Finland update
By Tessa Bunney on 20 March 2010As Finland comes out of its long dark winter towards spring, the sunshine has put everyone in a good mood and I’ve had no problem in finding people willing to be photographed doing their chosen activity on the frozen lakes.
I’m steadily working my way around the ice swimming holes in and around Jyväskylä and with uncannily good luck have found people swimming at all of them and willing to be photographed. I’ve been shooting on film so photos will have to follow later as nowhere here processes 120 film – I haven’t met a single photographer here who uses film either. Luckily my digital back has highlighted another technical lesson learnt: don’t try to wedge your tripod leg in a pile of snow as it very slowly slips and all the pictures are shaky – in fact I’ve gone back to hand holding because every surface is either snow or ice. However, the tripod makes a handy snow depth gauge! Also don’t trust a bus driver to tell you when to get off either…
Despite the generally sunny weather there has been a few inches of snow and it soon cools off in the evening – on my way back from Vuorilammen sauna and ice swimming spot at 6pm it was already minus 10! Heading back there this weekend to do some more portraits in this stunning location.
Spending all this time on the lakes, I’ve been fascinated how the division between the land and water has disappeared.
The sauna and swimming opens at 3pm today so I had a short time this morning to make a visit to Köhniönjärvi where there is an ice swimming place but this year it is not in use, the old ladies in the area liked to use it but it has been closed due to vandalism. About 12cm of snow fell last night and early this morning and then it started to rain so it wasn’t the easiest trip by bus and the lake was deserted.
Vuorilammen sauna ice swimming hole
Vuorilammen sauna ice swimming hole