12 November 2013

a visit to kruunuvuori I.

at long last we finally paid another visit to Kruunuvuori: last time I was there was several months ago and I did not find the place as intriguing as the previous times. now I realise it must have been the wrong season and I can maintain that the best time of the year to visit Kruunuvuori remains certainly late autumn: in fact it is easier to spot the abandoned cottages when there are no leaves on the trees - not to mention that the gloomy look of the forest really gives a more mysterious feeling to the area.
a visit to Kruunuvuori - part I:
Nikon FM - Fuji Superia X-tra 800
Saturday the 2nd of November looked like the perfect gloomy day to visit Kruunuvuori: in fact I finally got to see the cottages at their melancholic best once again! though I am not totally pleased with the way my photographs turned out: the sky was so bright it became quite overexposed and the grain of the X-tra 800 suddenly seems too grainy for me. having said that I still feel like sharing some of my shots - hoping they can carry that mysterious aura of Kruunuvuori which I find so intriguing.
P.S. more to come about that day in Kruunuvuori in the next few posts!

45 comments:

  1. Why does it sound so familiar to me? Neither sky is bright neither it s too grainy, it is special and very beautiful;-) I was always so proud of the wild nature here, but it seems there are the places I will have to visit once in my life. The wilder, the better:) x

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    1. I'm glad you think so, thank you! I always love the beautiful wild places you photograph over there too!

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  2. I think these turned out great!
    For me, I sort of like the slight spookiness effect... ;D

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    1. Thank you, dear Charlyn! I like the spooky feeling of these photographs too, I just wish the sky was not that badly overexposed. I'm saving to buy myself some proper filters!

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  3. this makes me long for a walk in the wood, camp, fire pit, and a hammock swing. i'll wake up in the morning washing my face in the river. and that will be perfect.

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    1. I totally understand your longing! Even though I do not know if I would feel comfortable overnight in Kruunuvuori - it remains a little spooky to me.

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  4. Dispirited cottages in a wistful forest. Love it!

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    1. Thank you, Antonella! It's a very special place to me!

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  5. I love the mystery of forests, especially with abandoned buildings in! Really feel the mystery in these photos!

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    1. Thank you, Charlotte! I'm glad you do!

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  6. Now that's my kind of place! Such an aura of mystery :)

    I've never tried that iso, but I've pushed a 400 to 800 and still didn't take that roll to the lab, so I don't know if it was a great idea... let's hope it was!

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    1. Thank you, Inês! It's one of my favourite places in Helsinki ever.
      I'm sure your roll will be fine - I usually like grainy film rolls, I don't know why with this one in particular the grain just seems to be too much.

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  7. love the photos!

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    1. Thank you, Naomi! And thank you for stopping by!

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  8. finally back and this is the first post i see! fantastic! <3

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    1. Thank you, Amanda! I know you are a fan of Kruunuvuori too!

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  9. Anonymous13.11.13

    these are great. I can imagine that the feel would be very different in summer.

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    1. Thank you so much, Petra! Yes, in the summer time the houses are almost completely hidden by the vegetation and the summer light gives a totally different feeling.

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  10. I think the feel is great. Looking forward to the rest of the pictures :)

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    1. I'm glad to hear that, Evelyn! Thank you! More to come soon!

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  11. it's clear that the color may have been a little distorted, but I still think they're gorgeous!
    seeing the little houses in the woods actually creates in me a certain feeling of melancholy, which I love!
    always a awesome work from you Polly! have a nice week :-)

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    1. Thank you so much, dear Diogo! I'm actually very happy with the way the colours turned out - they were truly as desaturated as it seems from the photographs. The problem for me is the overexposed sky. I'm glad you like the melancholic feeling, though!
      Have a great week too!

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  12. You make me miss Europe and all those wonderful and amazing fall colors.

    I see what you mean, the sky feels a bit too bright but it gives a really nice contrast with the reds and browns!

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    1. Thank you, I'm happy you think so! Europe can be very fascinating in autumn, I know - but at the moment you're taking an amazing journey in Asia, so you should try not to miss Europe too much.

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  13. I love the colors although i understand the frustration with too much white sky,it happens to me and i get bummed but i think here everything is great :)

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    1. Thank you, dear Sara! I wish the sky could always be full of dramatic looking clouds, not just a milky white board - deep down I'm a romantic!

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  14. Quite an enchanting forest...i can only imagine how wonderful it will be passing through this place in different season.

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    1. It is indeed! I don't know why, but of all the many forests I have seen in Finland, this remains the most special one!

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  15. The abandoned cottages are amazing, makes for quite an adventure in the forest! I'm not a fan of 800 speed film myself, I only get non-grainy results once in a special while!

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    1. They are! There will be more of them in the next photographs I share.
      I actually usually like grainy films, I just don't know why I am not that happy with this one in particular.

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  16. Gosh I want to go there! The gloom is just gorgeous and the colours too, wow!

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    1. Thank you, Rhianne! It is a very fascinating place and that gloomy day really added to it!

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  17. I love the pictures and don't mind at all that the sky appears brighter than you might have intended. In fact I think it fits very well with the spirit of the area and says something about that this is a place full of 'sad and heavy' feeling where one wonders what has happened even when knowing the facts. Looking forward to the next posts about Kruunuvuori.

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    1. Hmm, what I meant is… that the place itself feels so heavy that the sky seems to be very far away in any case and kinda detached from the whole thing… that's why it's for me dark below and bright far up and away.

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    2. Cathérine, thank you so much for these wonderful comments! I had not thought about it that way before... now even the bright sky seems to have a purpose in the photographs. Thank you! And thank you so much for showing me the way to Kruunuvuori three years ago! ♥

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  18. oh polly, these are magnificent
    xx

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  19. Oh, but those houses and the forest growing freely where it wants! I can see why you find the film too grainy, but it adds also to these photos. I like them.

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    1. Thank you, dear Ingeborg! That means a lot to me, that place is really special.

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  20. Anonymous15.11.13

    these are wonderful! a bit too grainy idneed, but it's a 800 asa...
    but so beautiful, dear!

    oh, and this just reminded me of you: http://www.hypeness.com.br/2013/11/dupla-de-artistas-constroi-condominios-para-passaros-em-londres/
    so lovely!

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    1. Thank you, dear Catarina!
      That piece with the bird houses is truly magnificent - just a couple of days ago another friend of mine has linked it to me, how wonderful!

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  21. Stunning pictures and they definitely carry the gloom and the mystery... what an atmospheric place! And I look very forward to more of your shots of it!

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    1. Thank you so much, Nancy! I've just published a new post with some more photographs. Have a lovely weekend!

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  22. oh! this place seems the home of fairies and elves, haunted by the forest's spirits, smelling dripping water and musk... love it!

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    1. That could be an interesting and very imaginative description of Kruunuvuori, Silvia! Thank you!

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