Spring has sprung early this year and we are loving it!
I woke up this morning to see the sun forcefully squeezing its big fat self round the edges of what is supposedly a blackout blind, which, along with the wagging tail belonging to the body, belonging to the big brown eager eyes staring at me, I took as a strong signal to get the heck up woman. So I did. And actually it was a good move. Continue reading
Photos all copyright of Jordan Armstrong
…Norway through the eye of a first time visitor who happens to be a dab hand with a camera!
It´s so much fun showing people around the place – not least so they can see that Norway is much more than dramatic fjords and mountains. It´s also got miles and miles of coastline, woodlands, wildlife and the quirky sights and seasons of this idiosyncratic little country…
Last weekend we had visitors from England, my little sister and her friend Jordan who also happens to be a keen photographer – fascinating to see the details someone spontaneously picks out when visiting for the first time! Continue reading
Striking Viking - testing the camera on the iPhone
Despite having spent the better part of two decades writing about technology and the benefits of its application, I´m not the brightest button in the box when it comes to using it myself – I am all fingers and thumbs, reading glasses and a far too short attention span for user manuals. And if I get as far as mustering the question “so, how does it work then?” I usually mean this with lashings of irony – at best the question will be rhetorical.
However, in the case of cameras, I do wish I had an extra dollop of patience as I know this would increase the chances of me taking better shots. Having said that I am really happy with my latest, a Casio Exilim, except for this last weekend when I couldn`t find the battery charger – bit of a bummer really with a visitor from the UK to show round, a photographer who was just as keen to take back images as a souvenir as we were to find him interesting images to capture while sharing the joys of doing so. Continue reading
I have been testing out my new phone today, to see just how smart I need to be to make use of all its new fangled bells and whistles and to ascertain the extent to which said bells and whistles can be employed without having to get my specs out of my handbag to do so. And, while I know my pictures will never make National Geographic, I just thought I could at least attempt to convey how beautiful Norway can be in winter. So here`s a shot taken at nearby Horten by the sea earlier today while out with man and dog and, taken just now, a poor replica of what was a really beautiful pink sunset, as seen from the terrace. Continue reading
Sarah Bernhardt cakes look something like this (photo credit: Meny supermarkets)
While not wishing to offend, I have to admit that I am generally not very fond of Norwegian cakes. I find them generally either boring and dry or too creamy and unimaginative. It´s a subjective choice of course and my personal preference is for cakes that include an element of fruit in some shape or form, either that or anything that walks out of a French patisserie. Having said that, I do have a favourite and despite the fact that I understand they were created in Denmark by a patisserie chef who wanted to honour the grand dame of the theatre herself, they are a popular choice here in Norway too. Continue reading
I´ve been dreading today for a while now. Not only for the upheavel it was going to cause, not to mention the cost (brrr), but for the disruption, logistical challenge and sheer apparent waste of time when I could have been doing something more Sundaylike, like lounging around good book in hand. And no, I am not a sadistically clairvoyant traveller anticipating three inches of snow to fall while I attempt to fly in or out of a UK airport (that disruption is just bizarre) it was because today was the day we had to strip the living room bare (and for your sake please read those last few words in the order intended). Continue reading
Audun Lysbakken, irony in action