Post series: Favorite Photos

Favorite Photos: August 2023

3rd September 2023
PhotographyWildlife
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  1. Favorite Photos: January 2023
  2. Favorite Photos: February 2023
  3. Favorite Photos: March 2023
  4. Favorite Photos: April 2023
  5. Favorite Photos: May 2023
  6. Favorite Photos: June 2023
  7. Favorite Photos: July 2023
  8. Favorite Photos: August 2023
  9. Paris Is Always A Good Idea Scheduled for 2nd October 2023
Close-up of two pink dahlias

Another photo taken with my new Lensbaby Velvet 85 lens, and I’m still in love with it!

All Lensbaby lenses use only manual focus, so it’s best to take lots of photos to make sure you nail the focus – especially when shooting at large apertures, as I do. I love to shoot for the blur, and I normally love F/1.8 to F/2.8, but I noticed that F/2.8 to f/4 works best for me when using a Lensbaby.

And since EXIF data for the lens is not available, it’s best to note what lens and what aperture you were using. Since I only have the Velvet 85, the lens is not an issue, but I tend to forget to note the aperture. I still need to find the best process for this. I think simply going from large to small apertures (F/1.8, which is the largest on this lens, to F/2.8, then F/4, then F/5.6, and so on) would be simplest. Or having cards with the aperture values that you photograph every time you change the value. Oh well, time will tell.

Still-life with pink dahlia, vintage camera and vintage books

I’ve continued experimenting with still-life photos and textures. This is so much fun! I particularly love this photo because it contains the three things I love most: photography, books, and flowers.

I used my macro lens at f/2.8 for this photo and a couple of textures from 2 Lil’ Owls Studio.

Close-up of a pink dahlia

This is another photo taken with the Lensbaby Velvet 85. How gorgeous! Straight out of the camera, hardly any processing needed. Did I mention that I love, love my Lensbaby? I added a texture from 2 Lil’ Owls Studio, since I’m so in love with textures at the moment.

Hackspett, Great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)

Great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) posing in our backyard. This is the old oak tree that both squirrels and birds love.

We call it the Tree of Life. Woodpeckers and squirrels chase each other up and down its trunk, small and not so small birds land on its branches first before jumping down to the bushes closer to food and water, and a lot of insects call it home. It provides a quick getaway for birds and squirrels when they get startled, and even our tabby Minette climbs it every now and then to survey her domain. (I suspect the woodpecker may have something to do with it.)

Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa, Pudrad smaragdflickslända

The butterfly and damselfly season is here, at last! I’ve taken loads of photos, but I didn’t have time to process any of them, save for this one 😅. This is an emerald damselfly couple (Lestes sponsa). The top one is the male; females lack the bright blue color of the males. 

I’m looking forward to setting camp by the little lake in the woods and photographing more damselflies and dragonflies again!

I hope you enjoyed these photos; there are more to come next month.

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Favorite Photos: July 2023

2nd August 2023
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  1. Favorite Photos: January 2023
  2. Favorite Photos: February 2023
  3. Favorite Photos: March 2023
  4. Favorite Photos: April 2023
  5. Favorite Photos: May 2023
  6. Favorite Photos: June 2023
  7. Favorite Photos: July 2023
  8. Favorite Photos: August 2023
  9. Paris Is Always A Good Idea Scheduled for 2nd October 2023
Close-up of a pink dahlia

This is my favorite photo at the moment. I’ve finally bought a Lensbaby Velvet 85 lens, and I’m in love! This is the very first photo I’ve taken with it. It was meant as a test shot, and I didn’t have any expectations, Lensbabies using manual focus only thus a bit challenging, especially at large apertures – but look how gorgeous that Dahlia came out! Love, love, love it! I took a lot of photos yesterday but didn’t process them yet so, this one will have to do for now. Now I do have some expectations for the new photos, ha, ha!

Still life with a pink dahlia in a pink vase and two antique books

I’ve started experimenting with still-life photos and textures, which I quite like. I used my macro lens at f/2.8 for this photo and a couple of textures from 2 Lil’ Owls Studio. (Denise Love runs the studio, and her textures are gorgeous).

Close-up of a Dark Green Fritillary butterfly (Argynnis aglaja)

It’s butterfly and dragonfly season, and I’ve taken loads of photos. I didn’t have time to process any of them, save for this one, and that very quickly, mostly to test the new textures from 2 Lil’ Owls Studio. This is a dark green fritillary butterfly (Argynnis aglaja).

