By Ritva Sillanmäki Photography

I’m a student of life; I see beauty in nature, people and the world around me, small details and complete view. Without the ability to actualize an idea or concept, art would not exist. My work is a constant search for the best way to interpret the ideas that I have about myself and the world I live in. I do not limit myself to one medium, style, or concept.

Inspiration and ideas change. My knowledge changes and grows. Each piece I create is simultaneously an extension from the past, where I’ve come from and what I’ve learned, as well as a preview of the future, where I’m going.

I do not classify myself as just a photographer, as some might think from looking at my work. I am a sculptor, a painter, a photographer, an artist.

If a viewer stops for just a moment to view and reflect on a photograph, a photo collage or a painting I have created, then I have succeeded in my work.

Misty August evening

I love the soft and sweet August light, the mist that comes after the rain and the colors of it. One again I spent a weekend at my summer place. I have gotten to the habit of leaving my computer home so I do not end up by mistake spending hours on it. These are from Saturday evening.

Soft light
MIST

Sea fortress 2

I had so many problems with loading the photos into the last post at least 4 attempts to have them in a gallery of my choosing. So I got frustrated and I’ve stayed away for four days. Let’s hope this post is easier. Suomenlinna is a lovely place to visit so I decided to share the joy with you – again .

Reflection from Suomenlina

Sea fortress

Visited on of Helsinki’s most popular tourist attractions today. It has been years since I was here. The place has history Suomenlinna (Finnish; until 1918 Viapori), or Sveaborg , literal translation in Finnish is Castle of Finland inhabited sea fortress built on six islands and which now forms part of the city of Helsinki. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and also it as a picturesque picnic site. Originally named Sveaborg. The Swedish crown commenced the construction of the fortress in 1748 as protection against the Russian expansionism. This particular day it was packed with locals as well as tourist as the day was just lovely. Here is some background on the place.

Traveling Eastern Finland #3

We drove to Imatra in the afternoon our aim to see the Imatrankoski flow, (“The Imatra Rapid”) is a rapid on the Vuoksi River in Imatra. It has been a famous tourist attraction since the late 1700s. The Vuoksi River and Imatrankoski were born about 5,000 BP as the waters of the Saimaa Lake penetrated the Salpausselkä ridge due to post-glacial rebound, forming a river flowing into the Lake Ladoga.It is also one of the National landscapes of Finland. Since 1929 the rapid has been blocked by a dam . Today, the dam is opened daily between June and August at 6 PM with the music of Sibelius playing in the background. Not that you can hear it down stream where we wnnt to watch it. The raw power of the water is awesome.

Traveling in eastern Finland

We spent a day in Eastern Finland at Lappeenranta and Imatra. In the few next post I will post few photos from those places. I will do them in chronicle order. It happened to be a cloudy and rainy day over there at home it was sunshine all day. Nonetheless we had a a nice day.

These are from lake Saimaa and the Mälkiä lock which is the first one it is the largest one with a drop of 12,4 meters.

approaching the lock – it was raining.

The Saimaa Canal is a transportation canal that connects lake Saimaa with the Gulf of Finland near Vyborg, Russia. The canal was built from 1845 to 1856 and opened on 7 September 1856 (Old Style: 26 August 1856). It was overhauled and widened in 1963–1968.