Room with no view

On day two in my new flat, I woke up to find my 10th floor view completely gone, swallowed up by fog. Or perhaps I am at cloud level.

Cave art in a metro tunnel

Darkness

The time of year is just too dark for my Pentax - if I photograph by "daylight" (believe me, it needs the quotation marks), my pictures all come out a funny hue of blue, and the night-time function requires a steadier hand than I have...

Little balls were falling from the sky

It was called first snow. There'll perhaps be better pictures of it, once I venture out...

We are trees

Russian tanks in Helsinki

Well, only the one, actually, and that one only driven here by the Hungarian Cultural Centre to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the uprising against the Communist regime.

Too dark! Too grey! Too drab!

Right now, it seems, taking a photo a day in Helsinki is quite a lot to ask. Some may manage it, but I never seem to see anything for the rain and general greyness. However, if you remember my recent Bigfoot shot - clicking on the picture itself will take you to my flickr site. Once there, if you click on comments, you will find someone else's fantastic shot of the very same Bigfoot tribe member - at night!

Indoor tsunami

"The Big Time", by Jiri Geller, at the Korjaamo Gallery in Töölö.

A memorial service for Anna Politkovskaya

A panahida, or Russian Orthodox memorial service, was held for Anna Politkovskaya at the Ouspensky Cathedral in Helsinki today. The light conditions made it nearly impossible for me to get a decent photo of it, but I want to publish this picture of people filing out from the church regardless. I am neither Russian Orthodox nor religious, but I wanted to attend to pay my final respect. The picture below is a little better lightingwise, but somehow in my view lacks both in human interest and composition. Ah well, I am not a photographer after all.

The artist Liina Lång had parked her tin cow nonchalantly outside the gallery

There must be a tribe of them...

I don't mean to only document Helsinki graffiti, but this Bigfoot tribe lurking around Annankatu appeal to me. Here is the first furry fellow I saw...

The weird man of Kamppi

He lives in a glass showcase with his relatives. I find his gaze unnerving.

Lightening up: I caught the Bigfoot on camera!

Right, gentle readers, the world is a nasty place but I can't remain depressed continuously. So herewith the good news: I have taken photos of the mythical Bigfoot. Above, he is featured close up, below, in his natural environment, i.e. Annankatu in Helsinki. (I have my own street, you know...)

A candle vigil for Anna Politkovskaja

Outside the Russian Embassy in Helsinki today, a candle vigil was held in honour and memory of Anna Politkovskaja, the Russian reporter murdered on her doorstep on Saturday. She was an outspoken critic of the Putin government, particularly of its handling of the war in Chechnya. Note the Chechen flag left leaning against the Embassy fence in the picture. I don't normally post the same picture on my two sites, but this is an exceptional circumstance.

A dog park by moonlight

The one man band played on

An American one man band guy was playing downtown. He told us his listeners he would do an old Finnish schlager as his last piece, which he sang in perfectly passable although heavily accented Finnish. The heavens opened, but members of the public rushed out with their umbrellas, to save his amp...



...things got really hot when out of the rain-soaked crowd, a guy in a leotard emerged and did a dance with his perfectly ordinary-looking (male) friend.

Too weird

A shop window at Stockmann's, the main department store downtown. All the dummies have false moustaches, the horse looks terrified, and the sign says, "No streethorsing outside shop window". At four in the morning, it was a stunning sight.

I found my camera has a night-time function

Last night, having just missed the tram, I fiddled around with the camera I have, um, adopted from my younger son. Lo! It has a night-time function on it! I didn't have the time for picture hunting, so just shot a couple where I was: top photo, the reasonably new National Opera House, bottom photo, the tramstop...

A florist's shop, from both sides

They're leaving us

I can't say I blame them - the weather has been filthy. I am not going to say it - no, not even think it - but I could've been in the tropics...

It is pink, and it is sideways

Paw prints on pavements

There are others, too. This is a bear's.

The forgotten one

Actually, this picture should have been part of an earlier post, featuring a photograph exhibition on electricity substations, on Eerikinkatu, in downtown Helsinki. This is at the top of the street. I somehow managed to overlook it.

Pink Floyd-ey

Don't you just love him

I do.

The fog came rolling in

Men on the pavement

Airport security?

No. The entrance to O'Malley's Irish Pub, adjacent to Hotel Torni, during the Asem (Asia-Europe) meeting in Helsinki. With some fifteen heads of state gathering in the city, security has been a major issue, particularly as the meeting coincides with the 5th anniversary of 9/11. No doubt some of the dignitaries were staying at the hotel - not every pub has metal detectors. Yet.
PS Oops, correction, more like 40 heads of state. No wonder we've had a copper on every street corner.

Portrait of the artist with a nice frame.

Showtime, he yelled

Where Lenin & Scrooge are hand in glove

I have a feeling I know how they're feeling

Apple alone, berry together

In Joe's garden.

A carved tree in Hesperia Park

The Helsinki poetry marathon

As a counterpoint to the Helsinki City Marathon, Saturday saw a poetry marathon, staged at the old Central Bus Station.

J.K.Ihalainen mid-performance with his strong, beautiful poetry. This guy has had William S.Burroughs illustrate one of his books! Follow the link given, click on Poetry, and scroll to find a sample. His best stuff is in Finnish, though, in my humble opinion.

Night of the Arts, part 5. High culture.

Night of the Arts is, as the name would suggest, a night devoted to the arts. Arranged in Helsinki this year for the eighteenth time, it features performances from right across the broad board of (what terms itself) art. We ended our evening at the National Opera, listening to this wonderful tenor doing an aria from Yevgeni Onegin, followed by a duetto from La Traviata, to which we were all invited to dance. More pictures of the event on my flickr site.

Night of the Arts, part 4.

Fire-juggling is too cool. These kids were good, and there was drumming, too. My older son is somewhere in the crowd.

Night of the Arts, part 3. Return of the Pancake Man

We ate the pancakes afterwards. I was in some way happier that they were cooked by the lady.

Night of the Arts part 2

This guy was serving pancakes outside an antique shop. I asked him whether I could take a picture, and he replied "Naked or clothed?" The rest, as they say, is history...

Night of the Arts part 1

Dozens of shamanic drummers gathered in the park at Töölönlahti Bay.

Unplug yourself at Café Fanny