Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera September 6th 2010. Click image for larger view.
After moving to the south of Norway I have discovered many new species of insects that I have never seen in Northern Norway. In this photograph I have found one of these new species. This is a Large marsh grasshopper (Stethophyma grossum) that is quite common around my house. It is the largest Acrididae in Norway and can be quite a sight with its up to 37mm long. This grasshopper is often found in wet grasslands and and close to beaches. Since I live to close to wet areas we have lots of grasshoppers around our house, during the summer, making a constant buzz. Our chickens love to feed on grasshoppers so maybe they taste good?
There is about 30 species of grasshoppers in Norway and I hope I can photograph more species next summer.
Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure 0.002 sec (1/640)
Aperture f/6.3
Focal Length 150 mm
ISO Speed 400
Lens: Sigma 150mm F2.8 EX APO DG HSM Macro
Location: Fjellstrand in Nesodden, Akershus in southeast of Norway
Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera September 6th 2010. Click image for larger view.
If you pay attention to the nature around you you can find beautiful things everywhere. Here I have photographed an old snail house sitting on a withered thistle. The snail seems to have crawled up the thistle stem and died there.
I find snail shells to have a fascinating coiled structure that makes a good picture. Check other snail shell pictures here and here.
Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture f/7.1
Focal Length 150 mm
ISO Speed 400
Lens: Sigma 150mm F2.8 EX APO DG HSM Macro
Location: Fjellstrand in Nesodden, Akershus in southeast of Norway
I was tipped about this project that Philips is running in Longyearbyen on Svalbard. Philips have created a new type of lamp that is supposed to naturally wake you up in the morning. They are now testing the light in Longyearbyen as that place is the northernmost town in the world. I have never been to Svalbard (would love to go on a photo trip!), but I have lived beyond the arctic circle for over 20 years and let me tell you that it can be pretty hard to get up in the morning during perpetual darkness. During the winter I often found myself in a bit of lull since we never really got any daylight. I found that most days were spent indoors perusing the internet in a bid to find some escapism. Anywhere and anything seems preferable when it comes to feeling sunlight on your skin for an extended period of time. In desperation I would scan any business directory to hire a sunbed to fit in somewhere near the sauna. But this Wake-up Light might be the go-to product for people searching for a more affordable and easier way to brighten up the winter. The idea behind this project is to see if the Wake-up Light helps the citizens of Longyearbyen to get a better start on the day and maybe they will get more energy during the darkest months.
Check out the video below made by a director called Doug Pray who is a part of this project. In the video several people from Longyearbyen talks about how it is to live there during the winter. If you want to know how my accent sound, just watch the video
There will be several videos released later on that will document the progress of the Philips project. This is a sponsored post.
Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera July 31st 2010. Click image for larger view.
I was just on a short visit in Northern Norway this summer. I did not have much time for photography, but found some minutes while waiting on a ferry to get home to the place where I grew up. While waiting this old wooden fishing boat passed out on the fjord so I had to take a picture of the boat with a lovely mountain in the background.
I love these old fishing boats as they tell a story how the fisheries used to be in Norway. Due to modern fishery politics many of these wooden boats have been demolished because the government wanted a more effective fishing fleet with fewer and bigger boats, but there are a few left and even some that still are partaking in the coastal fisheries. Even the boats that were owned by my family were sunken in the 50ies, which I find really sad. Hopefully we will have more sensible fisheries in the future so we will not destroy the fish stocks and the rest of the environment in our oceans.
Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure 0.001 sec (1/1600)
Aperture f/2.8
Focal Length 150 mm
ISO Speed 200
Lens: Sigma 150mm F2.8 EX APO DG HSM Macro
Location: Harstad, Troms in Northern Norway
Black trumpet mushrooms (Craterellus cornucopioides) is a very tasty mushroom that can be difficult to find. They are also known as trumpet of death, black chanterelle and horn of plenty. It is said that this mushroom grows where there are oak and hazel, and it matches well since these mushrooms were found near some large oak trees. Because of the color of the mushrooms it can be easy to overlook them on the forest floor. Some mushroom hunters has described the hunt for black trumpet mushrooms a hunt for black holes in the ground. As a specialty mushroom, sold primarily as a dried product, they are mostly imported or harvested wild. The harvesting can be extensive, and sometimes include the removal of the top layer of soil. Either excavator hire or bigger mechanics are implemented. Found under deciduous trees in the Northeast and Midwest, Black Trumpet mushrooms are highly valued and can be used for a variety of purposes including sauces, steak, soups and wild game dishes. If you look for this dark fungus so it is advisable to look straight down instead of around you like you often do when looking for mushrooms such as Golden chanterelle. Once you have found the trumpet mushrooms you may want to take a look near the site where you found them. A tip is to look where there might be streams when there are heavy rain falls. If you follow such streams it should be possible to find large amounts of black trumpet mushrooms.
Black trumpet mushrooms may not be the most beautiful mushrooms in existence, but they are very tasty. They can be cooked fresh and is excellent for drying. Before cooking or drying the mushrooms should be split in half to remove filth that often accumulates in the middle of the mushroom.
Here is a picture of a cluster of black trumpet mushroom:
Note: These photos were taken in the southeastern part of Norway. This image should not be used to identify unknown fungi to see if they are edible or not. Do not eat a mushroom you are uncertain about!
See my other mushroom pictures here.
Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital single-lens reflex camera
Location: Fjellstrand in Nesodden, Akershus in southeast of Norway
Autumn is here with lots of luxuries coming from the nature. Here I have photographed a few of the berries that you can find in Northern Norway.
Read more about each berry if you click on the links above the photos.
