Whale fountain, Turku Photo

Photographer’s Note

The lovely fountain which can be seen on the picture, close to Turku castle visible on Aura river.
I hope, you like this mood from Turku.
______________________________________________

Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of Aura river. It is located in the region of Finland Proper in the Province of Western Finland. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland. Turku was for a long time the most important population center in Finland: it was the first capital city of Finland from 1809 to 1812 and continued to be the largest city by population in Finland until the end of 1840s. Nowadays its significance nationwide is not the same as it used to be, but Turku is still a regional capital and important location for business and culture.

After the Finnish War, which ended when Sweden ceded Finland to Imperial Russia at the Treaty of Hamina in 1809, the capital was changed from Turku to Helsinki, as Emperor Alexander I felt that Turku was too far from Russia to serve as the capital of the Grand Duchy. The government offices that remained in Turku were finally moved to the new capital after the "Great Fire of Turku", which almost completely destroyed the city in 1827. Turku remained the largest city in Finland for another twenty years.

Finland's political, military and economic importance as a part of the kingdom of Sweden strengthened as a new age dawned and the land developed its own administrative, military and religious elite. Turku Castle had its own court, which the Swedish monarch visited regularly.
Continental cultural influences came to Finland through Turku and Finnish as a written language came into being there, too. Finland's first schools and cultural establishements were located in Turku and the first university in the land was founded there in 1640.

Despite the fact that throughout its long history the city has burned down many times and that it lost its position as chief city of Finland to Helsinki in 1819, Turku has retained its vitality and remained a cultural and educational hub in which the old is cherished and the new flourishes in all spheres of culture.

As of February 28, 2009 Turku’s population was 175,689, which makes it the fifth largest city in Finland by population. As of 31 August 2008 there were 303,492 inhabitants living in the Turku sub-region, which makes it the third largest urban area in Finland after the Greater Helsinki area and Tampere sub-region. The city is officially bilingual as 5.2 percent of its population identify as speaking Swedish as a mother-tongue.

During the year 2011 Turku has been designated to be the European Capital of Culture together with Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. (Source: national board of antiquities & turku.fi & wikipedia)

edouard_lauer, ophelcia, snunney, danyy, paura, dip, ChrisJ, Cretense, mikolaj_kawa, jlbrthnn, rey316, xavshot, Photo65Net, TopGeo, jaywalker, JCG, dareco has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

edouard_lauer (1063) 2009-03-25 1:58

Hi George,

looks nearly like a whale jumping out of the water. The light and color management is well done and I like the contrast between the fin and the sky.

Regards,
Edi

ophelcia (5303) 2009-03-25 2:07

A really nice postcard from Finland:) Perfect composition and weather, TFS,
regards, Gosia

snunney (34538) 2009-03-25 2:08

Hello George,
A good composition of this interesting fountain and its surroundings. Very pleasing light with good colours, complemented by superb detail.

lousat (15274) 2009-03-25 2:27

Hi George,very unusual and original fountain! Your choice of point of view is decisive to have the best result in sharpness and colors,the details of the water are fantastics!! My best compliments,thanks to show us this curious beauty,have a nice day,Luciano

danyy (68422) 2009-03-25 3:47

Bonjour George,
et bien tu avais de très bonnes conditions de lumières pour ce paysage. Je ne connais bien la Finlande et c'est bien d'en recevoir des photos. On y découvre de jolies villes, propres, soignées.
Une bonne idée de nous apporter la fraicheur de ce jet d'eau.
Regards.
Daniel.

paura (38176) 2009-03-25 4:34

George,
I never see it before, my friend. Very interesting post to show the uncommon art object. wel done.

Abraço

Paulo

dip (12520) 2009-03-25 4:49

Hi George,
nice photo of this unusual fountain with good point of view and framing,
informative note about the town,
well seen and composed!
Dimitris.

ChrisJ (69941) 2009-03-25 5:13

Hi George

Good sharpness & lighting contrast, with the whale tail sculpture, well placed in the frame. Excellent colour & saturation. Tfs!

Cretense (55528) 2009-03-25 5:51

Hi George!

Very interesting and unusual thing to see, beautiful sculpture and interesting architecture in the background! Great composition and framing, flawless light managment, brilliant colours! Congratulations!

Hercules

mikolaj_kawa (29738) 2009-03-25 6:05

Hello George! Wonderful theme. Amazing fountain and excellent houses in the background. Nice light and colours. Original picture. Good luck!

TGULUMSER (12478) 2009-03-25 6:16

Hello George,
A very nice, peaceful view under this wonderful sky,
Best regards,
Tulay

jlbrthnn (37505) 2009-03-25 6:20

Hello George,
The light is still exceptional. The sensor was thus helped to provide perfect colors and clearness. Pretty framing, and beautiful effect of the line verticals of waterfall. Cheer.
Have a nice day
Cordially
Joël

hay_kes (28562) 2009-03-25 8:45

Hi George,
What a superb image vith different shot.TFS.
Cheers,
Have a good day,

hAyAti

npecanhuk (13567) 2009-03-25 8:50

Hi George!
Unusual monument! It creates a special visual impact in this picture! Sharpness, exposure, depth of field and colors are excellent!
TFS - Congratulations!
Best regards,
Neyvan

alibasarir (14301) 2009-03-25 9:37

merhaba George,
çok güzel bir bakış açısı ile kadraja alınmış nefis bir görüntü.renkler,ışık ve netlik mükemmel elinize sağlık.
selamlar
Ali

rey316 (1900) 2009-03-25 10:40

Hi George
I love this Fantan. I recalled the tail of a whale.
Good job and color
Andrey

xavshot (62165) 2009-03-25 12:46

Bonsoir George
jolie architecture en forme de queue de baleine. Tu as su profiter du beau ciel pour prendre cette photo. Bel ensemble;
Xavier

Photo65Net (43084) 2009-03-25 13:43

Hello George,
Nice fountain, and I like your light management here.
Beautiful result,
Have a nice day,
JB.

Royaldevon (5888) 2009-03-25 13:48

Hello George,

This is certainly an interesting fountain and must have been an eye-catcher in reality. You have captured it with fine details, even to the cascades of water droplets! It is perfectly placed in the frame.
For me, the dof works really well giving a good context for the fountain.

Kind regards,
Bev :-)

francio64 (10738) 2009-03-25 15:09

Ciao George,
davvero molto originale questa fontana.
Luce e sharp, ottimi come sempre.

Well done
Francesco

TopGeo (21609) 2009-03-26 0:25

Hi George,looks an interest the fountain with good point of view and framing,informative note about the town,and the view in the city the sky impressive and the prospect good Sharpness, exposure, depth of place and colors are excellent!
TFS - Congratulations!
Best regards,
Georgios

Graal (57571) 2009-03-26 0:27

Jó napot George,
very nice fountain, amazing place in Turku. Good presentation. Well photojob. I like it.
Gr., Aleksander

ktanska (16486) 2009-03-26 1:11

Hi George,
Quite familiar artwork to me, friends living nearby. Good off centre framing. Sidelight works nicely giving contrast. And flow of water well presented.
Kari

amaryllis (17293) 2009-03-26 3:50

Bonjour Georg
une superbe photo et cadrage de cette fontaine originale, avec une belle perspective en arrière plan sur la ville
une bonne luminosité
amities
juliette

Scharan (13951) 2009-03-26 14:01

Olá George

Interessante e bonita fonte, gosto do ponto de vista. Bonita composição e cores ótimas.
Este azul lindo do céu ficou muito bonito de fundo.
Parabéns
GA
Vera

maximage (13323) 2009-03-26 14:43

Bonjour Georges,
Très belle image, soignée et bien composée avec une qualité technique irréprochable!
Très beau travail photographique.
Amitiés.
max

jaywalker (12190) 2009-03-27 14:47

Hi George, A truly gorgeous fountain & slightly unusual, you have captured the light brilliantly & I love the way it courses the droplets to sparkle, the boats give some much needed beauty to the background, a lovely picture, TFS, kind regards Wilson.

JCG (25089) 2009-03-29 10:29

Hi George,

The siren has lost something !!! A photo very refreshing and full of softness in both the colors in the light. The angle of view is well chosen giving a good perspective. Good photo and thank you for your interesting note.

With all my friendships and a very good evening

Jean-Charles

Silvio1953 (41340) 2009-03-29 11:45

Ciao George, great composition with splendid fountain, wonderful light and colors, very well done, ciao Silvio

dareco (17100) 2009-03-31 22:51

I also remember this well. Once again your pov is very nice, as are the colors and detail. Thanks for the memories. When I visited there I didn't even have a camera :(