Visby Studies

Visby is the main town on the Swedish island of Gotland, located in the Baltic Sea about 200 kilometers southeast of Stockholm. Due to its central location it was a base for Viking raids and also an important port for the Hanseatic League. Now a World Heritage site, it is distinguished by an almost intact medieval wall over 3 kilometers long that completely encircles the town.

In these shots I was experimenting with black and white closeups. I think the effect is quite nice. Let me know your thoughts!

The first shot shows the exposed roots of a very large vine growing up the side of an old tower in Almadalen Park. I thought the pattern was very interesting so I got a closer shot. Can you see what attracted my eye?

The second photo is what I call my 'little people' shot. The vines I think twist into various shapes that look like bodies. Others have seen other shapes. I leave this to your imagination! A question for you however: which shot shows the 'people' better, the first or the second?

These were shot with a Canon EOS digital SLR, standard 18-55 mm lens. The second shot for example was f/5.6 for 1/40th of a second, 55 mm focal length, ISO 1600.