Ruben Nilsson Photography
Svenska

January in the city

Three January outings in the same city: a walk after dark, a morning of fog that never lifted, and a grey afternoon that ended in a lit street.

January here is mostly a question of what colour the grey is. On the first evening the lamps did all the work, sodium on wet stone. The next morning the fog came up with the light and never lifted, and the city lost its far edges one at a time — the towers, then the bridge, then the far shore.

Four days later the cloud sat just above the spires instead: old waterfront, new cranes, and a bridge in between carrying everything across. The last frame is the one I wanted, a narrow street on the way down to the water with every window already lit.

Three outings, one city, the same trick each time: whatever is close stays sharp, and whatever is far turns into weather.

8 January — after dark

A wet pavement and a low wall lit by warm street lamps on a dark winter evening, a tree at the left.
Sodium light 9 mm · f/1.8 · 1/60s · ISO 400

9 January — the streets

The fog arrived with the light and stayed. What was left was a set of near things: a crossing, a lamp, a bench, a jetty ending in grey.

People crossing a wet city street at dawn under streetlights, traffic lights reflecting in the asphalt.
Crossing at dawn 10 mm · f/2 · 1/60s · ISO 400
A wide junction with traffic lights and a zebra crossing, fog softening the buildings and lamps behind.
Junction in fog 9 mm · f/1.8 · 1/60s · ISO 250
A row of parked cars on a wet lot, streetlights and bare trees fading into thick fog behind them.
Cars in the mist 9 mm · f/1.8 · 1/60s · ISO 400
A tiled pedestrian underpass with graffiti on the walls, lit at intervals and curving away into the dark.
Underpass 9 mm · f/1.8 · 1/60s · ISO 200
A low corner building with warmly lit windows and a grain silo behind it, snow on the pavement.
The corner shop 9 mm · f/2 · 1/60s · ISO 125

9 January — the water

Past the last of the streets the fog had room to spread out, and everything it touched lost its far end: the bridge, the far bank, the tops of the towers.

A small white boat moored on grey, still water, a bridge and bare trees barely visible through fog.
Boat in the fog 9 mm · f/2.2 · 1/125s · ISO 125
A wooden jetty ending at winter water, a wire fence and a single bollard, everything grey with fog.
Jetty 18 mm · f/2.5 · 1/320s · ISO 125
Tall apartment blocks seen across a frozen inlet, their upper floors disappearing into fog.
Towers in fog 9 mm · f/2.2 · 1/160s · ISO 125
A wet waterfront promenade between a low balustrade and apartment buildings, both ends vanishing into fog.
Promenade 9 mm · f/2.2 · 1/200s · ISO 125
A large bare tree standing alone on a frosted lawn, paths and fences fading into fog behind it.
Park tree 9 mm · f/5 · 1/100s · ISO 125
An empty park bench under a bare tree, the grass patched with snow and the far side of the park lost in fog.
Bench in the fog 14 mm · f/5 · 1/100s · ISO 125
A gravel path flooded with meltwater, its far end dissolving into fog between bare trees.
Flooded path 19 mm · f/5 · 1/160s · ISO 125

13 January — the quays

A grey day with the cloud sitting just above the spires. Old waterfront, new cranes, and a bridge in between carrying everything across.

A stone-built waterfront skyline with several church spires, seen from a bridge across dark water with a construction site in front.
Skyline from the bridge 50 mm · f/5.6 · 1/125s · ISO 250
Grand nineteenth-century buildings along a waterfront with a tall church spire, cranes and site hoardings in the foreground.
Waterfront and cranes 50 mm · f/5.6 · 1/160s · ISO 125
A long bridge carrying traffic into the city, old buildings and a church spire behind it under heavy grey cloud.
Bridge and city 50 mm · f/5.6 · 1/160s · ISO 125
A dark church tower and cast-iron spire standing against a pale grey sky, a bridge and water below.
Spire in silhouette 50 mm · f/8 · 1/30s · ISO 100
A brick civic building with a tall lantern tower seen across wide grey water under a low overcast.
Hall across the water 50 mm · f/5.6 · 0.6s · ISO 100
A narrow street between tall eighteenth-century façades, warm windows lit, running down towards the water at dusk.
Street at dusk 50 mm · f/5.6 · 0.8s · ISO 100

19 photographs · Click a photograph to open it full screen. · 4 sections