[picspam] What I Did On My Holidays

[kaberett]

We went to Skansen, which is what happens when Sweden decides that what it needs to do is transplant representative bits of village from all over the country to a hill in Stockholm. I was fond of it last time I went and I was fond of it this time, too, not least because it is full of AMINALS, of which no photographs sorry, but trust me when I tell you that the elk and lynx and wild boars and European bison et al were adorable.

The most confused and dismayed poison arrow frog I have ever seen: a waist-high probably-fibreglass model sat in an inch or two of snowy slush.

A field of snow with a wooden shingled church behind it; I really enjoyed all the shapes that melting snow made on fenceposts.

I was delighted by all the shadows the bare trees were casting on the sides of buildings (in this instance, the red wooden shingles of the church contrast very nicely with the blue shadows on the snow, and also there are icicles).

Icicles hanging from a snow-covered step into the seal pond! SPOT THE SEAL.

In which I could not resist the classic shot of a sunset streaming through trees making silhouettes and blue shadows everywhere.

... and finally, some weird optical effect meant that the reflections of two bare trees in river ice looked like they were actually trees of fire and light? I don't even slightly understand and it's probably magic or some shit, but it was stunning.

Comments

[nanila]

MAGIC FLAMING ICE TREES

(Not that I needed more motivation to visit Sweden, given that one of my oldest friends now lives there, but...MAGIC FLAMING ICE TREES!)

[kaberett]

I KNOW RIGHT

[ceb]

So pretty!

[aella_irene]

Oh, pretty.

Sadly, I have failed to spot the seal. OTOH, MAGIC FLAMING ICE TREES.

[kaberett]

The seal is two speckled patches, one to the left of the steps and one below it!

AREN'T THEY

[davidgillon]

confused and dismayed poison arrow frog

Clearly wondering which part of Sweden falls within its natural range!

it's probably magic or some shit

Windows, I think (and I don't mean the Linux competitor) and clearly I have no soul.

[swaldman]

Ooh, yes, windows - good spot. That's a remarkable bit of alignment :-)

[liv]

I feel foolish, but I can't understand how windows produce that effect? Can you explain?

[kaberett]

Heh, so we worked this out in Skansen but I still reckon it is some kind of MAGIC. Specifically:

The sun is at exactly the right angle on the windows of the building _behind_ that pair of trees to be reflected in the ice _in the same spot as_ the trees, in exactly the right location. (Or, to put it another way, MAGIC.) You can see that the trees are "closer" in mirror terms than the light - the bare branches are completely visible except where the glare destroys them, as opposed to being hidden inside the light as they would be if it were leaves. If that's not clear enough holler and I'll have another go!

[liv]

Thank you, that is pretty magical. And it's the fact that it's a reflection in the ice, not water, that makes the windows look sort of blobby like blossoms, not just square images of windows? Got it.

[davidgillon]

What they said ;)

On looking again today, I see you can just see the reflection of the building around the windows in the ice, for some reason, possibly just contrast, ir doesn't stand out as well as the reflection of the lighter building to the right.

And the magic of everything in the right place at the right time isn't just limited to sun-building-windows-tree-ice, but also putting kaberett there to see it.

[sylvaine]

Goodness, those are some stunning photos!

[kaberett]

Thank you! :D

[birke]

Is the seal that sorta speckly bit in the middle of the photo?

[kaberett]

Yep! There are actually two patches, the other just to the left of the step.

[sidheag]

Hej, I've been there. I don't remember the poison arrow frog, though, and I think I *would* remember. Maybe it's new since I was there mumble years ago. (Actually, mumble is a large number - greater than 10, for sure.)

[kaberett]

I think it's new since last time I was there, too, a slightly smaller value of mumble years ago! They've just opened a misc tropical aminals house to go with the monkeys, I think? So they were advertising that quite extensively. You couldn't've missed it if it was there - it's the first thing you see after stepping through the barriers at the main entrance.