The Raph Round-up: December 2025

And so, another trip around the sun.

Last December was pretty quiet photographically, but this year I was feeling a bit more inspired. Additionally, it was a mild December for us in Copenhagen, and I feel that we had more sunshine than usual. In this issue you’ll find some night photography from the annual St. Lucia parade, up-close and personal frost shots from the local park, some woodland shots from a gorgeous sunny day at Dyrehaven, and a couple of shots from the best sunset I’ve seen all year.

Enjoy, and I wish you a great start to the new year!

Light in the dark.
© 2026. This work is openly licensed via CC BY-NC 4.0

St. Lucia kayak parade

Each year on the 13th of December, kayaks adorned with Christmas lights come together to form a parade in the canals of Copenhagen. A great excuse to get out and take some long exposure night shots:

Crowds gathering.
© 2026. This work is openly licensed via CC BY-NC 4.0

Kayaks
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ICM #1
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ICM #2
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Busy bridge.
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A frosty world

A thing I love about macro (close-up) photography is that it can make the ordinary look extraordinary. I’ve walked past frost many times in my life, but have never stopped to take a closer look. You also don’t have to travel far with macro photography to explore unseen worlds.

Frosty floor on the rooftop.
© 2026. This work is openly licensed via CC BY-NC 4.0

Can you spot the odd one out?
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Untitled #1
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Maw
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Helix
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Winter woodland (no snow edition)

Sunny winter days are rare in Copenhagen, so I seized the opportunity to get out into Dyrehaven (a deer park) just north of the city. Taking these hours was meditative, and reminded me that woodlands can be beautiful without their leaves.

What’s a deer park without deer?
© 2026. This work is openly licensed via [CC BY-NC 4.0]

I wanted to get a few shots of an old (~600-800 years) oak tree (Ulvedalsegen - the oak of wolf valley). It stands alone in a valley, which has been the site of an open air theatre in the summer months since the early 1900s.

Ulvedalsegen - the safe shot with humans for scale.
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Ulvedalsegen ULTRAWIDE #1
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Ulvedalsegen ULTRAWIDE #2
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Perspective #1
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Perspective #2
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A sunset to cap the year

After some training at Caliteket (shoutout to the crew), we witnessed an absolutely amazing sunset outside the gym.

It’s always good to look away from the sunset to see its influence on other objects. I loved the texture, shapes, and softness of the light on the wall.
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Silhouettes.
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Rainbow.
© 2026. This work is openly licensed via [CC BY-NC 4.0]

Photo of the month

I like this photo for a couple of reasons:

1) There’s a directionality to it - from bottom left to top right, which is guided by the diagonal composition of the tree.
2) Sun is scarce in December, and it looks like both the photographer and the tree are reaching towards it.

Towards the light.
© 2026. This work is openly licensed via CC BY-NC 4.0

Interesting things I’ve read/watched

River Dog, a short documentary about a man (and his dogs’) attempts to protect the Pahaoa river (Wairarapa, New Zealand).

Matthew Colville’s thoughts on The Shape of Water.

Short 80s documentary about Alan Moore (comic writer known for Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Swamp Thing). Was concerned about environmental issues (and education system / media) – themes that he explored in his work. Another based interview with him about V for Vendetta (theme: fascism).

I was going to write a movie review about Bugonia, but it looks like someone has already written one that covers how I interpreted the film – ‘elites are aliens’.

Cory’s thoughts on how to take power back from the U.S. hegemony.