Bill Murray's Blog, page 163
January 4, 2012
Lapland - Wednesday HDR
HDR from six combined exposures shot last week with a Nikon D700. It's an old building atop the Kaunispää Fell, between Ivalo and Saariselkä, Finland. We'll have a few dozen shots up in the Finland Gallery at EarthPhotos.com shortly.
January 2, 2012
Place Holder - Kim's Greatest Hits
Kim looks at a soft drink.
We're traveling again today. Meanwhile, enjoy more of Kim's greatest hits, thanks here.
December 31, 2011
Onnellista Uutta Vuotta
Sounded like the beginning of an unlikely Finland spring, starting with an assault on the Senate Square, but it was just fireworks for the New Year. And a happy new year to all.
Looks Cold, Was Cold
At the Ivalo airport, Finnish Lapland.
December 30, 2011
Wasting Time and the Internet II
Continuing the highest and best use of the internet here. You can see why people do it, though. t's a good time filler in flourescent departure halls. We're at the Ivalo airport, snowy day, about to leave Lapland for Helsinki.
You knew they'd try to get us, though. Never a good sign when you find the words "nuclear," "fire" and "contained" in the same sentence. This is, what? 70 - 100 miles from here.
December 29, 2011
Aurora
21:40 GMT +2 on Wednesday, 28 December, 2011, minus 17 degrees celsius.
There it is.
December 28, 2011
Lapland, First Day.
A few photos from the front. Rolling into town, the sign on the big smokestack said -16.
Nothing you can't handle. Layers, that's the thing. layers.
No aurora the first night.
Funny thing: The moon rises, modestly, then moves left to right. Look south. The moon's up early afternoon, tracks above the tree line horizontally, then sets. The moon photo at the bottom was maybe in the 2:00 hour.
The first photo is about as light as it gets. Mid afternoon.
December 26, 2011
Not Arctic Cold. So Far.
It's just above zero Celsius now. There's enough snow that it won't all melt, but eves are dripping. Mind you, judge the relative warmth by this lake photo.
Do Finns appreciate the relative warmth or would they prefer a firmly white Christmas? They'd prefer a white Christmas.
This weather, what can you do? If it were ten degrees colder they could go skiing, do all kinds of things. Now, they'll complain Finland's too cold, that's for sure, but this weather is good for nothing.
It's Sunday...
December 25, 2011
Christmas Eve
Tonight it's grown colder. Not by much but you can tell. We've spent the afternoon in Finnish tradition, lighting candles at ancestors' graves. We visited cemeteries in Leppävirta, Saahkarlahti, Luttila and near here, at Koönönpelta. We've seen the patriarchs, men who fought in the war of independence, fathers and grand fathers and great uncles.
Businesses in all the towns were locked tight, but let me tell you, on Christmas Eve, cemeteries are the most happening places in Finland.
December 24, 2011
Finland, the Day Before Christmas Eve
There's an expansive view across the lake from our cabin, and more lights on the far shore every time we visit. This time there's just a cover of snow and for winter, it just about an ideal temperature, hovering around zero Celsius.
Mirja's father Risto is a tree farmer. He has outfitted the old farmhouse up on the road with a particular Siberian variety of Christmas tree. The cabin has a Finnish pine from the farm. He's talking about a Christmas tree safari for next year on the family...
