Stress Reaction

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Botanists say that there are more wild flowers this summer than usual. The main reason for this is the dry, hot summer we had in large parts of Norway last year. The drought last summer caused a stress reaction for many plants and trees, causing them to produce more seeds. Apparently it is a survival mechanism. Since we have had a more "normal" summer in terms of temperature and precipitation this year, the results is an abundance of wild flowers.

Stress reaction (1/180s @ f 4, 50mm, ISO 200)

At an Alarming Rate

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This particular make and model of wheel loader will, according to the manufacturers website, load up to 10 metric tons in one go. The sand and the gravel you see behind it were created by the glaciers and rivers eroding the bedrock over thousands of years. We have become very efficient when it comes to exploiting the earths resources, and all over the world we are depleting these resources at an alarming rate.

Wheel loader (1/20s @ f/11, 35mm equivalent, cropped, ISO 50)

Then and Now

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Glaciers all over the world are melting. Some will even be gone in a decade or two. In some part of the world it will be far more critical than here in Norway. Across the globe glaciers are the source of much needed freshwater supplies, such as for example in the Himalayas and on the Indian subcontinent where meltwater runs into rivers.

The two images below are from Nigardsbreen. The first image is taken in June 2013. This year, six years later, I went back to Nigardsbreen to see what had happened to the glacier. I was stunned to see how much it had shrunk. I may not have found the exact camera location, but it is quite close. (The focal length of the first image is 28mm, and for the second image the focal length is 35mm.)

Nigardsbreen 2013 (1/320s @ f/11, 28mm equivalent, ISO 50)

Nigardsbreen 2019 (1/125s @ f/11, 35mm equivalent, ISO50)