Haumovie fishing, photography and fun

Breaking the landscape

I recently found myself amongst one of the largest bunker complexes in Denmark.

Walking through the landscape, I was struck by the way the massive concrete structures break the landscape. The geometrical shapes in the raw dunes of sand invite exploration not just in the practical sense of the word - crawling through the door and into the dark and unknown, but also exploring with the eyes and senses. The bulbous machine gun positions in the corners seem as misplaced on the rest of the structure, as the whole structure in the landscape.

The small openings into these large concrete structures invite exploration, and I had to restrain myself not to get on my hands and knees and start making my way toward the centre. I didn't have a torch with me, but I couldn't help wonder: "What shapes and textures are hiding in the depths of the bunkers and what images do they have to offer?".

Naturally, there's no light in the bunkers and thus rendering photography nearly impossible without some nice lights. I did find this machine gun tower, sitting on its own in the sand and waiting for thousands of years of weather to wear it down and take it away.

With all the surrounding sand gone, the true shape of the structure is revealed and the feeling of exploration and juxtaposition is removed or stripped down to a block of concrete looking out of place. It does however lend an opportunity to look out from the inside and get a taste of the textures and the environment of the structures.

I have previously been on specific photography outings to bunker areas in the north of Jutland, where there's a bunker museum inside a "restored" bunker and a number of very large structures, partly uncovered.

I must go again soon.