Here, we are picking up where we left off as i mentioned in my last post. We had made it to the lowest ground level just outside the castle on the edge of the moat.
I also mentioned that as i was walking around this castle my imagination led me to see things from the vantage point of a warrior. I couldn't help but consider what it would have been like as a warrior to try and invade this defensive behemoth.
From the looks of it a successful invasion seemed pretty daunting. This fortress and the design of it's layout was really impressive. I would imagine that would be demoralizing for an invading force.
I used to make art drawing images of castles being invaded when i was pretty young. I even studied castles to make sure my depictions were accurate. This caslte walk took me back to those feelings and emotions of creativity when i was a kid.
I finally made it to the edge of the moat. This would be as far as a foot soldier could make it without getting wet. That would take full commitment because i am sure that the time it would take to cross the water would make one a sitting duck. Those canons probably didn't play around back in the day!
“All the flowers of the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.”
– Indian Proverb
I thought about ancient battles fought here that probably never were... and noticed that a few patches of flowers were growing in the wall.
I wouldn't imagine when this portion of the defensive structure was being designed and built (with potential war in mind) that some day in the distant future, flowers would grow there in the peace of a fine summer day!
The image below is pointing towards the sea. I know those canons are probably just for show now but they felt very ominous to me. Not in a bad way... but in a sense of power and awe.
Now, we are heading for a view from the coast. At this point my mind was wandering towards ships rolling in what an invasion from the sea might have looked like. Considering a ground assualt would be extremely difficult from the looks of things.
I love how far behind you can see i got from taking photos. Off in the distance are a couple of people i was with. Now, i tried to catch up on the walk a bit. hahaha
This image below is the view from where they were standing once i got there.
It's difficult to fully appreciate since my camera doesn't zoom that well... but the stone walls to the castles have these skinny slit windows made for archers. I can't say from this angle that things would be looking any easier for an attacker. But that view of the sea is getting pretty nice.
I tried to zoom to show that as i was just getting around that corner a wedding procession was leaving the castle across the bridge exiting from the main entrance.
I really liked this corner partition of the castle. I tried to show the castle in the backgound while featuring the cornerpeice but found the perspectives to always be off in one way or another.
I am ocd about my horizon lines and architecture lining up. It's always fun to try and find the best balance of perspective. From this angle you really start to get a fuller sense of the dimensions and scale of this castle.
Of all the defensive structures that this castle had mustered over the ages, none impressed me more than the castle's inpenetrable Sea Wall. You've heard about The Pass of Thermopylae but have you heard of the Great Kalmar Sea Wall?
Me either, actually. I was just kidding. This wall was more of an artwork if i had to guess. It was in a semi-circle shape with the gap in the middle. In my photographic framing of the wall... to honor it, i cropped out the beer can at the pinnacle and tried to angle the graffiti out of the shot.
This thing seemed pretty aimless but i liked it a lot. There was a little bit of a marshy area between the water and the edge of this little bit of grassland leading to the coast.
I did keep laughing to myself imagining an invading force trying to find cover behind this wall upon approach. The farther away i got... the more intimidating this castle became.
Maybe this is just the peak-a-boo wall for photo-ops!?
Now that we had made it to the sea we started to head back. My imagination went right back to a force from the sea landing on the shore and what the soldiers would have seen upon approach by foot.
I really wanted to show how the marsh area acted as a natural defensive.The vegetation was taller than a man and hid much of the upcoming features on the ground. It would have made it difficult to plan a direct approach in my opinion.
This was as far as i could get so show the most of the castle at once as we headed back the way we came.
I'm glad that this is now a park and an amazing place to go spend time. When i consider the battle aspects i see killzones more than picnic areas but it's interesting to think of how things change.
This was what the castle looked like from the ground level on teh otherside of the bridge.
These were some other shots that made the perspective hard to line up but i think they turned out pretty cool.
This is the last shot i took of the castle on my way out an i was pretty much in awe at this point. I had never seen a castle in real life this cool before.
I never would have thought that i would visit one of the inspirations for my art as a kid and on the way out through the gard i saw this. These kids were playing inside this giant little mushroom house.
It was funny watching the kids play so i tried to get a shot or two of the mushroom house. Perfect timinig too because that boy got stuck crawling out of the window.
Just about then another group of kids was coming to play in there and one girl was already crying so that was my cue to go catch up with the group once again. hahaha
On the edge of the garden the park ends with a cool cemetery. As we came to the cemetary we saw the wedding couple loading up in their limo.
We walked across town just looking around and trying to find a place to stop for a drink. Along the way we saw many quaint houses with really cool Swedish gardens.
I have mentioned the roses here and the color they are being somewhat more vibrant than my camera can translate in how vivid these reds are.
Not all of the flowers on the way back were Roses.
But i did find this one Rose bush that had a cluster in the shape of a heart. I didn't want to tresspass so these were the best angles i could get.
I really loved the shape of these. I could have stayed and tried to get the best shot of them i could until my battery died... but i didn't.
I actually had to run to catch up this time. Well, i guess i didn't have to run but i did. hahaha I cut through a little grassy area to get to the street they were turning onto. As i was trotting across something in the grass caught my eye.
“You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.” – Walter Hagen
This tiny red flower caught my eye and i had to stop and get a shot. It was so random in the middle of this little mini green field among all the normal flowers i would expect to see. In fact, i almost stepped on it mid run.
Once i did catch up this time there were some more flowers in window planters to shoot.
These flowers had a really cool looking silvery purplish sheen on the outside.
I also liked the bell shape they opened up into.
The insides were pretty bizarre and crazy looking too.
“A flower’s appeal is in its contradictions — so delicate in form yet strong in fragrance, so small in size yet big in beauty, so short in life yet long on effect.” – Terri Guillemets
We were glad to make it into the shade of another cemetary along the way. They had some really cool old headstones and gravesites. Some of them were extremely old compared to the cemetaries we have in Texas.
I thought the one in the image below was cool because the heads were missing. Were the lady was there was a beam of light shining right where her head would have been. It was pretty extraordinary.
I don't usually convert my color photos to black and white. I prefer to shoot in black in white if my intent is to have that as the outcome. But i liked this image so much i decided to give it a try. Sure enough that head of light was even more emphasized in the black and white realm.
I didn't want to mention the cod piece but it was hard not to notice. hahaha
The old stones took on a color much like the petina on the castle top. I thought it was really cool looking. I bet they were super detailed when they were new. They have weathered and aged well considering how harsh Winter is here.
I figured this would be a nice stopping point before continuing on. I took a lot of shots on this walk. I edited a majority of them but fortunately for you all i skipped a lot of the shots when selecting which ones i would share here on Hive. So, we will finish this in the next post. I appreciate your time and interest in my images or narrative. I hope you all have a great week.
