View onto the clock tower Photo

Photographer’s Note

Helsinki Central railway station (Finnish: Helsingin rautatieasema, Swedish: Helsingfors järnvägsstation) is a widely recognised landmark in central Helsinki, Finland, and the focal point of public transport in the Greater Helsinki area. It serves as the point of origin for all trains in the local VR commuter rail network, as well as for a large proportion of long-distance trains in Finland. The station also hosts the Rautatientori metro station, which is the busiest station of the Helsinki Metro.

The Central Railway Station was designed by Eliel Saarinen in 1909 and the station was opened in 1919. The station is mostly clad in Finnish granite, and its distinguishing features are its clock tower and the two pairs of statues holding the spherical lamps, lit at night-time, on either side of the main entrance. The station is used by approximately 200,000 passengers per day, making it Finland's most-visited building.

History

The first railway station in Helsinki was built in 1860, as Finland's first railway between Helsinki and Hämeenlinna was opened. The station's plans were drawn by the Swedish architect Carl Albert Edelfelt. However, as the popularity of railways grew, the station turned out to be too small, and a contest was organised in 1904 with the intention of producing plans for a new station. The contest received 21 entries, and was won by Eliel Saarinen, with a pure national romanticist design, which sparked off a vigorous debate about the architecture of major public buildings, with demands for a modern, rational style. Saarinen himself abandoned romanticism altogether and re-designed the station completely. The new design was finished in 1909 and the station was opened in 1919. (Source: Helsinki.fi & wikipedia)

ymrk, npecanhuk, besnard, vasilpro, lousat, mikolaj_kawa, ChrisJ, ophelcia, dareco, paura, Charo, Photo65Net, alvaraalto has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

ymrk (8639) 2009-04-26 1:09

Hello Dear friend!
Graphical with architectural details are all the in here...Beautiful frame,and you writed notes have a catch up!
Take care of yourself,have a fine week,

Yağmur

npecanhuk (13713) 2009-04-26 1:09

Hello George!
Excellent idea with excellent visual results!
Sharpness is excellent, exposure is very good (the tower a bit overexposed, but it doesn't bother me too much), colors are beautiful, the viewpoint is different and was very well chosen, the composition was wonderfully and effectively done!
I really like it!
TFS - Congratulations!
Best regards,
Neyvan

besnard (30560) 2009-04-26 1:19

Bonjour George
Un cliché original et très graphique. C'est net et bien cadré.
Bravo et bon dimanche.
Nicole

snunney (34732) 2009-04-26 1:37

Hello George,
An interesting graphical composition; makes a good framing for the clock tower. Good natural colours and clarity. Have a good Sunday.

vasilpro (8578) 2009-04-26 1:41

Hello George,
Your very nice photo shows us the architecture artwork in Helsinki railway station, very good pov, nic colors and useful notes for the station's history.
Have a nice day, Vasilis.

lousat (15302) 2009-04-26 2:27

Hi George,this is a master perspctive,very unusual and taken whit excellents details and colors.This point of view is a great new idea...and the new ideas are always welcome! My best compliments ,have a nice day,Luciano

mikolaj_kawa (29933) 2009-04-26 2:31

Hello George! Excellent tower. Original idea. Good light and shadow, very good contrast. Splendid effect. Good luck!

jlbrthnn (37749) 2009-04-26 2:43

Hello George,
Here is a style of presentation different from your usual presentations, but nevertheless splendid! The creativity is obvious and the result is original and pleasant. Framing is perfect. Congratulations.
Have a nice sunday
Cordially
Joël

ChrisJ (70125) 2009-04-26 3:05

Hello George

Wonderful repetition of geometric patterns, shapes & angles. Excellent sharpness, graphism colour & contrast. Nice framing of the bg clock tower with the fg structure. Tfs!

vincz (19039) 2009-04-26 5:33

Very interesting catch with the iron layer in the middle. Gives lots of depth and sepeartes the differently coloured layers.

ophelcia (5353) 2009-04-26 5:51

Hi,
You've caught the ceiling perfectly:)
It's written Helsinki, we know where we are, and the clock tower captured at the same time,
Great idea;)
G.

dareco (17104) 2009-04-26 8:20

Great idea!! A beautiful image, excellent detail! TFS

paura (38278) 2009-04-26 13:25

George,
Very beautiful photo composition here, friend, with those excellent graphism geometric effect. Excellent compo idea.

Regards

Paulo

Charo (31665) 2009-04-26 13:34

Hello George,
Interesting capture with great graphics and superb control of light. Original POV.
Best regards,
Charo

Photo65Net (43084) 2009-04-26 23:01

Hello George,
I like how you used the modern and old architectures here.
Result is very pleasant,
Have a nice day,
JB.

danyy (68602) 2009-04-26 23:11

Bonour George,
un mélange de styles architecturaux différents, bien cadré avec en prime du graphisme moderne et des lumières fantastiques.
Un cadrage très dynamique.
Amicalement.
Daniel.

hay_kes (28562) 2009-04-26 23:25

Hi George,
What a superb architectural shot vith good POV, light and graphism.TFS.
Cheers,
Have a good week,

hAyAti

mauro61 (15304) 2009-04-28 3:54

ciao George,
bella ripresa da sotto questa ragnatela in un bel gioco di luci e ombre.
Ottimi i colori e la luce,
saluti
maurizio

alvaraalto (5231) 2009-05-15 3:35

Dag George,

Beautiful combination of old and new architecture.
When I read your info I remembered the typical Finnish words for international expressions like rautatieasema for station. We thought first that there were a lot of placed named “keskusta” until we found out that it means “centre”.

Groet Rob