From the path and outside

    Exploring new places and paths is always cool. Past weekend tried a new route, a nature path from Rabac to Labin. It all started with a nice small pond and a waterfall and continued up a narrow and steep walk up through woods. The path is well marked, so no fear of getting lost. The best things though, are so often off path, and so it was this time too. At one point I just couldn't resist the temptation to get aside from the common route, and I ended up finding this small waterfall and pond, plus old ruins. The sad part was that I was running out of time so I couldn't finish my work as I wanted. However, made a couple of clicks and you can always return. Just remember, it's not always smart to jump outside the marked path, and if you do remember to watch your step.

Archipelago

  If there's one place on this planet where I could spend more time, that would be the archipelago of Finland. Lots of things to photograph, but mostly the relaxing environment. It doesn't matter if the winds are blowing or the sea is dead calm, it's always a most relaxing thing to be there and just enjoy the surroundings, the nature, the creation. Almost missed the whole experience for this year. If you ever visit Finland, do not miss the fantastic archipelago. Here's a few pics from my last visit...

Eye to eye with an adder

  I was almost disappointed, until today. Whole weekend and not a single snake, not even a grass snake. Then finally under a pile of logs, an adder was basking in the midday sun. Even if people are afraid of snakes, it's so obvious that these reptiles fear us more. Made a couple of pics from distance, but of course when I got closer, it slithered under the logs. I didn't want to give up immediately and I'm not afraid of workout, so I grabbed the first log from the pile, moved it away, continued to the next and so on. Finally after a few logs, the tiny little viper was caught and moved to a place were it could be photographed. When we were done, we decided to move the poor photo model to a safer place, faraway in the forest. Why? People don't like snakes, and the venomous ones are real outlaws, so sooner or later this girl would be a dead snake, if we would've left her where we found her. Here's two head shots of her and some other interesting stuff I saw this weekend.

         

A couple more fall images

  Honestly... I made a theft this week. Twice. I stole some time to get out there, just to enjoy the fall colors, which at the moment are just amazing. On Monday I went to one of my favorite places, made a couple of images of an wooden bridge. In my opinion it lacks a person, but that's something I'm working on. On Wednesday I went to a place nearby, where I haven't gone in maybe three years. It's a fortress ruins from the Thrace era and the place is just fantastic with a very nice view. Two first images from Monday and the third one from Wednesday... So much yellow.

  

It's fall, and that means it's a good time for salamanders.

  The fall is here, that's for sure. As we are waiting for the colorful foliage it might be an good idea to go out and look for fire salamanders. That's what I did yesterday, and I even found one. I was hoping for a couple, but what can you do, if it's one then it's one. This poisonous black and yellow fellow was waiting at the base of an birch three. Usually I'm used to move my subjects a bit to make the image, but for this guy it was just a minimal touching that was necessary. The weather was pretty humid, almost raining. mist all around and the ground was wet... just perfect for this type of tailed-amphibians. Hope to find more of these in the coming few days, they are anyway quite beautiful animals, and as a bonus they don't move too fast so they are thankful subjects when the shutter speeds are slow. By the way, one of the images are made with a smartphone, can you guess which one?

A mix of images

  Grabbing up a camera and making a couple of images can sometimes be such a pain. Sometimes you are just too busy. Sometimes it's just that you lack inspiration. And then it could be laziness. Or how about a nice even combination of all three? However, I managed to make a few images during the last couple of weeks. Tried a flash bender, photographed landscapes, portraits, and even a couple of bugs... and then I had a gig to shoot a couple apartments (and I was very exited about it), but it failed due to a misunderstanding. So no photos of that. But I'll share what I have...

 

      

The Finish archipelago, what a Place!

 The past couple of weeks haven't been very good when it comes to photography, but I still managed to make a couple of images. Some were shown in the three previous posts, and here will follow a couple more images.

  One of the most beautiful places on this planet, the archipelago of Finland. Lots of things to see and experience.

                           

   One evening we were sitting and stalking elk. Not really the best possible weather, it was pretty cold and dark. Finally one showed up just to eyeball us for a while and then disappearing to the woods.

                     

A few days later I was walking in the woods. I sat on a stump just to relax for awhile when I suddenly heard something moving towards me. Two seconds later three elks where standing there, just about 30 meters from me. Sadly two of them were standing so that it wasn't worth a shutter click.

Roe deer, a pretty common species. Lots of''em  here and there and of course a great subject for photography. One evening we saw a flock with 13 individuals.

Shot even a couple of images of birds. Nothing too fancy, but here's an image of a crested tit.

A sure sign that the spring has arrived. A male and a female frog in amplexus.

10 years of photography: What's most important?

  "It's not just about a photograph, it's the outdoor experience." - Doug Gardner

 What's most important in nature and wildlife photography? For me it's definitely the nature it self. In these ten years I've learned that it's not so important to make that image, but to be there, and just relax and enjoy the surroundings, views, sounds, smells... the whole experience. In the beginning, I so often missed not only the photo, but the moment too. Once I remember how a herd of deer passed us by in the forest, and they were close, really close. What did I do? My camera wasn't ready so I started to make adjustments just to make a nice picture. When I was ready, yes, the deer were gone. No image, but I missed the moment too, and that sucks. So there are times when it's better just to enjoy the creation, sit still, listen, make observations and forget the camera. Like last night for example, great time listening owls and sounds of returning swans, the sounds of spring! (That was it, the last post in this "10 years of photography:...". From March onward I'll try to figure out something else.)

    

10 years of photography: Patterns, patterns, patterns...

  A cool subject for photography is patterns. You can find patterns everywhere. During these ten years I've shoot quite a bunch of patterns and in this post I thought I'd share a couple of images with you. Only thing that's needed is a camera and to keep your eyes open. Just visit a grocery store and look for romanesco broccoli, just how wonderfully full of patterns and fractals subject it is, it just cries for being photographed up close. Or checkout rock surfaces, you can find some pretty cool patterns on them especially if they are covered in lichen. Closeups of flowers can be a rewarding subjects with full of interesting patterns and lines. Reptile skin, if you dare to get enough close can be a rewarding subject. Wasp or bee hives, fungi, just pretty much everywhere, here and there you can find some great things to shoot, just get close and press the shutter...