PHOTO AND WRITING BY MONIKA CSAPO

I have been in extreme photo taking-mode now which is why I could not sort photos for the blog but I have been posting some of the latest photos when I had a bit of time on Facebook and Instagram. The good news is: there will be new photos here pretty soon if you might be interested.

Today I was taking photos in Hanko and I am staying for a night at the same hotel where I was staying some years ago. It is a great feeling to return here. It feels a bit like meditation: connecting the dots between old and new and reminding myself of who I am still and what I truly like. To me Hanko is the most beautiful during late autumn and winter. Nothing compares to the wild beauty of the sea at this point of the year. Yesterday the temperature was about 4 C but the real feel was somewhere below zero because of strong wind. I thought at one point that my camera died but luckily it just went crazy a bit probably because of the weather. I wrote this short note to tell about how it feels sometimes to take photos in such conditions:

Nordic-photography in not so good weather- behind the scenes (@Hanko)

The wind is shaking the camera so much that the telephoto zoom lens can hardly get a sharp image in zoom mode.
The shutter release button is not working, the menu froze, nothing is working. Changing lenses, thinking that the camera dies. Luckily not.
You are bribing yourself with the thought of a cappucino at the hotel if you manage to continue taking photos just a bit longer in spite of the cold and the wind.
Just a bit longer turns to 1 h more.
At one point even when wearing thermal underwear your leg starts to cramp from the cold.
But the combination of the scenery, the harsh weather conditions and taking photos in it has such a unique atmosphere that all this is absolutely worth it!
PS: I also had to make quickly some DIY-gloves from one pair of socks today because my hands would have been totally frozen after ten minutes without wearing any .