photography

It all starts with a plan; what is your vision?

Spring is a great time if you love nature. Especially in Finland; suddenly it’s light until 9, 10 and 11 PM. The sun shines, the air is warm and everything starts getting green again. And yet, exactly this time of year is a sort of gap time for me.

There is no ice on the sea or the shores, so the seascapes are boring. Sunset and sunrise (especially) are suddenly at ridiculous times of day. It’s slightly too cold for grasses or any plants to grow, so it’s not green yet. There are no insects, and the birds haven’t moved back from the South yet.

But, it’s a good time to look back at the previous year and come up with plans for the current one. I also go through my photos and create my yearly book of highlights. It is going to be interesting this year, because as I said in my last post, I felt like I was in a rut for a good while. But it’s not ready yet, so I’ll leave you in suspense. Instead, here are a few photos I’ve actually taken during a few months while waiting for so called better conditions.

The first set was taken up North where there still is some snow. I think they illustrate the ‘seeing’ and ‘feeling’ I talked about in the last post quite well. How do I see? What do I feel? Let’s start with something that didn’t work out.

I had a vision. Heavy snowfall, traditional Finnish forest, and simplicity. So when it started snowing heavily I had to figure out where I could find minimalism; the middle of a frozen lake. It took me quite a while to walk out there, but I knew I wouldn’t get a good perspective from anywhere else. I had a picture in mind, but despite trying hard, the above wasn’t it. So; what works, what doesn’t?

I love the streaking snowfall (took me around 20 shutter speed tests to get it right, this was at 1/15th of a second). I like the island and I like the positioning of it, smack in the middle. But. The foreground branch does not work as a foreground. It’s way too small and/or too far away. Most people don’t understand what it is immediately (it’s a marker for a fishing net under the ice). And then the big problem; there aren’t many elements, but this image is not minimal. It’s the background. Even though the falling snow helps a lot with subject separation, the background still clutters the image too much. I don’t feel the image conveys what I want. So, I gave up and moved a bit.

More streaking snow, dramatic(-ish) skies, traditional Finnish lakeside houses and a mast for interest; you can see the top of the mast is covered in cloud, that’s deliberate. I like this one, but still not what I was looking for. Minimalism, remember? Next scene was this:

Two things drew me to this; the just-right amount of snow on the trees on the right. And the utter, beautiful, white emptiness behind them. I knew this was the best I could find, but how to compose such a scene? The trees on the right continued all round to the right; on the left, there was some open lake and the island from the first photo. And, as you can see, there were skiers out and about. Do I want a person in the shot?

I’m a firm believer in the following statement; in the right conditions and the right place, landscape photography becomes child’s play. The difficulty, and it is sometimes extremely difficult, is to be at the right place at the right time. Most of the time, you’ll fail. But when the stars align and everything comes together, it just takes a single shutter press to capture your vision.

I also have a version without a skier if I change my mind later; but for now this is it, this is my choice. And I created it, by careful thought from idea to execution. There is no photoshopping whatsoever. The whiteout is natural; the other shore is 10+ kilometers away. The snow streaks are subtle but clearly visible. There are no distractions anywhere, yet enough detail to keep interest. And the skier makes it a pure form of Finland; despite hostile and miserable conditions, we press on. Also, did you notice the image isn’t black-and-white?

Landscapes are what I love most; the grueling aspect of finding the correct place, waiting for the correct time and weather, and snapping a single moment in time to remember it. But nature is more than that; nature is also about the life in it. Right now, nature is awakening and the first birds have just managed to find their way back to Finland. There are animals to photograph, if you can find them, but most animals will start moving around after a few weeks. At my level, my plan for animals is ‘find them’. Not the best plan, but it’s something I can do.

I’d love to photograph e.g. foxes, but I can honestly say I don’t know where my local foxes hang out. So, for now, I just take images of birds I see while I’m out. And, the more photos you take (with intention), the more chance there is that you’ll get lucky. Some of those shots might even convey a feeling, or your vision. But for now, I’m just practicing keeping any animal in my viewfinder for long enough to take a picture. Soon, spring will be here in full force, and I need to be ready. Having one image out of literally hundreds turn out OK is a nice bonus though.

Hi Bob!

Getting a great photo is not just about luck. You have to know why you’re taking the image first, before you press the shutter. You have to feel it. Most of the time you won’t be satisfied with what you got, and that needs to be OK. Sometimes, you will be in the right place at the right time. When that happens, don’t hesitate, don’t second-guess. If you’ve taken enough bad photos, you know what to do to take a good one instinctively. In the meantime, keep on going out, keep on looking for animals and landscape locations, and keep an eye on the forecast. And don’t judge yourself for not liking your own work; figure out why you don’t, and do it better next time. When you have a vision, the rest will come naturally.

Re-learning how to see and feel - a year after Norway

It took me a while. Almost a year, in fact. But finally, I’m inspired again. I wake up (way too) early for sunrises, I stare out of the office window longingly for sunsets, and I take some time off a lazy weekend to go outside to shoot some birds in the neighborhood. I have my mojo back. But what happened last year?

After returning from Norway (see the last posts for that one), it took me a long while to go through the photos and write about the trip. I was too tired, too exhausted to think about the trip or the pictures. In fact, it took me months to finish processing and writing. When spring arrived last year, I had no inspiration left. I barely took my camera anywhere. Summer came and went. I took pictures, but I wasn’t feeling it. Everything just seemed ‘meh’. Even images that in hindsight are pretty nice felt like crap at the time. I had lost my way.

Looking at my collection, I have way less pictures from last year than any previous. And most of the pictures I do have are from Norway. How could Finland, and especially my little boring corner of Finland, compare to Lofoten? Thinking on it, having my Lofoten and Senja pictures constantly visible as my laptop screensaver probably didn’t help with the melancholy.

I wish I knew what finally snapped me out of it so I can do that sooner next time. But trying to find images for this post, I remember two moments from last year that stand out. And both involve a random animal encounter. Now, the pictures aren’t very good; I was out of practice and messed up the settings on both. But I did get something.

The first one was in late August and I was out at the cottage. Out of old habit, my camera hang off my shoulder (you never know, right?). I saw a dark spot moving in the corner of my eye, above some reeds. I didn’t see what it was, but it caught my attention so I went to take a closer look. I couldn’t see anything, but three ducks I had seen earlier in the same spot had started panicking. And I knew. I lifted my camera and waited. A minute later, a big harrier (Western marsh harrier to be exact) burst forth from the trees to try to grab a duck. It missed, but I didn’t. Much.

After that day, something in me changed. I slowly started trying again. I drove out to the usual spots a few times in search of sunset colors. The topmost photo is the only decent one of the bunch, but it was something. That wasn’t the second trigger though; that was another chance encounter, a few hundred meters from my apartment building. I was out taking potshots at small birds late in November, during one of the few sunny days we had during the lovely (not really) early winter. I was crouched in a bush, trying to get a few Blackbirds to pose for me beside a small stream that runs through the area, when I saw something I’d never though I’d see in the city. A mink. I don’t know if it was just passing through or if it lives here. I’ve never seen it before, and haven’t seen it since. But I did get a picture.

Winter arrived along with the typical darkness, smothering all hope of taking pictures outside. December in Turku is typically wet, dark and miserable, and this year wasn’t any different. But in January, we got finally got snow. And with the snow and sunny days, I started feeling strange urges. Against my better judgement, during multiple days, I set my alarm clock to ring earlier than it had any right to. I put on a lot of clothes, packed my bag, and went in search for sunrise photos.

Of course, when you actually start trying, you’ll find that nature can be a cruel mistress. I didn’t get light a single time I went out. Those beautiful pink still mornings? Nowhere to be seen. But I can be a bit pigheaded with these things, and took pictures anyway. I worked with what I had. I took my time and thought about composition. I pre-planned locations, times and angle of light. And even though the vast majority of pictures aren’t worthy of an audience, I did it again and again.

I was hoping for 1) mist to cover the back trees or 2) beautiful colors in the sky, or 3) anything. But I learned what works and what doesn’t. And to not rush things.

Going out to try, even though I had no guarantees to get anything, was the best thing I’ve done for myself for a long, long time. Standing on the golf course above, an hour before sunrise, composition ready, waiting for the light, and with such absolute stillness and silence around me is one of the best memories I have of the whole year. It doesn’t matter that the pictures didn’t turn out the way I wanted; I still have something to remember the experience with. And I think all that practice taught me a few things.

Oftentimes, as much as you plan, you don’t get anything. Sometimes, you get something completely different to what you expect. A very, very cold day late January I took a good friend skiing to a nearby nature reserve. Turns out it’s no fun skiing in almost -20 degrees, so I only had about one and a half hour for my own thing. The plan was to take a panorama of the snow-covered marsh, with a snow-covered forest as a wall in the distance. A simple but effective image that represents the Finnish winter perfectly. I ended up getting distracted pretty quickly. And I’m glad I did.

These sort of crystals only form when it’s very cold. I typically don’t have extension tubes with me, but this time I did. And I definitely did not notice the out of focus reflection until I lined up the twig in my viewfinder. But as soon as I saw it, the training kicked in; I must’ve spent 10 minutes just lining up the branch, my tripod and the background. I took dozens of pictures with different focus and different apertures to get what I wanted. I knocked the branch multiple times, making me wait for it to stop swinging. I was so worried I had destroyed the ice crystals each and every time i messed up. But I didn’t. And I produced a proper Photograph, for the first time in almost a year.

After that photo, it feels like the flood gates have opened. I go out multiple times a week. I think about composition, I plan ahead and I make sure I’m not rushed. I’ve found a calmness I can’t remember having, ever. Luckily, that also works well with the Finnish winter. I feel like I’ve been able to capture the cold serenity I experienced. Not by chance, but skill.

But the pictures aren’t the point. What’s way, way more important is I now reserve time for myself, to be outside, to enjoy nature once again. I don’t care that there aren’t any mountains, any fjords, any racing rivers. I can appreciate the nature around me for what it is. The pictures from the last few weeks are some of the best I have ever taken. But they are nothing compared to once again having opened my eyes and seeing the world around me. I hope I never loose that again.

Senja and Lofoten, part 7: weather, wind and animals

I woke up for sunset, with a location all mapped out. But when I looked out the window, I saw nothing but snow. The weather in these parts is pretty unpredictable, so I wasn't surprised. Since there was no point in going out, I went back to bed. When I woke up a few hours later, the snow was still going strong.

I had a good breakfast (with real coffee this time, the apartment had a coffee maker!) and started thinking of what to do for the day. There is basically one road going through this part of the islands, and you can drive towards the mainland and towards the sea. For this day, I chose the mainland. I figured since the weather was crap, I could visit the local aquarium instead. I really like aquariums, I don't really know why. There's just something calming about looking at fish slowly swimming around. And after that, if weather permitted, I'd scout the area toward the mainland.

When I finally had everything ready, the clouds had started to clear. I decided to quickly go to my sunrise location to scout it out for the future since it was only a 10 minute drive from the apartment. There was a convenient parking spot there so I parked up, took the camera and walked out on the beach. Even though the light was already a bit harsh, it was a nice scene.

I took a few shots, and turned back to the car. And of course, wouldn't you know it, there was an eagle flying towards the car. And I was 30 meters away from the right lens. The run was a bit slippery, and I had trouble putting on the lens and changing settings. I just caught the bird when it flew past.

A nice location, although there isn't much nice foreground.

Slightly too late, and had the wrong settings again...

...and when the settings were correct it was too late. Damnit.

Good thing that wasn't the only eagle I saw that day. In any case, I took my car and started driving north-east along the main road. The tail end of the bad weather still lingered, and I got a few nice shots of the clouds moving through.

Not a bad place to build a church.

The further I drove, the thicker the clouds got, and soon snow started falling. I was reminded of the drive the day before and took it easy. I wasn't in a hurry anywhere. It wasn't a long drive, and before I knew it, I was at the aquarium. The place looked deserted in the snow storm, but it was open so I walked in and got a ticket.

The aquarium is not that big, and only has local species. I tried to take some photos, but most of them were ruined by the glass. It's tricky to find good angles for the photos, since you basically have to be squared towards the glass, and the fishies and other crawlies typically stay toward the edges. When they do swim in the middle, they are so close to the glass that you pick up all the scratches as well.

I've eaten some of your family.

I had timed my driving so that I'd be at the aquarium when they were feeding some of the animals. One I've seen in person many times, the other not. It was a bit tricky to get a nice angle, and the strong wind and ever-present snow didn't help. But persistence pays off and I got a few nice photos in the end. I'd prefer if these were wild animals, but I'll take what I can get.

It's my spirit animal! <3

Omnomnom.

So cute!

What you typically see of seals. Rarely this close, though :)

I went back inside after the feeding to dry off and check out the rest of the exhibits, and just chilling. I wasn't in a hurry anywhere, the weather being what it was. One of the nicer images I got was this:

Lemme out!

After the aquarium it was time for lunch, so I drove into Kabelvåg for a nice burger; I needed something different than the adventure meals :) The weather did clear a bit while I was eating, so I continued the drive towards the mainland. But I didn't get very far. A truck had stopped seemingly random in the middle of the road and two cars had stopped behind it. I was just wondering what the problem was when the truck put on it's emergency blinkies, so I stopped behind the other cars. A minute later a fire truck stopped beside us and a fireman came to my window. A truck had driven a bit too fast on the road and had lost control. The fireman said that I could wait for them to clear the road, which could take a few hours, or to turn back. I read the local news later, the truck had flipped in a corner and a car of tourists had driven into the back. Luckily no one was hurt, but it had taken quite a while to remove all the fish that had spilled all over the road.

You can probably guess I turned back, and drove even more carefully back towards Leknes. The weather was really bad where the accident had happened, but it soon cleared and I could take some more roadside shots.

Not exactly boating weather.

I love the scale in this photo. That bridge isn't small, but it's still dwarfed by the mountain beside it. And you can't even see the mountaintops!

I was standing on the beach taking the pictures above, enjoying the fast clouds, when I looked back over my shoulder. There was a black lump on the ground that I was pretty sure hadn't been there before. Could it be? I pointed my camera at it since I had a longer lens on, and yes, it was. This time my car was closer, and the bird was sitting still. I was NOT going to mess this up.

Ohai.

The eagle just sat there while I moved gingerly closer. When the eagle turned into the wind, I knew what was happening; large birds like this have to take flight into the wind, especially when it was this windy. And I was ready.

After this particular stop, every time when I put away my camera in the back of the car, I put my birding lens on it. Clearly, there are eagles on Lofoten, lots of them. It was just a question of being ready.

At this point the sunset was closing in, and I still had a drive to get to my sunset location. The problem was that I got distracted. A lot. I stopped twice when an eagle flew overhead, and three times for the scenery. The setting sun produced some absolutely gorgeous light and I just couldn't resist.

Proper winds and new, light snow.

The misty mountains

Sky is turning pink already, come on!

As you can see from the picture above I was, once again, cutting it close. This time I knew that there was no way I'd make it to the location I had planned, so I just stopped by the road where I saw some nice light, and went for it. I could have done without the 50 cm of snow on the beach, but it was mostly just an inconvenience.

The water is just crystal clear around these parts. Too bad someone had dropped something into the sea exactly here...

After sunset more clouds rolled in, so I went back to the apartment for some dinner and much-needed sleep. Even though there might be auroras, there wasn't a chance I'd see them through the clouds. The next day it was time to drive south, to visit the legendary village of Hamnøy