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
Friends
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.
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
Daisy
“The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of it’s scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness.” – Therese of Lisieux
In our case, summer would lost its charm as daisies bloom in the summer 🙂 here in Finland
Dark clouds
Sky is such a wonder to watch, the colors, clouds in constant change. In Finland we sure don’t have blue skies for ever. when we drive I spend most of the time watching clouds, anyone else who does that?
Ray of light
I caught the last rays of light in two backlit shot. as they made a lovely background for some weed shots 🙂 and what a difference it makes when I took it from the side…a bokeh
Pink sunset
No other words , explanations needed, we had a lovely pink sunset last night.
spreading bellflower
wild berries
We are now enjoying the wild strawberries – Fragaria vesca. So many names 🙂Fragaria vesca, commonly called wild strawberry, woodland strawberry, Alpine strawberry, Carpathian strawberry, European strawberry, or fraisier des bois, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the rose family that grows naturally throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere, and that produces edible fruits.
Vaccinium myrtillus or European blueberry is a species of shrub with edible fruit of blue color, commonly called “bilberry“, “blaeberry”, “wimberry”, “whortleberry”. It has much in common with the American blueberry. It is more precisely called common bilberry or blue whortleberry, to distinguish it from other . Regional names include blaeberry (Scotland), urts or hurts (Cornwall & Devon), hurtleberry,huckleberry, myrtleberry, wimberry, whinberry, winberry, blueberry, and fraughan.
Once again so many names 🙂
Tiny flowers
I found these tiny, tiny flowers as I looked closely to the ground during my stay at the summer house. Always a joy to capture the nature’s tiny wonders
Buttercups
as you can guess, we spent the weekend in the countryside 🙂 This summer has been so odd, all the flowers bloomed so early, at the same time and seemed that the lasted such a short while. Here are shots of buttercups.
Midsummer
The light is lovely, air soft and warm with humidity high, that’s what midsummer has been this year. We usually don’t get long hot spells, this time yes. Last night I went out after midnight and captured mist over the fields with the setting sun giving a beautiful pastel glow to the sky.
snails and / or slugs
we had some thunderstorms and rain yesterday, and what did I find in our backyard afterwoods, snails. These not so attractive things got to be my choice of topic.
Goosander
This family was so much joy to watch … I am not much of a bird photographer, but these on my level of skill came out ok as they were quite a distance away. Adrian from FATman photos kindly informed me what species this bird is, I had it as great crested grebe, but no, it is a goosander . Once again, I learned something new. Thanks Adrian 🙂
It is so good
Ice cream on a warm summer day is a must, so good, so tasty.
Capture a moment
I was sitting down at the dock when I took these photos of this boy walking towards me. I liked the look that I captured and I tried to enhance the cinematic feel that I got from the image. Looks a bit like an Old italian film when in Monochrome. No? Yes?
the joys of summer
we have had beautiful summer days, and that is something I have tries to capture these photos. The water was so cold as the rapid flows into the lake at Vuolenkoski, Finland.How the kids were able to be in it is beyond me… 🙂 This first set of photos are from there, the other one below are from Ruuhijärvi were the water was a whole lot warmer 🙂 as you can see from the expressions and body language.
Rose
We call this rose juhannus ruusu, a midsummer rose. This summer it has bloomed beautifully. Happy Sunday!
Dandelions
Every year I take these, every year I share them, and every time they are little bit different. Color or black and white?
Monotype prints
I spent last weekend practicing, learning to do monotype. Janet from THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER THING wanted to know a bit about the technique, so here is some explanation about it.
It is hard, nothing turns out the way you think, you have to be really careful about colors how you lay them on top of each other as they mix in the printing process. white is not recommended, and I leaned why as is blurs the colors. if you wish to have white you scrape it off with various plastic or soft tools so you so not scratch the metal plate or use turpentine.
I was not really happy with any of the prints I got. I will try to silence myself critique and show some of my attempts. sorry about the photos, I just took them quickly with my mobile.
Monotype, , a technique that generally yields only one good impression from each prepared plate. Monotypes are prized because of their unique textural qualities. They are made by drawing on glass or a plate of smooth metal or stone with a greasy substance such as printer’s ink or oil paint. You can use a brush or more often a roller (cylindrical tool for applying paint or ink.)you can see them in the pictures below.
After the artwork you wet the paper for, it has its own kind paper, of course, several minutes. Then you dry the excess off by placing it between newspapers. This is an art form of its self you cannot have too wet paper or you too much paint or it spreads/leaks of the sides of the art work.
You set the metal plate on the press printer , add the wet, paper on top. Next step is to add several layers of felt on top of the plate. However, the tradition of imprinting conveyed in the literature in the field is unambiguous here. When printed, the press has several blankets of different thicknesses and qualities. the basic practice is to stack the blankets so that the densest thin 1/16 remains lowest against the tile and the more porous come on top of 1/8 and 1/4. Combinations vary slightly depending on different techniques and printing papers.
You press it once or twice depending how much color you want to get on the paper.
Lily of the valley
Love this flower and to my joy, we have lots of them on our yard. This years photos are to be seen here
what can I say
Well, what can I say, I have been adjusting to new and haven’t posted anything, not as if I have been busy in the evenings. Just after spending all day inside, I have decided to spend the evenings outside enjoying our summer, which is short. We are living the lightest days at the moment, it is so nice.
I have lots to say about this job I am in at the moment, or more on the subject of onboarding to it, but I don’t want to be riled up about it as I am on my way to learn mototypia again. Need to be inspired and positive so to get into the flow of inspiration.
Love the green this time of the year… I took these photos of he white clover last weekend while laying in the hammock 🙂 and it looks surprisingly nice also in monochrome 🙂 Have a great weekend.
Sunday
We have tried to go home for hours but with no luck, Tinka won’t come in as she senses that we are leaving. So we took a drive to the store and saw this bright rainbow on our way back.
Then we started to watch the world ice hockey final Finland 🇫🇮- Canada 🇨🇦.
One of my fav views
No words really needed, summer 💚
Delicious
Yesterday I enjoyed a delicious meal and as I took photos of them because they were so beautifully prepared and presented. Yammy… nettle soup with poached egg, perched pike with potatoes and finally a brûlée with rhubarb and raspberry sorbet.
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography 