A Summer walk in the city

A mix of street photos from a walk in the central parts of Stockholm. The street musician in the top photo was playing the old classic Popcorn. It was hard not to hear him, even from far away. The next two shots are also from Drottninggatan. The number one pedestrian shopping street. Always crowded. Always a favorite for street photography. I changed my mind after snapping the fourth photo at the crossing. They are digging up the street at Kungsgatan where I first was headed, so I decided to head over to Hötorget where I took the photo with the people on the stairs to the konserthuset. Next the Non-Violence sculpture aat Sergelgatan, although it was the young woman with her back to me that I really noticed. We finish this walk with two photos from the big square Sergels torg where there are games you can play every day and usually a free concert like the one I showed you a few days ago.

On the border

If you enjoy modern architecture, Sickla is always a good place to visit. I took the top photo from Hammarbybacken, a ski hill used for recreation year round. The hill can be seen in the next two photos. This part of Hammarby sjöstad sits just on the border between Stockholm and Nacka and to prove that I also snapped a photo of the boundary marker. The one from Nacka is a mill wheel. The Stockholm one is Erik den helige. Eric IX of Sweden. And it is also the border between city and nature. There are trails and gravel roads everywhere here. In the fifth photo I just missed a couple of kayakers as I wasnt quick enough with the old Canon for once.

Five monochrome facades

I rarely shoot in black and white. But often when I photograph a building facade, I know already when I press the shutter button that the photo will look good in B&W. So here are five such images snapped from around Stockholm this Summer. Top photo show Stockholm Waterfront. Next, Departementets hus. Tegelbacken. Third, a building you have probably seen before. The Accordion Building. Snapped on a windy day from the top of the Västerbron bridge. The fourth one is an office building from the 1960s at Vasastan. And lastly, a more modern office building near the Central Station.

Skogskyrkogården

Four recent photos from The Woodland Cemetery. Or Skogskyrkogården. The UNESCO World Heritage Site in Enskede. The first photo shows a stone path known as Korsets stig. The way of the cross. It is the first thing you see as you enter the cemetery from the main entrance at Sockenvägen. If you turn left just where the woman in the red dress is you will find one of "my" benches in an area with a lot of graves. I took the second photo from there while enjoying a bite to eat. You can see my ebike parked on a gravel path, as well as a worker's bike parked near an elm tree. Had I moved just a little to one side, you would have seen the Meditation Hill that you can see in my third photo.

Up to something

Another mystery outside The Museum of Fine Arts. Some sort of bag project? Your guess is as good as mine. As seen on the stairs to Nationalmuseum a few days ago.

A Summer day in Sweden

Out riding my bike a while back, I decided to stop at a favorite spot for a bite to eat. It is a popular promenade that follows the water at Kungsholmen, called Kungsholms strandstig. The walkway and the cycle path is usually very busy, especially with runners, and people out walking their dogs, so you have to be careful when riding here. Unfortunately for me, the place where I had planned to sit and watch this view was closed off for some repair work that was yet to start. So I grabbed two quick photos before riding another kilometer to Hornsbergs strand, where I was able to sit down for a few minutes. The building here is Karlbergs Palace, I have shown it to you before. In the second photo, you can see parts of Vasastan.

That Old Tree

A Mid-afternonn visit to the old tree two days ago. A nice Summer day it was.

Stockholm Street Photography

I went for a walk in the old town. Planning to photograph the tourists. It was warm and sunny, but hardly any people at the big square, which confused me for a minute before remembering that it was time for the daily changing of the guards over at the Royal Palace. And to Andy, yes they march every day during the Summer I looked it up. So I headed that way. I only took four photos and here they are. An armed guard, kinda pretty me thinks. In the second photo we can spot one very tired guard yawning away. And in the third shot, some of the missing tourists. I tried walking into the courtyard but gave up because of the huge crowd there to watch the changing of the guards. And a last photo for Andy. The marching band, spotted near the Palace a few minutes later. Oh, and the headgear tells me that the soldiers are from Livgardet.

Dais Acapella

The vocalist group Dais Acapella performing at Sergels torg in Stockholm. I could hear them from a distance, so I rode that way, parked the bike and walked over for a listen. I usually carry two cameras with me, and I snapped the top photo from the stairs using the mirrorless Canon. I took the second photo with my old Canon 77D. That one is a panorama from four photos. I didn't notice it at the time, but it was heavily underexposed, so I had to fix that, which is fairly easy today thanks to modern technology like RAW-files and good software

Under the Bridges of Stockholm

I was halfway down the steep slope here on Royal Djurgården when I spotted the ferry in the canal, so I stopped and took a few quick shots because it is in fact two photos stitched together. The bridge is named after Folke Bernadotte.

Think thing

Roslagstull. Not an area where I spend a lot of time. This is Albano, at the Stockholm University. Lots of construction here for the last few years, and that is one reason for my absence. This sculpture called Think Thing by Tony Cragg stands in front of the AlbaNova building.

Taxi!

I often say that the best way to see Stockholm is from the water. If you don't like water, or if you have swimming issues or whatever, you could try catching a ride with this thing. Taxi! Spotted outside the Royal Dramatic Theatre a few days ago. Since then, I have seen it at the Grand Hotel and the Royal Palace, always with the same driver, so he seems to be a busy man this Summer.

A bit of a mystery

This is Kornhamnstorg. A square in the old town, close to the water. Just across the street from where I sat down and photographed the passing cyclists a few times recently. I also noticed the construction of this outdoor seating area for a restaurant/café at the square, and as it was brand new, I snapped this photo. Then two days ago I noticed a few workers busy removing parts of it, which I found a bit strange as it was just a few weeks old. And then yesterday, it was gone. No clue why. I guess I need to investigate.

Marching band, again

Last year at this event the Royal Guards from Sjöstridsskolan and the marching band nearly collided with the sports cars as they seemed unaware of each other, in the end the guards had to march on the wrong side of the street the last bit to the Royal Palace. This time around, everyone had been properly informed. Well, almost everyone. The crowds where I was standing started laughing when they noticed the guards, and speculated about serious incidents about to happen. But it was all good. And if you have a decent memory you might even recognize them as it is the same marching band as I showed you 9 days ago. Hemvärnets musikkår Östergötland.

And They're Off!

A last bunch of photos from the 2023 NexusBall Rally at Norrbro. A few minutes before the announcer asked the drivers to start their engines, I walked down to Skeppsbron and sat down on the curb, just as I did last year. If you know where the best spot is, go for it. And just as the year before there was an incident and if you are nice I might show it to you tomorrow. My favorite here has to be the woman with the dog on her bicycle. This is a very busy street at the Royal Palace, and normal traffic came through as the sports car took off. I had to get up a few times as the big tourist coaches did an 180 turn here, but I got all the shots I wanted. Oh, and here is a link to my NexusBall 2023 album with just over 100 photos.