Winter is never far
Well in Finland, winter is never really far away and some years, doesn't seem to make any space for summer at all. This year has not been one of the greatest summers weather-wise and has been rather cool and most of the time. Surprisingly though for an Australian from the tropics, I don't mind Finnish winter as there is something about it that I connect with on many levels. Mostly, I think it is the desolation.
When it is extremely cold, nothing grows, nothing moves and even the air is seemingly frozen in place. It is a desert with an abundance of trapped water and the sheer nothingness of it can be breathtaking. Or, perhaps that is because the air being taken into the lungs is still frozen, but still, it is beautiful.
Winter sees very short days of course and up north, the sun doesn't make it above the horizon for a few weeks of the year. In my area it is a little less extreme and there is 'daylight' for about 5 hours at the shortest. This can bring about it's own set of challenges as it can be difficult to get enough sun for vitamin D production which means supplements are recommended.
Waking up in the morning when it is dark, going to work in the dark and coming home when it is dark, one can go weeks without seeing natural light. The longest I have been is about 3 weeks where I was essentially inside working any time there was a chance at seeing light. It was kind of like living in a coal mine and can have a profound effect on one's psychology. I enjoy it though since I am a night person and quite like the solitude and privacy of the darkness. Many do not feel the same.
These photos were taken last winter on a day where it was around minus 22. I have issues in such cold temperatures as I have not found suitable gloves that still allow me to operate the camera functions. I bought a pair of 'winter' photography gloves from Ebay one time but winter in Hong Kong is a little different.
What I like about these photos is the awkwardness of the light and structure. There is not much post work done other than cleaning up a little bit. In the first picture if looking closely there are two structures on the horizon, one is a tall building the other is an old shot tower. When I look at the image I get the feeling that the two pillars in the foreground are part of a line of warning beacons standing guard in case they must light their fires to signal the next in the chain. What they are expecting to approach is anyone's guess. Whitewalkers?
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]
Greetings from the fellow Danish (non) summer! ;P
Whitewalkers!
How difficult is it to heat a shelter from the cold? That seems to be a huge expense.
It is very expensive. District heating makes city areas a little cheaper and in the separated housing areas, wood fireplaces are common for heating. Many use electric floor heating also.
The building regulations are quite strict here and building is expensive as foundations must be suitable for the frozen ground and windows are triple (quadruple now I think) glazed. This has the added benefit of very good sound protection too. All piping of course has to be insulated and when above ground, runs indoors to stop bursting.
There are laws here about unpaid electricity bills as they can't shut it off like in other countries. Not that it is a problem on average here as most Finns are pretty good in general at paying their bills on time although the younger are fast becoming credit happy.
and winter is here...
you can tell by the ice dragons...
all joking aside (although one should not joke about game of thrones)
amazing pictures to look at but as you say, a lot harder on the psyche to live through... we will send you a picture of the sun everyday this winter to feed you some digital vitamin D
Very Beautiful , thank you for sharing
This picture has a lot of magic . that great Dear
