It's not far
Well in Finland, winter is never really far away and some years, doesn't seem to make any space for summer at all. This year has not been one of the greatest summers weather-wise and has been rather cool and most of the time. Surprisingly though for an Australian from the tropics, I don't mind Finnish winter as there is something about it that I connect with on many levels. Mostly, I think it is the desolation.
When it is extremely cold, nothing grows, nothing moves and even the air is seemingly frozen in place. It is a desert with an abundance of trapped water and the sheer nothingness of it can be breathtaking. Or, perhaps that is because the air being taken into the lungs is still frozen, but still, it is beautiful.
Winter sees very short days of course and up north, the sun doesn't make it above the horizon for a few weeks of the year. In my area it is a little less extreme and there is 'daylight' for about 5 hours at the shortest. This can bring about it's own set of challenges as it can be difficult to get enough sun for vitamin D production which means supplements are recommended.
Waking up in the morning when it is dark, going to work in the dark and coming home when it is dark, one can go weeks without seeing natural light. The longest I have been is about 3 weeks where I was essentially inside working any time there was a chance at seeing light. It was kind of like living in a coal mine and can have a profound effect on one's psychology. I enjoy it though since I am a night person and quite like the solitude and privacy of the darkness. Many do not feel the same.
These photos were taken last winter on a day where it was around minus 22. I have issues in such cold temperatures as I have not found suitable gloves that still allow me to operate the camera functions. I bought a pair of 'winter' photography gloves from Ebay one time but winter in Hong Kong is a little different.
What I like about these photos is the awkwardness of the light and structure. There is not much post work done other than cleaning up a little bit. In the first picture if looking closely there are two structures on the horizon, one is a tall building the other is an old shot tower. When I look at the image I get the feeling that the two pillars in the foreground are part of a line of warning beacons standing guard in case they must light their fires to signal the next in the chain. What they are expecting to approach is anyone's guess. Whitewalkers?
Taraz
[ an original ]
@tipu curate
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 0/1 - need recharge?)
It makes no sense to compare the summer of the northern coniferous forest zone to the summer of the tropical north of Australia or summer in the Mediterranean climate of southern Australia. There is a very clear and distinct summer season that lasts about 2-4 months between the 60th and the 70th latitudes. In fact, temperature-wise summer in the Nordic countries is very much like a typical summer in Britain. The more northerly location is compensated for by the much less oceanic climate. For instance, in London, UK, the the average daily maximum in July is 23 C, which is nearly the same as that in Tampere in July. The biggest difference between the climates of London and Helsinki is between the weather patterns in the winter. Helsinki is easily 10 C colder on average. But the summer temperatures are very similar.