Photo per day
I hope that some of you still remembers my small project that took in place between April 2008 and April 2009 - the small project when I posted one photo everyday. Well, for some reason I really liked this project and have been feeling a little bit empty not having it around all the time so I am going to do it again next year, but with small modifications. First, this time it is going to start right from the January 1st and not in the April and second, last time I posted mostly photos that I took in the last weekend, this time I am trying really hard to post only photos that I have taken in the very same day.
I hope that you are going to enjoy my photos during this project, the project is going to take it's place in http://www.mikian.com/365photos.
-15°C
Finally we have real winter weather, really cold weather. It is so nice after a year again feel freezing wind on your face, all problems when you are trying to take photos while wearing so much clothes that you just cannot handle camera properly... But it is always so worth of it, the photos are always just so amazing...
Small city photographing
It has been a long time since last time I have just taking my camera with me and just left to somewhere. Way too long... But yesterday I got good enough reason just left Tampere and I ended up in Valkeakoski bus station with my camera; that was my first visit to that city and it was interesting place. There was not so much anything but somehow it felt nice little city after all. But I found it really interesting how all finnish smaller cities that I have been somehow seems so similar, buildings are little bit same looking and same kind and the spirit you get when walking there for the very first time is quite same. They all seems so peaceful nice small cities 
I really should get out from Tampere more often - not just for some nice photos but for some nice experiences too. Specially if they all could be as great and nice as yesterday was... 
Sports were in really big part of Valkeakoski, there was football stadiums everywhere, only the size changed from smaller ones to that big one (where the lightning hit one player few years ago...). The sports seemed to be though the only thing that was bringing maybe some tourist to there, I somehow suspect that it is not so big tourist place...
What would be my photo traveling without the photo from the sunset. This time I was watching sunset on the lake, sitting on the shore and looking over the frozen surface of the lake. The snow on the ice was full of small sparkles of ice and while watching the sunset it was possible to see rainbow on the ice.
First snow
We got finally our first real snowing on friday. On thursday night we got some snow already but it wasn't until friday evening when we got what I have been waiting for - the real snowing. When the air is nothing but falling snowflakes, it is dark, little bit windy and all you can see is snowflakes flickering in the street lights.
It is weird how I always forget during the other seasons - during the summer how I always miss that view. But then when first snowflake is slowly floating towards the ground - it all just comes back to my mind. All the reasons why I still think that winter is the best season. And the best part is when you are on your bicycle and trying to not to fall down... It is not so easy task to do when you have still your old summer tires on the bike... But it was fun
Old railway
I like Tampere that in the area that currently holds small industrial and stores you can find old rails. It is always a great time to cycle there and think when was the last time there actually went a train. A quite a while I think because tracks was all rusty and in those place where rails crosses a street, no cars slowed down at all. And today I noticed sad thing, they were removing tracks from streets so no trains at all anymore. It looked like they are still going to keep rails elsewhere, but it is still only a matter of time until they are removed also, i think.
A year later
One year ago (and one day) I decided to start a little project, I decided to post one photo every day. I had a small dream that I would even be able to take one photo every day but soon this was forgotten and I didn't even post a photo every day. But in the end, last day of March I posted last photo for the project and now I have 365 different photos that most of are taken near the posting date (usually previous weekend). More about the ending of the project can be read from http://www.mikian.com/photoyear/2009/04/01/end-of-story/ and in that blog you can also watch all photos by month, by category or by tags. Or if you like you can watch all photos in slideshow starting from the very first photo year ago and watch how the year is passing by in http://www.mikian.com/photoyear/viewer
This project was actually really interesting. More about how project went is on that last entry in Photoyear blog. But now when I think about last year and watching those photos, it seems that it has been a long time ago. Somehow I barely remember my decision to start the project, it feels like it happened many, many years ago. Well, last year was quite interesting and quite much happened, but interesting still, because usually I just have feeling that time just goes really fast. But nice thing is that I am actually really proud most of the photos, I managed to pick really great photos (if you just see all those photos I rejected from that project 
). What project gave me, more inspiration to take photos, more motivation. I think that I am going to continue the project, but not as one photo per day, but still I am going to post more photos here than earlier. But only great photos
Definitely spring
Since last post it has finally started to feel more and more like spring. Okey, yesterday it tried to snow a little bit but this time it was only trying to snow, just like it should do in spring
Streets are already dry and sun is starting to be really warm when it shines and it does a lot now. And finally, it has to be spring when yesterday I saw three porsches on streets and today one more.
Fox and the City
I was just playing a few moments ago when I just happen to raise my sight from monitor to outside and what I saw... In the middle of the city there was a fox running through our yard! That was something that I didn't expect to see. That was actually a first fox I have seen in the wild and it was beautiful animal. Too bad that it was so busy running away that I didn't have a opportunity to take a photo 
Have to hope that it wasn't only visiting shortly but would come again someday; and this time I will be waiting with my camera...
Smells
I went today to local Arboretum to take some nice photos from plants and overall from the place. And of course because it is always nice to walk in the nature, or in this case, in the park. In the park there was a small cape where lead a path. And what was waiting for me in the cape... There was few huge trees of European Bird Cherry and that smell... I always forget during summer and winter how Bird Cherry smells but every time in this time of year I remember, it is so strong smell that it just can't be missed. And luckily it is a good smell.
I have always liked to walk in the nature and in the park, specially in the middle of nowhere, in the real nature has always been a relaxing affect on me. And it is the best place to just to think about everything, for some reason I just manage to put my thoughts in the right perspective while I am in the nature, specially when I am near a lake. Well, it is just relaxing. And this time was no exception, I had in the morning feeling that I had again just too many thoughts and worries in my mind and I just had to left o photograph and walk in the park. And it was a little help, no, I didn't miraculously solved all my problems and worries but I managed to get something in to order.
New toys…
A little update about my dear hobby, photographing. In April I came across a little bit too good offer and in the result I bought a new camera, Canon EOS 5D. And now I have been playing with it for over a month and I just like it. It is just a great camera, and so much better than my previous body, EOS 350D, naturally. And specially in the macro shootings, I like when I can see something through finder.
And in Thursday I finally managed to upgrade my tele-zoom lens. I should have been upgrading it a long time ago, but luckily I haven't, because a friend was selling his Sigma 70-200/2.8 lens and I got it with a nice price. And with Sigma's 2x extender. And I have to admit this also, that is a wonderful lens also. Now I finally have a good tele that I can actually use to take some photos. And in Friday I got a really good reason why I bought this lens, the photo in this post, I don't think that I could have managed to take that with any other lens (that I currently have).
