Midsummer Photo Lump - Finland

[Fingers]

I'm visiting my folks in the old country... Most of these pictures are from yesterday/last night as my extended family got together for the midsummer night. Places, people, dog, the usual stuff. Using my telephoto zoom lens (70-300mm) a lot. A couple of shots are taken with the little IXUS iZoom thingy.

#1
http://www.digital-eel.com/ikphotos/summer07/summer07a.jpg

#2
http://www.digital-eel.com/ikphotos/summer07/summer07b.jpg

#3
http://www.digital-eel.com/ikphotos/summer07/summer07c.jpg

#4
http://www.digital-eel.com/ikphotos/summer07/summer07d.jpg

#5
http://www.digital-eel.com/ikphotos/summer07/summer07e.jpg

#6
http://www.digital-eel.com/ikphotos/summer07/summer07f.jpg

#7
http://www.digital-eel.com/ikphotos/summer07/summer07g.jpg

#8
http://www.digital-eel.com/ikphotos/summer07/summer07h.jpg

#9
http://www.digital-eel.com/ikphotos/summer07/summer07i.jpg

#10
http://www.digital-eel.com/ikphotos/summer07/summer07j.jpg

#11
http://www.digital-eel.com/ikphotos/summer07/summer07k.jpg

#12
http://www.digital-eel.com/ikphotos/summer07/summer07l.jpg

#13
http://www.digital-eel.com/ikphotos/summer07/summer07m.jpg

#14
http://www.digital-eel.com/ikphotos/summer07/summer07n.jpg

#15
http://www.digital-eel.com/ikphotos/summer07/summer07o.jpg

#16
http://www.digital-eel.com/ikphotos/summer07/summer07p.jpg

#17
http://www.digital-eel.com/ikphotos/summer07/summer07q.jpg

#18
http://www.digital-eel.com/ikphotos/summer07/summer07r.jpg

[purplerose]

Hi :)

1: Really nice composition here and I love your greens. :)

2: Really nice sunset. I love the softness of the colors, but it could probably use a bit more contrast.

4: I really like the composition, but it's a bit overexposed.

6: Character and personality really shine here. :)

9: Love it. :)

11: Very cute shot. :) You may want to crop out those little brown shapes on the left side though.

12: Very nice! I think you could either crop or clone out that cloud peeking in on the right.

15: Another nice one! :) Would have liked to see more of the big tree on the left and less of the little tree on the right in the image.

16: Love it. :)

Nice photos, can't wait to see more! :)

[eazym]

I quite like #2, its subtle but poetic. Looks a little like watercolor

[Fingers]

Thanks for the comments! :)

One thing I'm trying to do is shoot like film and do the final composition in the viewfinder. I've had a tendency in the past to shoot very "loose" and crop later since it's so easy to do in digital, but it seems to lose some of the artistic thingumajig. Of these, only #3, #5 and #17 are cropped and #13 was rotated a degree or so to straighten the horizon.

Btw, #1 and #2 are from the pocket camera. It's really a great little thing when the heavy ordnance is packed away somewhere...

[eazym]

I really aplaud that approach, Fingers. I think composing in the viewfinder adds a challenge, but also that je ne sais quoi art-process thingamajig you mention.

[T.Luu]

Finnish summer is one of the best things, if not The best thing, in this world :)

Your parents' place looks like a really nice place. Do they have a farm?

[Fingers]

The first picture is from an old farm my sister and her husband bought to use as a summer residence. It's a neat place although all the buildings are in disrepair. The other photos are from around my parents' cabin where our little gathering was... Beautiful place on a lake.