30 January 2014

road trip to tampere I.

while I was in Italy a relative of mine presented me with a thoughtful and completely unexpected gift: his old Nikomat EL. the camera - which is in great conditions - has travelled with me back to Helsinki ready to start shooting again. the Nikomat has an aperture priority autoexposure and it works perfectly even with very short shutter speed settings - unlike my Nikon FM. I shot the first film roll with my new old Nikomat EL during a road trip to Tampere at the beginning of January.
road trip to Tampere - part I:
Nikomat EL - Lomography Color Negative 400
on the way to Tampere - to visit a couple of dear friends - we stopped to take photographs twice despite the gloomy day: first on the shore of a lake and then to see the impressive ruins of Pyhän Mikaelin Kirkko. that evening it started to snow all over Finland and it has been white ever since!

27 January 2014

my italian holiday - conclusion.

this is the last post dedicated to my Italian Holiday: it is time to move forward as January is almost over! I do not have any more places to tell you about - as I have recounted all of the ones we visited in my previous posts - still I have some photographs to share: a selection of shots I took with my Hasselblad and a Lomography Redscale Negative 100 - a sort of recap of my holiday in red.
recap of my Italian Holiday:

Hasselblad 500 C/M - Lomography Redscale Negative 100
photograph 1: factory in Crespi D'Adda | photograph 2 and 3: Poira di Civo | photograph 4: my sister in Poira di Civo | photograph 5: Sasso Remenno | photograph 6: Palazzo Besta in Teglio

I do not know what to think about Lomography Redscale Negative 100 - but I still believe these photographs can be quite an interesting conclusion for my long series of posts dedicated to Italy!

24 January 2014

my italian holiday - gera lario.

the Sunday before flying back to Helsinki was one of the most beautiful days of my Italian Holiday: in fact I got to spend the whole afternoon together with my parents and sister. the weather was so warm and sunny it really felt like summer in December. I had just a few shots left on my roll and finally took them during our walk beside the lake in Gera Lario - mum and dad's favourite trail.
Gera Lario:
Nikon FM - Lomography Color Negative 400
the blue sky and the reflection of the mountains on the lake felt like the perfect sight to end my holiday with: I was so grateful for that lovely afternoon of sunshine and love! even though that evening was the saddest - as I had to say goodbye to my family the day after - I will always remember that afternoon in Gera Lario with happiness. ♥
P.S. I will share one last post about my Italian Holiday next week!

22 January 2014

my italian holiday - teglio.

another sunny day my sister and I decided to meet a couple of friends for lunch to enjoy a local treat: a generous portion of Pizzocheri. they say there is no better place to eat Pizzocheri than Teglio - so that was were we went - and since we were there we really had to stop for a visit of Palazzo Besta. last time I visited the Renaissance palace I was so little I could not fully appreciate the beauty of it!
Teglio:
Nikon FM - Lomography Color Negative 400
to tell the truth I was not allowed to take photographs in the courtyard of Palazzo Besta but I could not resist: the second photograph and possibly the third one here are against the law - believe me I still feel bad about taking them and I hope you will not judge me! I will put a legal one on Flickr.

20 January 2014

my italian holiday - soglio.

the sun finally came out after a week of rain and during the last few days of my Italian Holiday the sky was clear and bright blue. the first morning of sunshine my sister and I decided to drive to Val Bregaglia in Switzerland to visit the little town of Soglio - dad said we were going to love it and he was absolutely right! at an altitude of 1,090m - Soglio was covered in snow and walking along its quiet narrow streets I felt like time had stopped. the view onto the valley was absolutely spectacular!
Soglio:
Nikon FM - Lomography Color Negative 400
these photographs are so different from the ones I took during the rainy days of my holiday: everything is so bright and colourful and there is nothing left of the dramatic fog. as much as I appreciate cloudy skies and misty days in photographs though - I really enjoyed the sun that at last came out: I will always remember that day in Soglio with much pleasure! ♥

16 January 2014

my italian holiday - sasso remenno II.

