Behind Every Single Window

2s, f/4.0, ISO 800, 24mm

Yesterday I got the chance to check out a rooftop in the Nyboder neighborhood in central Copenhagen.  What a treat.  I'm always excited at the chance of getting to the top of buildings--especially in the center of a city.  The views usually reveal something interesting that you won't experience from just walking the streets.   This time I got to see a multicolored, magnificently-lit courtyard.  A sort of behind-the-scenes-look.  And it got me thinking of Dan Turèll's old poem "Behind Every Single Window" (”Bag hvert eneste vindue").  Here's an excerpt:

"…You walk down through a long street

which you know or maybe don't know

in your own city or an unknown one

and you raise your eyes and look at those thousands

of shining lit-up windows

and you know that behind every single window people live

and that simple thought everytime is so new and strange"
behind every single window people live
people with real live problems
as concrete as a fist in the kisser
behind every single window men and women are breathing
easy or with trouble
each in his own rhythm..."

Dan Turèll, (1979) 

Thoughts on Cats and Life

1/4000 secs, f/1.2, ISO 400, 50mm

When I saw this guy in Hong Kong last week, I was reminded of Piet Hein's grook:

Little cat, little cat,
walking so alone;
tell me whose cat are you
– I’m damned well my own

Hong Kong is full of cats. Unfazed by the crowds, they stroll around in the hustle and bustle of this mega city's busy streets. Somehow they find a way to go about their feline business in their usual carefree way--eating, napping, pondering life and the other important things cats do. No matter they are in the middle of one of the world's financial centers, they live like most other cats.  City cats, country cats, it's all the same.  Their two-legged neighbors could probably take some lessons from this way of life.

2011 Highlights

1/80s, f/13.0, ISO 400, 27mm (HDR)

It's a little late for a year-in-review post, I know.  But blogger threw away my draft a few weeks ago and since adding multiple flickr shots to blogger posts is a real pain, I kept pushing it off (maybe it's time for a better a CMS in 2012).  You can view a fullscreen slideshow here (opens in a new window) or see the collection below the fold.  I'll let the photos speak for themselves.


1/800s, f/5.6, ISO 640, 150mm


1/1250s, f/1.2, ISO 100, 50mm


1/500s, f/1.2, ISO 1600, 50mm


1/800s, f/1.2, ISO 1600, 50mm


1/125s, f/2.8, ISO 4000, 148mm


1/2000s, f/1.4, ISO 100, 85mm


1/1250s, f/1.2, ISO 100, 50mm


1/400s, f/1.2, ISO 1600, 85mm


1/100s, f/2.8, ISO 3200, 115mm


1/200s, f/6.3, ISO 1600, 50mm


1/200s, f/2.8, ISO 5000, 70mm


1/320s, f/7.1, ISO 1600, 24mm (HDR)


1/250s, f/1.7, ISO 1600, 20mm


1/640s, f/5.6, ISO 200, 24mm


1/320s, f/14.0, ISO 400, 24mm (HDR)

If you want to view my entire collection of photos from 2011 in all their fullscreen glory (and don't know what to do with your time), here's a slideshow.