Doors, windows. Looking in or out, discovery of something or just a door or a window. Just something I noticed.
Something I noticed #9
Author: Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
My name is Ritva. I am an avid, self-taught photographer from southern Finland, currently living in Kirkkonummi. Interest in life is evident in my diverse subjects, capturing anything that catches my eye. Whether it’s the delicate intricacies of a plant, the breathtaking beauty of a landscape, or the compelling energy of urban life, My lens finds and celebrates beauty in all its forms. Nature serves as an enduring wellspring of inspiration for me, as I seek out and immortalize its enchanting moments. Additionally, in portrait photography I try to capture human emotion and connection , as I aim to encapsulate the very essence of each fleeting moment.
I totally enjoy playing with photos and immersing oneself in the editing process. It’s truly satisfying to have the flexibility that shooting in RAW provides, opening up a world of possibilities for editing. I’m of the same mindset when it comes to photo editing; I prefer to maintain the authenticity of the moment captured, striving to avoid over-editing and keeping the essence of the shot true to life. However, I also appreciate the occasional opportunity to explore artistic expressions through my edits, transforming images into minimalist monochrome representations that beautifully convey the essence and emotion of the scene. Or using colors to enhance the mood of the image. This delicate balance between realism and artistic expression is what makes photo editing such a captivating endeavor for me.
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.
Something I noticed #8
Window view. Looking out, and it looks so nice. Just something I noticed.
Something I noticed #7
Clouds, something I noticed that appealed to me, dark clouds over the road and fields. I love watching clouds, often I take photos of them too as you may have noticed.
Nothing unusual, still so fascinating to watch. While driving the smaller countryside roads during the end of July and early August clouds have been a companion of our trips. Rain not so much, but clouds or many times even light gray. Those are not so inspiring to take photos of, but these intense ones, that is a totally different story.
The morning held a promise of a nice sunny day…then the clouds gathered giving me a nice photo opportunty.
Something I noticed #6
Weather, something I notice everyday and at this moment listened to, and it appealed to me. Listen, listen to the falling rain…
Very mundane, still so pleasing. This song often comes to mind when listening to rain.
Listen to it pour,
And with every drop of rain
You know I love you more
Let it rain all night long
Let my love for you grow strong,
As long as we’re together
Who cares about the weather?
Listen to the falling rain
Listen to it pour
And with every drop of rain,
I can hear you call,
Call my name right out loud,
I can hear above the clouds
And I’m here among the puddles
You and I together huddle.
Listen to the falling rain,
Listen to it rain.
.
Something I noticed #5
Nature, something I noticed that appealed to me, the contrast of dark clouds and golden fields.
Very mundane, still so pleasing. You can see its raining further in the back as the clouds are hanging low..
Something I noticed #4
Just a detail…something I noticed that appealed to me.
A testament to a moment spent with friends or family enjoying a cup of coffee and an ice cream. Dishes left to be cleared away…not having to do them yourself. Small joys of life.
Does this picture tell a story or do I just want to believe so 🙂
Something I noticed #3
Just a detail…something I noticed that appealed to me. A rusty old lock
Something I noticed #2
I will be posting random posts with a title Something I noticed. It can be a flower, a landscape, person, still life, you name it. Hope you enjoy my ranbom shots, life is pieced together from random experiences, so my next month is filled with small bits of joy or pleasurable sights.
I already posted one post about Mustion Linna , Mustio Manor, last time a falsely named it Mustio castle 🙂 The old trees in the garden are so lovely.
Something I noticed
I had two weeks of holiday rather unexpectedly, but I did enjoy them truly and am now back to my normal routine. I will be posting random posts with a title Something I noticed. it can be flower, a landscape, person, still life you name it. I am making it easy on myself not having to come up with a title.
Hope you enjoy my ranbom shots, life is pieced together from random experiences, so my next month is filled with small bits of joy or pleasurable sights.
Apples are fresh and ripe or not.. I think it is so nice to see my grandson get fresh apples from the tree, like the one in the first photo. The collage photos are from an apple orchard we visited on a cloudy day the single on shots from an apple tree in front of our house.
Old buildings
I am still on vacation, but decided to do one quick post. I took these images yesterday at Taidekeskus Salmela in Mäntyharju, Finland. The have every summer have rather large art exhibitions located in several old buildings, we finally went this summer. The milieu was lovely. These are from that … I even by accident met the Tuomas Hoikkala who is a patron of arts and a saxophonist, If I’d known I would have asked; how about me… for next year 🙂
The wonder s of water lilies
I annually visit Mustio castle. I love the beautiful park and the dock that is surrounded by water lilies. I have yet to unload my camera disk, these I took with with my mobile.
New fence
We had a fence here before and if you have been following my posts for some time you have seen several shots showing it.
We had to take it down as the foundation was not the best and it started to lean towards and backwards. We did not have anything there for couple summers, but now it is there again with a slightly different twist in the design that I came up with as we were building it. Well, mainly my husband, I won’t be able to take credit for that 😁
Hay time
Watching others work. It is that time of the year when hay is being gathered from the fields, this summer earlier than usual
I was not expecting to have a summer holiday this year, but suddenly I found out that I could have two weeks. So hip hurray, I am on vacation 😊
Veggie time
Diversity shop
This store, Kasvihuoneilmiö (greenhouse effect) is as you can see a store and sight to visit, the stuff they have is so Kitsch or tacky or just plain odd, that somehow it is appealing, and they are not cheap. to end the visit we had coffee and a sugar coated doughnut, it was so good, still warm and fresh and huge 🙂
I was complating on purchasing this golden chair and the statue behind it , not …
And the river flows
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Heartleaf oxeye
Telekia speciosa , attracts day butterflies (nettle butterfly), honeybees and beetles as you can see and as we have to keep them safe so we will have flowers etc in the future too, this is a great flowers addition to the garden.
Green reflections
Pickings from my road trip. I love capturing reflections, these are from the Fiskarsinjoki river.
The Fiskarsinjoki river runs through a park-like cultural landscape as you could see few photos in a previous post. Along a fairly evenly flowing river there is some rocky, rapids section. The water is quite clear. The Fiskarsinjoki is relatively flat, although it has a few bottlenecks.
These are taken at park-like section 🙂 before and after a the Fiskars’ mill. The Original was already in active use in the 1620s, the new mill was built of slag brick in 1898 on the site of the old mill. the Photos of the mill windows were in the previous post.
Pickings from a road trip
These are the only images I took that had something that connects them to this Fiskars Village, others are just things that caught my eye in the surroundings. You know, this and that.
This is a town we nearly every summer visit, so I have all the tourist shots from previous years. Then again I always seem to notice the same things that interest me. The the old buildings with the green windows and brickwalls. Reflections – that is the next post 🙂
this and that
Time flies it is already mid July, the grass has burned due to sun and is just brown, yellow, beige…as we have had hardly any sun in past month. We have had a lovely weather, even a little bit too hot weather. I will not complain, I like this better than cold.
I have not taken that many photos this summer for the reason that I have been working with no holidays. Hopefully we will do some short trips during weekends.
This weekend was an exception as I took a short road trip with a friend of mine. We drove to few small towns, had lunch and ended the day in a divercity shop as it said outside the building. I will post some more photos of it in a separate post as it was so over the top, the whole store… 🙂
I was also able to capture lovely shots of my grandkids, the youngest is a pro, he is three, but made all the moves of a professional as he posed to me. The six year old was not so keen, I got 10 photos of him versus the 68 one that I got from him younger brother.
To end the weekend went to a restaurant in Helsinki, there was Spike Lee and Jasper Pääkkönen(a finnish actor) straight from Cannes, were enjoying the summers day lunch on this huge patio by the sea with us.
A drink
Having a drink at a restaurant enjoying my own company, actually I am waiting for a drive home. We are still experiencing unusually warm weather, so what I seem to be doing is taking photos of drinks in nice glasses. Happy Joy cider with lots of ice will keep me occupied for at least hour and half.
Friends
Friends, the essential part of my life, extended family. Someone to share thoughts and laughs with. Yesterday evening I did just that on a warm evening by the sea
Morning
Good morning 😃, I woke early to start my work so I can finish up early too. Sitting on my patio working at same time watching this light play on the lawn.
What magic light can do is amazing, you just have to catch the moment
Night sky
The night sky was so colorful
Summer evening
This is a great way to spend the summer evening, wine and cherries 🍒 .it has been a hot and humid day. We survived it
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography 