On a walk in Store Dyrehave outside Hillerød i found this massive anthill, and decided to film it.
I’m a bit surprised that my camera can handle this kind of close ups, but it was fun to play around with.
Did you know that:
Ant colonies can have up to 100 queens. This happens because queens that have mated are sometimes adopted back into their old colony instead of flying off and forming their own new colony.
This kind of ant is commonly used in forestry and is often introduced into an area as a form of pest management.
Wood ants typically have multiple nests so they can move around in case of drastic changes in the environment.
Every year thousands of people attend the large medieval market. I was there to photodocument Eventyriddernes huge stand at the market. I took the opportunity to also film a bit from it. This made it a very different film from my first few films, as there are suddenly humans present.
Eventyrridderne is a danish nonprofit event and roleplay company that sell roleplay events. Anything from birthday parties to company events. It was cool to see just how popular they were at the market. They had a slew of things children could do. From building their own foam sword to fighting monsters.
It was my first time visiting Copenhagen Medieval Market, it is a big market, with all kinds of stands. It seems like the rules regarding authenticity are a bit more relaxed than the only other market I have been to, The European Medieval Festival in Horsens. At Horsens they are a bit more restrictive whereas it seems that at Copenhagen everyone could bring and be what they wanted. I’m not saying which is better, but they give different experiences for both participants and guests.
Whereas my other films where more slow and meditative, this is a bit more action filled, that was a fun difference to work with. But I’m in doubt on whether or not to include it in the Portrait of Places series. What do you think?
On the main road between Herfølge and Køge lies a small cluster of houses, some factories a few farms and this very unremarkable pond. It is either for overflow or a reservoir in the case of fire. Whatever the reason it is neither famous nor particularly pretty.
But one of the things I would like to do with Portraits of Places, other than practice at filming and editing, is to show the beauty in the unremarkable.
So one cold autumn morning, I noticed that the light from an early sunrise gave a strange beauty to the lake and its surroundings, so I grabbed my camera and filmed what you see here.
This film might not be as pretty as the others, but I find a sort of eerily beauty in it, I hope you enjoy it.
The second film in the portrait of places series I’m making, as a way to improve my filming skills and give you something nice and relaxing to watch. I hope you enjoy it.
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I have always found the tropical house in Aarhus an interesting experience. Because you move along a very long greenhouse, the climate changing each time you pass through a door. From temperate forest to dry dessert ending up in the warm and humid jungle in the biggest greenhouse. It’s almost like traveling through different dimensions.
I have missed going to the place ever since it closed down for renovations in 2010. It reopened with a huge new expansion in 2014. But it wasn’t until just before I moved away from Hobro I managed to swing by The Tropical Houses in the autumn of 2017, to experience the new buildings.
The old main greenhouse, that before housed the rainforest, is now a nice open visitor center and cafe. But what catches your eye is the large bubble like expansion, that now houses the rainforest.
It’s quite an impressive experience and I can highly recommend it as a nice way of getting some warmth back in your body during a cold winter’s day. Also it’s free, so if you are in Aarhus, you should really go there.
I realize now after the film, that I should perhaps have noted the name of all of the plants, I filmed, so I could have added their names to the film. But maybe if I do Copenhagen Botanical Gardens I will try that then.
I film with a handheld SLR camera, and that is very apparent here. If this is something I want to do more of, I might have to invest in a stabilizer.
I want to become better at filming and editing. So I have set myself a little challenge: I have to publish a film once a week.
To keep it simple in the beginning, I’m making something I for fun call “Portraits of Places.”
The idea is that I film a certain place, and though visual means try and show what kind of a place this is.
Why should you watch them? Well other than to give me some helpful feedback, so I can become better, I try to make these first films simple, pretty and relaxing. So use the films as a little short break to look at something nice and uncomplicated.
I have had the idea for some time, so the first films are from the autumn and winter. But in this heat I think that is a welcome reminder, that it will get colder again.
I hope you enjoy the film, read about Vesterfjord below:
Vesterfjord
The first place I portray is Vesterfjord near Hobro. It’s a brackish lake, that used to be the end tip of Mariagerfjord. But the town of Hobro, that lies between Vesterfjord and the rest of Mariagerfjord grew bigger and in the end the connection between Vesterfjord and the sea became a small stream, turning Vesterfjord into a lake.
Because Hobro practically lies around this little oasis of nature it is a favorited walking spot for many locals. I often walked around it, when I lived in Hobro. It’s nice for a short walk, if you don’t want to brave the longer routes that the area is full of.
The cows in the film graze the marsh lands that surround the lake, to keep it from overgrowing. A small sign friendly informs the public that this bread of cow apparently is adapt at this kind of wetland.
This first film is edited on iMovie, but since then I have moved to Premiere Pro, so I can’t make changes to it. If I could I would properly have reduced the amount of time the snail gets, and cut the last few clips.