Today we celebrate our Independence Day in snowy surroundings! Lanterns give beautiful light to the darkness on my patio
Independence Day
Category: Captures from Finland
This contains photographs of my home country, places dear to me. That I proudly share.
How to Survive November 2022 – 29
I saw Kristoffer Kristofferson oin Helsinki in 2016
KRISTOFFERSON’S Singing has always been low and conversational, but that time it is even more so. Age and kilometers could be seen and heard both in Kristofferson’s singing and guitar playing, but it only brought more humanity to the show
It’s also due to his age that this time the legend didn’t talk as much as before, and it seemed like he was going through the repertoire of his familiar songs with a bit of automatic gear. Still with feeling and a style tempered by self-irony.
Don’t look so sad, I know it’s over
But life goes on and this old world will keep on turning
Let’s just be glad we had some time to spend together
There’s no need to watch the bridges that were burning
Lay your head upon my pillow
Hold your warm and tender body close to mine
Hear the whisper of the raindrops blowing soft against the window
And make believe you love me one more time for the good times
Rain on the window
Thanks PARALLEL LINES |in scale for hosting How to Survive November once again.
At the ‘How to Survive November‘ monthly theme we will combine photo and sound. You can select a piece of music to your taste and find a photo to portray the song or you can make a drawing, painting or collage. The picture can be from your archives or you can get it fresh. Enjoy and have fun!
How to Survive November 2022 – 28
Let’s try something else. WINTER
Antonio Vivaldi is a genius and truly stands out as the most creative among the host of composers who brought the Italian Baroque style to its zenith. His works ooze the perfection of the 17th-century Italian opera and concerto formats.
Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons,” or “Le quattro stagioni” in Italian is a set of four concertos. The generalized views suggest concertos as a conversation between – a solo instrument or multiple solo instruments and a wider ensemble. Antonio utilized the violin as the sole instrument in “The Four Seasons.”
Winter
The concertos end with “L’inverno” or “Winter.” The opening movement resembles a shivering person, stamping his feet in rhythm to stay warm. The middle movement portrays the pleasure of getting warm inside through a crackling fire. The final movement offers people outdoors walking down icy paths, while people inside houses feeling the relentless chill finding its way inside.
At a basic level, “The Four Seasons” is extraordinarily authentic, an association with profound elegance and luxury. It is full of glistening and brilliant sonorities, ingenious innovations with vivid solo lines capturing the essence of nature. The most important factor that renders its popularity is the fact that it incorporates the basic human elements – the passage of time, the cycle of years and nature. The program incorporates seasonal images and sounds spectacular, without constraining the imagination. Each season offers a “point of departure” for a diverse range of metaphors.
Thanks PARALLEL LINES |in scale for hosting How to Survive November once again.
At the ‘How to Survive November‘ monthly theme we will combine photo and sound. You can select a piece of music to your taste and find a photo to portray the song or you can make a drawing, painting or collage. The picture can be from your archives or you can get it fresh. Enjoy and have fun!
Lens-Artists Challenge #227 – Home Sweet Home
Tina wrote; On the other hand, there is much to love here in my own country. This week, let’s give that some extra thought. If a foreigner were to spend a week or a month traveling your home country with you, where would you take them? What sights would you tell them to be sure to see? Where have you found some of your own favorite images?
Tina from Travels and Trifles hosts this weeks Lens-Artists Challenge #227 – Home Sweet Home
I live in Beautiful Finland, coutry with four seasons. While I embrace Spring, summer and autumn and winter, I detest November, the greay month. So I will not be posting shots from that month.
Finland, or Suomi as we call it, this is my introduction to of it to you.
First few shots from Helsiki, were I would obviously take you
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland across Estonia to the south. Finland covers an area of 130,678 sq miles with a population of 5.6 million.
Helsinki is the capital and largest city, forming a larger metropolitan area with the neighbouring cities of Espoo, Kauniainen, and Vantaa. Finland is one of the world’s northernmost countries. Of world capitals, only Reykjavík lies more to the north than Helsinki.
Finland’s climate varies from humid continental in the south to the boreal in the north. The land cover is primarily a boreal forestbiome, with more than 180,000 recorded lakes.
First few shots from Helsiki, were I would obviously take you. There also several other cities I would take you too, Porvoo, Hanko, Tampere and Turku and also to Oulu. If I posted shots from them well, no one would look through my post.
Lakes are lovely at all seasons, so I would take to one or two of them
Forests, woods…have asrtong place in Finns hearts, a place walk and calm your nerves.
Pick berries and mushrooms as we have Everyman’s rights. Public access rights, or so-called everyman’s rights, refer to the right of everyone in Finland to enjoy outdoor pursuits regardless of who owns or occupies an area. You do not need the landowner’s permission, and there is no charge. However, you must not damage the environment or disturb others while exercising public access rights.
