My Finland 100 : 1-10

Finland became an independent state on 6 December 1917. Already there have been numerous events staged throughout the country to celebrate this centenary year. The theme of the centenary year is ‘Together’. 

As I have been a resident of Finland for the past ten years I wanted to do a little something. For this I decided to post 100 images to my Instagram account on social media with the hashtag #finland100_igchallenge .

Anyone familiar with the Instagram application will be aware of the vast amount of wonderful photography posted every day online. There are so many amazing images to be found featuring Finland's stunning nature and landscapes. I imagine my photography may be lack lustre in comparison and as a result may not be noticed. So I decided to simply look closer in and around my new home for another approach. I have posted a variety of images found around my own house and neighbourhood. I didn't know much about Finland before I moved here, so I view this as an opportunity to show others a few things I discovered about or associated with Finland and it's culture. I have included everyday items, nostalgic items, locations, food and also some Finnish-themed artworks which I painted myself while living here. In other words, a bit of everything!!

The images are in no particular order of importance or preference, so I'll start with 1-10...

1/100 
After almost 40 days away I'm looking forward to this! 

Nice to be back home in Karis!

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Jan 14, 2017 at 2:22am PST

2/100 

Finnish power breakfast! Muesli with forest blueberries and seabuckthorn berries. Plenty of anti-oxidants and vitamin C eqivalent to 500 oranges!

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Jan 18, 2017 at 11:47pm PST

3/100
Happy Runeberg's Day!..these are Runeberg tarts, very tasty treats from Finland. Find out more about this tradition on my blog at www.alanhogan-artgarage.blogspot.fi/2017/02/the-dead-poets-breakfast.html

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Feb 5, 2017 at 4:42am PST

4/100
the Finnish pantti or moneyback system helps keep plastics out of nature's way. It makes cents to recycle your plastics in Finland!!! ♻

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Feb 21, 2017 at 1:16am PST

5/100
Back in Karis with a bucket full of sunshine!!! Happy Days!! ☀😎☀

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Apr 21, 2017 at 11:21am PDT

6/100
Captured this 'Aglais io' on camera last Monday while out for a hike in Västerby, Finland. More commonly known as the 'European Peacock' butterfly, I've modified it with selective colouring and it's available as a print on some of my art webstores.

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on May 3, 2017 at 1:45pm PDT

7/100 
Yum! 😘 Finnish pea-soup isn't just for Thursdays!

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on May 9, 2017 at 5:45am PDT

8/100
...'got a soft spot for this old Finnish band despite not understanding most of their songs. Nice melodies and compositions!

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on May 17, 2017 at 5:12am PDT

9/100
..clouds and rain today in Finland, so posting a sunny painting of a red house to brighten up my Instagram! It's called 'The Red House in Finland'.

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on May 30, 2017 at 11:17am PDT

10/100
...driving home for a lazy Sunday afternoon!

A post shared by Alan Hogan (@alanhogano) on Jun 4, 2017 at 11:32am PDT

Click below for more:

1- 10

11- 20

21- 30

31- 40

41- 50

51- 60

61- 70

71- 80

81- 90

91- 100

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Thanks for reading my blog and please feel free to share it with any of your friends.

- Alan

 

Eyes Wide Open

Visiting Finland during the summer months offers the chance to experience long evenings and for a certain period the midnight sun. In most parts of Finland it doesn't get very dark at all. Where I live along the south-west coast the darkness is set at twilight, so it can be bright enough to play a game of football.
















Having spent almost ten years now living in Finland I am still amazed every June as the Midsummer period arrives with it's seemingly endless hours of light. It's an eerie sensation which can create wonder and plenty of sleepless nights. Black-out blinds are an essential purchase if you want to sleep!

While I still haven't been to the northern part of Finland yet, I can almost imagine what it must be like to have the sun up all day. It's something I would still like to experience sometime. One reason I haven't been so far north in the summer may be the presence of Finland's not-so loveable mosquitos. While we do get quite a lot of these bloodsuckers here in the south of Finland, I have heard stories of mild discomfort caused by the amount they have up north. This may be over-exaggerated, but during my first few years of living in southern Finland my legs were constantly under attack. After several days of itching and scratching they resembled a pair of crusty old pizzas! I think I offered the mosquitos a new dining experience of Irish blood which they took to like a vintage wine!

Nowadays my blood may have altered a bit or become less tasteful as they don't bother me too much anymore. Perhaps my tolerence for them has levelled out,  I honestly don't know!

Anyway I thought I'd reactivate my blog here today having read about a short-film been shown at a Finnish film festival this week. It's certainly an apt film to show as it's relevent to the festival's location and this time of year. It's called 'How a Mosquito Operates', a silent animated film made way back in 1912 by American cartoonist and animator Winsor McCay. It's just one of many films been shown, full list here


















This Wednesday June 14th 2017, the Midnight Sun Film Festival begins it's five-day event in Sodankylä, Finland. It's an unusual film festival as it shows films around the clock without any breaks, just as the sun shines around the clock! 
The festival began in 1986 in the village of Sodenkylä, located in Finnish Lapland, some 120 kilometres above the Arctic Circle where the sun doesn't set at all in the summertime. So if you suffer from insomnia, this is the place for you!!

..and don't worry about the mossies!

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Thanks for reading my blog and please feel free to share it with any of your friends.

- Alan

    

Autumn Fair in Finland

Today I took a visit to the Autumn Fair in the nearby town of Ekenäs/Tammisaari here in southern Finland. The weather was unusually bright and warm for this time of year here. Like myself most visitors to the fair were dressed for cooler temperatures. But after only ten minutes of arriving I had to remove my jacket and 'wished I had kept my shorts on before leaving home!

I decided to let this blogpost become a photoblog as it's been a while since my last post and my writing skills are a little rusty. This is mainly due to the fact that I accidently deleted a lot of the photos from my previous blogposts on this page via my smartphone.

Anyway, here are my photos of the day.  

Jams and Juices

Hats!

Suit your #Selfie - High Fashion!

The Usual Suspects

Fancy Hats!

Italiano

East of Edam!

Suomi selection

Hello Helium!

Local Wildlife

Balloons!

Candy liquorice

Honey

Angry Birds Top Shelf

Spacious rides!

Big Wheel!

Blood Donors Welcome!

More Candy!

Carousels!

Mr.Balloon Man!!

Maybe I'll go back tomorrow, I hear there's a beer-tent!!!

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Thanks for reading my blog and please feel free to share it with any of your friends.

You can receive my blogposts direct to your email or facebook profile by pressing the follow button at NetworkedBlogs  and you are welcome to visit my art page on Facebook by clicking the 'Like' button under my signature below.

- Alan 

                     

From Clare to here

I just found this impressive video online today which I have to share. It shows the western part of County Clare off Ireland's west coast, featuring the village of Kilrush, Loop Head, the Bridges of Ross and the amazing Cliffs of Moher.

This video is made by Alan Magner Photography and should be watched in HD quality. It's a fine example of good photography and a nice slice of Ireland's natural beauty. This is one big thing I really miss about not living in Ireland anymore. While Finland has it's own unique natural beauty, it does not have the same geographical aspects that Ireland has to offer. Living within the landscape of another country can often remind a person of the beauty of another land which they once took for granted for so long. It's great to get back to Ireland whenever possible, and even greater if one is lucky enough to visit places such as those in this video. Being a Dubliner this isn't always possible as family visits always come first and holidays can often be too short. So it's always great to find such wonderful videos on the internet to remind us of Ireland's magnificent landscape, especially when living so far away.


Last summer I had a fantastic holiday in Ireland including the west coast. The weather was amazing and I got some great photo shots of my own. You can check out my photos by clicking on any of the links below.

Share this blog!

Thanks for reading my blog and please feel free to share it with any of your friends.

You can receive my blogposts direct to your email or facebook profile by pressing the follow button at NetworkedBlogs  and you are welcome to visit my art page on Facebook by clicking the 'Like' button under my signature below.

- Alan