Nordmarka outside Oslo is a great place for outdoor activities. Last year I went on an open-air camping trip during the summer and in this picture we were out fishing for trout around midnight. We did not catch much fish, but we had a wonderful time with great weather and even greater scenery. The few fish we actually caught was grilled over an open fire, some of the best tasting fish I have ever had!

It was actually a bit weird for me that the night was as dark as this, as I’m used to midnight-sun evenings when I lived in Northern Norway. See some of my favorite pictures of the midnight sun here.

Please see me other photo taken this winter from a skiing trip in Nordmarka.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus EPL-1 digital camera
Exposure 0.125 sec (1/8)
Aperture f/3.5
Focal Length 14 mm
ISO Speed 1600
Lens: Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f3.5-5.6
Location: Nordmarka in Oslo, Norway

Living in the largest city in Norway does not mean that there are no possibilities to get out into the nature. There is actually tons of opportunities to get into the wild like hiking in the woods, fishing in the fjords, and like in this picture going skiing in Nordmarka. Nordmarka is a forested area north of Oslo where you can skiing in the winter and hiking in the summer. It is so close to the city that you can even go there by the Oslo Metro.
In the summer you can also go fishing in this area, in addition to off-road cycling, and picking wild berries and mushrooms.

In this picture we went skiing from a metro station called Frognersæteren, through some areas where it had snowed heavy and ended up at Sognsvann where we got on the Metro to get back home. It was a great day with plenty of beautiful scenery and a good six hour workout.

Please see my other pictures from Oslo here.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus EPL-1 digital camera
Exposure 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture f/7.1
Focal Length 11 mm
ISO Speed 200
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 11-22mm F2.8-3.5
Location: Nordmarka in Oslo, Norway

Vestre Aker is a church in the borough St. Hanshaugen in Oslo. The church was built in 1855 and designed by the architect Heinrich Ernst Schirmer. It is has a so called Gothic Revival architecture style that was popular in Norway between 1850 and 1900. There are several other churches in Oslo that is built with the same type of architecture.

Today Vestre Aker has room for about 500 people after it was renovated in 1969. There is also a graveyard in connection with the church.

Here is another picture of Vestre Aker kirke from the side. They might need to trim those trees so we can get a better view of the church.

Stay tuned to this blog for more pictures of churches in Oslo.

Information about the pictures:
Camera: Olympus EPL-1 digital camera
Focal Length 11 and 12 mm
ISO Speed 200
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 11-22mm F2.8-3.5
Location: St. Hanshaugen in Oslo, Norway

This Christmas I visited Northern Norway for the Holiday. I usually go by plane to the north, but this time we drove from Trondheim, in the middle of Norway, to my home island of Andørja. This kind of trip can be quite challenging during the winter.

On the way south we went through Northern Sweden and there was some nice winter scenery when we passed the mountain ranges. In the picture above I have photographed a winter road in black and white. The landscape up there is very desolate and far away from everything so a black and white conversion suited the scenery.
I also like the effect that you can see in the foreground on the road that happens because I took the picture while sitting in a moving car.

Please see my other winter pictures here.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus EPL-1 digital camera
Exposure 0.025 sec (1/40)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 42 mm
ISO Speed 400
Location: Northern Sweden

Here is have photographed a couple of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) that I caught in a net when I was visiting Northern Norway in September this year. The herring is one of the most important types of fish on the coast of Norway. We mostly use to catch herring in the fall when schools of the fish come into the fjords. We use the herring both as food and as bait to catch other fish like the Atlantic halibut. If the herring is used for food it is usually fried whole or salted for later use.
Personally I prefer to use herring as bait as I’m not the biggest fan of the special taste from this oily fish.

Check out my other fish pictures here.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus EPL-1 digital camera
Exposure 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture f/7.1
Focal Length 20 mm
ISO Speed 200
Location: Laupstad (Andørja), Troms in Northern Norway

The next time I am able to take some time off from work, I will try to travel to some exotic locations around the world. I would especially love to go on vacation to some countries outside Europe. The countries that are on top of my list where I want to go is Japan and USA (especially to New York and Los Angeles), but I need to save some money for that kind of long trip. Japan is on top of my list because I have been intrigued by their culture for many years and I also love the Japanese food. I can not imagine how great sushi at the best restaurants in Tokyo must be. Going to USA would also be interesting because it is influencing our life in Norway in so many ways like pop culture and music.
There are also several countries and towns in Europe that I want to visit. I have heard so many good things about Barcelona, in Spain, when it comes to its food and music festivals like the Sonar Festival. I hope to go there next year with some friends during the summer, and visit other parts of Catalonia too while I am there.

When I lived in Northern Norway I used to a bit of mountain climbing to get in shape and experience the adrenalin rush. During that time I went on several climbing trips to Italy and France. All I did during those trips was climb and sleep. I did not have any time for exploring the countries or experiencing the local culture in those countries (except for the great cuisines). I wish I had put aside some time to do this and will definitely be more open minded the next time I go abroad.

Here I have photographed a musk beetle (Aromia moschata) just outside at a place called Bygdøy. It is incredible that you are able to find such beautiful insects so close to a big city.

The musk beetle is very characteristic with coppery or greenish metallic tint and the long antennas (click on the picture to view the insect in a larger view). This beetle can be found in southern Norway and I have seen it several times feeding on trees that has a cut in its trunk. The larvae of musk beetles are known to feed on willow trees and can actually hurt these trees.

Check out my other insect pictures here.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus EPL-1 digital camera
Exposure 0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 42 mm
ISO Speed 320
Location: Bygdøy, Oslo

Olympus PEN E-PL1

I’m thinking about buying a compact point-and-shot camera that I can bring along my Olymus EP-1 on trips. Many of the travel cameras have very good zoom ranges that can be useful when you don’t want to bring different lenses. Even though compact cameras have a somewhat bad reputation when it comes to image quality, there are many cameras that is able to produce pictures with good image quality (this also depends on how good the photographer is with handling the camera settings). Many camera models also have cool features such as HD video recording, face recognition, art filters and GPS tracking. I used to think these kinds of features were a waste, but after trying them I found them quite useful. One of the most important factors for me when selecting a camera is how it feels in your hands. I use to visit camera stores where I can handle the camera and then maybe purchase it online where I find the best prices.

The viviparous lizard (Zootoca vivipara) is the only lizard that lives in Norway. It is also known as common lizard and can be found in large parts of Norway. I’ve never seen lizards in Northern Norway, but they are found in a few places in Nordland and Troms, and in large parts of Finnmark. On Nesodden I have often observed lizards on rocks in the sun that disappears quickly when they come aware of risks. According to Wikipedia the common lizard preys on insects and spiders, but is hunted by birds and snakes.

I found this lizard under a stone where it lay perfectly still. It had not woken up from hibernation and thus I got the chance to get close in on the lizard to take this picture. I recommend you to click on the image to see it in large size.

Please check out my other close up / macro images on this page.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture f/8.0
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

Below you can see some photographs of the ice sculptures:

I did not attend any of the sport events during the Ski VM, but it was fun to see some action in Oslo.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-PL1 digital camera
Lens: Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm f3.5-5.6
Location: Oslo in Norway