Portrait of a Kangaroo Island kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus) standing in a green field

Yep, I’m still processing Australia photos. I came home with 20 thousand photos. Even after brutal culling, I still have plenty of keepers to process. I found this funny Kangaroo Island kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus) at Stokes Bay, Kangaroo Island (South Australia). I always dreamt of photographing one on the beach, but no luck. Yet.

Two Eurasian lynxes (Lynx lynx) laying together

Northern lynxes (Lynx lynx lynx) rest after playing hard for half an hour or so. I photographed them and many other animals and birds at the Nordic Wilderness Center in Järvsö, some 300km north of Stockholm.

Did you know that these mini tigers can purr just like domestic cats? How cute?

Bonus: the stunning shades of blue and green of the sea on Kangaroo Island. The colors are so vibrant and captivating, it’s hard to believe they’re even real! These photos only start to capture the beauty and majesty of the ocean. I hope they can make you feel like you’re right there, soaking it all in.

I hope you enjoyed these photos, there are more to come next month.

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Favorite Photos: June 2023

2nd July 2023
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  9. Paris Is Always A Good Idea Scheduled for 2nd October 2023
Red squirrel holding a strawberry


I’d seen some cute photos of squirrels and strawberries on Instagram, and I decided to give it a try. Said and done. I picked up the most beautiful strawberries I could find at our little market, set up my hide, and waited. For a long time. I had almost given up when this cute red squirrel finally showed up and approached, oh, so cautiously, the strawberries. Quite suspicious of the whole thing, I can tell you.

She picked one up, sniffed it carefully, and then threw it away. Not interested, apparently. I barely had time to take a photo. Then she selected a large walnut instead and ran away with the treasure.

Experiment over, and I’m happy with the outcome. One photo but quite pretty, isn’t it? It’s enough for me.

A goldfinch standing on a branch

A goldfinch posing so nicely in my garden. I’ve been trying to get a decent photo of a goldfinch for quite some time now and wasn’t pleased with the earlier results. Nailed it this time, finally!

Close-up of ivy-leaved toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis)

A close-up of ivy-leaved toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis) taken at Millesgården. I’ve added a texture from Flypaper for more background interest; the background was a bit flat for my taste. The texture I used is Vetheuil from their Impressionist Painterly Pack. (I’m so impressed I could identify the texture; I had actually renamed the texture layer for future reference, I always intend to but very often forget it ha, ha!).

Close-up of a blue forget-me-not flower

Forget-me-not from my garden. I used a texture for the background again, but I’m not sure which one; I obviously didn’t rename the texture layer in this case. I think it’s from Flypaper as well, their textures are some of my favorites.

A portrait of a pair of Kangaroo Island Glossy Black-Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus lathami halmaturinus)

I didn’t process this photo of the Kangaroo Island Glossy Black-Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus lathami halmaturinus) in June, actually, but I’ve included it anyway. It’s the one that will be published in the next issue of the Journey Beyond Magazine in Australia. So, super favorite at the moment!

I hope you enjoyed these photos, there are more to come next month.

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Favorite Photos: May 2023

5th June 2023
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  9. Paris Is Always A Good Idea Scheduled for 2nd October 2023
Violet lilac in a vase

Spring has finally made it to Sweden! The gardening season is in full swing, and I’m mostly outdoors nowadays, taking photos or gardening. I’m almost wishing for bad weather to catch up on culling and editing photos ha, ha! Sitting indoors in front of a computer is so hard when the sun is shining, and the garden is vibrating with wildlife and flowers!

This being said, I’ve started playing around with still life and textures, and it’s a lot of fun. In addition, it makes being indoors a bit more bearable.

Close up of white lilac

This photo was taken in my garden with my iPhone and edited in Affinity Photo, to which I added a few overlays. Not bad for a first try, is it?

Close-up of forget-me-not flowers

Forget-me-not from my garden. If you’d like to photograph flowers, having a garden is practical, no matter its size! My first garden was tiny, yet I had enough flowers to take a variety of shots from early spring to winter.

Close-up of cherry tree blossom

This is the only photo I have yet to take in my garden. Sadly, I don’t have a cherry tree. Yet. Until then, I visit Kungsträdgården in Stockholm every spring and marvel at the wonders of nature.

Close-up of wood anemone

Wood anemone photographed on my window sill to which I added an overlay. The bokeh is real, created by some gold Christmas decorations hit by sunlight coming from the side.