Posted for Tina’s Lens-Artists Challenge
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Amalfi Cathedral is a 9th-century Roman Catholic structure in the Piazza del Duomo, Amalfi, Italy. It is dedicated to the Apostle Saint Andrew. Predominantly of Arab-Norman Romanesque architectural style, it has been remodeled several times, adding Romanesque, Byzantine, Gothic, and Baroque elements.
The Exterior, the Romanesque style bell tower is off-center. The structure includes four small towers of Arab architectural type that are adorned with arches and are covered with majolica tiles. During times of war, the bell tower was purposed for defense.
The garden contains colonnades, arches and sculptures. My photos this week are of the garden area.
More ℹ https://www.livesalerno.com/amalfi-cathedral
Posted for Bren’s Mid-Week Monochrome and Leanne’s Monochrome Madness
Street Photography in Helsinki
The November streets look, well what they look like. This is what it looked liked on a November afternoon and and early evening (between 3pm -6pm) I haven’t taken the camera out since then. But I thought I would share some fresh photos today.
Some season lights were already adding light to the bleakness of this time of year. The boy looking at the display window while his parents were in line to get into the store was a nice pop of colors as was the Cartier window display with the reflecting lights from the street.
We had the first snow on Friday last week, so obviously these were taken prior to that. The snow will melt but for few days it will give us a little bit more light.
Views from around the Helsinki railway station, and Aleksanterinkatu.
Helsinki – Keskuskatu and the corner of Mannerheimtie
Colorful window display
Visiting Cafe’s
I have not been taking many photos lately, last weekend I made an exception as I went to Helsinki.
I was even too lazy to take my camera, just my mobile. Here are some street photographs. These are focused on cafe’s that all seemed to be full, we had to wait over 40 minutes to get our coffee 🙂 That time we spent people watching
My favorite image is the header.
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I have a soft spot for black and white photography, I was once again reminded about the importance of exposure, light. It is the key element in these photos.
Sunset in B&W is it’s own thing to capture once again it comes to the light, lowlight in this case. How it enhances the shapes and creates shadows.
Sunset in Naples Pier. Unfortunately it was destroyed in Hurricane Ian, but I have a memory.
The way that light hits objects, I think, is one of the more important things that sculpture and photography share. – Rashid Johnson
Posted for Bren’s Mid-Week Monochrome and Leanne’s Monochrome Madness
Beautiful in Black and White 10
I have a soft spot for black and white photography, I was once again reminded about the importance of exposure, light. It is the key element in these photos.
“Available light is any damn light that is available!” ~ W. Eugene Smith
Above is so importat during these gray November days.
The way that light hits objects, I think, is one of the more important things that sculpture and photography share. – Rashid Johnson
Beautiful in Black and White 9
I have a soft spot for black and white photography, I was once again reminded about the importance of exposure, light. It is the key element in these photos.
The photographer is a manipulator of light; photography is a manipulation of light. – Laszlo Moholy-Nagy
52 Frames: Week 43: Details!
Take a moment. Look at something, anything around you – what do you see? What do you notice? That’s right – our eyes take in the big picture, but then move in closer to see the Details. That’s just how we humans work – we instinctively want to look at things and then parts of those things.
I am often post details, one of my favorite ways to show you how I see the world around me. So much beauty can found near and far in small or sometimes big details.
I have taken macro shots of nature this week and it fits this topic ever so well. The others are from my archives.
The wrinkles, special features and texture of our faces in portrait. Capturing fine, rarely seen details in a macro shot – maybe abstract, or in Nature. Maybe it’s that detail on the building you pass every day, but rarely take a moment to notice.
Craft an image that shows off the details of your choice of subject. Focus, contrast and composition will play a key role , so it’s both a creative and technical challenge
By capturing an image and looking for the picture within a picture, you’ll be able to capture exquisite details that you’d probably normally overlook. When you start noticing the details, a world of new and possible images opens up to you.
I love taking photos of machinery, rust the photographic details there are to be found
52 Frames: Week 42: Black and White Minimalism!
This week we’re combining two distinct genres to form Black and White Minimalism. Black and White photos, inherently feel a little minimalistic. Using a composition that’s minimalistic, like having negative space, really adds to this unique shooting style.
Black and White minimalism usually yields a very clean and clutter-free aesthetic. A strong subject will draw the viewer’s eye, and a lot of negative space around your subject will support the main “star” of your frame.
You can create minimalism with negative space, and you can also use light and shadow by only lighting your main subject and leaving the rest of the frame in shadow (low key) or by lighting your background bright as well to create a high-key look.
But, in particular for this challenge, do remember that: Less Is More 🙂
- Be Direct: Simple does not mean boring. try to tell a story and convey emotion with as little clutter as possible.
- Negative Space: Take advantage of negative space. The “empty” space in your photo will draw the attention of the viewer towards the main subject, without being distracted by other items in the photo.
- Leading Lines: Use concepts like leading lines to guide your viewer’s eye to the image.
- Shoot in B/W: Many cameras have a black and white mode – use that to help make things simpler when previewing the shot you’ve just taken rather than having to post-process later.
