Two videos of climbing we did in Vipava and Val Rosandra (Glinščica) over the past two weekends.

Yes, I actually did hold a reflector/bouncer up on that wall (seen in the corner at 1:26). Didn’t help much though as I was on the wrong side of the climber and the wall reflects light quite nicely on its own.

Videos by Anže ÄŒokl/Freeapproved interspersed with a few shots by me.

Repovesi Kansallispuisto or Repovesi National Park, about 2h north-east of Helsinki, 100km east of Lahti is something that should definitely be experienced in a canoe or kayak and camping. Beautiful…

Kayak at rest in Karhulahti

6am @ Mustavuori

A few surprises while in Finland:

• Roads go up and down constantly but you never go high enough to see what’s around you. Flat and bumpy at the same time.


Ruskeasalmi from Mustalamminvuori tower

• Roads as smooth as tarmac, yet just well compacted fine gravel.
• You can drive forever yet the landscape hardly changes.
• How people obviously don’t want to live too close to others. They just call it a village but it’s really not ;)
• How much of what is Scandinavia you can directly relate to the US.


farmhouse near Jaala

• How much they love summer cottages on the lakes (I want one!)


summer cottage on its own private island

• How every summer cottage also has at least a row boat or two, more often a nice big speedboat (I want those!)


Olhavanlampi

• How there are no old trees anywhere. Sustainable exploitation they call it.


near Elvingin torni

• How every building must have a built in ladder to the roof. Must be a health and safety issue demanded by burglars.

more photos in the gallery as always

Sometimes I manage to surprise myself with how much my photographic vision (if you want to call it that) changes in short periods of time.

Two weeks ago Johanna dropped in for a relaxing week of hiking, climbing, canyoning, rafting and just general driving around Slovenia (with bits of Italy and Austria thrown into the mix) and with every photo I took I had the idea of cropping it to 16:9 ratio.

Ibex above Vrata valley, Bovški gamsovec

ÄŒezsoča morning

Slovenian route, Mangart

I know, it is a more than obvious nod to Scott Upton @ Couloir (definitely check out his galleries!). I am constantly amazed how he sees everything in landscape 16:9. But as I don’t have his discipline to keep it horizontal all the time and I just had to swing it around to vertical a few times.

Travnik & Sheep, Mangart

Then just as she left we had another visit which involved far less walking but much more driving. We visited many of the same places, even went rafting, but this time I just didn’t see things in a rectangular shape. It was to be black and white square format. I know… obvious Michael Kenna moments ;)

Soča

Peričnik waterfall

Unlike Kenna though I was working with Canon A80 quite honestly isn’t the most appropriate camera for long exposure work. The water could and should be much smoother.

I did sneak in one 16:9 landscape as it just doesn’t work as a square

Soča

Then I went to another concert at Trnfest

Eva Hren & Sladcore

…but rather than get the same old concert photos I soon started having fun defocusing the subjects and seeing how far I can take it while keeping the subject recognizable. Having only one, arguably inapropriate, lens available at the time I was desperate to get away from the “look” it inevitably delivers.

Eva Hren & Sladcore

Eva Hren

Can’t help but love the bokeh in Sigma 70-200/2.8…

• more photos from wandering around slovenia (included are some photos taken by Grega Krajnc and Johanna Robinson)
• photos from Trnfest 08

Here’s also a nice ad for canyoning in Sušec