https://www.bjornhamso.com/963327201704 daily 1.0 2023-01-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605760271065-HS7JV136DX3R9NJMKWJ4/landscape+Prince+Gallitzin+SP+1+LRF-05365.jpg Landscapes Pennsylvania in autumn colors Ingrid, my wife, came running back to our recreational vehicle after her early morning walk with our dog. “Bjorn, get up, the light is fabulous!” Not only that - the fall leaves put on a display not seen for years. Before next morning, I had done my composition scouting and was ready to seize a moment in camera. Prince Gallitzin State Park, western Pennsylvania. Click on photos for larger images (and for some, turn your phone sideways). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605584019684-0QKA9IX2N4WX2MVCTTWB/landscape+Prince+Gallitzin+SP+3+LRF-05396.jpg Landscapes - The backlit maple About to return to the campground from a morning photo shoot, I looked into a dark grove, and there it was, the backlit maple in all its glory. Prince Gallitzin State Park, western Pennsylvania. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605597108609-8LSVH3JPDPXOQ1HPY1RJ/landscape+Prince+Gallitzin+SP+2+LRF-05371.jpg Landscapes - Pennsylvania in autumn Morning mist The sun breaking through the morning mist over Glendale Lake, Prince Gallitzin State Park, western Pennsylvania. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605763387649-WHFJC4FK0P750CPJK7CG/landscape+revised+old+oak+25%25+LRF-05493.jpg Landscapes Kentuck Knob The world’s most famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, has his most famous house, Fallingwater, located in southwestern Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands. 10 minutes’ drive from it is another pearl from Wright, the Kentuck Knob house. The main road leading to it is lined with these trees. Bad luck, or rather bad planning, that most of the autumn leaves were on the ground when I got around to photographing them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605805099458-RBHLF9Z2G4ER1R2E2B50/EDBAA386-F177-4E53-BA4C-18087DEBAEBA.jpeg Landscapes Colors Finding good compositions is hard, and sometimes in stead you look for colors. But I’ll give the old oak a point for character. Ohiopyle, western Pennsylvania. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/2550a3b0-a9ad-45b6-88bf-71f056934d12/Landscape+Montana+supercell-2128.jpg Landscapes The rotating mothership We didn’t expect a supercell thunderstorm to show up at our campground, 45 miles of mud roads into the American Prairie Reserve in northern Montana, U.S. It passed us by, thankfully. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605833574610-O5WI71M4YZZ7TD4NMJYJ/landscape+snowy+golf+80%25+LRF-1821.jpg Landscapes Frozen highlands I shot this photo well before I started watching YouTube videos providing formulas for successful photos. I still like it, though admittedly it would be perfect kitsch if a moose had walked by. Laurel Highlands, western Pennsylvania. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1606023135378-G4VFEG8X51TV2NVVELY0/landskape+prekestolen+100%25+LRF-1674.jpg Landscapes Pulpit Rock I suppose good photography often is about making the extra effort. Having strenuously reached the Pulpit Rock (lower left), we carried on to this vantage point. A shot in the morning golden hour could have been spectacular, but it’s not the safest route to hike in darkness. Lysefjorden near Sandnes, my hometown in Norway. Pulpit Rock (Preikestolen) is one of the most visited natural tourist attractions in Norway. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/a4bc8a37-ebe5-41c9-aa0e-59ceb5c67a4c/Landscape+Sycamore+Great+Falls+80%25+LRF-06682.jpg Landscapes Sycamore Snowless winter landscape isn’t all that exciting here in the Washington DC area. Still, I ventured out to Great Falls at the Potomac River, before dawn. The falls are indeed great, but I couldn’t see the greatness in them through the lens. So, I honed in on a sycamore tree on the other side of the river, which had another sycamore bathed in morning sunlight behind it. https://www.bjornhamso.com/240622351098 daily 0.75 2020-11-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605760745640-6WBLTKLTQQXVWXHVVKCR/flower+cactus+in+morning+light+LRF-02044.jpg Flowers The nocturnal cactus flower Walking our son’s dog in San Diego, I came across this cactus flower, backlit by the morning sun. Just a lucky snapshot, though I carried my good camera (Sony A7R IV). Peruvian apple cactus (Cereus Peruvianus). No wonder it’s a morning shot; it turns out the flower blooms during one night and shrivels up the following day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605764710945-A9R5PGLCEEZ8ZLPVMKHG/flower+orange+painting+LRF-03150.jpg Flowers Painterly monkey flowers I saw these curbside a country road in San Diego country, CA. The two centimeter long wildflowers were almost impossible to shoot well. Fascinating in their painterly appearance. Orange bush monkey flower. Click on photos below for larger images (and then scroll sideways). