Sunday, July 31, 2016

Shaking in a solitary landscape

The photograph was taken in Nuuksio on July 4th.

I walked for over two hours in Luukki today. I heard Gavia stellata make noise while flying above, but none were at the lake where a pair was nesting earlier this summer. I guess the young one has learned to fly.

(Posting title is from the poem In The Longhouse, Oneida Museum by Roberta Hill.)

Saturday, July 30, 2016

To open ourselves, to be

The photographs were taken in Nuuksio on July 4th.

This morning I rode the bicycle for two hours, first south through the central park in Helsinki, then through the center of Helsinki to Lauttasaari island, and then north through Tapiola and Leppävaara. Early in the morning there were only a couple of people in the central park, and half a dozen horses. This year I have got 3537 km riding the bicycle.

(Posting title is from the poem Another Night in the Ruins by Galway Kinnell.)

Friday, July 29, 2016

Frame his still presence

The photographs were taken in Nuuksio on July 4th.

This morning I rode the bicycle for over two hours, a distance of 50 km. I circled around the Helsinki-Vantaa airport, going through Kivistö and Seutula, and returning via Ruotsinkylä and Pakkala.

(Posting title is from the poem Morning Talk by Roberta Hill.)

Thursday, July 28, 2016

With charity being made a deadly sin

The photographs were taken on July 2nd while riding the bicycle to Nuuksio National Park and back via Pirttimäki.

This morning I rode the bicycle for 1 1/2 hours, exploring the small roads near Seutula.

(Posting title is from the poem Blockbusters by Ian Duhig.)

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Blurring my vision, my vision’s separate self

The photographs were taken at Puijo hill in Kuopio on July 25th, with a Nokia E7 phone, as my LX100 camera was broken. In bright light the E7 photographs are passable, but when there is less light the image deteriorates a lot. The experience of not having a real camera made me go ahead and order a new LX100 camera to replace the old one.

(Posting title is from the poem Leap In The Dark by Roberta Hill.)

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

I make up as I trace them

The photographs were taken in Nuuksio National Park on July 1st.

I was traveling for five days, and got plenty of exercise, walking, running and swimming, but no bicycle riding. Today I rode the bicycle once again, exploring Espoo near the central park, and once again I managed to get quite lost. There doesn't seem to be much sense to the way the roads and houses are placed in Espoo.

When traveling I rented a car, and it turned out that the car had automatic transmission. I have always driven a manual car, and it took a while to understand that there is no clutch or a gear shift. After some experimentation I finally got the hang of it, but every once in a while I tried to use my left leg or search for the gear shift.

The car I reserved at rental service was "Ford Focus or similar", and what this turned out to be was a five-door Mercedes Benz A series car. After some adjustment, the car turned out to be quite nice, and handled well even on narrow and twisty gravel roads. I drove the car for 560 km, and when I got back home, I had to do the adaptation in reverse, but it was much easier.

(Posting title is from the poem What’s Broken by Dorianne Laux.)

Monday, July 25, 2016

The heart is a thing to be broken

The photographs were taken in Nuuksio National Park on July 1st.

The Panasonic LX100 camera got broken yesterday, refusing to start. The lens was stuck, resulting in a system error when trying to switch the camera on, or off. I tried gently moving the lens backward and forward (there was some flexibility), but this didn't help. This isn't the fist time I have had similar problems, but earlier a restart of the camera has made the lens start working again.

Yesterday I walked along a beautiful nature trail - the Puijo trail in Kuopio - without the LX100, and tried taking photographs with my Nokia E7 phone, which is not something to recommend. After this walk I was so frustrated that I went ahead and ordered a new LX100 camera to replace the broken one. The price was 640 euro, 1/3 less than what I paid for the LX100 one year and ten months ago.

Why buy another LX100 when the old one had so many problems? The old LX100 has dust spots in the lens, the control wheel in the back doesn't work properly, the zoom switch on top of camera doesn't always work, and the lens gets stuck, disabling the camera.

Earlier this summer I pondered possible alternatives to the LX100, and decided that there are none that would work for me better than the LX100.

The LX100 has excellent controls (including the aspect ratio switch), bright 24-70 mm equiv. lens with reasonable macro capability, and big enough sensor (for bokeh...). The camera is small and light enough to carry in hand on long walks. The only problem is the durability of the camera after 100,000 photographs taken, and the dust issue.

So, I ordered a new LX100, and it should arrive within a few days.

Today afternoon when I got back home from traveling I tried once again to switch on the old and broken LX100. And lo! the camera started to work again, without any apparent reason, except perhaps the tremors, jitters and shakes when traveling. In any case, soon I will have two LX100 cameras, one which has lots of problems due to lots of use, and one which is brand new.

(Posting title is from the poem The Broken of Heart by James Rorty.)

Sunday, July 24, 2016

Would ever come into focus

The photographs were taken in Nuuksio National Park on July 1st.

I went for a long a walk yesterday morning, and lost track of time, so that I had to run to be back at the hotel before the breakfast time ended. In the afternoon we explored Ritoniemi beach. It was all deserted, we were the only people walking in the white sand, half a kilometer of it.

(Posting title is from the poem Turkey Buzzards by Paul Muldoon.)

Saturday, July 23, 2016

Looks back across the lake, as though

The photographs were taken in Nuuksio on July 1st.

Yesterday I did quite a lot of walking, and some swimming. I expect to see a lot of lakes and plenty of forest today.

(Posting title is from the poem Wild Turkey in the Rain by Ben Howard.)

Friday, July 22, 2016

They walked out together, in all sorts of weather

The photograph was taken on June 30th.

I'm traveling, currently in Kuopio. I'm doing some walking and looking at the scenery.

(Posting title is from the poem There was an Old Person of Nice by Edward Lear.)

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Expressing oneself

The photographs were taken on June 30th, during a bicycle ride through Petikko and Luukki.

This morning I rode the bicycle for two hours and 45 km, circling around Helsinki-Vantaa airport.

There may be a few days break in the postings, but that remains to be seen.

(Posting title is from the poem Acceptable Dissociations by Sina Queyras.)

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Holds out its arms for you

The photographs were taken on June 26th.

This morning I rode the bicycle for over two hours, to Klaukkala via Kuonomäki, and then back via Keimola. It was once again excellent weather for riding, 15 °C when I left and 19 °C when I got back. Usually I ride for over 40 km, which makes it possible to visit places that I haven't seen before.

(Posting title is from the poem Portrait of the Artist as a Nice Guy by Lawrence Kearney.)

Monday, July 18, 2016

Nice Things

The photograph was taken on June 26th.

This morning I rode the bicycle for 2 1/2 hours, through the central park in Espoo, all the way to Kauklahti. There was a lot of beautiful landscape to enjoy, and I might ride there some time again this summer. I looked at the map more often than usually, and didn't get badly lost.

(Posting title is from the poem In the dream of the dark by Gerard Malanga.)

Sunday, July 17, 2016

To suggest a faraway place

The photographs were taken on June 26th.

This morning I rode the bicycle for almost 2 1/2 hours, exploring the central park in Espoo. In one week I have got 14 hours of exercise.

I got somewhat lost when leaving the central park, but that happens to me almost every time, the small roads around the park are quite confusing. Some 30 years ago I did quite a lot of riding the bicycle in Espoo, but the landscape had changed dramatically, because of new roads, houses and other constructions. I think I'll return to the central park in Espoo some day soon.

(Posting title is from the poem Another Nice Day for the Race by Charles North.)

Saturday, July 16, 2016

It seemed like the thing to do

Te photographs were taken at Korkeasaari Zoo on June 25th.

This morning I walked for three hours in Meiko, exploring the swamps between lake Tränuhals and lake Kotolampi. There were ripe cloudberries to pick and eat, and some may still remain after I went through the swamps. I tasted also blueberries, wild strawberries and raspberries.

(Posting title is from the poem Turkey Shooting on Mount Monadnoc by Leroy Searle.)

Friday, July 15, 2016

I cannot give them to you until I see

The photographs were taken on June 25th at Korkeasaari Zoo.

This morning I rode the bicycle for almost two hours, before the rain started. I rode via Ketunkorpi to Skogby, and then via Sorvalampi to Kunnarla. It was nice to explore places I haven't previously visited.

(Posting title is from the poem Nice to Meet You by Afaa Michael Weaver.)

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Lovely, except when

The photographs were taken at Korkeasaari Zoo on June 25th.

This morning I rode the bicycle for two hours. I went once again to Seutula, and returned via Pirttiranta, Luhtaanmäki, Vestra and Lahnus. I rode along gravel roads, which was not so pleasant, because the slick Schwalbe Kojak tires are designed for asphalt, not gravel. I had to walk the bicycle for half a kilometer, and in some places even carry the bicycle. The path between Vestra and Lahnus was difficult, due to all kinds of obstacles such as fallen trees etc.

A week ago I wrote about printers. There is one need for printing which occurs quite regularly, namely printing maps. I have a 5 cm pile of maps already printed, but every so often I want to visit a place where I haven't been before, and then I need the printer.

(Posting title is from the poem Alaska by Dan Taulapapa Mcmullin.)