~ Better Late Than Never ~
– Ken Petti
Better Late Than Never is what i always say. I have been out of my normal routine since making it here to Sweden. I intended on taking more photos and to post more often. I intended many things that didn't turn out the way that i had anticipated. So, Better Late Than Never
I tried to knock the rust off by just taking some photos of the flowers in my area. I find that flowers oftentimes seem to reorient me... especially when i take notice of the ones that go most unnoticed.
I found a bunch of flower quotes that i thought were super cool. The source link is at the bottom of the post if you want to go see all the ones i didn't end up using.
Coming to Sweden is always awesome and tough at the same time. It's definitely a transition in more ways than one.
“Like wildflowers; You must allow yourself to grow in all the places people thought you never would.”
– E.V.
I have to say this transition has been pretty rough. I haven't felt the inspiration that i was expecting to feel and share. I haven't really felt myself and i have had a difficult time keeping up with my curator duties here on Hive.
“The flower that follows the sun does so even in cloudy days.” – Robert Leighton
I haven't posted for myself on my own blog in a very long time. Recently, we went on a nice trip to Kalmar here in Sweden and these photos are mostly from that trip. I took enough shots to spread it out over a few posts.
“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”
– Frances Hodgson Burnett
I find yellow to be a particularly beautiful color to photograph but also a particularly difficult color to properly capture in all of it's beauty and splendor!
- Joe Dirt
We have some Yellow Roses blooming from a plant i bought a few years ago. I always think of the Yellow Rose of Texas!
“Open the bloom of your heart and become a gift of beauty to the world.”
– Bryant McGill
These flowers were all from my patio here in Växjö. The Lavender has now made it through multiple Winters. I am happy. =)
Ghibli Flower Power
~ A Walk In The Park ~
After we got to Kalmar we went to a park in town. I decided to bring my camera 'just in case.' I am so glad i brought it. This park turned out to be the grounds of a castle. It had some exotic trees and an awesome garden. I should have taken more shots to be honest.
The lighting wasn't great and i could tell my camera skills were super rusty (which isn't good when you have a camera as shitty as mine). But, there was this Hanging Book Tree that had such a gnarly growth structure and canopy that i had to take some photos from underneath.
The image above shows the metal support beam at 52cm high that helps to prop up the core of the tree.
Personally, i know these aren't great shots, but i wanted to document the tree from inside out. You can really get a better sense of the size and scale in the image below taken from much farther away.
It even had this old tree neighbor with an oblong twisty branch reaching out.
A Wood Chuck
~ Fit For A King ~
There was this Runestone fit for a king in the corner of the garden. It looks to be super old and i really find it to be quite fitting for the environment given its history!
The flower garden also looked fit for a King! I did the best i could and still admit that i didn't capture the beauty well enough to even do them a modicum of justice.
These brown buttons in the middle have a silky look about them. I thought these were gorgeous. This flowerbed was directly in front of the Runestone.
Next time we go i will have to make sure and shoot everything.
I always feel rushed when i am the only one taking photos in the group. I try my best to keep up as well as capture some beauty along the way.
It's Good To Be King
~ Kalmar Castle ~
This is Kalmar Castle and you can read about it's history at that link. Having been an enthusiast of castles since i was young and having the word in my own name... i can't describe how cool it was to walk around and see this structure.
You can see the moat in the image above. My imagination was running on all cylinders just thinking of all the history that must have taken place at such a location as this.
The ground level that this anchor is displayed on was the main entrance ground level. You can see that there is a lowered area more on the level of the moat. In the distance you can see the castle is even more elevated on the other side of the moat.
The only was to get to the castle's main entrance is to walk across a bridge that goes over the land basin. I went down there to get a few shots. To be honest, the whole time walking around, all i could think about was if i was a foreign invader how i would stage an invasion or siege of this fortress.
Below, you can see the bridge to cross over in order to reach the main entrance. The more i walked around and thought about my invasion plans... the more i noticed how well thought out this defensive design was.
I tried to get some vantage points that would convey the feel of being there a bit better.
The Arch to the Entrance Tunnel
Being on the bottom ground level gave me a newfound respect for having the high-ground.
You feel the disadvantage you would be at if you were trying to overtake that spot.
Fortunately for me, the only shots fired were from my camera...
Look at all those cannons in the background!
Now, we've made it down to the point of view from the moat.
“Flowers are the music of the ground. From earth’s lips spoken without sound.” – Edwin Curran
I figured this would be a great place to stop for now and we will pick up where we are leaving off next time! I still have many cool shots to share with you all. It definitely won't be too long of a wait.
See you soon!
Thanks for stopping by to read my post and check out my photos. I appreciate your time and consideration. I would be curious to know which image you liked the most! The best has yet to come! Cheers
Glad to -finally- see and read something from you again FlowerBudBerry! It has been a while FOR SURE, even though we talked a bit on Discord (yay).
I recognize this feeling a lot when I just "started" photographing. I learned to always tell people "If you want to come with me, be aware I take LOTS of time to take photographs, just so you know", I exaggerate so it most likely will be a bit more "chill" than expected.
