ørestad

Ørestad by Dennis Skyum

I spent a few hours yesterday in the Ørestad area of Copenhagen, trying to get some shots in the bag of one of the "new" areas of the city. It's been a long time since I was here last, and I was quickly and starkly reminded of just why.

What an absolutely depressing place. Most areas of Copenhagen have some sort of character or vibe - for good or ill - but Ørestad just doesn't. Its a soulless husk, seeming more like a warehouse to store people when they don't have better places to be. The area has been under development for almost 20 years now, and it stil feels utterly barren.

The most exciting thing I saw was probably a blue public toilet that kinda had a TARDIS thing going on. A poop TARDIS - that's the sort of titillating experiences you can find in Ørestad. There are no little shops, no cafés, no real traffic, no people on the street having intimate conversations that are way too loud for comfort. The guy on the bike here I had to wait 25 minutes for, because there's just no one out there doing anything other than trying to escape to places more interesting.

It must be nice to live close to the Kalvebod Commons so you can go wave at cows and stuff, but I think I'd probably end up on pills or booze if I had to spend every day of my life out here in this bleak urban wasteland.

Part of the problem is that there’s a giant shopping mall out here, which has essentially killed local commerce. No commerce, no urban life. Other new developments in Copenhagen have fared better because - aside from not having a giant goddamn mall - they have proximity to existing communities. Something like the new development in Nordhavn I think is going to fare much better, as there is already a vibrant urban community just across the train tracks. But Ørestad is too far from the Amagerbrogade area to really benefit.

I intensely dislike this part of the city, but I am glad I went out there again, because its a reminder of all the things I love about photographing the city, because they're all missing from the Ørestad area. It will be a long time before I go back here again.

A lone - very lone - rider at the Belly Sky hotel.

A lone - very lone - rider at the Belly Sky hotel.

The Poop TARDIS.

The Poop TARDIS.

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The Thunderdome/Royal Arena.

The Thunderdome/Royal Arena.

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Karen Blixens Square - Copenhagen by Dennis Skyum

Karen Blixens Square is a relatively new public square in the city, part of the University of Copenhagen. I went there the day after it opened, but I didn’t really get the sort of shots I wanted. Boo freaking hoo. So instead of admitting defeat, a few days ago I went back there. I had hoped for a massive success, but alas, not really. I got a few shots that are okay, but looking through my camera roll there wasn’t anything that really jostled my jimmies.

The first shot I grabbed was at the square, but on the way. I saw this little house at the end of the pedestrian crossing, and took this shot:

Fuji X-T3 XF10-24mm @ f9 1/200 sec ISO 320

Fuji X-T3 XF10-24mm @ f9 1/200 sec ISO 320

It’s an alright image, but nothing to write home about. There’s just something lacking the colors, I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. So I switched to the Acros film simulation, to have a go at it in black and white. Still no dice. I have this of not spending more than 5 minutes at any given spot if I’m not feelin’ a good vibe, so I hopped back on the bike and headed for my intended destination.

I got a phone call on the way, and had to hop off to take it, and happened to do so in front of the university building. This big ugly glass covered beast reflecting the blue of the sky. I have a love/hate relationship with these sorts of building in that I hate how they look, but I love the reflections they can produce. So I grabbed this shot:

Fuji X-T3 XF10-24mm @ f8 1/280 sec ISO 400

Fuji X-T3 XF10-24mm @ f8 1/280 sec ISO 400

It’s an decent shot I guess, but without a human element it just doesn’t really do it for me. So back on the iron horse again, and onwards to the square. I was looking for geometry, lines, or curves, and finally settled on trying to capture something with the curves of one of these burrows that function as bicycle parking:

Fuji X-T3 Samyang 8mm @ f8 1/1000 sec ISO 640

Fuji X-T3 Samyang 8mm @ f8 1/1000 sec ISO 640

I first saw a jogger coming around to head over one of them and was convinced she’d be the one to supply the human element. But it didn’t work out. I wanted to have the entirety of her shadow in the frame, but then the composition just didn’t work:

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I was about to move on, but then I could hear the whirring of bicycle tires, and thought why not, that might work. And sure enough, a kid came whizzing by and supplied just what I was looking for:

Fuji X-T3 XF55-200mm @ f8 1/5000 sec ISO 640

Fuji X-T3 XF55-200mm @ f8 1/5000 sec ISO 640

It’s not the best image, but I was reasonably happy to come away from my visit to the square with it. I wanted something that wasn’t light and airy - because I’ve seen a lot of shots from this place that has this vintage overexposed feel - and I didn’t want to just do another to add on the pile. So far, so good.

Right next to the square is one of the more interesting looking buildings in the area - the Tietgen Student Housing. I’ve taken plenty of shots of it before, but I had 10 minutes spare, so why the heck not.

My first inclination was to do a shot with the curves of the surround path, but I didn’t quite feel it. Maybe if the two dude on the path had been closer, it might have worked out better:

Fuji X-T3 Samyang 8mm @ f8 1/480 sec ISO 320

Fuji X-T3 Samyang 8mm @ f8 1/480 sec ISO 320

I remembered there’s a body of water just in front of the building ,so I was gonna go for a reflection shot, and that turned out pretty good:

Fuji X-T3 Samyang 8mm @ f8 1/800 sec ISO 320

Fuji X-T3 Samyang 8mm @ f8 1/800 sec ISO 320

I was prepared to end it there, but as I was chimping on the camera like a chump, I noticed I had a curious onlooker. I’m sure he was just looking for someone to chuck some food at him, but instead he was immortalized in my frame, in both color and black and white:

JPEG Straight ouf of Camera - Fuji X-T3 Samyang 8mm @ f8 1/800 sec ISO 320

JPEG Straight ouf of Camera - Fuji X-T3 Samyang 8mm @ f8 1/800 sec ISO 320

Color version edited in Adobe Lightroom

Color version edited in Adobe Lightroom

Black and white version edited in Adobe Lightroom

Black and white version edited in Adobe Lightroom

I think the color version is my pick of the litter for this short little outing.