- Tones and Contrast: There are a multitude of shades and tonal ranges that can be adjusted to bring out depth and textures, especially in a Black And White shot. Consider adjusting those for different looks for your image.
52 Frames: Week 41: Shoot Through Something!
Shooting Through Something – basically have something between your lens and your subject that “interferes” with the viewer’s view of your subject. It could be something as simple as leaves in front of your lens. Or if you wanted a more dramatic effect, you could use a piece of glass like a lens ball, a prism, a magnifying glass, etc.
I went out to to capture nature, carrying two camera’s, nearly broke the other by dropping it on the ground, if I’d succeeded it would have been my third camera I dropped and broke. I went out with the intention of trying to shoot behind the trees and leaves, I also did that. I brought some plastic wrap with me to use as a prop. I took this shot placing it on the lens, shooting towards the sun so the flare came nicely on the shot and also gave the shot a misty quality. The autumn colors play a big part in this image of an inlet in Kirkkonummi.
A thin plastic bag or kitchen plastic film (cling film / Saran wrap) over your lens can produce some very creative looking effects too, but you really don’t NEED any special props this week. The idea is that if something is very close to your lens, and your focus is further away, you will create a dreamy, shoot-through effect. This is of course more exaggerated with a shallow depth of fields (wide aperture, smaller f/ number). Go ahead and experiment and have fun!
You could do portraits or street photography by shooting through a window with some reflections showing up, or go the creative route and use vaseline on an old lens filter
The idea is that your foreground, even if it’s blurry, becomes part of your story. So, let’s get creative in a new way.
TIPS:
- Refraction: There are tons of ways to use glass to bend and shape light – a wineglass, a magnifying glass, a prism, a lens ball, shooting through a colored pane of glass etc.
- Use Nets: A net or thin grid can add some creative effects. If you’re too close, of course, you might not see the effect, so distance yourself appropriately.
- Use Plastic: Kitchen film wrap can be used creatively – you can draw on the film to make creative colors and interference patterns without ever harming your lens. How about that empty plastic bottle of water you were about to toss away? That can work too.
Beautiful in Black and White 7
Trees I’ve also linked this to CBWC, I had to do this again as I somehow deleted it and totally made a mess.
Inlet in Porkkala
View from the rocks 2
Fall, Autumn, ruska, all words that are presented in this shot in my humble opinion. Porkkala, views there are so delightful.
View from the rocks
Yesterday was a lovely and sunny day between gray days. I took myself out to take some photos. I drove to Porkkala, and park area near us. The nature an scenery there is so delightful that I go there several times yearly.
Three ways to look at this path
Since I do post editing on my art, and my photos, I also do several variations of them, so this is great challenge for me to participate in LAPC #220 One Subject Three Ways. These are very similar, but slightly different –by zooming in on the details or stepping back for a wider view. Sorry, there is four images and a header. 🙂
Summer season ended, we closed our summer house for winter on this beautiful October day. The autumn colors are so lovely.
October’s colors
Autumn iis about letting go of summer and preparing for winter. Greens give way to dead stems and yellow drooping leaves. Darkness slowly takes over the time of light, but how beautiful it can be at the beginning of autumn🍂
on the road
What clouds, I loved the contrast of the dark clouds against the autumn color by the road as we drove in to the rain and finally to the otherside of it towards the raindow.
Sirkus Finlandia
We went to see a traditional circus and I tried to take pictures of the acts, but they did not come out so well, here are some. I am amazed of the skills these circus people have. There were lots of kids in the audience obviously, their joy was so delightful.
The show started with the horses, then the MARIONETTE’S DREAM had some great Skipping Rope act,there was also a MYSTERY OF GENTLEMEN, Acrobatics group, so skilled and ended with DIORIOS, five motorbikes riding in the round metal cage, Globe of Death. These performances impressed me the most.
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Beautiful seaside views from Inkoo. I’ve also linked this to CBWC
Vibrant autumn colors
I had to go out and take new photos of the berries I saw few days ago, they looked so lovely an I just I had to try to get new better shots of them.
I am not a fan of the season, it is in the top three thou, but the autumn colors are amazing every year.
Leaves
I found this nature’s artwork in my backyard, fern and a some other plants made a beautiful contrast. You just have to look for it closely to find it. . Sunday greetings to you all!
Oh, A 🦌 Deer
Today, I saw this lovely deer ,from the window facing my backyard, posing on the hill. It would have been nice to go outside and take the photosthere, but it would have run away, if I’d gone and opened the door. So, I took these through the window, taking this to consideration they came out ok.
It stood there on the hill for a while, looked around and finally turning and walked away. Just to lay down and rest on the hill behind a fallen tree, so that only the ears were visible.
Lake Pikku-Kukkanen
We had an amazing weekend to capture, clouds and reflections.
These are taken at lake Pikku-Kukkanen (Small flower) I was able to capture beautiful reflections on the lake and there were two swans further away, so I really missed noth having my camera with me. In the first shot the exposure was low so the clouds came out really dark. I like the intensity of the atmosphere.
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography 