Editing Black and White images is fun, I have a limited amount of photos of public transportation’s but I did find few for CB&W theme this week.
Trams seem to be my favorite public transportation to photograph. So there are trams from Helsinki, San Francisco, Melbourne. Buses and metro from Hong Kong. Ferry from Sydney and Hong Kong. Last but not least a train from Melbourne. I did actually find several as I started to look through my archives. Happy travels in public transportation.
I have looked at Helsinki with a tourist eye as I have seen my friends in the city. Catching up with friends is so much fun, I should take take time more often than I do. Best thing about good friends is that they remain that even if you don’t see that often. Helsinki has not lost its appeal to me even if I visit it less frequently.
I had so many problems with loading the photos into the last post at least 4 attempts to have them in a gallery of my choosing. So I got frustrated and I’ve stayed away for four days. Let’s hope this post is easier. Suomenlinna is a lovely place to visit so I decided to share the joy with you – again .
Visited on of Helsinki’s most popular tourist attractions today. It has been years since I was here. The place has history Suomenlinna (Finnish; until 1918 Viapori), or Sveaborg , literal translation in Finnish is Castle of Finland inhabited sea fortress built on six islands and which now forms part of the city of Helsinki. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and also it as a picturesque picnic site. Originally named Sveaborg. The Swedish crown commenced the construction of the fortress in 1748 as protection against the Russian expansionism. This particular day it was packed with locals as well as tourist as the day was just lovely. Here is some background on the place.
I have to admit, I have been busy at work, so the idea of sitting down and opening the computer again has been rather hard, so here I am catching up. I have taken photos daily, most of them crappy. That is why I am not going to post them, I will cheat a bit. I will post some more from the circus as it was inspiring and it certainly helped the survival of this month.
So tasty, so good. Visited a great restaurant in Helsinki called Toca with work colleagues. Five course meal and wines to go with it. As I said, so delicious. Here are shot iPhone shots from some of the tastings. Herring, cauliflower, celery, all these not so mind blowing ingredients and they were so good…this was a good evening in November, no complaints here
Saturday morning we drove the Helsinki, there is shoe store with very good service and knowledgeable personnel. In May, I one tendon split and other was torn on my left foot, unfortunately it has not healed. So, as our trip to Australia is approaching, I needed to find sandals / shoes that can accommodate my insoles that have been especially made for me. Story short.I got comfortable shoes, but they are not fashionable, that’s for sure. I am not posting photos of the shoes. Lunch, we had lunch and while waiting for the food to arrive I took few photos.
Music to beat November, Manhattan transfer in consert 
It is that time of the year again that survival is definitely on my mind. The all consuming darkness drains me. I will survive, I have sunshine on the horizon in December. Most likely most of my photos will be by my mobile as the darkness does not really invite you to take photos unless you are in a city. I do not often go to Helsinki, but the day we got the first snow, not officially, it melted ½ hour before it could have been mentioned as first snow. I saw it and for me it was the first snow of the season. I have to admit I was not thrilled about it. Helsinki railway station in the evening is what I will share as my first post for November.
Two of the most well known Churches in Helsinki. The first one is Helsinki Cathedral is the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran cathedral of the Diocese of Helsinki, located in the neighborhood of Kruununhaka in the centre of Helsinki, Finland. The church was originally built from 1830-1852 as a tribute to the Grand Duke of Finland.
Uspenski Cathedral is an Eastern Orthodox cathedral in Helsinki, Finland, dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos (the Virgin Mary). Designed by the Russian architect Aleksey Gornostayev (1808–1862). The cathedral was built after his death in 1862–1868.
The statue in the marketplace in front of it is Keisarinnankivi, Helsinki’s oldest monument built in 1835. In the right bottom corner, the ugly square building is by Alvar Aalto, I have always thought is placed in totally wrong place.
Helsinki at the end of March. No spring in sight
Today in Helsinki we saw an unusual sight in Hernesaari, a small seal was on the shore. There were lots of people gathered around it. Looking and wondering and taking lots of pictures of it. I hope this little thing is able to reunite with it’s mother (dam?) when the people are not there. I just heard that people got too close to it, even petted it, so the firefighters ended up taking it to Korkeasaari a zoo in Helsinki.
When walking in the city, this being in Helsinki there was only some dirty snow around. Cold wind, but sunny skies, here it looks like spring. Don’t be deceived, it on looks like it.
Sea view as I continue with my monthly theme, but photos from previous winters.
What can I say, November can look good if you make the effort to be in the nature at the right time, pay attention to color contrasts and details like rocks on the ground or drift wood. If you just look at it – it’s OK, but the wind factor makes the weather very harsh.
Sunday morning and day was no surprise to me it was grey and rainy again. In the afternoon there was a hint of light just before it set. We drove to Helsinki and on our way back 16:30 it was dark again. The joys of light.
Helsinki in November sunlight 
Unfortunately the photos have the window reflections on the, but Helsinki is rather beautiful city, mixture of old and new. I took these from the 16th floor at Clarion Hotel in Helsinki-
Walking in Helsinki in Jätkäsaari, around the new Clarion Hotel, you can see beautiful reflections and from the glass structures. The ship yards on one side, cruise ships being built and on the other side you can see ships that take you to Tallinn.
This week I have picked a street photograph, a coffee moment outside. A man, obviously enjoying a cup of coffee and reading the morning paper. This is my pick for Monochrome Madness this week. The original is included for comparison.
Street photography at Kapteeninkatu in Helsinki. The Finnish flag was Half-mast for our former President Mauno Koivisto who had passed away the day before. I have photos in color and Monochrome, for some reason they appeal to me in street photography. What your opinion about it?
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography 