52 Frames: Week 34: Peace!

Through the hustle and bustle or the humdrum everyday lives we lead and see around us, we come across small moments in time that make us stop, take a deep breath and slow down. We’d like to see you capture a moment of Peace ☮ this week.

Have a little think about any places or scenes that calm you down or center you – a tranquil lake setting, a walk through a wooded path with a close one or something close to home like your grandpa taking his afternoon siesta. It’s all about the image evoking a feeling of serenity, calm and tranquility.

August Sunset at the countryside, this was my choice this week

The idea doesn’t necessarily need to be minimalistic , all that matters is whether the viewer understands the point of view and story your photo ought to be showing. The lighting and overall color tone of the scene will be important too, so please spare a thought for those aspects too.

There are tons of places, people and scenes that can convey this purest of emotions; so as we usually say, take a few deep breaths, center yourself and take your shot.

Peaceful moment at the beach

I have been at my summer house. One word, that can be said about the place is that it is peaceful. Hardly any neighbors, no traffic sounds. Silence, if you do not take to account the natures sounds. I took shot of this tail of the sunset ( aiming the camera towards northwest) the colors towards west were so vibrant, even if the moment was peaceful the colors would not convey that. So I turned towards the more muted tones. I had several ideas for this week, but did not get anything done towards making them become reality, planning is not enough. I hope this shot still shows peace.

The shots below show the vibrancy of the sunset and even if it was peaceful the colors do somehow tell the story, or what so you think? The blues in the last shot say it better, no ?

Peaceful moment at the lake

Sailing to marina

I am in a slump, you know, I want to do things, I paln to do things, it is my intention and then, I do nothing. Here is one thing I decided to do, and finaly did. A post,

I took these yesterday at Porkkala Marina, we had a lovely brunch there and saw of this wonderful old sailboat, sitting at the dock wathing the ripples on the water. So peaceful…

Issue solved

What a week!

I am no IT Guru, in anyways and it has been obvius as I have now taken my new computer to use. I set it up myself, added all the safety programs I had previously, I also have once again uploaded my editing tools that I use. Unfortunately all the edits I had in my lightroom on the old computer were lost, and as my new back up, that I just bought broke, which had all my new photos and their edits. I now have to do them again, that includes my Crete photos, fortunately I had those all so on the compurer and was able to send them as a zip file to myself, so I did loose them altogether.

Today I had an interview for a job as a team interview, and a new problem came up with the sound… I so love and hate this technology.

Anyways, what I am trying to say is, I am now back in action. All I have to do is edit all my photos again, (practice,makes you better if not perfect! 🙂 ) That I have taken this year, and that I am able to access. Some are now lost for good. Now on, I am going to do a back up monthly, or maybe I should do it as soon as I add new photos and have edited them. What are the chances that I will loose back up and computer at the same time…

Here are few love locks from Tampere, I shot them week ago 🙂

Computer issues

This summer has had some technical issues that I would not have needed. First I had the issue with back up, my hard drive was full, couldn’t store, upload my photos, so I did not edit my photos due to that issue. Summer vacation came, which was 😊 great.

Took photos as we took short trips here in Finland. I did start to edit them, but once again I was encountered with a problem. My computer would not open any of my editing programs, Lightroom for example, I was not able to open any of my folders in those hard drives I got earlier in the summer. My computer signed off. I had to buy a new one which I got 5 days ago, but as I am at the summer house and the computer arrived back home an hour after we left on come here it is now waiting at my neighbors for me to go back home to get it.

Shortly, I have done very little photography and even less editing. I have been on holiday even from blogging, but soon, sometime next week I will return.

I have eaten some nice meals 😊

Summer days

The summer weather can be unpredictable, we are now under low pressure and have had sunshine and rain showers. We have spent this week at the country side. So my photos are this time naturally from here.

Field new our summer house
Clouds over the fields
View from the sauna patio
104 year old log sauna

2nd of July

It has been a tiring three weeks, but I finally think I have beaten the flu. There seems to be lots of it going around. Maybe I can now get back to certain flow to get may Grete photos posted. But here is just a small summer greeting from my summer place.

Lakeside blues and cool water topped with ice-cream, can you top that? Summer!

Sweet strawberries, the season first for me and they were so tasty and sweet, one of my favorite treats of summer, fresh strawberries and new potatoes.

fresh tasty and sweet strawberries
Fresh strawberries
Fields of hay on a summer afternoon
Summer day in the countryside

Midsummer

it is that time of the year again, the amount of light we get, the longest day passed, but we are now celebrating midsummer here in Finland, lot’s of people are driving to countryside to enjoy the this festive season, to be bitten by mosquitos, but some may choose to stay in the cities. Well we came to our summer house to enjoy the light nights and warm summer days that the forecast has promised us for this weekend.

moonlit midsummer night

I am still coughing my brains out, tired from lack of sleep as soon as I try to lay my head on the pillow, well in my case at the moment pillows you can say bye bye to sleep. So I haven’t had any energy to post anything. But for midsummer I have to do something to celebrate, I took these at out last visit, it was full moon time, I never got around to posting them, so here is some beauty from one of my favorite places. Beautiful Finnish countryside in the summer.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

May 15th, Saturday finds

As I pointed out in my previous post, it is time to pick up my camera and take it out. I did. Here are some of the captures from the first outing, still need to get in the the groove. I will try to find new ways to capture same wonders that I have photographed every spring, because the same things delight me every time.

Maple tree bud

We found the nest of common blackbird in our woodpile. I did take few photos, but we left it all alone. Hope the squirrels dot get to it before the hatch.

Summer house season has started

Life once again has changed, I have once again time to pursue my hobbies. My fixed term ended after a yea, so I find myself unemployed, and at my age getting new position is not a given. Well now I hopefully will be able to comment and participate more in the wonderful world of blogging 🙂 as I have been rather absent on that regard lately. I do look though and read post but have been rather silent. It might change.

We started our summer house / cottage season later than ever, middle of May. Usually we are there already in April, but this spring has been so cold and we had so much snow that there was no point going there. But last weekend we did go and you could see the green take over the bleakness in your eyes. I am loving it. The light is wonderful. I took these setting sun shot at 23.30 at night. The moon on the other side of the house and the setting sun on the side.

Saturday was nice, warm and sunny, but the clouds and cold wind greeted us on Sunday, but it was time to head home anyways.

Almost midnight sunset

Easter Sunday

Let the photos show our Easter 🐣 activities. It was sunny but rather cool, but we had coffee

at Löyly outdoor deck enjoying the ✨ sea.

We enjoyed Late lunch at Sea Horse , a restaurant serving traditional food since 1932

April Saturday

I am so waiting for spring and summer that I drove to this small shop in the countryside that this lady keeps in her barn and home to buy linen clothing which is so nice to wear. Natural fabric and bright colors are the items she brings from Italy to her shop. I did not need anything but I did end up buying a green linen dress, a fuchsia linen tunic, necklace, and scarf to match the colors of the tops I brought. I cannot wait to wear them.

That what I wrote above is why I took these photos on our way there, I mean come on, April and the day was as wintery as it could be, it snowed several times during the day. Well, new snow is the death of the old snow as a Finnish saying goes.

on a hill looking down
Flooding ditches
snow covered field in April under grey skies
trees on a hill

Day trip to Porvoo

OLD Porvoo town

Visiting old town Porvoo is always a treat, it is such a picturesque place to visit.

it might be cold but to enjoy coffee outside is very tempting

Sunset

“There’s a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they're absolutely free. Don`t miss so many of them.” – Jo Walton

Sunrise

“We need to be reminded sometimes that a sunrise last but a few minutes. But its beauty can burn in our hearts eternally.” – R. A. Salvatore

Shipyard

This shipyard in Helsinki is on standstill due to the Russian war attack going on in Ukraine. We went for lunch to a restaurant in front of it and obviously I took some photos, it is not the prettiest sight but it is a nice photo opportunity even though the window and the plex glass windshield outside.

There were these two boat restaurants waiting for the summer season to open their doors in the foreground.

I’m walking

I’m walking, I’m walking, walking in sunshine.

Helsinki seaside on a sunny day with the mist rising in the back and taking over the sunny sidewalks soon after these photos were taken.

Mist morning

Misty morning

still posting photos that have a small painterly feel to them.

Winter road

This photo turned out a little bit like a painting

I am posting this photo as it looks slightly like a painting, muted tones, not so crisp and I like it for some reason.

A touch of spring

We are having a beautiful day with temperatures on the plus side and you can hear snow melting, but do we still have lots of it to melt.

3 pm

My husband was doing his best to give the spring help by making creeks so that snow and ice would melt quicker

52 Frames, Week 9: Reflections!

I did have an idea at to begin with to this challenge, yesterday I was given too many options. If you have read or seen any of my posts you will know, well, I have a dilemma . Drove to Helsinki to check out the beautiful city library, the whole square where it is located is full of reflection opportunities.

Light. That’s the medium photographers create their art with. We usually play with light and shadows but this week we’re going to try something often overlooked – Reflections. Boost your photo’s aesthetic by using reflections – add more depth and complexity with this aspect of photography and see the world in a whole new way.

The first shot is not from there but from my office window as I thought it came out rather nicely.

Office view from my office to a traffic circle in Kirkkonummi.

Be creative and think of using symmetry with mirrors or tangentially, go beyond the literal. Visualize your composition, be patient and don’t hesitate to try new stuff out to get a great shot.

Take time to observe your surroundings for cool opportunities out there or feel free to make your own indoors. Just ask yourself: “What is the light doing here ?”

Support for the current situation in the world can seen in reflection
Music hall and Helsinki sign reflected from the opposite building
Reflections on entrance to the Oodi library

Oodi is a striking building with its glass and steel structures and wooden façade, its design a combination of traditional and contemporary flavours. The energy-efficient library is an impressive calling card for Finnish architecture.

Below are reflections on the Music Hall in Helsinki

Red car and Oodi

Cable Factory

It has been a busy week at work, spring is arriving with speed as light time is about 40 min longer every week. It was such a joy to wake up today and the sun was already lighting the woods at the back of our house.

The situation in the world is unfortunately causing anxiety, as we share a long border with Russia. So much information, so many variables and really how much can you take in. I tend to work my daily thoughts in dreams and at the moment, it feels like I am combining what I watch on tv, even as light television shows about home fix shows, to war, and my daily life. So I can say lots of things are happening in my head.

So not to be too messed up, here are very structural photos 🙂 of buildings and interiors from Kaapelitehdas (cable factory) in Helsinki.

GLASS COURTYARD at Cable Factory

Lights and costumes

Yesterday, when visiting the Theater Museum in Helsinki. There was lights and actions as small visitors had fun with the props they had at display.

52 Frames, Week 8: Rule Of Thirds !

I had no idea to begin with to this challenge, but as we yesterday went to a museum tours, it kind a came to me. The new locations and the lights there and few moments captured my attention. I have 20 hours to choose what I am going to submit. Want to help me?

The first one I liked that the girl in the phot and the subject where both looking down. same but with to different compositions. These are from Pictorialism – the Dawn of Photographic Art

The Rule Of Thirds  – one of the earliest photo composition techniques that an aspiring photographer comes across in their photo journey.

It’s simple, versatile, and effective in many situations.

It’s a classic for a reason – it works well and improves photographic composition immensely.

Simply put, place two vertical lines to divide the image into 3 equal columns and two horizontal lines so you also have 3 equally-sized horizontal rows so the entire scene is divided into 9 segments. (Think, tic-tac-toe grid.) Place points of interest in the scene where the lines meet to improve the overall look and feel of the image.

These are from the Theatre Museum.

Even nicer weather

What a difference a day makes added with sunshine, the snow covered trees look so nice.

I still haven’t ventured beyond my backyard to take photos, but I am happy to have this as my view.

Nice weather

it snowed yesterday, a lot! We got so much snow in our backyard, well in the front too 🙂 I took these first three this morning during the blue moment. The others a little bit later, you can see how it effected the colors.

Backyard
Front yard

52 Frames, Week 7: Unexplored!

I had to struggle with this, as the weather did not in anyway give any reason to want to go and explore. It was a really wet week, there was slush everywhere, angle deep in places. It has been raining or snowing most of the time, not my kind of weather.

The great unknown – it’s often a good idea to visit new places and experience new things. That’s why this week, we’re encouraging you to take shots of places hitherto Unexplored.

You can find new places and experiences wherever you are – in a bustling city or an idyllic rural setting and everything in between. Take a moment to think about what you want your image to portray – excitement, beauty, nostalgia or even something poignant. Since you’re likely going to be in a new place, do be patient with yourself and the surroundings.

Well, one place near by saved me, it was not totally unexplored as I have been there once before. It is only a little white lie..