June, July and August are probably going to be the most quiet times on this blog.
Not really sorry, but I’m going to apologize for enjoying the summer and totally neglecting writing anyway.
Especially being in Finland, where “summer” is defined somewhat different than elsewhere in the world.
Especially when we’re going on our 6th consecutive day of sun and 20+ degrees Celcius. That’s quite an achievement.

Suffice to say I’m out…
Enjoy the summer, as I will, and I’ll be writing whenever it might be raining

D200, ISO100, 1/125 sec @ f/8, Sigma 10-20mm

Some time ago I wrote about how our balcony’s facing west and how we enjoy frequent sunsets.
Now that the ever present snow clouds accompanying the winter on its way out, we get to see those sunsets again. Today was especially colorful and I was too busy to get out and find a decent spot to make a good composition of it. But I think this picture tells enough.

D200, ISO100, 1/45 sec @ f/5.6, Sigma 10-20mm

More to follow, without any doubt.

Sometimes you have those days on which you just don’t feel too good.

Today was one of those days for me. Can’t really put my finger on it, but it wasn’t your regular Sunday.
I did have a couple of things to do, though, so I set to work.
Only… When you’re not feeling all too good, and you have to do something that looks a bit dubious, it doesn’t really help.
According to studies (if you Google blue color not appetizing) the color blue is prone to make people lose appetite and is not recommended to be used in food.
So one would start to wonder why on earth people would still make blue food and drinks. It actually does look disgusting.

D200, ISO100, 1/60 sec @ f/16, off-camera flash with Photoflex softbox

And this is a sports drink, for crying out loud.
I had a faint feeling of nausea, and it didn’t really get much better.
I did, however, try a sip, and must admit that it’s not by far the worst drink I’ve ever had. But owwell… Tricky business…

what season it is, really…
Fall’s pretty much gone. Shame, because all the colors are gone. But better, because the rain’s pretty much gone with it. There’s your occasional shower, but when it gets colder, the sky turns blue. Like… seriously blue. The kind of blue that doesn’t need any Photoshop saturation anymore. One of the pictures I have up in my show (part IV from the Four Seasons, winter, obviously) has that kind of blue sky. It’s striking in an special way.
So these days I’ve been slowly turning to the sky for color and patterns.
(and it’s a great way to see if your camera’s sensor needs cleaning )

D200, ISO100, 1/350 sec @ f/5, Sigma 10-20mm

Giorgio Armani is treating me well (and he should for the money I invested in him ).
Got some feedback on my previous pics and was advised to put in some complementary colors.
So… following the good advise:

D200, ISO100, 1/250 sec @ f/16, Tamron 28-75mm, off-camera SB-800 with Photoflex softbox

And the beauty?
The picture is unedited save for a bit tighter crop. No saturation, no alteration. Right out of the camera
Good that the flowers don’t have GIORGIO ARMANI on them, otherwise it would’ve been one hell of an expensive picture

After 10 days of continuous rain (it’s actually been 6 weeks like this I’ve heard, but I’ve been here only for the past week and a half to witness it) it actually stopped raining! And not only that…. there’s actually some blue in the sky! Maybe we’ll get some sort of, well, not summer, but, well… you know what I mean…

D200, ISO100, 1/500sec @ f/4, Sigma 10-20mm, circular polarizer

Nature hasn’t really decided what it’s going to be. Some extended summer, fall, or winter. At this particular moment the sun is shining behind the clouds, but it’s cold for the time of year.

D200, ISO100, 1/250 sec @ f/2.8,Tamron 28-75mm, off-camera flash SB-800

D200, ISO100, 1/180 sec @ f/2.8, Tamron 28-75mm, 36mm Kenko extension tube

D200, ISO100, 1/60 sec @ f/3.3, Tamron 28-75mm, 36mm Kenko extension tube, off-camera flash SB800