The results of the Finnish Nature Photo of the Year competition have been published and I made it to the awards for the third year in a row. A series win and a competition win still have to wait, if one is ever blessed.
What is behind the picture this year?
An angel’s wing
Sea smoke reached the coast of Helsinki at the beginning of december 2021. I was able to arrange the work so that I was able to shoot the next morning – it was worth it. Two mute swans were at the shore of Lauttasaari and I watched them wash, hoping that it would happen in the right line to the sun. The shoes got wet and later the second camera also got wet, but it was a great morning and worth it.
The picture was taken on December 7, 2021 at 9:42 am.
Exif:
Camera: Canon EOS R5
Lens: Canon EF 100-400 4.5-5.6 L IS USM II
1/1250, f6.3, ISO 100, 153mm
I wrote about the situation a little recently in my column 2/2022 for Luontokuva magazine under the title White winter.
The winter was exceptional anyway, the sea froze early and we were able to enjoy a few sea smokes on the coast on both sides of independence day. I guess the smoke surprised other photographers, because the shore was surprisingly quiet when it comes to three-legged people (photographers). The latter morning fell on a weekday morning, which was naturally also a working morning for myself. The sunrise at 9:07 a.m. and the sea was guaranteed to have a traditional cloud cover on the horizon. It knew about a 20 minute delay before the sun came out. Somehow I had the feeling that I should be at the beach today. I started work at six, clearing a space on the calendar so that I could get to the shore to take advantage of the best lights, and calculated that I would be home by 11 o’clock to have a meeting. I was at home 4 minutes before 11 and the memory cards of the cameras had photographed perhaps the best photos of the photographing year 2021 with lights.
The second time is always worth it!
This was also the last year and the last chance when the picture was awarded. In the finnish nature photo competition of the year, you can send the photo twice if it is sent fresh.
You could participate in the 2023 competition with a photo taken in 2021 and 2022. Therefore, this photo taken in 2021 was allowed to participate in the 2022 and 2023 competitions.
Last year, the image of the angel’s wing became a RAW request, which means it made it to the finalists, but it was not enough for the awards.
Last year’s 2022 award-winning two of my pictures, Waiting & Wolf and Bear Encounter, were shot in 2020. In 2021, they were not successful in the competition.
