Archive for September, 2011
Evagraven
I’m back at the cabin to spend the week and a half of vacation that I have. To be honest, I’m still not sure what to do with all that time because of the conditions (those being, no autumn colours). But in the very least, I have a comfortable couch to sit on… no TV or Internet, but some DVDs. I’ll manage.
When it was time to decide what to do with the day’s hike, I ruled out everything with water. It’s very windy and overcast so the peaks were out of the question as well. The obvious thing that remained was ravines – time to check out the Evagraven ravine that I have spoken of rather dismissingly this summer.
Although it was supposed to be overcast, the sun made some welcome appearances on occasion. As I was looking down on the ravine, I saw a yellow rowan that was lit up in the distance and it attracted me like a moth to a flame, because it was really the only tree with any colour on it. While I was walking down to it, I got a good look at the ravine and I had to admit that maybe I’ve been overly harsh on Evagraven. The sheer size of it makes it interesting and the photo opportunities are not as hard to find as I had experienced on previous visits. On the other hand, it’s been many years since my last visit and I’ve learned a few things since then… things like using a wideangle lens, for example! I’m still having a blast with the Tokina and it’s pretty much permanently set on 16mm and I’m already wishing I would’ve gotten something wider.
On the way back, I stopped at the little brook and finally checked if I could use any filters with the Tokina. 
I had high hopes about the Cokin B/Y polarising filter and sure enough, it works! Since it’s made for the filter holder, it has a square shape and because the filter element itself is round, it leaves me generous corners for holding the filter. I can then place it against the petals (the built-in glare guard) of the lens without needing to worry about scratching either the lens or the filter. The crop factor of the camera allows me to use the filter like this even at 16mm without any dark corners. I also have a normal Cokin polariser but for some reason it has a round shape which makes it harder to hold properly and it’s also too small to be safely placed against the petals because there is no margin of error between the edge of the filter and the petals. Slip it one mm in any direction and there’s a risk it will touch the front element of the lens. So I have to settle with the B/Y filter but it’s better than nothing, especially this autumn because the golden end of the filter can add a touch of colour to an otherwise colourless scenery!
Autumn news from the mountains
I was on a brief visit to the cabin this weekend. My parents came over so I got to show off the cabin and the landscape that I love, and I think they were impressed so I hope they understand why I’m not in no hurry to move back to Finland any time soon. 
Or ever.
We got lucky with the weather on Saturday, but even the sunshine couldn’t change the fact that the landscape looks less than spectacular at the moment. The birches are really suffering from the fungal infection and in some places the leaves were completely gone already. I didn’t see any birch at all that looked normal, because even the birches that still had leaves were clearly infected.
Sunday’s weather was a perfect match for the bare trees. The clouds were hanging low and you couldn’t even see through the length of the Fiskhålsgraven ravine.
Mom & Dad are now on their way back to Finland (through the storm) and I have the rest of my two week vacation to myself. To be honest, I still don’t have any ideas of what to do. But let’s face it – if I have nothing to do, then I’ll rather have nothing to do at the cabin than at home!
2 commentsNew old place
There’s this lake I pass every day on the way to work (and back). I always check what it looks like, and many times it looks really nice. In the morning it can be mirror calm with some mist. 
In the evening the small island in the middle of the lake can be glorious in backlight. A few times I’ve stopped by the lake but I’ve never ventured further from the parking lot. For the past six years, I’ve more or less managed to ignore the potential. But yesterday I finally took a little bit of time to follow the shoreline and it only confirmed what I’ve seen from the road when driving by. It is a nice place and shame on me for not exploring it before! The conditions weren’t perfect yesterday but I got a few shots, and vowed to get back some other time. Not sure when, but I won’t wait for six years in any case…
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Those of you with Google+ accounts, I uploaded another picture there. If you need an invite to G+, let me know!
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