California dreamin’ On such a winter’s day ( a gray November day)
All the leaves are brown And the sky is gray I’ve been for a walk On a winter’s day I’d be safe and warm If I was in L.A. (San Diego)
California dreamin’ ( On such a winter’s day (November day)
This song, the sentiments are what I have during the winter months, to be anywhere warn and sunny. I lived in San Diego years back in 1990’s and I remember warmly the even temperatures during all year round. These photo I scanned from the paper photos. I don’t know if I would want to live in the states anymore, but back then I enjoyed it. The weather there in California sounds like a dream, at least during winter months , certainly worth dreaming about.
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!
I don’t know if I have enough music related photographs for a month, but we will see… here is the second one.
As Michael Monroe was mentioned in my previous post, so he s is a obvious choice for my second post. I haven’t seen Hanoi Rock in a concert, but Michael Monroe I saw at business event I attended few years back. I have to say that he is an energetic performer and took these photos with my mobile. Not the best of quality, but it is what it is.
The next song is a “It’s a tongue-in-cheek tale about letting go of the ‘good old days’ and finding the things that make you happy here and now”
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!
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!
I don’t know if I have enough music related photographs for a month, but we will see… here is the first one.
I took this photo of Stiv Bators in Las Vegas, but I’m quoting my husband’s text, as he had already written it and he is much better with words than I am. Note, I was a girlfriend then 🙂
Meeting punk rock superstars in Las Vegas in 1987. Those were the days… in the 80s you could walk into rock clubs in Las Vegas without a press card. My favorite band at the time, The Lords of the New Church, came to Vegas for a gig and the intention was to do an interview. Since I was a big fan, my girlfriend Ritva and I went outside the club a few hours before the gig to hang out. I even managed to run into Brian James, who was responsible for Lords’ songs, and his Swedish-Finnish wife. We talked with Brian, e.g. about the current tour and The Damned’s gig in Brighton in 1977, which I managed to see during the hot summer of punk. James was previously the guitarist of The Damned. I told Brian that I had interviewed The Damned a few months earlier. Brian James was responsible for the composition of the first ever punk single recorded for a major label, The Damned’s New Rose, and a large part of the band’s early punk songs.
After The Lords’ gig, we even got to greet the band in back stage. Group photos with Brian and his wife were also taken, but unfortunately they failed. After all, Ritva managed to take a few photos from the soundcheck. The Lords of the New Church was a kind of punk super band. Guitarist Brian James had previously played in The Damned, singer Stiv Bators in Dead Boys, bassist Dave Tregunna had played in Sham 69. Drummer Nick Turner was not quite as well known for his previous achievements. Stiv Bators (born Steven Bator) of the legendary band Dead Boys is once again relevant with the documentary Stiv Bators: No Compromises, No Regrets available on Netflix. The documentary is OK, but somehow superficial.
Finland was mentioned anyway, in the form of Andy McCoy and Michael Monroe. of Hanoi Rocks. After all, Bators and Monroe were good friends and also roommates. Monroe has often mentioned Stiv, for example in interviews and in his biography. Monroe is quickly ignored in the documentary, and he is not even interviewed, which I think is a big stylistic mistake or Michael has not agreed to br interviewed? The documentary also lacks a lot of other things, i.e. the music recorded by Stiv Bators for a large part. Again, it must be about music usage rights. Brian James and Stiv Bators were not rock superstars, but their meeting was important to me at the time.
Lainaan mieheni tekstin, hän sen kun oli jo valmiiksi kirjoittanut
Punkrockin supertähtiä tapaamassa Las Vegasissa 1987.Ennen kaikki oli paremmin… 80-luvulla pystyi kävelemään rock-klubeille Las Vegasissakin ilman pressikorttia. Sen aikainen suosikkiyhtyeeni The Lords of the New Church tuli Vegasiin keikalle ja tarkoitus oli tehdä haastattelu. Koska olin kova fani, niin menimme tyttöystävä Ritvan kanssa muutama tunti ennen keikkaa klubin ulkopuolelle ihan bändäreinä hengailemaan. Onnistuinkin törmäämään Lordsin biiseistä vastanneeseen Brian Jamesiin ja hänen ruotsinsuomalaiseen vaimoonsa. Tarinaa tuli iskettyä jonkin aikaa ennen kuin bändin sound check alkoi. Juttelimme Brianin kanssa mm. kuluvasta kiertueesta sekä The Damned -yhtyeen keikasta Brightonissa vuonna 1977, jonka onnistuin siis näkemään kuumana punkkesänä. Jameshan oli aiemmin The Damnedin kitaristi. Kerroin Brianille, että olin haastatellut The Damnedia muutama kuukausi aiemmin, mutta se on toinen tarina.Brian James vastasi kaikkien aikojen ensimmäisen isolle levy-yhtiölle levytetyn punksingle sävellyksestä, The Damnedin New Rosesta, ja isosta osasta bändin ekojen älppäreiden biiseistä.
The Lordsien keikan jälkeen päästiin vielä moikkaamaan bändiä back stagelle tai pieneen luukkuun, jota artistilämpiöksi huonolla omallatunnolla voi kutsua. Yhteiskuvatkin Brianin ja hänen vaimonsa kanssa otettiin, mutta valitettavasti ne epäonnistuivat. Soundcheckistä sentään Ritva onnistui ottamaan muutaman kuvan.The Lords of the New Churchan oli erään lainen punkin superyhtye. Kitaristi Brian James oli siis vaikuttanut aiemmin The Damned -yhtyeessä, laulaja jenkkiläisessä Stiv Bators Dead Boysissa, basisti Dave Tregunnan vyöllä oli pesti Sham 69 -bändissä. Rumpali Nick Turnerilla ei ollut aivan yhtä tunnettu aiemmista saavutuksistaan.Legendaarisen Dead Boys -yhtyeen nokkamies Stiv Bators (syntyjään Steven Bator) on jälleen ajankohtainen Netflixistä löytyvän Stiv Bators: No Compromises, No Regrets -dokumentin myötä. Dokkari on sisänsä ihan ok, mutta jotenkin pinnallinen.
Suomi joka tapauksessa mainittu, Andy McCoyn ja Michael Monroen muodossa.Bators ja Monroehan olivat hyviä ystäviä ja myös kämppäkavereita. Monroe on usein maininnut Stivin, muun muassa haastatteluissa ja elämänkerrassaan. Monroe sivuutetaan dokumentissa nopeasti, eikä häntä edes haastatella, mikä on mielestäni iso tyylivirhe tai sitten Michael ei ole suostunut haastikseen?Dokumentista puuttuu myös paljon muuta eli isolta osalta Stiv Batorsin levyttämä musiikki. Jälleen lienee kyseessä musiikin käyttöoikeuksista. Tärkeimpien bändien Dead Boys ja The Lords of the New Churchin levytetty musiikki loistaa poissaolollaan.Brian James ja Stiv Bators eivät olleet rockin supertähtiä, mutta heidän tapaamisensa oli minulle aikoinaan tärkeää.
According to Dictionary.com, the idiom “flight of fancy” refers to “an unrealistic idea or fantastic notion, a pipe dream. For example, ‘She engaged in flights of fancy, such as owning a million-dollar house.’ This idiom uses flight in the sense of ‘a soaring of the imagination,’ a usage dating from the mid-1600s.”
I am going to approach this theme flight of fancy by photography styles mainly strong colors or post-processing manipulations.
Maybe my fancy is to go back and see the beauty of the Australian coast… or spend time on a empty beach by myself, listening to the sea …
at the baech
Dreams, travels, dream like visions. I am mainly a photographer and a digital artist. I try to reach out with my photos rather than words, I will continue to do so, not that many explanations, make your own interpretation as you wish. Here are some dream visions. Peace is one constant theme…
I have no idea as what magic mashroom this is, but it looks like Psilocybe mexicana a psychedelic mushroom. Its first known usage was by the natives of North and Central America over 2,000 years ago.
We did not pick them up, they ended up being cut down by the lawnmower.
I just took photos necaused they looked great, like from a story book.
More Magic mushroomsMagic mushroom growing in my yard
Something I noticed is back, odd shots of ranbom things.
Apple that has seen better days, I had in my office for the longest time and forgot about it. It looked like it would make a nice photo, even if in this state of decay, or because of it. I took it to the patio and took some shots
I took this opportunity to share some new stuff, I took these yesterday as the season changed in a day.
Sunday we had temperatures of 26C and over night summer ended and autumn temperetures came on us. It was 16C and it felt cool, not cold.
My husband had a week earlier cut these sunflowers from the field for me. Yesterday tthese sunflowers looked like how I felt about the seanson change. From Happy to Sad just like that.
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.
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
Some atmosphere photos from Chania and buildings at the Venetian harbor. The first set I took with my mobile and the other with my camera where I was able to adjust the settings and zoom better and was able to get more moody shots.
This post is all about the first sunset we saw in Chania at the Venetian harbour, it was so lovely that we later in the week came back for an other one. Well we came for dinner too and shopping, walking in the small alleys in old town. The first set I took with my mobile and the other with my camera where I was able to adjust the settings and zoom better and was able to get more moody shots.
Our first visit to Chania it is a breathtaking city on the north-west coast of the island of Crete. The city is historically significant In the town of Chania, ancient Greek, Byzantine, Venetian, and Ottoman buildings coexist in the landscape of the city. We visited the Virgin Mary Metropolitan Church, on our way to the Venetian Harbour, “It is worth walking and watching, and at sunset you can get some really nice shot. Those I will share in the next post.
Papadiana is a lovely small village located 60 km south of Chania and close to the village of Sougia. With few inhabitants (population 14 as I found out as I googled the area) that deal mostly with agriculture, Papadiana has traditional architecture with stone houses and narrow streets.
It is surrounded by lush greenery and wild mountainsides. Most vegetation comprises of olive groves that give pure virgin oil, for which Crete is famous.
We drove through this small village and noticed a sign on the side of the road, Old mill, we took the turn and found this idyllic place at the end of this gravel road. When we saw the mill it it had a 1860 A.C. sign on it.,
Although Crete isn’t the homeland of oranges and lemons, citrus fruits play a huge role in the Cretan diet. If I saw many olive trees I did see some orange and lemon trees as well. Ancient Greeks used to believe that the Earth goddess, Gaia, gave citrus fruits as a gift to Zeus and Hera on their wedding.
The special microclimate in the area of Chania, as well as the abundant water available from the Cretan White Mountains, contribute to the growth of juicy oranges. I heard said that…
an Orange
“In fact, these oranges are among the most delicious in the world.”
The small village of Sougia in the south-west of Crete has managed to remain unaffected by the growth of tourism in Crete. It is still a peaceful haven, with a long beach, we stopped there for a while and had lunch at a one of the beach side taverns.
Sougia beach
In front of the village lies a lovely quiet long beach with coarse sand and crystal clear deep water. The beach starts from the small harbor of Sougia (west) at exit of Lissos Gorge and stretches to the east for 1.5km. This part of the long beach is not organized. Instead, the beach in front of the village offers umbrellas, showers, sports and a lifeguard tower. Along the beach there are plenty of tamarisk trees where you can find shade.
Dock at SougiaGreece, Crete, seaside village beach of Sougia
Moussaka was the dish I tasted here, and it was very good. I tasted it in an other place later and I have to say this was so much tastier.
Recipe for Moussaka: Components 3-4 aubergines 3 potatoes (optional) 0.7 kg of ground lamb or beef 1-2 onions around a glass of red wine 400 g tomatoes from cans or 5 larger grated fresh tomatoes olive oil Spices: ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, 2 tablespoons of oregano ½ teaspoon of ground cloves, salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar (or mix for moussaka) Bechamel sauce: 600 milk 85 g flour 85 g butter salt pepper, 25 g of grated hard cheese (eg Greek kefalotiri or Italian equivalent) 1 egg
This is going to be the one of many posts, so sorry 🙂 beforehand for the nearly same named posts.
Common trees in Crete are the tamarisk , oak-, chestnut-, pine-, cypress– and the evergreen plane tree (Platanus ). It is quite often found in the village squares, offering its shade to people. A huge plane tree, or platanos in Greek, can be seen at Topolia village in west Crete “Monument of Nature” after a day on the road we did not go to see it but we did stop in the village. I will post some photos of it later.
Mousoura
It is believed that 55 to 65 percent of the cultivated land on Crete is given over to olive groves, which contain approximately 30 million trees, so that the groves cover one-fifth to one-quarter of the island. And I felt it, I am surprisingly allergic to the bloom of Olive trees and at the end of May early June there was still some in bloom.
Hill or mountainsides in Crete
This is going to be the one of many posts, so sorry 🙂 beforehand for the nearly same named posts.
On the mountain roads we on more than one occasion ran into these goats with bells on their necks letting us know they were there. So this post is dedicated to the goats we saw 🙂
A Cretan mountain goats with a bell around its neck standing alone mountainside.
Shepherding is one of the oldest proffesion in Crete. Bells for sheep and goats were used all over Greece and Crete of course.
The bells were the pride of the shepherd and they were used to monitor the sheeps and goats. The quality of each bell as well as their combination was very important so that the flock will sound harmonious.
Goat by the side of the road.
The Cretan bells are hammered bells with thin sheet metal and consequently have a low weight. In addition, they are plated with bronze and bronze which protects them from seawater.
The sounds of sheep-bells allow sheperds to know whether an animal is grazing, drinking water, or trying to get away from something or even to locate animals that have been lost.
a small sample of the sound of the bellsGoat and a bell
All traditional hand-made sheep bells sound different. These goats below we saw at Anatolikos Selinos.
This is going to be the one of many posts, so sorry 🙂 beforehand for the nearly same named posts.
After our trip as well as having back up issues, which are now solved, I got a summer flu. Not happy about it, it certainly has me tired.
I still am now aiming to get some pictures published. I will try to cover as much as I can, in the end I did not take all that many photos as I would usually take, but still I was able to capture some beautiful places and things. The flowers bloomed as it was early summer, the hills and trees were still green. I had not many expectations beforehand so I was nicely surprised of what this island had to offer.
Mountain views from Mousoura.
The first picture above is from Mousoura area, at least that is what came as the location in my mobile photos, I took shot with my camera and also with the mobile so I would have the locations to remember. The village in these photos, if I remember correctly, is mountain village Lakkoi surrounded by the beautiful mountains of that area
Greece, Crete, mountain village Lakkoi
This is going to be the one of many posts, so sorry 🙂 beforehand for the nearly same named posts.
I am back from my short vacation in Crete. I have some issues with ma back-up storage. So I have not been able save or even go through all my photos. I was rather good, I only pressed the shutter 701 times during the trip on my camera and some on my mobile 🙂
The week went by fast, we rented a car for three days so we got to see more than the beaches and tourist areas. I am going to post here one shot that I really like. It was on top of a hill in corner of the road leading up to the mountains.
Coffee break under the tree
This is going to be the first of many posts, so sorry 🙂 beforehand for the nearly same named posts.
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography 