Whatever the weather... Photo

Photographer’s Note

With this image I wish to share with you the amazing ability the people of Finland have in coping with their sometimes not so pleasant weather.

The event was the Nordic Ski Championships 2006 at Lahti, Finland.The temperature outside was -10 degrees and it was lightly snowing. Lets just say that if anything wasn't covered up well it started to become disfunctional pretty quickly! I came across this young chap (lying on a blue toboggon) during one of the breaks as we were contemplating on buying some boiling hot pea soup (a finnish speciality I discovered!) to warm up the elements.He/She seemed to be quite happy, though it was difficult to tell as he/she had serious problems with trying to show any sort of reaction to his/her surroundings...maybe something to do with the amount of clothes he/she was wearing!We exchanged a few words with his/her parents and understood that this was not something unusual...."how can we stay indoors for 5-6 months of the year?"

Anyway, during my trip i then went on to discover more examples of this phenomenon that no matter what the weather, life must go on and kids must somehow get out of the house (or their parents will go mad!).

I can just imagine what my wife would say if I had wanted to take my young girls as babies out into sub-zero weather....(probably would include something to do with being admitted to a psychiatric ward at the local hospital!)

My salute to the Finnish people.....Bravo Suomi!!!

David

shirgold, pasternak, worldcitizen, josepmarin, plimrn, mdchachi, TheMystic, jhm, ALIRIZA, ktanska, bakes888, JonteW, feather, jaja1970, john_c has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

pasternak (13038) 2006-09-23 12:30

Hi David, a cute photo and really tells something about the world, so a perfect TE entry. It may be astonishing to someone who's living in Israel, but in Russia, where I come from, schools were being closed only at -40 Celsius, at -36C I remember myself going to school...

Take care and... shana tova! :)
Alexander

shirgold (2439) 2006-09-23 12:32

Well Dave,
The image is great but the note is simply FANTASTIC!
You sure managed to get the right spirit, maybe you should start writing some books!
The small guy(?) does seem to be well covered
TFS - Shir

worldcitizen (2201) 2006-09-23 12:40

Hello David,
Very sweet photo, and a perfect example for your note! It is funny that we can hardly see this baby; it is especially amusing to see the arms with missing hands hidden inside. :-)

josepmarin (33611) 2006-09-23 14:17

Hi David,
Good capture of this so nice image. This small child or girl, who is so sheltered that almost does not meet the face, gives an idea of what must be live in these countries with such a hard and cold climate.
But they do it, and adapt perfectly. To that we live in the south, with a very agreeable climate, it would be difficult to adapt us.
The baby with his sunglasses and his pacifier is adorable.
Good photo, and very cold.
Regards, my friend,
Josep

plimrn (19558) 2006-09-23 14:47

Hi David,
larry & i both laughed out loud when we saw this wonderful photo!! Great framing, detail and color. Your note does a nice job of the presentation a learning experience.
Regards, Pat

TheMystic (896) 2006-09-23 23:08

Precious capture. I live in western Canada, and it is not unusual to take the kids out in that kind of weather. Winters are too long to stay inside. Up to -25 C we consider it balmy.
Can't compete with Pasternak, though. -36 is where I draw the line. Haha.
Cheers
Otto

Lynette (1615) 2006-09-24 3:51

Hi David, nice to hear from you again.
A lovely photo you have captured here. The white snow pictured with baby has good depth of contrasting colours. The baby is adorable with sunglasses which would definately be required this time of year. Your note as well is excellent. A wonderfull pov and perspective. Have a good sunday. Well done my friend.
with best regards
Lynette

jhm (81817) 2006-09-24 8:00

Hi David,

I read about temperature of -40 Celisius, I think very to much for my, I like warm and Belgian temperatures of -5 in winter!
Very sweet photo with the small child as subject, excellent seen and lovely sharpness picture, very well done!

Have a nice day,
John

leiju (1679) 2006-09-24 11:25

Sweet shot, and wonderful note! :D
I remember the times when we moved away from Finland and had to come to terms with the fact that people used weather as an excuse for pretty much anything. I guess when you are used to living no matter what weather is outside, your character and sense of duty are quite different...
TFS!
Best regards,
Julia

t0mmm1 (5434) 2006-09-24 11:38

Yeah!!! This is something that we would probably never understand... and is amazing, but also very natural at the same time, because you must go out, like you said, or you go mad ;)) I don't know the weather in your country, but in august we turned the HEATING ON, because of the little baby we have and the temperature was below +18 degrees Celsius... I can't immagine what did I do if I lived in Finland... ;)))
Nice picture and the baby seems very healhful. I like the way it is wrapped in all those things and only from the redish colour of the skin and the little nose one can tell that this is a baby. Wonderful!!!
Have a nice Sunday,
Tomi

ALIRIZA (16195) 2006-09-24 14:01

Hi David,
Lovely portrait of this pretty baby, great image. I really like the expression on her face. Colors and sharpness are excellent.
Thanks for sharing.
Best regards my friend...
Ali Rıza

ktanska (16432) 2006-09-25 1:54

Hi David,
Adorable portrait. Although background is overexposed, it only makes this more interesting as it took a little while to see that it's a blue sled against snow. Even for me as a Finn.
Good note, and it's interesting to read comments too.
Kari

sufi (9568) 2006-09-25 6:56

Hi David...
Oh my God... It's a wonderful portrait photograph and very cute composition... The baby is very pretty... The point of view, the purple tones and their contrast between the white are perfect...
TFS...
Stay well..
Salim.

bakes888 (18055) 2006-09-26 5:11

Hi David. They breed em tough up there. I can’t imagine me and mine out and about in subzero temps either. Great photo, thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.

JonteW (178) 2006-09-28 7:08

I might have liked a litle closer crop. Except for the hands all the interesting detail is in the face and cap. The sunglases are not just for being cool (not as in cold).

As a Finnish father I can tell the sight is nothing unusual. There is a recommendation for newborn to stay in for the first two weeks if it is below zero. After that it is ok to gradually take longer walks. The temperature of the baby is checked from the neck (not hands, feet or nose). Below -10 one should be a bit carefull with newborn.

Here in the south of Finland -15 is often considered a temperature below which kindergartens and schools stay inside. We had a really cold winter when I was in school (below -30). I think it was optional to go to school then. :-)

But this is in the south of Finland. In Lappland -15 is not considered very cold.

But only considering the temperature is wrong. If it is humid (and windy) -5 can feel a lot colder than -20. I remember when we had wintercamp in the army. It was about -5, windy and humid (next to the open sea) and it felt really cold when we left the south of Finland. In Rovaniemi we jumped out of the train in just long johns, and thought it wasn't so bad. When we spotted the temperature (-15 or so) we got quite surprised. But it was so much dryer in the air that we didnät feel the cold the same way.

[3]

feather (49848) 2006-10-02 4:42

Excellent capture of the baby wrapped up against the cold weather. The white background of snow really emphasises the subject well.
Kath

jaja1970 (1286) 2006-10-11 7:04 [Comment]

Show Comment

john_c (24635) 2006-10-27 12:25

Hi David,
A humorous shot, with so much for the eye to absorb. This crisp clear image appears like someone out of a Hollywood horror show or Stephen King thriller. Its amazing what weather will do to fashion! Very well captured and presented. Have a good weekend.
John

Photo Information

Copyright: David White (Davidwh) (3652)
Genre: People
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2005-03-04
Categories: Daily Life, Humorous, Event, Decisive Moment
Camera: Nikon D70s, Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED DX AF-S, B+W 67mm UV-Haze MRC
Exposure: f/6.3, 1/125 seconds
More Photo Info: view
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2006-09-23 12:17
Favorites: 1 [view]