Kalmar – Tom Gagner Photography

Kalmar Rådhus

🇸🇪 Kalmar Rådhus fotograferat vid midnatt en natt i december 2020. Rådhuset uppfördes mellan åren 1684 och 1690. Arkitekt var troligen Magnus Gabriel Craelius, samme man som var chef för befästningsarbetena i och omkring staden. Huset är uppfört i holländsk stil. Karl XI:s namnchiffer pryder fasaden. Omgivande byggnader har retuscherats bort i Affinity Photo. Klicka på bilden för en större version.
🇬🇧 Kalmar Town Hall photographed around midnight a night in December 2020. The architect was probably Magnus Gabriel Craelius, who died in 1693. Karl XI:s royal cypher decorates the front wall. Surrounding houses have been removed i Affinity Photo. Click on picture for a larger version. ©Tom Gagner

and in colour

Grimskär – winter

🇸🇪 I ett tidigare inlägg – Grimskär del 1 – skrev jag om Grimskär och dess betydelse för Sveriges försvar under tiden från 1600-talet och framåt och att jag brukar passera Grimskär under den dagliga hundpromenaden. Igår var snöfallet kraftigt och Grimskär knappt synligt. Objektivet har ingen vignettering vid bländare f/4.5, så jag antar att de mörka hörnen beror på ett optiskt fenomen orsakat av det täta snöfallet. Antagligen ett haloliknande fenomen.
🇬🇧 In a previous post – Grimskär part 1 – I wrote about Grimskär as an important part of the Swedish defense during the 17th Century and that I pass Grimskär on my daily walk together with my dog, Ella. Yesterday we had a heavy snowfall and Grimskär was barely visible. The lens has no vignetting @f/4.5 so I believe that the dark edges probobly depends on an optical phenomenon caused by the heavy snowfall. Probobly a halo phenomenon. Click on picture for a larger version.
©Tom Gagner Photography.

Shot with Nikon D810 with AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 G VR II @200mm, f/4.5 and ISO 640

Ironman Kalmar 2018 – del 2

Klicka på bilderna för att se en större version/Click on picture for a larger version.
🇸🇪 Mot mål. Prisceremonin är över och vinnarna har sedan länge lämnat området. Detta är upploppet för de andra, de som inte tillhör de professionellas skara. Deltagarna har simmat, cyklat och avslutar nu med ett marathonlopp. I mer än tolv timmar har de varit igång. Detta är deras ögonblick av triumf nu när de de sista tio meterna återstår av tävlingen. Publiken hurrar och hejar när löparna närmar sig uppropet.
Jag var intresserad av de tävlandes ansikten. Alla visade beslutsamhet. Några visade ren glädje och upprymdhet. Andra fokuserade på att ge det allra sista de återstående meterna medan andra saktade in när de närmade sig mållinjen, liksom för att dra ut det mesta av stunden.
Fler bilder här (klicka på länken)
Plats: Stortorget i Kalmar.

🇬🇧 Finish
Ironman in Kalmar August 18, 2018. The prize ceremony is over and the winners have left the arena long ago. This is the final for all the other. They have been swimming, riding their bikes and running for more than twelve hours. This is their moment of triumph. The final ten meters. The crowd is cheering as the ironmen/ironwomen approach the finish line. I was interested in the faces. All showed determination, some pure happiness but everyone had their focus on crossing the line. All photographs are taken from behind the finish line as the runners approach their goals.
Location: Stortorget, Kalmar, Sweden.
More pictures here (click on link)
©Tom Gagner Photography.

Portrait of a dear friend

Every morning my dog, Ella, and I go for a morning walk. One of our regular stops is at the end of the wooden pier, just south of Kalmar castle. I didn’t have access to a flash, it would have been handy, but who brings a flash when you walk the dog…? Click on picture for a large version.
©Tom Gagner Photography.

Shot with Nikon D500 with Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24-120mm f/4G ED VR @f/4. Developed in Capture One

Grimskär

Grimskär was an important part of the Swedish defense during the 17th Century and effectivly stopped the Danish fleet operating in the waters near Kalmar castle. During the 19th Century the fort was abandoned by the military but during WW II a top secret mine-station, controlling a line of anti-ship mines in the waters outside the city of Kalmar, was built under the old fort. The ferries between Kalmar and Öland passed over the line daily, the crews unaware of the mines. Not until 1988, when the mine-station was closed, the secret of it’s existence was revealed.
I pass Grimskär daily on my morning walk and usually take a picture or two of the old fort. Click on picture for a larger version.
©Tom Gagner Photography.

Shot with Fujifilm X-T1 with Super Takumar 135mm f/3.5 @f/8. Developed in Capture One

Saga

The old cinema has closed for the Summer – but will be opened again in the Autumn. Saga is the oldest cinema still in use in Sweden and was opened in 1906. It is a small, wooden, building with room for just a small audience. Watching a film at Saga is more like visiting a private home than going to a traditional theater. Dispite it’s age and small size, the equipment is fairly modern with digital projectors and ok sound quality.
Saga is a common name for cinemas in Sweden along with names like Palladium, Röda Kvarn (Red Mill) – a translation of Moulin Rouge – Centrum and Rio. Click on picture for a larger version.
©Tom Gagner Photography.

Shot with Fujifilm X-T1 with Carl Zeiss ZM C Biogon 35mm f/2.8 @2.8 Developed in Capture One

Summer is not over

Summer is not over. There are fewer boats at sea, the air is clearer, more crisp and contrasts are stronger but the sun still warms a frozen soul. Click on picture for a large version.
©Tom Gagner Photography.

Nikon D500 with AF Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6 G @200mm (300mm eq). Developed in Capture One

Hammerfall

Went to Hammerfall´s concert in Kalmar yesterday. Tried to catch something less ordinary…
©Tom Gagner Photography.

Nikon D500 with AF Nikkor 70-200 mm f/2.8 G. Developed in Capture One

Kalmar GP

Fotograferar ett cykellopp för första gången. Kul, men svårt om bilden både ska vara snygg och innehålla lite dynamik.
Shooting a bike race for the first time. Fun but difficult to capture the drama. Click on picture for a large version.
©Tom Gagner Photography.

Nikon D810 with AF Nikkor 200-500 mm f/5.6 G. Developed in Capture One

Dance

Often, when you as a photographer raise your camera, the picture already exists in your imagination. You know what you are trying to express. Your task is to make the camera and lens, you tools, work in the desired direction creating the picture that, in some way, already exists. Click on picture for a larger version.
©Tom Gagner Photography.

Nikon D810 with AF Nikkor 70-200 mm f/2.8 G. Developed in Capture One

Stars

Kalmarsund and the starry sky photographed from Kalmar just south of Kalmar castle. Click on picture for a larger version – the stars become more visible at a larger view.
©Tom Gagner Photography.

Nikon D810 with AF Nikkor 14-24 mm f/2.8 G @15mm, 15 seconds @f/5.6.
This is a practice shoot for an upcoming project.

Kalmar Castle

Kalmar Castle. Click on picture for a larger version.
©Tom Gagner Photography.

Nikon D810 with AF Nikkor 24-120 mm VR f/4 G.
There is always a risk for repeating yourself. The Castle has been here for hundreds of years watching over the City. I pass almost dayly. The Castle doesn’t change but the sea and the sky varies and make it look different every time.
The RAW-file was developed in Capture One with some minor adjustments. Mainly the white balance.