary

Mirrored skyscraper

Preparing for the Chinese New Year's parade

I was heading home. The parade organizers were trying to get organized. This involved an array of spotlights usually seen at sporting events.

The effect was striking.

Tenderloin rooftops

The view from our bedroom window.

Regularity

Some of the taller buildings in San Francisco convey an almost zen-like beauty when you look at them in just the right way.

Cloudy skyscraper

A nice day, blue sky and a touch of clouds to make the sky interesting. I look up, and the sky scraper almost blends into the sky, with the clear and colorful reflections.

Clouds over Geary

A day with dappled clouds over San Francisco made my view over the Geary cathedral gorgeous.

Game night at AT&T

As I returned from Stanford one early evening, the vision from AT&T Park is positively gorgeous:


Amazingly, it almost got even better at my first attempt; when the dark made the camera fail to pick up on the right focus point in time for the shot:

Shadow and light

The billowing shape of the cathedral at the top of Geary reflects in the gentle curve of the shadow cast along the cathedral.

Swan fountain

In the Kaiserslautern old town.

Neon office

A neon light traces through this office building at TU Kaiserslautern — through the lower story conference room as well as the upper story office room.

Looming skyscraper

Dark and imposing, against an angry sky, this skyscraper looms over Mannheim train station.