I hope you enjoyed these photos, there are more to come next month.

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Favorite Photos: April 2023

3rd May 2023
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Close up of a branch of cherry tree flowers

Spring of 2023 has been cold, extremely so. I would like to file a complaint, please! It didn’t prevent the cherry trees from exploding in pink fluffiness. Eventually.

I went to Kungsträdgården to photograph them, as I do every year, and they didn’t disappoint. It was cold and windy, and the sun made only a short appearance. I was in and out in under an hour, which must be a record for me.

A bumblebee on a purple flower
Bumblebee feeding on lesser calamint (Calamintha nepeta) var. ’Blue Cloud’, Lidingö, Sweden, June 2022

A male bumblebee feeding on lesser calamint (Calamintha nepeta) var. ’Blue Cloud.’ This is a photo from last year, obviously. I take a lot of photos during the summer when there’s light, and then I have a stock of images to process during the darker winter months. And I didn’t get to it until now, to tell you the truth. With all my travels, garden work, and the Book, I feel I’m behind with everything nowadays.

Bumblebees are so interesting. Did you know that they’re cosmopolitan? The 260 species in the Bombus genus can be found almost everywhere in the world, except Australia and most parts of Africa, and at higher latitudes and altitudes than other bees.
Some species even manage to live in cold climates, such as the high arctic Ellesmere Island, Canada’s northernmost island. They can do that because they can regulate their body temperature (heterothermy). Isn’t Mother Nature amazing?

An Australian pelican
Australian pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus), Emu Bay, Kangaroo Island (South Australia), January 2023

An Australian pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus), ready to mate, as denoted by the yellow patches on his chest. Another older photo, this one is “only” from January. I still have so many beautiful photos from my trip to Australia! I’m reliving the whole trip as I keep processing photos, so I’ll probably still work on some images next year ha, ha!

A western willow spreadwing sunning itself on a pine twig.
Western willow spreading (Chalcolestes viridis), Lidingö, Sweden, September 2022

A western willow spreadwing resting on a pine twig. Another older photo I processed only now in April.

These damselflies fly pretty late, from August to October, and can be found in still or slow-flowing water with overhanging trees such as willows, alders, or birches. Unlike other damselflies, they would lay their eggs in the bark of these trees, not in submerged vegetation.

An emerald damselfly resting on a reed
Emerald damselfly (Lestes sponsa), Lidingö, Sweden, September 2022

A male emerald damselfly (Lestes sponsa). It’s easy to tell because females lack the bright blue color of males. 

Emerald damselfly, don’t you love that name? They’re most common in July and August, so this is another older image that I didn’t get to process until now.

I hope you enjoyed these photos, there are more to come next month. Hopefully, some new ones!

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Favorite Photos: March 2023

2nd April 2023
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  9. Paris Is Always A Good Idea Scheduled for 2nd October 2023
A female Kangaroo Island Kangaroo
Kangaroo Island Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus), Ecopia Retreat, Kangaroo Island (South Australia)

Some of my favorite photos from March: a kangaroo, birds, and red squirrels. I’m still processing photos from my recent Australia trip, so more kangaroos and koalas to come! And squirrels, always squirrels ❤️.

First out, the cutest Kangaroo Island kangaroo female (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus).

A pair of Kangaroo Island Glossy Black-Cockatoos sitting on a branch
Kangaroo Island Glossy Black-Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus lathami halmaturinus), Ecopia Retreat, Kangaroo Island (South Australia)

The very rare Kangaroo Island Glossy Black-Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus lathami halmaturinus).

The Kangaroo Island subspecies is listed as endangered, with a population of about 450 birds before the devastating bushfires of 2019/2020. 75% of their habitat in the western part of Kangaroo Island was impacted by the bushfires. They feed exclusively on Drooping She-oak seeds and only on particular trees in the forest, making their survival even more challenging. 

I was thrilled and awed to be able to find them and see them going about their business in the wild.

Crimson Rosella Juvenile (Platycercus elegans), Stokes Bay, Kangaroo Island (South Australia)

A Crimson rosella juvenile (Platycercus elegans), easily identified by the olive-green body plumage that will turn blue/red in adulthood. I photographed this young rosella at Stokes Bay, not in the bush as you may think but in the parking lot. I was headed to the beach to photograph hooded plovers when I noticed this handsome fellow and took a few quick photos. Good thing I did, as I couldn’t find any hoodies on the beach that day.

