After New Year came snow. The cold grip of Winter got hold of my local neighbourhood with temperatures sometimes dropping to minus 20 Celsius. Even the dog agreed to sometimes wait until after 8 am for the morning walk. Lakes freezing over. Most days overcast and grey but every now and then we are blessed with a clear sky. Then it's time to get out there and try to capture the magic.
This post presents a collection of my best winter pictures from this season so far.
Högantorp
20 km west of where I live is wilderness, countryside, and a golf club. I'm fascinated that there are these vast empty spaces this close to a metropolitan area of 2 million people. So one day I brought the dog out there to explore. We discovered a great view of Mälaren and a gently renovated historic water mill.
Alby/Tullinge
Close to 100,000 live in the municipality where I live, and most live in the small northern strip close to freeway and commuter trains. In 2 minutes I'm on the freeway. In 10 minutes I'm in the train to Stockholm. But if I go the other direction, I have the wilderness area around Flottsbro with two lakes separated by a narrow ridge within a short walk. One morning I took the shortcut across the lake with the dog just as the sun was climbing in a low angle.
One weekend the family did the hike around Flottsbro some 6 or 7 km. It was cold, cloudy and calm. Late in the afternoon on our way back I stopped on the bridge over the canal and caught the reflection of the sky and the trees in the perfect mirror of the water.
Stendörren
Stendörren is a nature preserve at the very southern end of the Stockholm Archipelago. It's a one hour drive to get there, but it is an amazing place and well worth the drive. When you step out of the car, you immediately realise how calm and quiet there is. Within easy reach of the parking lots are trails leading into strings of small islands connected by walkways. Along the trails you easily find scenic picnic places and stunning views.
This time of year we did not have to use the walkways, the ice was plenty thick that we could walk between the islands and explore the scenery.
A short walk from the parking lot there is a tower with a spectacular view of the entire area.
The strong sunlight coming in low and reflecting in ice and snow makes for dramatic high contrast pictures.
You are guaranteed a good night's sleep after a day out in the archipelago.