This was the last cold day before a warm front would hit us, so I made sure I got some winter pictures in before the snow would be gone (again). I drove to Hamra National Park, it’s only 30 km from Los and it’s also the smallest national park in Sweden. The long trail around the park is less than 3 km, I did the short one this time and had the honour of being the first visitor this season.As the day got older, the temperatures started rising already, but there was a lot of variation – in the valleys it was still as cold as -9 degrees centigrade while the higher places only had -2. Gotta enjoy it while it lasts.
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Do you sometimes get an impression that I’m laughing at all the beginner photographers? Well, yes and no – I don’t laugh at the photographers per se, I mean everyone has to start from somewhere and I was sure none the better at first myself. But what does cause me endless frustration (or amusement, if you wish) is that people publicly show their first images – honestly, I’ve seen images with description ”this is the first image I have taken”. What can you tell those people? They know absolutely nothing about the craft of photography, so how can you say anything constructive because they won’t understand it anyway? The only good advice is, read photography books, read photography magazines, read what other people write about other people’s photographs… Learn the basics, and then when you understand what we mean by rule of thirds, depth of field and exposure, start asking for feedback. And if you don’t want to learn, then for heaven’s sake keep your pictures well out of the public eye!Anyway, if you still think that I’m being condescending or sardonic, you’ll be happy to hear that it’s payback time. I bought skis on Wednesday and I’ve forgotten everything I have ever learned about cross-country so I probably look nothing short of hilarious when I do my rounds on the ski track. Just as well I haven’t come across anyone else yet. Skiing (we’re talking cross-country here) is obligatory at school. I hated the gym class and I hated skiing. When we were through with it, I swore that I will never touch another pair of skis as long as I live. Well, now I’m older and wiser and I have realised that my old gym teacher was right – skiing really is good for me. There are two reasons I wanted to take up the sport again. The first and biggest is that it will enable me to get around in the winter scenery. Yes, I already got the snow shoes… but I realised that if I use the snow mobile trails, I can move around faster and with less effort than with the snow shoes. But having said that, skiing is also good for the condition and I am permanently on the verge of being out of shape.
Now I’m looking forward to some winter trips to the mountains. The snowshoe hike I did last March in Sånfjället was awesome but the skis will allow me to make longer trips. Here’s hoping to good weather!