Not the jolly sunny kind, just wet and a plenty of it. One moment you can barely walk and you have to dig your personal parking space. A few hours later everything is melting and you question the nature’s intensions and the purpose of life while you wade through heaps of wish-wash. And this all, this shall freeze over tonight!
Makes sense in December/January – holiday resorts turn into ghost towns, yet you get so much sun, fresh breezy air and good food. And reuniting with some of the dearest people in my life was absolute bliss.
And because this partly is a lifestyle blog, I’m supposed to brag, so I’m not going to tell you that I was ill, snotty and feverish almost every moment of the holidays, could not taste or smell a thing (hello, pineaple, Manchego cheese and fresh squid, I remember what you looked like) and felt my head was exploding.
… eeeeeh!!!
Sea and mountains, my two favourite things in the world. In one shot.
Protest in yellow.
… and an empty sand beach – to be compared to any moment between June and Aeptember in any given year.
Living near greenery calms one down – the peace and calming colours bring down the blood pressure, monotonous sounds soothes the busy and stressed mind and the overall abundance of non-man-made stimuli inspire the mind.
Also, I love skiing and running, picking berries, avoiding idiots, grilling marshmallows and taking pictures, so the general proximity of nature works pretty well for me!
As I advertised last time, we spent a week in Lapland. And it was quite nice, although for some reasons hard to comprehend not as nice as I would wish. Now, I actually did not take that many pictures, because I find carrying a DSLR on ski trips awkward. Also… how many pictures of snowy landscapes does one actually fancy looking at in April?
Not that much of azure-blue skies, more silvery beige tones. Nah, I absolutely adore Lapland, but after a long and particularly gray winter I’m not that thrilled any more.
On a more spring-like note, a few shots from the short walks around parks and nature reserves in Helsinki area. As you can see, I got a bit carried away by moss...
Do expect more photos tonight or tomorrow. So long, m’friends!
February is almost over and I haven’t been updating the website as much as I promised. Partly due to the lack of events, dull weather and general photopportunities, partly due to those events I have no name nor an excuse for.
So we went to Turku/Åbo, took care of some research-related business, visited some museums and took pictures. Of grey, nearly empty Turku. I’m particularly fond of how this mosaic turned out, the orange hopeful corner… so, how was your February?
I’m typing this on the phone and it is definitely not that easy. Shall I give in and get a tablet with a keyboard or something.? Plus I have no access to my camera pic as of now, so yeah, this might be a bit dull.
First, a bit of boasting: my no-more-sweatshop challenge is going well! I have been so tempted a few times but I’m still good and fair;)
Second, TelltsleFacebook reminded me that today is my 11 year anniversary of FB presence. What?! 11 years?! With a tear jnder my eye I remember tjose times ehen FB was fun, apolitical, for university students only, I had no need to censor my posts, it was just a play. And today, FB is the vox populi and your profile is your constructed self as you want the society to see you… and everyone is on it. Everyone. Not a fun place anymore, actually I do feel anxious every time I open it, anticipating more ignorance, boasting and suggested posts… no.
I’m in Pampas, aka Österbotten, for the moment. Doing my fieldwork and exploring new places. Burglars: don’t worry, my man is at home, taking care of our property. So! To begin with, there are plenty oc mink/fox/fur farms around. It’s not a pretty sight really, in fact it’s pretty terrible, and as a consequence driving along the coastal roads smells 😀 Yesterday I made it to the Söderfjärden crater. No bull, a real crater. It was too cool to describe in words:
Today I waved byebye to Vaasa and discovered Nykaabi, aka Nykarleby. Def worth a visit. For the nature, people and the overall positive vibes!
Needless to say after having driven 200km per day at least I’m knackered. And glad that the Valentines is called “the friends’ day” in here. Somehow it makes d everyone feel loved, nevermind the relationship status…
That’s a brain/marshmallow/cloud/cotton candy heart for all of you out there. Take what you need out of it ❤ and now please excuse me, I need to go to bed. Noapte buna!
In case you were wondering why I have not posted anything for way too long (sorry), THIS is why:
Seriously, one gets so little inspiration from the absolute lack of light. Somehow I have been fighting the past weeks on autopilot, and as of February I feel I might… might finally be ready for bigger transformation. Another kick: as a matter of fact, today I received a new batch of business cards arrived today, with the new kitty/geometric logo.
I’m pleased with the result.
So. The idleness and lameness aside, I’ve been putting on weight, doing some artwork and writing up PhD related stuff. Finally I have some sense of direction I believe. Maybe my research is relevant after all…
I cannot even go for walks to get inspiration, and I’m not the kind of studio photographer (babies, budoir, nudes, meh, I’m not into staged photography. I hate when I can totally tell how unnatural the pose or the situation is), or the stalking kind taking pictures of people sipping their coffees or performing their acts. I need more spontaneity, more light (duh) and more life. I was thinking I might like to sneak into a closed world in its own terms, like, a factory or another kind of institution, seemingly independent on whatever is going on outside. The truth is, nobody likes photographers spying on them, or observing their work or casual movements, and the last thing I want to cause as a photographer is to upset people.
I cannot say my recent attempts to be photographically productive have been successful. Today, for example, I took a walk around the Töölönlahti bay to Kaisaniemi park. People were – with the exception of drunkards – rushing from building to building/vehicle, striving to spend as little time in transit or outside as possible. But then I saw the beautifully lit greenhouse of the botanical garden in Kaisaniemi:
Nowhere near as interesting as an average botanical garden around Helsinki, but in the overall dimmed grayness the old greenhouses were shining far around. Next time I’m in Österbotten, and that shall be quite soon, I will take pictures of mink or fox farms and those huuuuge greenhouses shining like lighthouses. They contrast amazingly with the snow… should there be snow.
In order to compensate (at least on the paper) for my photo- and bloglaziness I already planned two and three halves of travels for this year. Some in Europe, some possibly beyond, depends on circumstances. No matter how much I disappoint my mummy, I think I will be going to Romania, to Transylvania and Danube delta to be precise. I have been wanting to go for ages, and I feel this could be the sort of a cultural holiday I need. And yes. Transfăgărășan road, aka another Ceaușescu’s mad projects, is indeed on the list.
What else is left to say? Keep calm and… huh huh… hope for the sun! Meanwhile, spend times with those who have you dear.
(frozen, drity ground compilation)
We had exactly 3 days of winter last week. Winter meaning minus degrees, snow and sun; after that it quickly turned back to good old liminal grey nonsense.
On one of these days I took a feel-good walk to the cemetery and paid tribute to the frozen cherubs.
On another day I had some business in Malmi. I wish there was something more exciting to take pictures of. Maybe some other time?
However, during the weekend we were meeting some friends on Suomenlinna. And that’s why this post will probably take you like 2 hours to load – I cannot resist taking AND uploading all the pictures. According to hardcore Suomenlinna locals such days are scarce and should be enjoyed fully. So we did that.
I don’t think these photographs need any comments: we took the ferry to the island and walked around and drank coffee and bubbly. The light was soft and warm and everything was so fluffy from frost.
I’m particularly fond of the following picture. Eeeeeeeeghh!!
Everything was fluffy and beautiful. Bikes, trees, trash along the paths, fences, rails. Everything.
The best thing is that apart from minor exposure etc. corrections no photohandling was needed.
Some views across the half-frozen sea…
Those pastel colours!!
Obviously we tried to avoid the crowds.
A little peninsula.
Isn’t that wonderful? It was. A few days later the temperatures climbed above zero and all the beauty was gone. So I resorted to books, emails, articles and sketchbook.
