Hi there!. After a few weeks lost from civilization and my blog, I am back from Finland. My toes and fingers slowly thaw and come back to life!:)
Visiting the boreal forest had been a long dream of mine, and making it coincide with the coldest temperatures of the year really was a good idea.
I was looking for a great experience and I found a dream. I got lost in a magical world of snow, ice and frost. A world of silence. A world of waiting. I came back marked by the experience.
I will post a blog article soon about this trip, as way too many things are to be said…Surrealist place, surrealist experience, extremely tough conditions, lots of lessons learnt, lots of fond memories captured, lots of new plans and dreams sparked by this trip too…
One of the experiences was shooting and spending the day at -40C, when the wind blows and you get into the fresh snow till your knees even with the snowshoes. But the pain is quickly forgotten.
Cold covers every single tree with a thick coat of frost and snow, making them bow and bend. Wandering on that hill, I could only think of them as sleeping creatures, braving the winter, waiting for the spring to come back to life.
I was happy to have brought with me all the expedition gear…I was happy too that there was nobody else to see me looking like a Botero sculpture! Down is not sexy…
It is great to see you back!
Click on the image to see it bigger!
Qué maravilla Rafael! Me alegro de que hayas disfrutado tanto! Ahora nos queda a nosotros disfrutar de tus fotos cuando las vayas publicando. Un saludo!
Hola Andoni!! Muchas gracias por tu mensaje, me alegro mucho de que te haya gustado la foto. Otras tantas en el disco duro aún, iran saliendo poco a poco…Las memorias y las experiencias allí “arriba”, también irán siendo compartidas con vosotros. Cuidate muchacho y buenas luces! ;-)
Wonderful blog – love your Finland photos! :)
I am really glad Annika you enjoy the blog…and I am really happy you liked those two Finland images! Some more waiting to see the light…And many blog posts coming. My blog will see quite an increase in writing from my side, so stay tuned, it will be a real pleasure to have you around! Great light to you Annika ;-)
I’m sure you had quite an adventure being there in the cold, Rafael. Congratulations for what you do, for everything. I might have told you this before, but you’re an inspiration. Keep it like that! The two images so far are amazing and I can’t wait to see more.
Dorin, THANKS SO MUCH for all the support you have given me all this time. I really mean it. I could not be happier knowing my work and life can serve to inspire others. What else can I ask? I might also have told you, but you have grown incredibly as a photographer Dorin. And you did not start low precisely…You are doing what you need to do, and very well…keep going Dorin, it is not easy as you know, but that makes it more fun in the end! ;-)
Oh Rafa… This picture is… How can I say… Absolutely fantastic!!!
So great job! I can’t stop enjoy it!
It’s hard to imagine how much efforts you need to make it, but I’m sure it was more chilly than under my tent (and probably not possible to there by bike) haha…
Hope to meet you again on our roads!
Thank you so much Rafa for your light!
Salut Luc!!!! Quelle belle surprise! :)
I am really glad you liked the photograph…Quite a magical place indeed. It would have been difficult to scramble up your bike there though!! :) Snow till the waist level to say the least and quite some bitter temperatures!
I have been following your blog, which I strongly recommend by the way to everybody. You guys had the guts to follow your dreams. That is the kind of people I always take my hat off. You two, keep on living life and enjoying the joy of being alive! Take care and bon voyage ;-)
Awesome photo.