Julgran

For a few years it was the biggest Christmas tree in the world. Usually around 35 meters high. I remember pointing that out on a photo, hoping that someone would protest, and of course they did. Anyway, this is a tradition started by the late Jan Stenbeck. He looked out his office window one Winter day and figured that a big "Julgran" would look nice at Skeppsbrokajen. In the background, teaterskeppet. The theatre ship. And in the second photo the same Christmas tree and also the building from where Stenbeck used to sit and look at the tree. It is the first building from the left. That photo taken from Skeppsholmen.

God Jul

The finished IKEA-style Christmas tree at Skeppsbrokajen. Across the street from the Kinnevik office. A tradition that dates back to the mid 1990s when the then CEO Jan Stenbeck figured that Stockholm needed a big Julgran.

How to build a Christmas Tree

This is Sweden, so we obviously create everything IKEA-style. Like with this huge Christmas Tree currently under construction at Skeppsbrokajen in Stockholm. As seen and photographed on Saturday. In the background, Grand Hotel.

Stop dreaming

It is not going to be a White Christmas in Stockholm this year. More like a Gray Christmas. Because most of the snow is gone. I took a longish ebike ride today. Around 75 km. No ice on the roads, or on the bike path. Temperature around 3C, and no wind. I snapped this photo at Fjällgatan on Södermalm in Stockholm. The ship is M/S Enköping from 1868. The oldest passenger ship in the world, still in regular traffic. In the background, the IKEA-style Christmas tree at Skeppsbrokajen in the old town that I showed you a while ago.

Julgran

Remember that IKEA-assembled Christmas tree I showed you a while back? Here is an updated version. It sure is big, so big that I had to take four photos with my 60mm lens on my old Canon 77D and stitch those images together in Lightroom. I snapped this last week, and haven't been back since, so I am guessing that they have added the lights by now. You will find it at Skeppsbrokajen just a short icy sprint from the Royal castle. If you want to see how the finished version might look, check out this olden goldie that I took back in 2006.

A work in progress

For the last 25 years there has been a huge Christmas tree at Skeppsbron in Stockholm. This years version is still a work in progress. A tradition started by the late Jan Stenbeck and continued since his death by his daughter Christina. It is a constructed tree,made from severeal trees, but it still counts. The tree comes from the company Bergvik Skog. I photographed this as a panorama, so it is eight photos, shot with a 50mm lens,, using my full frame Canon, and then stitched together in Photoshop. I saw the two runners coming, and waited for them to run into a shot.

Julgran

This is as close to a "Julgran" that I am likely to come. The Christmas tree at the square at Årsta Havsbad.

The bike shop

Åbyplan in Västerhaninge. A shopping center with ten or so stores. Harry's bike shop has been there since the 1960s. Harry still runs it with his wife, son, and one employee. I have bought a couple of bikes there over the years.

A Coca-Cola Christmas

The Christmas tree is up at the Coca-Cola plant at the Jordbro industrial park.

That Old Tree

The red berries are long gone on the old tree. On this visit everything was gray and misty.

That Old Tree

That Old Tree from steffe on Vimeo.

Two weeks ago I decided to test a new online tool. It is called Pummelvision and with this fun toy you can make videos using your own photos. If you have a flickr account you can easily make a video from a set, and that is what I did with my 230 photos of the old tree. People seemed to like the video and a few days ago ABC World News from New York asked me if they could show my video in a piece about Pummelvision. Oh, and the latest photo of the tree is from yesterday.

Into The Mist

We had some mist today. Visibility was down, so to speak. I still figured I could get some good shots and went out for a photo promenade. Some of you will recognise this view. It's the old tree again. But in Black & White and from a different angle than I normally shoot. Had I arrived five minutes earlier, we would have seen three girls coming out from the mist on their horses but you can't have everything. If you want to see a horse in the mist from this place have a look at this.

Christmas already?

Two workers at a playground in Jordbro. The tree next to the flagpole is a Christmas Tree that they just put up, (no lights yet). They said that I would have to be quick to get a photo of the tree as they normally didn't last very long in this area. Probably those darn kids, first a ride on the slide. After that they go to destruction mode...

Cherry Blossom

Blooming Cherry Tree at Nederstaleden in Västerhaninge. A few weeks earlier than last year.

Christmas Tree

This is a house at Skogsekeby in Tungelsta. On the wall you can still see the outline of their Christmas Tree. Bigger photo. Björn Roos lives here with his family. His parents lives next door. Hid dad was a friend and colleague to my dad, that is, he was a gardener and one of his greenhouses can be seen glowing in the dark here.

The world's tallest Christmas Tree

I took a photo promenade in Stockholm yesterday and decided that you have to see this. It's the big Christmas Tree at Skeppsbron in Stockholm. It's the biggest in the world. It's a Norwegian Spruce, from Uppland, 38 meters high with 5000 christmas lights. The tree is sponsored by Kinnevik. The tree is so big that it usually arrives on a huge truck in the middle of the night when there's less traffic. From Skeppsbron you can take the ferry to Djurgården. If you wanna see more photos from my visit there's plenty more in my Stockholm Set.