I am so happy with the feedback I got on my previous post on Sasso Remenno: thank you all for your comments! I would like to share a few more photographs that I took during that day in Val Masino and I hope you will appreciate them as much. I wish we could have stayed longer but the rain started to become unbearable after a while - it was a short yet wonderful hike.
Sasso Remenno:
Nikon FM - Lomography Color Negative 400
here you can see some more of those rocky heights - they were so crumbly that we saw a few pieces tumbling down not that far from us: it was a frightening sight! even though landslides are quite a common phenomenon in Val Masino - that was when we decided it was better to head back home.
P.S. the third photograph is my favourite among all those I took in Sasso Remenno!

13 January 2014

my italian holiday - sasso remenno I.

Jacopo came to visit me in Valtellina on Boxing Day: even though it was raining we still wanted to take the opportunity to do some hiking up the mountains and so we did. in the company of my sister we drove to Val Masino and spent the morning around Sasso Remenno. I was mesmerised by the sight of those snowy heights in the mist and once again took many photographs.
Sasso Remenno:
Nikon FM - Lomography Color Negative 400
the area takes its name from the Sasso di Remenno - Rock of Remenno: apparently the biggest rock in Europe which makes the location a popular one among climbers. we are no climbers though we enjoyed our morning in Val Masino a lot and once again the rainy weather made the landscape around us look more fascinating than ever!
P.S. one more post dedicated to Sasso Remenno to come soon!

10 January 2014

my italian holiday - poira di civo II.

I am very pleased by your feedback on my photographs from Italy - both here and on my Flickr: thank you so much! I hope you will be glad to know that there are still many places I visited during my Italian Holiday and many photographs to share - for now a few more from Poira di Civo.
Poira di Civo:
Nikon FM - Lomography Color Negative 400
if the old stone house from my previous post was beautiful - the cottage in the third photograph here is in an even better location with that spectacular view. I adored the colours of the meadow and adored the smell of fresh air even more: my sister and I for sure had a lovely time that day in Poira di Civo!
enjoy your weekend! ♥

06 January 2014

my italian holiday - poira di civo I.

that morning the weather looked less menacing and my sister and I decided to go a little higher up the mountains: we left a thick layer of clouds below us and ended up in Poira di Civo - a tiny village of chalets where many childhood friends of ours used to spend their summers. at 1,077m above the sea level we had an impressive view of the snowy heights in front of us!
Poira di Civo:

Nikon FM - Lomography Color Negative 400
coming back to Poira di Civo after so many years I was impressed by the beautiful landscape we were able to admire up there. I have also found the village very fascinating because of its chalets: some of them were old and one of a kind. I especially loved that stone house in the third photograph with its green door and shutters: it was built in the 1930's and has not changed ever since.
P.S. I will dedicate one more post to Poira since I have taken many photographs there!

04 January 2014

my italian holiday - lago di mezzola.

my sister and I left Milano on the 21st of December to spend Christmas and the rest of my Italian Holiday in our hometown in Valtellina. I had not seen my parents for a whole year and being able to finally spend some time with them made me really happy! I promised myself I was going to make the most of my days in the mountains despite the rainy weather: Valtellina offers wonderful hiking possibilities and with my sister I have seen some beautiful places and taken many photographs!
Lago di Mezzola:
Nikon FM - Lomography Color Negative 400
the lake of Mezzola is just a few minutes drive from my hometown: as a child I did not see anything special about it but coming back there years after I have found it beautiful. that day the weather was particularly dark and rainy - yet the fog around the mountains and above the lake made everything look so magical. my sister too looked so lovely in her red hat! ♥

02 January 2014

my italian holiday - crespi d'adda.

Happy 2014 to you all! ♥ I am back in Helsinki and I have just got developed my rolls of film from Italy: it feels good to look through all the photographs and remember my lovely Italian Holiday! during those fine 18 days not only I was able to catch up with some good friends and spend time with my dear sister and parents - but I also had the chance to go on numerous photographic excursions. even though the weather had been rainy most of the time it did not stop me!
Crespi D'Adda:
Nikon FM - Lomography Color Negative 400
I spent the first week with my sister in Milano and did not take any photographs but on the day when Jacopo and I decided to visit the historical village of Crespi d'Adda. the little town seemed really peculiar to me and the foggy day gave it an even more mysterious look: walking through its empty streets felt surreal. I was especially impressed with the graveyard and the building of the cotton mill.
I will share many more posts dedicated to my Italian Holiday... be prepared!