Although it is a bit saddening to read you had a rough start orienting your ways in Scandinavia, but I do hope you will find grounds to settle down and unleash the ease you usually bring. No stress, everything is right as it is, and if it isn't, it still is :P! Sweden has so much to give, and I bet it might be a very relaxing place (at least, from my own experience; Sweden is beautiful) for you. There might be a possibility that your body and mind are finally finding their "chill", so you might experience that with such a transition you can feel pretttttyyy exhausted (even though I don't know how busy you were before traveling to Sweden, so I might be even brabbling nonsense right now!).
Glad you brought your camera, and rusty or not, these are some nice shots! The flowers are nice, but the ones from the anchor are really my favorite. It looks big, or at least pretty sturdy. Did you try to lift it?
That's a great idea about letting them know in advance that i take my time and take a lot of photos. Fortunately (or unfortunately for them) most anyone i would go somewhere with knows i will be lagging behind taking my shots! hahaha
Those anchor shots were fun to take! I didn't realize i had the couple from the background in frame. I didn't even try to lift it... hahaha There were kids sliding on it and it was massive.
It has been a nice and relaxing stay here in Sweden, for the most part. Figuring out how to stay here permanently is a bit more challenging!
I really appreciate your kind words bro and for your appreciation of my shots! Thanks for stopping by!
Haha! And that's why... "we" come up with cool adventures before the other person can propose it XD.
Let's hope you can stay there permanently man! Are you planning to make a tree trap there just like in Valheim? XD
A started my tree trap by planting a lot of lavender! Hahaha it's not as Viking or metal as the tree farm but it smells good!
Sounds pretty Viking and metal to me to the bugs that you're repelling!
Kalmar! So we have not been that far apart location-wise. I read about Texas and I have read about Sweden - so have you immigrated or are you just jumping around the globe like a fairy-unicorn?
Anyways - I know how hard social media and blogging can be sometimes (not to mention curating :), but I really like (inspired or not) the post. I haven't been to Kalmar since I was child, but still remember how the castle set my imagination i fire (I loved history).
Hey, good to see you! I'm trying to immigrate to Sweden but it's quite challenging... so I guess fairy-unicorn-ing my way back and forth for now! hahaha
I really appreciate your comments and sentiment. It's been tough keeping up... but i also probably take my duties here too seriously. I am so glad you have been to Kalmar before and identify with the sense of wonder that castle creates. What an awesome memory to have created as a child. I am discovering that i have loved history most of my life as well. Thanks for stopping by and i think you will dig the next part to this Kalmar visit. Cheers my friend
Beautiful pictures...especially love the flowers with that vibrant color...absolutely wonderful. 🧡💛🧡
Thanks! I'm glad you stopped by and took the time to comment. I also appreciate you reading the post as well. I loved the flower shots too. Maybe the lavender shots were some of my favorites! Cheers =)
My pleasure Dear Castle👍
So many cool shots man. Much better than the normal flower shots we see here.
Thanks bro! The next post will have more of the Castle and the rest of the walk in town. There was this cool low-rider you will dig!
Beautiful flowers! I like the ones with the backlighting on it. I dig for photos like that :D
Thank you so much. Those were some of my favorites too. It was actually the first time i can think of that i tried that out. I appreciate your comments and for stopping by to check out my stuff.
You're welcome. Cheers! :)
wow...this is really amazing. I honestly do not determine which image stands out the most among all the images. It all looks amazing. But maybe let me choose, maybe the photos of the buildings blow me away. Thank you for showing me all this great photography.
I have much better shots of the Castle coming in the next post! Thanks for taking the time to read and check out my stuff. I do appreciate it!
You're welcome. I'm not only happy to see the beautiful photography, but I can learn a lot from your way and style of good photography. Looking forward to seeing more amazing shots of castle in your next post.
great pictures, love the yellow flowers! Cheers
Thanks! I appreciate you stopping by to check them out. Cheers
Beautiful captures! I love flowers and these that you give us in your publication are a beauty. A hug.
Thank you so much! I appreciate you stopping by and taking the time to comment. Cheers and a hug back! =)
Lovely and beautiful flowers taken and it is really nice seeing you publish a post after been a while
It's been too long! hahaha Thanks for stopping by and i'm glad you liked the beauty.
Amazing images! I'm sorry you still don't feel 100% about what you are undertaking.
This quote applies to you too. Cheer up!
“Like wildflowers; You must allow yourself to grow in all the places people thought you never would.”
Greetings and Blessings, my friend!
It's ok! Thanks for the uplifting comment. That was exactly why i put that quote where i did! Thanks for reminding me. hahaha Thanks for stopping by!
wow, quite impressive today i saw some photos in portrait well. very beautiful to look at. Thank you so much for sharing have a nice day.
Glad you enjoyed the shots and thanks for stopping by.
Howdy Malomi! =)
looks like you got yourself a lovely place to explore , " These brown buttons in the middle have a silky look about them. I thought these were gorgeous." looks like Rudbeckia hirta .
I am looking forward to going back and taking more time to explore! I am sure there was a sign that i missed or didn't think to photo with the name, but after looking it up i think you are absolutely right. Thanks for the info and i do appreciate you stopping by!
very interesting writing, and your photos are also very classy in the world of photography.
Thanks, i appreciate your time! =)
It's very beautiful flowers.
Thanks
Same for me. I usually see the red and darker ones but not as often do i find the yellow ones. Thanks for the support and for stopping by! Cheers bro!
Thanks for stopping by, it's good to see you. Yes, the sun was shining in those shots and i tried a different shooting technique than usual to get that look in the photos.
Thanks!