Tag: photography

Captures from Finland, Photography, Still life

Beige is dependable, conservative, and flexible. The color beige is neutral, calm, and relaxing. The attributes and meanings associated with beige change based on the colors it accompanies.

The color beige offers some of the warmth of the color brown and the some of the crisp and coolness of the color white. While it is a relaxing color, beige is often seen as a dull and boring color.

52 Frames: Week 16: Lamp!

Still life

While we like to focus on the lighting used in photos, we want to include a lamp this week! That means including a lamp IN your photo, not just the suggestion through lighting.

This simple little device has so many forms – Perhaps you could share a story of your own little reading nook where you enjoy some solitude or showcase a scene where the lamp is the hero of the image.

I had an idea, but in the end I was too lazy to do it. I have done nothing this week, well related to photography that is, I did manage to do this.

I took an easy route, I took a photo of one of the lamps in my entrance, did not even dust of the lamp before the shot, well it does a tell a story of the owner for one. To be honest, I think it has a story in it, a story of a girl sitting and reading under a lamp. That is why my art statue, is placed there and I am rather happy with this one.

Some of the suggestions to guide me were: Maybe you could do your own take on some classic art with chiaroscuro lighting. You could even try to use wabi-sabi concepts to bring out the beauty of a much used object, go for a low-key style with lots of shadow in the shot, or take an HDR shot with multiple exposures to illuminate your composition thoroughly. Don’t just take a snapshot, take a photograph that tells a story.

Was mine just a snapshot?

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

52 Frames: Week 15: Extreme Closeup!

this week I have been taking close-up shots. Time to get up close and personal with an Extreme Closeup. If you are thinking this is the MACRO challenge, it is NOT. If you go to the dictionary, you’ll find a closeup is 1. a photograph, movie, or video taken at close range and showing the subject on a large scale. “a closeup of her face” or 2. an intimate and detailed description or study.

I did the winter worn hydrangea again, as the date on the picture has to be same as the weeks challenge. I took shots of the dry flower I had in in bouquet I had couple weeks back. I also have shots of my cat Tinka, but I have to look them thought and edit.

What can you tell your viewer by pushing in close?
What do you want to bring attention to?
Try to find an interesting detail or feature – heck, the most mundane of objects can have something striking if you look closely enough. That’s what this challenge is all about – take a moment to look closer and see those details that are often overlooked.

so simply put, move in and fill your frame with your subject. The idea is to get right into a subject, and have that subject fill the entire frame. You can zoom in with any lens you have, and your feet also make an excellent zoom feature, just walk close to your subject!

PS. This week like last has been hoping and praying that the snow would melt, but it is happening so SLOW!!!! The southern facing slops are free of snow, but our backyard, come on this has 0-40 cm snow. So not much to spot of the spring wonders that delights me every year…

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.

snow covered field in April under grey skies

52 Frames, Week 14: Nature! #2

Details from nature is my other option, the ball hydrangea has weathered the winter well, and I love how the structure and texture has begun to show. I know I have taken similar shots before, on many occasions, but honestly near home there is not much that inspires me at the moment. So, any opinions as what to post as my entry for week 14 ?

Nature shots aren’t restricted to wildlife out in the middle of nowhere. Nature Photography is here to make us feel connected with our home, this pale blue dot 🌍 we call earth. Go out and capture the beauty that surrounds us all.

Macro shots of ball hydrangea after winter

52 Frames, Week 14: Nature!

Nature shots aren’t restricted to wildlife out in the middle of nowhere. How about a starry night shot with a long shutter? Or the waves of the ocean with a high shutter speed to freeze motion? Not possible for me, we have snow, rain an slush… still!!!

Nature Photography is here to make us feel connected with our home, this pale blue dot 🌍 we call earth. Go out and capture the beauty that surrounds us all. I took these of the hill that is just behind our backyard. Capturing weather, snow.. and the the trees on the fill.

the wind has slightly let up…but still snowing pretty heavily

Nature in detail was my option, the ball hydrangea has weathered the winter well, and I love how the structure and texture begin to show. I know I have taken similar shots before, but honestly near home is not much that inspires me at the moment. So any opinions as what to post as my entry for week 14 ?

52 Frames, Week 13: Emotion

People

This week, in search for emotion and someone to photograph, I think I have over used my model, so I gave him a week off 🙂 I am full of emotions, I took some selfies as I had no one to else available had a busy week at work and did not getting anything done. No grandkids live near any more, because their expressive faces would have been so easy to capture true emotion.

On to a “creative-led” challenge this week! Really the core of what photography is about, the core of EVERY story – Emotion. Strong photos should tell a clear story and evoke feelings in those who see our shots.

What could emotion look like? Perhaps the happiness reflected in the eyes of a child, the look of love shared between a couple, the joy of a team celebrating their latest win on the football field or even the pride of a baker showcasing their latest creation. Human emotions run deep and are varied – we can be pensive, or be battling our inner demons – introspective portraits can tell compelling stories.

Slightly optimistic, I will come up with something…

Or just happy ….

Day trip to Porvoo

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

Same, continues

Flowers, Photography

I have not done much, so only thing I’ve really taken photos of is my flowers. They are beautiful so why not. Tinka enjoyed them too.

weekend bouquet

Flowers

I found this beautiful bouquet when looking for flowers to bring to a friend I was to visit. I ended up buying two bouquets, one for me and the other to take to her. Here are some detail shot of it, it is has so many beautiful details that I just have to share the joy I get from it.

Fluffy hay

Flowers

Details from my weekend flower bouquet.

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.

52 Frames, Week 11: An Activity!

People

I have been recovering from an oculoplastic surgery, I look like an owl. I have since Thursday been doing cold treatment, eye drops and antiseptic cream in eyes several times a day. So trying to get a shot of any sort of activity has been a challenge.

But we did go out for lunch yesterday so I took some shot then. I actually sat in the restaurant with my sunglasses on the entire time, felt a bit silly, but no way could ruin other peoples appetite by showing my eyes.

This week, in search for An Activity

At any given point of time, we’re all doing something, so let’s capture that this week and shoot An Activity. This week’s challenge is deliberately open-ended and is there for you to make the most of your creative juices. Basically, think of a verb, something ending in -ing.

Capture a moment in time that depicts someone doing something. Set the tone of the image to add more depth and emotion to your shot. Think about why you want to capture this particular scene and how you can best convey that to your viewer. How ? Make good choices with your lens, composition, lighting and of course, how you edit your image in the end.

me watching hubby dropping snow from the patio roof..

Color or black and white.

52 Frames, Week 10: Low Key!

People

This week, we’re going low, or at least shooting Low Key.

A low key image is going to have shadows, dark tones and, in a lot of cases, the subject of the photo is the only thing shown off with your lighting.

And speaking of light, there is usually only one source of lighting, but be careful because you could shoot with one light source and still not be hitting a true low key photo.

A low key shot draws the viewer’s eye to your subject with no distractions. Think drama, intensity, and moodiness.

If you’re thinking low key is only for studio work, think again! You’ll see in our examples great low key photos of wildlife, architecture, even landscapes.

Low key photography doesn’t mean it has to be a black and white photo. It’s the overall dark you find in the tones, not the absence of color, though that works, too.

Mist morning

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

Winter road

Captures from Finland, Photography

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.

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

Texting and conversations

Black and White photos, Interiors, People

Texting is very loose in its structure. No one thinks about capital letters or punctuation when one texts, but then again, do you think about those things when you talk?

“Producing a photographic document involves preparation in excess. There is first the examination of the idea of the project. Then the visits to the scene, the casual conversations, and – talking, and listening, and looking, looking. … And finally, the pictures themselves, each one planned, talked, taken and examined in terms of the whole.”

52 Frames, Week 9: Reflections!

Captures from Finland, Interiors, People

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

Cable Factory