I’ve never really tried to shoot landscapes but in Sinai, Egypt, it seems to be impossible not to. The scenery is just too amazing, and compared to many other amazing places on earth it’s also unbelievable tranquil. Some of these are shot in sunlight, some in moonlight. All of them are from around Mt. Sinai where, according to the stories, Moses received the ten commandments. The first image is from the top of Mt. Sinai and shot during sunrise.

Posted by Tatu
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I’ll do another Rome-post and upload some 30 or so extra photos as their own set on my semi-active flickr account so we can get over with this Italy-phase once and for all and move on towards new adventures and pursuits.

This time around with these photos I can’t really say that I captured how I saw Rome, merely what I saw there. This set turned out much sadder than I had anticipated, and I’m not sure if that’s at all how I feel about the city. But still there was a lot of vague sadness around: tired eyes and beaten postures, kicked-down trash cans and cracked-up pavements.

These photos are very much generic, seen millions of times before. The black&whiteness furthermore puts emphasis on their unoriginality. But of course I wouldn’t probably post them here if I didn’t like them a bit, would I? There’s something in their emotional distance that the camera puts between the subjects and itself that intrigues me.

I’ve always been in love with big cities and regarded them as individual personalities with different feels and different sides to them. Since I’ve been little I’ve always imagined I knew how some specific cities feel and smell and sound like. And what kind of a people live there and what kind of a dreams would be suitable for it’s inhabitants.

Later on as I’ve had change to visit many of the cities I’ve spent hours thinking of I’ve often been surprised how different they actually are from my imagination. However, it has been important for me to try to capture the actual impressions with my camera while I’m out there. I dismiss photos that might look good but don’t feel right.

Posted by Konsta
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It is time to take on Christmas. Get some rest, eat well and watch nephew go crazy with his new BAKUGAN 7 in 1 Maxus Dragonoid toy. We know we will.

Latter part of a horse by Konsta. 24-70mm,  f/2,8, 1/100, ISO 1600.

Posted by Jarkko
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I think Rome has become sort of a joke of itself. That was my very first impression. As much as I loved the city, there is something distinctly sad about it.

Not many of the Romans we met were happy with the current state of things. They were frustrated, angry even. The economy is going down the deteriorating drain system along with everything else, but the atmosphere is ignorantly blissful. That was the Rome I first noticed and set my head on photographing. I was under heavy influence of Matt Stuart and tried to find those clever puns that would embody the devil-may-care attitude of the city. However, we all know humor can be straight-up funny, but sometimes it’s a bit sad at the same time. And sometimes it’s just pitch black.

Few words about photoshopping: I’m totally lost with it. I pursued to try something new and nothing quite worked out. I decided to return to the old tricks I know but damn if I lost touch with them too. I’ve learned nothing for quite some time and now I’ve also forgot the stuff I know. This being the state of things: I have no clue what did I do with these photos.

Posted by Konsta
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Phew (for fatigue, not disgust)! That was definitely a challenge. Now it’s time for something totally different. We decided to calm down for a while, drink something warm and look at the old pictures. This is the first part of these “let’s look at the family album and tell stories” posts. So let’s go: In a way a photograph quides us to believe that it is objective and shows reality “as it is”, because the objects and persons appearing in the picture were in front of the camera at the time of pressing the shutter. What it doesn’t show (at least without shouting it out loud) is everything that’s hidden outside the frame, in the shadows and outside the focus area. We don’t view the world in black and white or see it as two-dimensional, flat thing where focusing to interesting objects is not possible. These are all choices made by the photographer and many of them affect the “reality” much more than the usual tools of Photoshop. We are so used to the idea that a photograph is a realistic tool that it’s easy to forget how many myths, ideas, intentional messages and hidden agendas can be included in a single frame. And there’s more. The meanings behind the messages are not constructed only by the photographer, but also by the audience looking at the picture. Before reading further, look at the photo above and think about it for a while. Okay, now you can go on.

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This is a photograph of an old man. It, or actually he, has a great story, but let’s talk about the meanings first. The light coming in from a nearby window paints the picture with a calm atmosphere that goes well with the calm look at the man’s face. What you don’t see so clearly is that he’s missing his left eye. He’s also missing his both legs, and the white object in the front of him is a handle of a wheelchair. It’s not in focus just like the eye and the legs are not either. Why these choices? Well, the photo was taken in eastern Estonia, in a complex that’s run by a charity organization. It houses people like Pjotr Ivanovich Savos here, who can’t take care of themselves anymore. Mr. Savos was a Soviet citizen and worked in Estonia for the most of his life, but after the Soviet Union collapsed (and Estonia gained its independence), he was left without a nationality. Yes, as he can’t prove he’s been living in Estonia for years, he can’t get any state support. The story he told me and journalist Tuomo Björksten was almost unbelievable. He told us he had lived in the same room for six years, never leaving it, and that the people working in the place got angry when his friend tried to smuggle some spirits for him through the window. He had that old calendar page hanging on the wall and a small, black and white photo of a beautiful young woman working in the field attached to the door of his closet. -”Is that your wife?” we asked in russian with the help of a translator. -”No no”, he said smiling. -”The photo probably belonged to the previous resident, but I decided to leave it there because she’s so beautiful!”. After some short questions he started telling us about cosmic beings who would come and take him away very soon. After we had chatted for a while (which was not easy as neither of us, Tuomo or me, spoke any russian) I asked him if I could take a photo. He calmly nodded, took a better position and raised his chin, looking very confident and beautiful. I just couldn’t take a photo where all his physical flaws would have probably been in the center of the viewers’ attention. No, the story in the newspaper and the gaze in his eye were enough or even more than a deliberately gritty picture. Okay, I understand the story is more powerful when he tells it, but I still stop every time I scroll through the pictures and his face pops up. For me, this frame has become the single most important photo I’ve ever taken. It would take a lot better photographer than I am now to produce images that would move this one away from my portfolio. Like it or not.

Posted by Tatu
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Parta&linssit blog was simply unanimous: The best response to the 6-photo-challenge came from Hese. His set was controlled, beautiful and coherent in atmosphere throughout. Also, his personal touch was nicely visible in the set, and we love it. Congrats Hese, you won the prize!

Now here’s Hese’s set one more time. His own thoughts can be read from below.

You’ve all heard that famous Robert Capa quote: If you’re pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough. Well. While taking photos for this challenge, going close was definitely one of the two goals that I had in mind. And as I had my 50mm glass on the camera, I really had to go close close close. Another goal was to capture the essence of street photography. I wanted to take un-staged and spontaneous photos of ordinary people doing ordinary stuff. But how to combine spontaneity with going really close? I really don’t know, but I want to find out. So, when is the next round of this challenge?

Hese

(EDIT: I can answer that right away, Hese: The next round is never. Should have thought twice before bringing us to shame with such amazing photos! Nah, just kidding. I think Tatu already had something in mind. At least he’s walking around with a strange sense of content. -Konsta)

Posted by Konsta
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