A red squirrel emerging from the snow with a hazelnut in its mouth
Red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), Lidingö, Sweden, March 2023

I don’t remember having so much snow at the end of March, almost half a meter twice in the past two weeks! The squirrels have been busy, looking for hidden nuts and chasing each other. It’s amazing to see how they adapt to their environment and find ways to survive even in harsh conditions. Their ability to hide and remember the location of their food caches is truly remarkable. 

A red squirrel holding a walnut
Red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), Lidingö, Sweden, March 2023

Red squirrels are adorable and so playful! I could watch them for hours, hiding hazelnuts and walnuts and then digging them up later, or chasing each other up and down the old oak in the backyard.

I hope you enjoyed these photos, and no worries, there will be more fluffy koalas, cute kangaroos, and adorable red squirrels featured here soon!

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Favorite Photos: February 2023

1st March 2023
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Close up of a Kangaroo island kangaroo female
Kangaroo Island kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus), Seddon, Kangaroo Island, South Australia

February’s photos are all from Australia this month, too. Let me start with the cutest one, a young Kangaroo Island kangaroo female (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus) that used to come with her mother by our villa almost every day. She’s so cute 😍 I probably took hundreds of photos of her!

Close up of a short-beaked echidna
Short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), Seddon, Kangaroo island, South Australia

A short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), also known as the spiny anteater, very busy foraging for ants. Echidna uses its snout and powerful claws to dig up ants or termites and then scoops them out with its long sticky tongue. It moves incredibly fast, and most of my echidna photos are of its butt, ha, ha!

A hooded plover on the beach
A hooded plover (Thinornis cucullatus) foraging for food (Cape Gantheaume Conservation Park and Wilderness Protection Area, Kangaroo Island, South Australia).

Endemic to southern Australia, the hooded plover is deemed a vulnerable species due to predation by dogs, cats, silver gulls, and human disturbances. Introduced foxes are also dangerous in other parts of southern Australia, but luckily, there are no foxes on Kangaroo Island. The hooded plover population is estimated at 3.000 and declining.

Hooded plovers (Thinornis cucullatus) feed on insects and other invertebrates found in the wet sand. 

A close up of a koala in a tree
Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), Seddon, Kangaroo Island, South Australia

I found this cute little fellow during our usual late afternoon walks around our accommodations at Ecopia Retreat. The villa is tucked away in the middle of a wildlife sanctuary, so it was a pretty safe bet we’d encounter some animals and birds in their natural habitat. He posed nicely for a few photos but went to sleep afterward (something koalas do for about 20 hours a day).

Portrait of an Australia magpie in the grass
White-backed Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen), Seddon, Kangaroo Island, South Australia

Did you know that the white-backed Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen), also called piping shrike, appears on the South Australia state flag and badge? They’re everywhere and, in contrast to their European counterparts, have a melodious song.

I hope you enjoyed these photos, and no worries, there will be more fluffy koalas and cute kangaroos featured here soon!

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Favorite Photos: January 2023

6th February 2023
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Close up of two Kangaroo Island kangaroos holding paws
Kangaroo Island kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus) 

Since I was in Australia, my favorite photos are all from Australia this month. Starting with this mother-and-daughter pair of Kangaroo Island kangaroos.

The KI kangaroo is a sub-species of the Western Grey Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus). They’re pretty different from the Western Grey kangaroos because of the long period of isolation from mainland Australia. They’re shorter and darker and much cuter if you ask me!

Portrait of a Kangaroo Island kangaroo young demale
Kangaroo Island kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus) 

A closer look at the daughter. Isn’t she cute?

A koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) sitting in a tree
Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)

We’re in Australia, so there should be a koala, too. They are cute and fluffy, but wait until they hear what they sound like. Go ahead, search for koala sounds on YouTube!

Standing Kangaroo Island kangaroo male (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus)

Kangaroo Island kangaroo male (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus). This one was quite tall and showed plenty of muscle, so I kept my distance 😉.

Standing Kangaroo Island kangaroo female

A portrait of the mother kangaroo from the first photo. They are way cuter than regular kangaroos, don’t they, these Kangaroo Island kangaroos?

So cute that I have hundreds, if not thousands, of photos featuring KI kangaroos: resting, watching, playing, nursing, jumping … I have to keep myself in check to only publish a few!

I hope you enjoyed these photos, and no worries, there will be more fluffy koalas and cute kangaroos featured here soon!

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