21-22.08.2017

We both agreed to spend the most of our trip in the Westfjords: since 2015 they have held a special place in our hearts!

It was great to be able to see Patreksfjörður again and enjoy the delicious pizza of the local grocery shop: I had not forgotten that one! Also stopping at Simbahöllin at Þingeyri for their incredible waffles was a must!

This time around we also had the chance to enjoy the natural hot pools and swimming pools: the Birkimelot ones were particularly nice, as we were able to have them all for ourselves in the early morning.

Last but not least, we arrived at Látrabjarg cliff in the evening but did not expect to see any puffins as the nesting season had already ended: you can imagine how delighted we were to be able to see a few instead! I am so happy with the photos I took of them!
That evening we slept at the Breiðavík camp ground, which was particularly lovely.

Camera Nikon Df
Lens Nikon 135mm f/2 DC

26.07.2017

Oh, this summer has been so good to me: I have lost count of how many wonderful places I have seen and how many wonderful people I have met! That day I visited another island where I had never been before: just a 20-minute ferry ride from Helsinki, Pihlajasaari is a gem with gorgeous sea views and vegetation. Maria, Riim and I took a late afternoon ferry ready to have a little picnic and a photowalk in the beautiful evening light. Everything was perfect and I am so happy with the way the photographs turned out!

Camera Nikon Df
Lens Nikon 135mm f/2 DC

06.06.2017

Some yellow tulips growing with nettles and other weeds at the botanic garden — they looked so beautiful and wild — and a lovely pigeon that seemed to be happy about posing for me. Will I ever get tired of taking pictures of flowers and birds in the sunlight? The summer is always too short here, so I must make the most of it!

Camera Nikon Df
Lens Nikon 135mm f/2 DC

iceland - westfjords III.

I can hardly believe a month has already passed since that wonderful evening at Látrabjarg: I will never forget those golden hours spent admiring the puffins! my first encounter with the Atlantic Puffin two years ago was not that lucky: it was dark and rainy and none of my photographs turned out well. this time instead everything was perfect: the weather was clear and the puffins were incredibly close: believe it or not I took these photographs with my 50mm lens on manual focus and I am very happy with the results. towards the end of the evening I got braver and stepped closer to the edge of the cliff: that last photograph may be my absolute favourite of the entire journey!

Westfjords - Puffins at Látrabjarg

camera Nikon F5
lens AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G
film Kodak Ektar 100

hello september.

hello September! I still remember how this particular month felt like when I was at school: a new beginning. September still feels like that to me and I am looking forward to a colourful and hopefully sunny autumn. as my days get busier I will make the most of my free time by doing only what I like.

hello Nikon F5!

Nikon F5 - Fuji Pro 400H

I have recently got myself a Nikon F5: she is a wonderful camera that - among many other things - has a shutter speed that goes as fast as 1/8000. I still cannot believe how lucky I was to find her in such great conditions for such a convenient price: I guess she and I were meant to be together. needless to say she works extremely well with the Petzval and with the beautiful AF-s Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G that I got as a surprise gift from Jacopo. I am so happy about my new equipment that all I really want to do is being outside taking photographs: hopefully next weekend I will finally have time for that.

P.S. of course the first photograph of this mini series is a courtesy of Jacopo! ♥

kaunissaari part V.

at the southernmost part of the island we found a spot where the view of the sea was particularly fascinating: there the wind was very strong and the water more agitated so that everything seemed somehow wilder. what I loved the most were the rocks: very moon-like in my opinion!

Kaunissaari - the beautiful island:

Nikomat EL - Kodak 200

if you look closely at my hat in the second photograph you can perhaps have a sense of how strong the wind was - that image was a courtesy of Jacopo of course. we encountered that lovely family of swans when we finally arrived to a more sheltered area: they looked so peaceful in their little green pond!

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!

my italian holiday - gera lario.

the Sunday before flying back to Helsinki was one of the most beautiful days of my Italian Holiday: in fact I got to spend the whole afternoon together with my parents and sister. the weather was so warm and sunny it really felt like summer in December. I had just a few shots left on my roll and finally took them during our walk beside the lake in Gera Lario - mum and dad's favourite trail.

Gera Lario:

Nikon FM - Lomography Color Negative 400

the blue sky and the reflection of the mountains on the lake felt like the perfect sight to end my holiday with: I was so grateful for that lovely afternoon of sunshine and love! even though that evening was the saddest - as I had to say goodbye to my family the day after - I will always remember that afternoon in Gera Lario with happiness. ♥

P.S. I will share one last post about my Italian Holiday next week!

a very colourful autumn II.

I have to admit that I was very disappointed when I reached the bay that afternoon and saw the fog: I could hardly distinguish the beautifully coloured trees on the other side of the shore. just the day before the weather had been so clear and the sea looked like a mirror - if only I had my camera with me back then other than just my mobile phone. I should always have a spare film roll at home ready to be used! despite my initial disappointment though Töölönlahti looked nevertheless very fascinating.

a very colourful autumn II:

Nikon FM - Fuji Pro 400H

meeting the family of swans on the shore and being able to get so close to them was certainly the highlight of my walk that day: they did not seem to be disturbed by my presence nor the clacking of my Nikon FM at all - I managed to take quite a few good photographs of them but those two are definitely my favourite. I will miss the swans in Töölönlahti when the winter comes!

a very colourful autumn I.

autumn in Helsinki has been particularly beautiful this year: between the first and the second week of October each tree in the city turned colourful and everywhere you looked was red, yellow and orange. some days the sky had been bright blue and some others dark grey yet the colours of autumn made everything look cheerful even on cloudy days. the morning I took a walk with my Nikon FM in Töölönlahti the weather was foggy but I still got to capture some vivid colours.

a very colourful autumn I:

Nikon FM - Fuji Pro 400H

those days the Barnacle Geese were gathering around the city to get ready to migrate: there were many of them in Töölö bay and many people like me were walking around with their cameras to capture the birds and the beautiful autumn colours. a family of swans too was getting a lot of attention from the passers-by: I will share some photographs of them soon.