I’m at my happy place, I can hear the birdsong, sound of the wind, bee’s buzzing in this so called place of silence.
The variations of green…gotta to love it.
Here are some signs of spring , the joy and the glory of nature. I had made up my mind not to take flower pictures as I have so many of them already, but I did anyways. Cherry tree blossoms…well got to love them
Submitted for Cee’s Flower of the Day AND Nature Photo Challenge #14
Editing is fun, and i make several editing versions of my photos and I try to pick the one I like the most.
I saw this challenge and thought I’d give it a go. This is for April as I could not find one for May.
The original one.above and black and white version below
I now days always shoot in RAW and am able to play with the photo in so more ways than if I did with JPG.
In this version I added light to the background, changed the tones more towards blues.
The last one I turned the shot into autumn tones and the mood changed totally
One-to-Three Photo Processing Challenge-April 2023
PS the header is slightly different from the original, did you happen to notice that? I added some softness to it
I’m at my happy place, I can hear the birdsong, sound of the wind, bee’s buzzing in this so called place of silence.
The variations of green…gotta to love it.
Here are some signs of spring , the joy and the glory of nature. I had made up my mind not to take flower pictures as I have so many of them already, but I did anyways. Forget me not – I did not forget these tiny little wonders
Submitted for Cee’s Flower of the Day.
🦋 butterflies are so lovely … Here are some I have been lucky to capture.
And as Denzil wrote: For Nature Photo Challenge #13 we focus on Butterflies. Butterflies of course are beautiful, photogenic, and interesting. They deserve to be protected just because they are butterflies and worthy of our love and protection. However, they are also highly useful insects.
If you ask me to name these species, no, not able to do that, but as stated they are lovely.
For Denzil´s Nature Photo Challenge.
This week, Amy challenges us to post some beautiful sky or cloudscapes.
what can I say, great topic. I have so SO many cloud and sky shots. When in a car I live watching the clouds, more often than not we have clouds in the sky here in Finland, it is m feeling, not an actual fact, but let’s go with that anyways. I did dig up some information about clouds, if not interested skip that and just view the photos. That is my thing anyways… enjoy. And Thanks Amy this was just up my kind of topic.
These are cloud types in Northern Hemisphere
 | Cirro-form The Latin word “cirro” means curl of hair. Composed of ice crystals, cirro-form clouds are whitish and hair-like. There are the high, wispy clouds to first appear in advance of a low-pressure area such as a mid-latitude storm system or a tropical system such as a hurricane. |
 | Cumulo-form Generally detached clouds, they look like white fluffy cotton balls. They show vertical motion or thermal uplift of air taking place in the atmosphere. They are usually dense in appearance with sharp outlines. The base of cumulus clouds are generally flat and occurs at the altitude where the moisture in rising air condenses. |
 | Strato-form From the Latin word for “layer”, these clouds are usually broad and fairly wide spread, appearing like a blanket. They result from non-convective rising air and tend to occur along and to the north of warm fronts. The edges of strato-form clouds are diffuse. |
 | Nimbo-form Howard also designated a special rain cloud category which combined the three forms cumulo + cirro + stratus. He called this cloud “nimbus”, the Latin word for rain. The vast majority of precipitation occurs from nimbo-form clouds and therefore these clouds are generally the thickest. |
Clouds in the Northern Hemisphere can vary depending on the latitude, season, and weather patterns. For example, in the mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, clouds tend to form ice more often and contain less liquid water than in the Southern Hemisphere. This is because the air in the Southern Hemisphere is cleaner and has fewer aerosol particles for cloud droplets to freeze around.
One of the most interesting types of clouds that can be seen in the Northern Hemisphere are noctilucent clouds, which are the highest clouds on Earth and can only be observed at night during summer months. They are made of tiny ice crystals and reflect sunlight from below the horizon, creating a blue or silver glow.
Noctilucent clouds are only visible at night during summer months because they are very high up in the atmosphere, around 76 to 85 km (249,000 to 279,000 ft), and they need very cold temperatures and low pressure to form. They also need sunlight to illuminate them from below the horizon, which only happens during astronomical twilight in summer at high latitudes.
Above are clouds and skies from finland, below sunsets from all Sri Lanka (man gliding) next to it sunset in India, the red moon. Unser it a sunset and clouds in Key West, Florida. The very blue and red sunset is from Cape Verde. The last three are from Australia.
These first three are from are skies from Florida. Next two from France – Nice. Last row is Italy, USA – California and last Australia- NSW
I invite you to join us this week to, challenge hosted by Amy to post some beautiful sky or cloudscapes.
We all have these photos … throwback photos! Don’t we just… so many. It’s described as ‘nostalgia-inducing pictures … from a different era of your life”.
This week (#TB Thursday). We visited Karhulinna ( bear castle) in Korkeasaari Zoo in 2015. I got some nice shots of the bears enjoying a smim and playing together.
Korkeasaari got its first bears already in 1888, i.e. a year before the zoo was officially founded.
Today’s Karhulinna is home to two bears, Sofia born in 2001 in Ähtäri Zoo and her female cub Yulia born in 2006 in Korkeasaari. They look very similar, but there are some differences in behavior – for example, the younger one of the bears likes to swim, but its mother is content to wade. Bears hibernate indoors in their own dens, usually from November to the beginning of March.
The bear is Finland’s largest predator, but it mostly eats plant food. It tastes soft shoots, leaves, roots, berries and grain, but also all kinds of animal food such as small mammals and fish. Despite its large size, the bear moves nimbly, climbs and swims well.
In Northern Europe, bears hibernate, when their body temperature drops a few degrees and their vital functions slow down. Hibernation is the bears’ way of surviving the long winter, when there is little food available. Before going to sleep, the bear gets fat, eating a lot of sugary berries in particular. Bear cubs are born during the mother’s hibernation in January-March. Their birth weight is only 350-500 grams. The cubs emerge from the nest in May-June, and stay with their mother for a couple of years. When the female has her young cubs with her, she avoids the males when moving, as they can kill the foreign cubs. The female does not have offspring every year.
I have a soft spot for black and white photography, it is expressive and minimalist in and very mood enhancing.
The greatest dishes are very simple.– Auguste Escoffier
Cooking is like painting or writing a song. Just as there are only so many notes or colors, there are only so many flavors – it’s how you combine them that sets you apart.-Wolfgang Puck
Posted for Leanne’s Monochrome Madness
I’m at my happy place, I can hear the birdsong, sound of the wind, bee’s buzzing in this so called place of silence.
The variations of green…gotta to love it.
Here are some signs of spring , the joy and the glory of nature
Posted for Cee’s Flower of the Day
Practicing my food photography.
Garlic was my choice this time. I add garlic to so many foods, and lots of it. Even now my hands smell of garlic as I just put a pan on stove to simmer, making pasta sauce.
Onions I’ve done several times so, this is a slight change.
“Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.”
Those are famous words from the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, often called the father of Western medicine.
He prescribed garlic to treat a variety of medical conditions — and modern science has confirmed many of these beneficial health effects.
In many countries, garlic has been used medicinally for centuries.
Garlic may have a range of health benefits, both raw and cooked.
It may have significant antibiotic properties.
This weeks challenge is John’s Art in the Park
This week’s challenge features a focus on the arts. Public art in all its forms and locations. Whether in a park or a parking lot, an outdoor theater, or a street corner, art in public places can be found in communities worldwide.
Here we go
Mustion Linna – Mustio Manor is a similar place like the one mentioned in the group, but in a smaller scale here in Finland.
Mustio Manor is one of the most precious manor houses in Finland with a history of more than two hundred years. The manor was built between 1783 and 1792 by Magnus Linder II. The manor house is the largest non-ecclesiastic wooden buildings in Finland. The architecture is a mix of the two styles, rococo and neo-classicism, while the Gustavian style dominates the interior.
The park was originally designed as a baroque park in 1787 but in the late 19th century Fridolf Linder renewed the park into an English style of park. He planted many exotic trees from all over the world, which are unusual species in Finland.
The park is now a welcome retreat for the soul with its winding paths, romantic bridges, statues, follies and a water lily path over the water.
Here are some finds from my travels, statues seems to be the most popular art in parks.
Since opening in 2009, Wynwood Walls has evolved into a globally renowned street art museum . These remarkable Walls have transformed the definition of modern art and become a career-defining moment for contributing artists, all while helping to make Wynwood one of the world’s most celebrated urban revitalization projects and an oasis for cutting-edge creativity. The shots below are from 2018.
Art festival in Florida also in 2018
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, built in 1916 as a winter retreat, this lavish villa is a tribute to the Italian Renaissance. The museum contains much of the original furnishings and artwork, and is surrounded by lush, formal gardens, with many statues.
I invite you to join us this week to John’s Art in the Park
Flowers from my archive’s and camera roll.
Something different, shaken and stirred .
Photographs were taken at the Botanical Garden in Helsinki, and I do not remember the name of the flower. It is pretty, it is orange and that’s all good.
Posted for Brens Floral Friday – For Cee’s Flower of the Day.
Warm in and outside, the joy of cottage life
I’m at my happy place, I can hear the birdsong, sound of the wind, bee’s buzzing in this so called place of silence.
I slept so well last night, such a blizz to be able to do so…
Here are some signs of spring , the joy and the glory of new green and pops of color.
For Denzil´s Nature Photo Challenge.
We all have these photos … throwback photos! Don’t we just… so many. It’s described as ‘nostalgia-inducing pictures … from a different era of your life”.
This week (#TB Thursday). Thursday is filled with memories the past, in honor of my mother who passed away too soon, 35 year ago. Obviously these are from a different era and I did not take them.
My mom and her twin and in couple her older sister. I also added one with her and my dad, both passed away too soon. It was more of a custom to have your photo taken in a studio, now we take selfies.
Well on photo from me a throwback rose from my visit to see my sister in Vancouver in 2013. My sister a mom of four unfortunately has also moved to the greener pastures as the saying goes. Memories often hold lots of lost in them.
The last photo is of my mom’s parents and older siblings in 1930’s
Flowers from my archive’s and camera roll.
Something different, shaken and stirred .
Photographs were taken at the Botanical Garden in Helsinki with shaking hands.
Posted for Brens Floral Friday – and Posted Cee´s Flower of the Day.
I have a soft spot for black and white photography, it is expressive and minimalist in and very mood enhancing.
We plan our lives in long, unbroken stretches that intersect our dreams the way highways connect the city dots on a road map. But in the end we learn that life is lived in the side roads, alleys, and detours.
Richard Paul Evans
Inspiration comes from not only within ourselves, but also from watching life around us.
Anthony – T. Hincks
Well it has been cold lately, but hopefully it will in coming day warm up a little bit. Hoping. I got inspired when I found my old photos from the Botanical garden and took on myself to visit the place again.
You can see the spring is not all that advanced here, because the trees are just about to bloom, is that the appropriate here, maybe not, but the are nearly ready to glow in vibrant new green leaves. And some red leaves also could be seen.
Different types of Anemones were also in bloom, some fading away.
Flowers from my archive’s and camera roll.
Daffodils flowers symbolize new beginnings, rebirth and the arrival of spring. The ancient Greeks associated the flower with self-love, while in Victorian England, daffodils were given as gifts to express admiration and respect. In literature, the daffodil is often used as a symbol of unrequited love and hope.
“Picasso said that no one has to explain a daffodil. Good design is understandable to virtually everybody. You never have to ask why.”—Hugh Newell Jacobsen
Photographs were taken at the Botanical Garden in Helsinki
Posted for Brens Floral Friday – and Posted for Cee’s Flower of the Day
This week Sofia challenges us to explore mood in photography.
What is mood?
A mental or emotional state, composure.
A verb form that depends on how its containing clause relates to the speaker’s or writer’s wish, intent, or assertion about reality. A sullen mental state; a bad mood. A disposition to do something. A prevalent atmosphere or feeling.
What does moody mean in photography?
A moody photo is one where the light and composition combine with the subject to create an image that generates an emotional response from the viewer. My dictionary says: Giving an impression of melancholy or mystery. An interesting definition – melancholy and mystery are powerful, emotional words.
Lighting your subject from the front creates a less directional look than lighting from the side or the back, and the latter two are better suited to a dark and moody style. If you’re shooting outdoors, the dim light of late evening into dusk is excellent for a dark and moody look.
Light and airy photos are bright, light, and generally feature soft, pastel-colored subjects. By contrast, “dark and moody” photos are just that: lots of dark areas, images with deep shadows, rich colors, and lots of drama.
Creating mood and atmosphere in your photography helps the viewer to connect with your images. Depending on the mood you create, it can make bring out certain emotions or memories in the viewer. It can also make your photo more tactile and realistic.
Remember that you can add emotions to your photographs by carefully choosing the color palette. A darker, colder color palette may convey fear or sadness. A brighter, warmer color palette may communicate joy, or melancholy. Add atmosphere and color to your subject matter, and you’ll see the difference.
mood also comes from the expression, not only color palette, or contrast play
Black and white photography is a great way to create moody photos, this time I chose mainly color to show the difference it creates in the mood . Well if you have followed me for a long time you know I really like portraits in B&W, in these sets I have couple in both ways, pointing it out in case you didn’t notice. They have a slightly different mood. In the last post I said I like to shoot with side light… well now I know why, mood. I always try to add mood to the equation. Hope you enjoyed the visit.
I invite you to join us this week for Sofia’s Mood challenge.
Flowers from my archive’s and camera roll.
“A tulip doesn’t strive to impress anyone. It doesn’t struggle to be different than a rose. It doesn’t have to. It is different. And there’s room in the garden for every flower.” – Marianne Williamson
“The tulip is a courtly queen, whom everyone bows to on first acquaintance.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“Tulips are the perfect embodiment of grace and elegance.”
Posted for Brens Floral Friday – and Cee’s Flower of the Day Photography Challenge
We all have these photos … throwback photos! Don’t we just… so many. It’s described as ‘nostalgia-inducing pictures … from a different era of your life”.
This week (#TB Thursday). Thursday is filled with memories from The evergreen glasshouses from Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden in Helsinki.
The glasshouses’ biggest attraction is the Victoria cruziana (Santa Cruz water lily), which has survived the bombings of World War II and now dominates the luminous and tropical Waterlily Room. The lily pad can grow to have a diameter of over two meters, and it can carry the weight of an adult human. The giant water lily is an annual plant that has occasionally been able to survive the dark Finnish winter in the glasshouse. Often, though, the water lily withers as Christmas approaches, and the new seedling is planted around March in the bottom soil of the pond. (So no reason to worry if you can’t see the water lily, it hasn’t gone anywhere!)
These shots I captured back in 2017, maybe it’s time to visit again.
Flowers from my archive’s and camera roll.
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. It’s what sunflowers do.
– Helen Keller
Pick up a sunflower and count the florets running into its centre, or count the spiral scales of a pine cone or a pineapple, running from its bottom up its sides to the top, and you will find an extraordinary truth: recurring numbers, ratios and proportions.
– Charles Jencks
Roses get all the glory, but sunflowers provide all the cheer. Whether encountering them growing wild in a field, or for sale at a local shop, sunflowers just exude happiness. Add some sunshine to your life
Posted for Brens Floral Friday – FF#88 and Cee’s Flower of the Day Photography Challenge
I have a soft spot for black and white photography, it is expressive and minimalist in and very mood enhancing.
Inspiration comes from not only within ourselves, but also from watching life around us.
Anthony – T. Hincks
It doesn’t seem to matter, the time of day, watching people walking by always puts a smile on my face.
Posted for Bren’s Midweek Monochrome and Leanne’s Monochrome Madness
This week Ann-Christine challenges us to explore backlit photography.
What is backlit photography?
Backlight is light that hits the subject from behind, typically higher than the subject it is exposing.
Backlighting can be a very effective tool if used skillfully. If backlighting is employed well, it can bring a greater sense of depth and an emotional aesthetic to photographs.
Backlighting a photograph is not the simplest method of lighting in photography, nor is it right for every photograph. The first step to mastering backlight photography is understanding the effects that backlighting has on an image. The primary effects of backlighting include:
I use this technique on nature macro photos most often and of course on sunsets and rises, and I noticed night photos are also mostly done this way.
But when I was looking for samples I came to realise that I use sidelight more frequently. They are also often backlit, but, so that light is slightly is more on the side, so I don’t know if it is technically backlit. This happens mostly in portraits. Is this like splitting hairs? Not important?
Good use of natural light. If you’re shooting outside with a small amount of natural light, backlighting can be a good way to take advantage of your lighting situation to produce a striking and evocative image.
Street photography and architecture looks more interesting in backlite.
Depth. Backlight photography emphasizes the depth behind the subject and gives images a greater sense of place.
Dramatic effect. Backlighting can produce a dramatic contrast between the subject and the background. This can be an especially effective technique when shooting outdoor portraits.
I invite you to join us this week for Ann-Christine’s Backlit challenge.
We came to out summerhouse for the first time this year. It is early spring so not much green yet visible, it is time to do spring jobs, take the leaves and burn fallen branches. Clean the house.
We forgot to bring the wireless internet with us here , so I will be here with just the phone.
Wishing everyone a great weekend,.
Flowers from my archive’s and camera roll.
“Where flowers bloom, so does hope.” – Lady Bird Johnson
We are still in very early stages of spring, but moss is is green. I know this is not really flowers, but it is my blog 🙂 so this is what are my take on flowers this week. Moss is so pretty and interesting if you look closely.
Moss grows where nothing else can grow. It grows on bricks. It grows on tree bark and roofing slate. It grows in the Arctic Circle and in the balmiest tropics; it also grows on the fur of sloths, on the backs of snails, on decaying human bones. It is a resurrection engine. A single clump of mosses can lie dormant and dry for forty years at a stretch, and then vault back again into life with a mere soaking of water.
Elizabeth Gilbert
The moss sits hedgehog-like on the stone, softly hibernating, gently green. Kelsey plucks it, surprised by the wetness that remains from the morning rain when every other thing has been dried by the sun.
Angela Abraham
Posted for Brens Floral Friday – FF#88 and Cee’s Flower of the Day Photography Challenge
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography 