31 March 2014

look up.

when spring comes the sky looks different every day here in Helsinki: the wind moves the clouds around and very often there are some incredible sunsets. I never get tired of looking up at the sky - especially in the evenings when it is so colourful. I took these on an evening walk last week.
look up - views of the evening sky:

Nikomat EL - Kodak 400
some might think I spend too much time taking photographs of the evening sky - but sunsets will always make me feel ecstatic just like good music: you would never get tired of your favourite album!

28 March 2014

early spring.

it is difficult to express how happy I am about this unexpected early arrival of spring: I want to enjoy every minute I can outdoors! I have started to wake up earlier in the morning and it does not feel hard at all when there is so much light. I took these photographs during a morning walk in the neighborhood: the sky and the sea where bright and piercing blue.
early spring - a morning walk:
Nikomat EL - Kodak 400
the trees are still bare but the first leaves will soon start to grow. there is still some ice on the sea but it is getting thinner and smaller day after day. the length of the day today is of 12 hours and 56 minutes.
I wish you a weekend full of sunshine!

26 March 2014

bye bye winter.

it seems like winter is finally over: the snow has completely melted and the first grass has slowly started to grow. spring has come earlier than last year and I am very grateful for that: the days are longer and I feel happier and more productive. I will not miss winter but there had been beautiful days then too: one of them was when I went for a walk with a dear friend in Uutela - a nature reserve in Vuosaari.
winter memories from Uutela:

Nikomat EL - Kodak 400
I took these more than two weeks ago but I still wanted to share them: I had a lovely time in Uutela and I am planning to go back there often during the warmer months. another beautiful memory of this past winter has been one very windy Sunday afternoon in Uunisaari with Jacopo: the sun was just about to set below the horizon when a massive dark cloud suddenly covered it - it was spectacular!
winter memory from Uunisaari:
Nikomat EL - Kodak 400
the sea was still frozen that day but the strong wind was a clear sign that spring was approaching. I remember spotting a family of swans not too far from the shore: when birds return to Helsinki it really means that winter is over. bye bye winter!

21 March 2014

one sunset in töölönlahti.

a couple of weeks ago one day started off cloudy and dull but towards the end of the afternoon the sky opened up: that day I remember witnessing one of the most beautiful and colourful sunsets I have ever seen! as soon as I saw that the sky was clearing I rushed to Töölönlahti with my Nikomat EL and my Cokin Filters right on time to capture such a magic moment on my film.
one sunset in Töölönlahti:
Nikomat EL - Kodak 400
watching that sunset was magnificent: it felt like spring had already come to Helsinki. I am so happy about the way these photographs turned out that I have even framed one of them - the second.
happy weekend and happy spring to you all!

19 March 2014

one morning in vuosaari.

while everywhere else the first flowers are blooming - here in Finland there is still some snow on the ground. in a place where the winter is so long you have to try to find the beauty of it even when all you really want is spring. I took these photographs one morning in Vuosaari a few weeks ago.
one morning in Vuosaari:
Nikomat EL - Kodak 400
like that white boat I cannot wait for the ice on the sea to finally melt. these once again look like really melancholy photographs - yet when I took that walk by the pier in Vuosaari I did not feel sad but just very peaceful. the wind coming from the sea was cold but smelt wonderfully. I promise I am going to give you some clear skies soon - please keep on stopping by!

17 March 2014

one afternoon in lammassaari.

one of my dearest friends has recently moved to Vanhakaupunki: the perfect location for me to visit her and have a walk around Vanhakaupunkilahti and Lammassaari. I took these photographs a couple of weeks ago during one of our walks: I had never been to that side of Lammassaari before and it was the first time I saw the wooden jetty - perhaps now a new favourite spot of mine.
one afternoon in Lammassaari:
Nikomat EL - Kodak 400
even though these photographs still look very wintry we have had some very springy days too - I will soon give you proof. the days are getting longer and busier for me: I have started a language course to improve my Finnish and I have been selected to work as a volunteer for the Helsinki Photography Biennial - which is very inspiring and fun too! on a sad note I did not pass the selection for the Photography Master programme in Aalto University that I was really hoping to start: it feels bad to know my work was not appreciated enough but I am not going to stop believing in what I do!

13 March 2014

my first time in hanko II.

I was really pleased with all the feedback I got on the first selection of photographs I have shared from my first time in Hanko - thank you! not that far from the sandy beach we ended up in a small laguna where the sea was completely free of ice: the view was still melancholy but very beautiful nonetheless. we even spotted a couple of swans though they were too far for my 28mm lens. can you see those two white shapes in the middle of the second photograph? look carefully!
Hanko - part two:
Nikomat EL - Kodak 400
these are definitely my favourite among the photographs I took in Hanko: it might have been the sight of the water that made me feel like spring was near. the ice on the sea is slowly melting here in Helsinki too and lately we have been enjoying some beautiful sunny days - I feel lucky!

10 March 2014

my first time in hanko I.

last sunday we were in the mood for a short trip and out of the blue we ended up in Hanko - a port town on the southernmost point of continental Finland. we walked along a sandy beach on the opposite side of the harbour: the weather was gray and the place felt abandoned and lonely. here is a first selection of the extremely melancholy photographs I took that day.
Hanko - part one:
Nikomat EL - Kodak 400
even though the sea was still frozen by the shore we could smell the breeze coming in from the open water and that was magnificent. I have always been drawn to the sea - perhaps because I was born and raised on the mountains. that day in Hanko I thought a lot about the book Moominpappa at Sea.
Meren ääni on oikeastaan aika mukava - Muumipappa ja meri

06 March 2014

seurasaari.

lately I have been trying to go for walks as often as possible: spending time in the nature makes me feel better and more productive. sometimes I am alone and some other times with Jacopo or a dear friend. my Nikomat EL and my Cokin filters have become constant companions of these walks - thankfully I still have plenty of those Kodak films that my dad gave me for Christmas!
Seurasaari:
Nikomat EL - Efiniti UXi Super 200
I finished the Efiniti UXi that Evelyn sent me last week in Seurasaari: it was a cloudy evening and the light of the day was almost gone - yet it was wonderfully peaceful and I could manage to take a few photographs that I like around the shores of the island. now that the snow has melted I wonder when the ice on the sea will finally melt. that view of the Ruoholahti power plant is quite impressive!

03 March 2014

uunisaari.

last Tuesday the sky turned so clear and the air felt so warm that I thought spring might had already arrived in Helsinki. unfortunately I was wrong: the rest of the week was grey and this morning it was even snowing a little. hoping that the wet snow will melt away completely and that the sun will come back soon - I am rejoicing by looking at the photographs I took on that wonderful day in Uunisaari.
Uunisaari:
Nikomat EL - Efiniti UXi Super 200
Uunisaari was completely different from the way I left it only a few weeks ago: the sunshine had transformed it into an extremely bright and joyful island. this time I was not the only one taking a stroll there: my favourite bench was occupied and did not look lonely any longer. I felt incredibly happy with the sunshine on my face. I am very thankful for last Tuesday and these photographs!