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.
University cat
On Friday when I was coming back to university I encountered a little problem, the door which I usually use to get in was blocked. University has to make a new agreement about security because in the door was a cat watching that no-one was going in... Or at least I decided that it was better to go inside from another door than trying to get past the cat, specially when it was sitting in the front of door so I wouldn't been able to open the door even.
Spring in the air
Today I noticed that it starts to feel like it is spring soon. Roads are getting free from snow. Again yes, not first time this year, no but this time feels different. Now the sun is melting all the snow, roads are full of slush and it is simply sunny, warm, spring like weather now. And today I was feeling like it is spring. I actually had a tough time to decide if I go to take photos by walking or just go to bicycle first time this year (and no, I don't think that cycling to the work is cycling).
Second thing I noticed is that I have been taking too many photos from my neighborhood, I just seems to be hard to think something new and interesting out there. The nearby forest is boring, it is just too clean, simple and there is just nothing interesting for a photo. And it is really boring looking forest to take photos.
Maybe I just should cycle somewhere where is a little bit more interesting sceneries and stop to take photos there...
Ski track
One of the last photos from ski tracks with snow. I guess that snow will melt quite soon, also from ski tracks.
University at night
University looks a little bit scary at nights. When all the lights are off it is quite dark place. Doesn't look like at all a familiar place like in the daytime.