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605591323188-6RHMIVHMCE2H9SYNMYLY/flower+honeysuckle+LRF-04616.jpg Flowers Goldflame Honeysuckle from our garden in Bethesda, Maryland. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605591324954-PT1I29WMJALN0OR43DXI/flower+corner+sun+LRF-01689.jpg Flowers Lighting up the landscape in San Diego, CA. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605591250106-X6CU76322TLYYEA4SCI4/flower+chicory+LRF-04781.jpg Flowers Chicory, a wildflower of the dandelion family. Cultivated in harsh times for food substitutes, incl. coffee. Laurel Highlands, western Pennsylvania. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605591320218-S432HVFWV7MXF90548E7/flower+Noah%27s+Ark+LRF-03539.jpg Flowers "Hurry, Noah's Ark is coming for you - can squeeze in two more!". San Diego, CA. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605591332554-YUUDFIY7M26JZQ0VLS1U/flower+succulent+LRF-01626.jpg Flowers Succulent in our son's garden, San Diego, CA. Dew and low morning sun makes a difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605591331469-97CNVN9OJ5Z5CW5TEPHA/flower+violet+LRF-01383.jpg Flowers Flower along a neighborhood road in San Diego, CA. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605841554728-P49RK01BAY2HC76QNPR4/flower+barber+shop+80%25+LRF-2.jpg Flowers Cape on. In the barber's chair. Ready for a hair cut. San Diego. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605841943737-9OXV2ZUI3ZF0QH48LVT0/flower+blue+lilley+80%25+LRF-03234.jpg Flowers San Diego is an arid place, but when it blooms, it blooms in all colors and shapes literaly everywhere. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605849415434-994CQ30Q6W1OZZFXARJM/flower+yellow+70%25+LRF-02668.jpg Flowers Another San Diego flower. This one well cared for in a flower enthusiast's showy garden. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605931541964-WZA6052MRIK8P78WSYAE/flower+berries+80%25+LRF-05131.jpg Flowers When the flowers are gone. Bethesda, Maryland. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1607326373807-2IURC5N72C83ANSA4OSK/flower+cactus+2+80%25+LRF-02610.jpg Flowers Roadside cactus flower. I call it "Gollum's hand". San Diego. https://www.bjornhamso.com/457788149832 daily 0.75 2022-01-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605806951538-SE80S8JTZ9LYRNKDHMF8/cityscape+World+Bank+HQ+LRF-6274.jpg Cityscapes Banking on magnolia I worked 20 years with the World Bank, Washington DC, and traveled the world for much of the time. The Bank’s headquarters facade looks like an Excel spreadsheet (now you can’t unsee it). In spring, magnolia and cherry trees put on a flower show in a little park in front of the building. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1606107482998-GAVAWFV9HHB8NNVIUIZ4/cityskape+Hawa+Mahal+2+100%25+LRF-3756.jpg Cityscapes Palace of Winds Architecturally Hawa Mahal couldn’t be more different from the World Bank headquarters above. The palace was built in 1799 in Jaipur, India. The structure allowed the royal ladies to observe the street without themselves being seen. It is famous for its natural air condition, thus its English name. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1606191931887-5KS2YAIRJW5OLMTFGY0S/cityscape+Nidarosdomen+100%25+LRF-8615.jpg Cityscapes Nidaros Cathedral The Danes ruled Norway for 450 years to 1814 and preferred to place their monumental buildings in Denmark. So, since backward Norwegians built their structures in wood, they pretty much burned to the ground at some point. That left us with one fabulous building: the Nidaros Cathedral, constructed over the years 1070 to 1300. It’s placed over King Olav II Haraldsson’s (Saint Olaf) grave in Trondheim in central Norway. Norwegian kings and queens are coronated here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1606195647414-JO3LEAJZ6W5G7GK3ZCH9/cityscape+Abu+Dhabi+appt+100%25+LRF-4258.jpg Cityscapes Living high in The Emirates Respectable architectural work has gone into this apartment building in Abu Dhabi. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1606275102899-8HZMQ8LVGPY2YQSWHGF3/cityscape+Etihad+Towers+100%25+LRF-4249.jpg Cityscapes Etihad Towers I presented at an engineering conference at Etihad Towers and was exposed to all the city-shaping might of petrodollars. Memorable architecture, view from 75th floor, and a lightning-fast elevator. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1609214249351-61V100Q4K335XVLBR6T6/cityscape+Baku+100%25+LRF-.jpg Cityscapes Dramatic in Baku The organization I led, the Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership (GGFR) had its annual meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan. It’s a global issue suitably addressed in a historical meeting place between east and west. Today, Baku is more the city of contrast between old and new. From Old Town you can see the Flame Towers, named so in honor of the country’s ancient devotion to fire, linked to their Zoroastrian religion and culture that preceded Islam. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/4c46b4fb-8ae9-449f-b667-e141beddffb5/World+Trade+Center+Metro-2997.jpg Cityscapes World Trade My wife and I went to the 9/11 World Trade Center memorial in New York. A solemn place. Next to it is a subway station, making a statement of its own in steel ribs and dramatic vault. To put my flavor on the architecture, I put some hefty dose of Lightroom photo editing into this photo. The image probably breaks every possible rule about balance and what not. But I liked it nevertheless, so here we go. https://www.bjornhamso.com/706654388189 daily 0.75 2022-01-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605764491637-S8O6OM5FDCRU1JQC35FS/people+nepalese+girl+80%25+LRF-3568.jpg People The Nepalese girl Ingrid and I met this little girl in a village outside Kathmandu. Her expression as if she had experienced too much for her young life. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605675000715-ML29HSOEWVDFRR14BELZ/people+snake+charmer+80%25+LRF-0446.jpg People The snake charmer Taj Mahal is Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. It’s located in Uttar Pradesh. The tomb has made the resident city Agra to one of the most visited places in India. And in India, where there are tourists, there are snake charmers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605807591921-CGXAVBGA49E3TWAU8G6Z/people+Jaipur+80%25+LRF-3873.jpg People Jaipur Hindu and muslim best friends? The girls totally charmed us. They didn’t care about the elephants in the background (that we were about to mount), but asked - “Norway, where is that?” One of them was the boss. Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1606020558952-XPMAZK5TKDTCLHBZ6N89/people+Karl+Skansing+100%25+LRF-3.jpg People Woman on the roof - Karl Skansing’s photo I did not shoot this. My former World Bank colleague Karl Skansing did, and he gave me carte blanche to enter it into competitions for him (I didn’t) or do whatever with it. The photo has fascinated me for years, just trying to imagine the woman’s lifestyle and likely hardships in dark and cold winters. With her dog (down right). Karl and I worked together in Georgia (South Caucasus), and he shot the photo in the Tusheti area in the northeast of the country. I find it amazing and think it should be seen. Here it is. https://www.bjornhamso.com/new-page daily 0.75 2020-11-18 https://www.bjornhamso.com/street-photos daily 0.75 2022-04-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605808206744-SUAR9F76BTSYDGH06AEQ/street+funny+face+80%25+LRF-1589.jpg Street photos Murree, Pakistan I had a Sunday off in Islamabad, Pakistan, and was advised by World Bank Security that it was safe to take car and driver and go to beautiful Murree, a stone’s throw from Kashmir. The small town is placed high up in the mountains with cool, fresh air. I peeked into a side street and shot this photo on my iPhone. The guy must have thought “Sure, I can spruce up your photo”. Not much English spoken. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1606109373225-36MVOTZ458SVU03TDQMH/street+Kolkata+100%25+LRF-4008.jpg Street photos Kolkata commerce “India lives in three centuries at the same time,” my Indian engineering friend at the World Bank told me. Even as a frequent visitor to India, it’s hard to fathom how life is for Indians outside the high-tech middle class. A snapshot through a yellow-cab window doesn’t do more than stimulating the imagination. Perhaps the man in the photo plays games on a smartphone when off work. No way I can tell. https://www.bjornhamso.com/antarctica daily 0.75 2022-05-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/d0b330ae-f610-45f7-9782-60c7a852cd11/Landscape+30+Antarctica+60%25+LRF-07592.jpg Antarctica Not everyday ice formations. Western side of the Antarctic Peninsula. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/75111c90-3659-4a73-8a31-a82a958fee95/Landscape+30B+Antarctica+60%25+LRF-07604.jpg Antarctica Our ship, “M/S Fram” had 93 passenger, running at half capacity. It’s a substantial ship, although it may look small when shot in this perspective. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/b0abbc3d-b4ae-409c-a43c-fe9befdee31c/Landscape+Antarctica+iceberg+2+100%25+LRF-4206.jpg Antarctica Some icebergs win beauty contests. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/89a1589d-3a78-4c18-8ea5-b00d52745ca0/Landscape+4+Antarctica+60%25+LRF-06948.jpg Antarctica Peterman Island, west of the Antarctic Peninsula. Gentoo penguins. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/2129e2f7-134e-4b4e-a961-0e9a4c2773cd/Landscape+7+Antarctica+60%25+LRF-07135.jpg Antarctica A morning view in Antarctica from our cabin on board Hurtigruten’s “M/S Fram”. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/a5d8ac1b-0f0c-42d7-bec0-f1de11e5a441/Landscape+Antarctica+Deception+penguins+2+100%25+LRF-07738.jpg Antarctica Gone swimming in Antarctica’s Deception Island. Its a circular island formed by a semi-active volcano. Gentoo penguins. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/c22b2f72-1763-413c-8713-7759b37eaf9f/Landscape+Deception+Isl+tanks+60%25+LRF-07757.jpg Antarctica A narrow passage lets ships into the volcanic cauldron of the Deception Island. A weather-safe haven for whalers. Whale oil used to be stored in these tanks more than fifty years ago. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/4a108bd8-d723-4e38-b614-b54b8aa514d4/Landscape+51+S+Georgia+60%25+LRF-08253.jpg Antarctica Animals rule where humans once did. King penguins in Grytviken, South Georgia. Arguably the better photo of the lot. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/8d7ddf46-fab2-46fe-b701-acb04887c205/Landscape+60+S+Georgia+60%25+LRF-08267.jpg Antarctica Old and new at Grytviken, South Georgia. This Norwegian whaling station was abandoned in 1965. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/7d917955-df07-48fc-a38c-50818d3849ec/Landscape+41+S+Georgia+60%25+LRF-08220.jpg Antarctica Hind flipper to his head - this fur seal is pondering something. Grytviken, South Georgia. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/44f56b4d-c128-4ba3-af28-9cd92948a73b/Landscape+Antarctica+4+penguins+100%25+LRF-08056.jpg Antarctica Best friends returning from a swim. Safe from the leopard seal for now. Fortuna Bay, South Georgia. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/423a57db-e323-4b4b-91b3-06670fe62909/Landscape+69+S+Georgia+60%25+LRF-4487.jpg Antarctica Thousands of King penguins at Fortuna Bay, South Georgia. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/8ba4a071-286d-4962-9683-2ccd34c6517e/Landscape+61+S+Georgia+60%25+LRF-08476.jpg Antarctica “Where’s Waldo?” This is in March, so the brown baby-feathered chicks are born late. Can you find all five? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/48119a66-7e66-4514-950a-4db31c1732d1/Landscape+71+S+Georgia+60%25+LRF-08545.jpg Antarctica “No. you’re wrong, Tommy. Dead wrong.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/fe5dc824-28e4-4340-810c-5749f297167d/Landscape+55+S+Georgia+60%25+LRF-08598.jpg Antarctica Gold Harbor, South Georgia. Humans blending with penguins on the shore in afternoon sun. https://www.bjornhamso.com/about daily 0.75 2022-01-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f9f8e4dad6f4468ae5e0a48/1605768479794-G004FEQ568UEG1GLRNL9/IMG_1345.jpeg About/Contact - My name is Bjorn Hamso. I’m a Norwegian economist living in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, together with wife Ingrid. After retiring from the World Bank, Washington DC, in 2019, I started spending more time on photography. Making good landscape photos was my intent and still is. However, when photographing in the time of corona, it became clear that I had abundant, colorful, non-moving, and challenging photo motifs all around me - flowers. Going forward I’ll try to make images in several areas of photography.