Moments of the streets
As mentioned in previous posts, the spring has definitely arrived and my city is bustling with happy people, enjoying the sun, and maybe not always paying their fullest attention to things around them. This very busy gentleman had just made it past the road when the tram rushed by. Hopefully, he had full control of the situation, but I must admit it seemed a bit risky just as the situation played out.
Or is it? After some unusual warm and pleasant days, the winter returned with force to Norway, bringing the temperatures down to below zero in the night. Thursday afternoon it even snowed! (not that much to be honest, but nevertheless …) Fortunately the weather forecast for next week is much more optimistic.
But thankfully the sensation of spring has already payed us a visit. As for this quartet, I think. Occupied by the cordial time, these girls more or less walked right into my camera. I suspect the trio making up the end part didn’t notice me at all.
The young lady in front, on the other hand, made sure to hide her eyes behind her sunglasses, effectively concealing her thoughts from my lens.
There’s no secret I’m fascinated by silhouettes, or to be less specific, the properties of light. Combining whatever light at hand with it’s direction can procure all sorts of effects. The light can for instance be dispersed in heavy fog, you can explore the powerful effects of backlight, or just use a the skies as a huge softbox to create a scene reminiscent of an ancient time.
The other day I had an early morning errand at Ryen, south-east in Oslo. Still on the platform, having just leaved the Tube, I noticed how people on the bridge above me stood out as silhouettes against the morning sky. Of course I couldn’t resist the opportunity to get my camera into action …
The snow is gone, the sun is shining, and finally people are popping out of whatever shelter they’ve been hiding in, celebrating the arrival of the spring.
This bloke, for instance, decided to try out his balance skills. We’re still in central Oslo, more specific, beside the Nobel Peace Center, situated at the seaside, just a stone’s throw away from the City Hall. In the steadily increasing warmth radiating into the harbor, it’s a delightful place to welcome such a beautiful time.
But back to the young gentleman. At the square, someone have placed a tightrope readily available on the stone tiled floor. It’s not all that high of course, but nevertheless, he obviously had great fun using it.
So try it out if you’re in Oslo, and who knows, maybe someone’s watching you over the shoulder …
Sadly, we have our share of poverty-stricken people in Oslo. The social services in Norway are quite good, and although not perfect they are mostly able to offer at least a decent level of living for our citizens. But on the pavements you´ll also encounter a noticeable amount of Romanies who have come here to scrape up a living by begging on the streets. It´s not my intention to spark the discussion of how to treat these people, but no matter what one’s opinion there´s no discussion they being extremely poor.
The lady to the right had stationed herself at one of several entrances to Jernbanetorget Underground Station, one of the city’s most central transport hubs. And as you can see she experiences rather a challenging time, trying to get the attention from people hastening to the station.