Falu red paint Photo

Photographer’s Note

Maybe you have noticed from other pictures of Sweden that we have a lot of red houses. This is an old timber barn near our cottage and it is painted in the classical "Falu rödfärg" (Falu red paint) and powdered with snow.

Falun is a town in the middle of Sweden that has a copper mine that has been run since the 1300´s until the late 1980´s. In its haydays it was the largest copper mine in the world and now it is a World Heritage. In the 1600´s it was the wealth of that mine that gave us the economy to lease mercanaries and occupy a large part of continental Europes northern part. We still have a lot of art and cultural treasures in our museums from that time, brought back from the cities of Europe as loot and still thought of as Swedish national heritage. The famous Silver Bible from Prague is the most well known example.

About the paint, it has been used for a few hundred years and the pigment is made from a waste product from the mine, a form of red earth that surrounded the ore. After weathering the pigment is grinded and roasted and then mixed with boiled linseed oil and wheat flour(!) to a thick paint. the paint has a fine preserving effect for the wood. After drying the paint leaves a powder on the surfaces which easily comes of so if you lean on a wall you get red. No worry, it just as easily brushes of.

There is more to read about the paint and its history at: http://www.falurodfarg.com/

dennis-flood, robiuk has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Mireille (2596) 2003-12-23 12:10

Superb texture and great details. Very nice !

RobBrown (1789) 2003-12-23 12:35

Superb colour and texture I agree the snow just adds a nice touch of highlight, also the notes are brilliant, just what we need on TE to tell use about the picture and the backgound to it.

marhamahlidinia (32) 2003-12-23 14:47

i can see the details

chrischris (859) 2003-12-23 15:20

Impressive texture in this shot. Very good subject. In this case, no error about the choice of settings... Excellent quality, sharpness, right exposure. I like the color too. Congratulations.

nwoehnl (120) 2003-12-23 15:32

I like this one a lot, Ebbe. It's so crisply sharp and well-lit that it almost looks three-dimensional. I wouldn't be too surprised if I could actually feel the texture when sliding a finger across my monitor. Hold on a second ...

... nah, didn't work. But it's still great. Merry Christmas!

[2]

ilouy (3344) 2003-12-23 15:41

Ebbe, thank you for the note. Very informative. Your picture is very nice, simple, full of subtil lights and sharp textures. It is a surprising picture. Technically perfect. Congratulations.

avigur_11 (21293) 2003-12-23 15:50

Your photo is excellent, Ebbe, and your note is very informative. Very ggod texture of the painted wood and and the snow. Very nice color.
Well done.

martin (1242) 2003-12-23 15:57

The more I study this, the more it grows on me. The colour does have a very special natural quality. The lighting and exposure are perfect, and the powdered snow adds the final touch.

mogens-j (56) 2003-12-23 16:41

Very good Ebbe – so simple and though so strong. Very powerful red colour and then just a dusty snow to increase the effect. Well seen – and a very informative note too.

allotfy (1525) 2003-12-23 17:40

So Hard and very easy ... well done

joso (1786) 2003-12-24 7:13

Interesting and original add to the "wishes", a very good note.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you too, Ebbe

Jeppe (18623) 2003-12-25 4:49

I like this Ebbe - Much of my wood has been given this colour. (In Denmark its called "Svensk rød" = "Swedish red" and with a good reason).
I like the snowflake which emphases the red and the structure in the wood.

Oeildelynx (243) 2004-02-04 16:10

I like the work you've done on textures for this pic, with the snow standing just on mere parts of the wood. The color is so deep. It reaches me totally!

Calico_Demon (18) 2005-06-22 7:14

The more i look at this picture, the more i like it. At first glance, it just some red wood. But start to study it and the colour and texture come into their own! They are superb. And the snow in the grain just adds to the effect! Great picture!

walkmania (315) 2006-02-17 22:49

What an abstract but strong image:the texture and the color contrast work so well.Must have a sharp eye and a sensitive heart to catch picture like this.Bravo!!

Photo Information

Copyright: Ebbe Rozel (Ebbe) (9571)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2003-12-00
Categories: Architecture
Camera: Minolta Dimage F100
Exposure: f/4.5
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Falu rödfärg, Red... the color of passion ... Part III [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2003-12-23 12:00
Favorites: 1 [view]