Friday, December 30, 2011

Helsinki T2 Departures

Helsinki T2 Departures by Rollofunk
Helsinki T2 Departures, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Waiting for our Euro-tourer Mariko to arrive. Should be on the approach now. The good cafe for planespotting had been closed, so took refuge at the Congress Center balcony overlooking T2 Departures to do peoplespotting instead.

WDC2012 Preparations

WDC2012 Preparations by Rollofunk
WDC2012 Preparations, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

The day after tomorrow I'll be a designer living in the World Design Capital for a year. Will it mean a big change in anything? Probably not. Perhaps not even a small one. Invites to some design party which I'll be too busy to attend, or something? Anyway, glad they bring design into focus more and more. We'll try to live up to the expectations.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Seal Line Waterproof Phone Pouch

Yes, there is a Santa Claus, and apparently he's connected to www.hikinginfinland.com in some way.

This nice and sturdy looking Seal Line pouch arrived by mail today, after I won day 4 of the advent calendar over at the previously mentioned site. Good first impressions. Even has a camera window in the back. And this will be needed if our winter will continue to be as wet as it's been up till now.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Ardbeg Family

Ardbeg Family by Rollofunk
Ardbeg Family, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Ardbeg Tasing @Punavuoren Ahven

A tasting of known suspects tonight. The only new experience was the Airigh Nam Beist, which apart from being a pleasantly smooth, sweet and flavorful version of the known Ardbeg style, had the added extra of already being discontinued. The best of the evening once again turned out to be the classic Uigeadail, however. Really suits me. Alligator worked well too, and the rear was brought up by the regular Ten and Blasda.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Sales Pitch

Sales Pitch by Rollofunk
Sales Pitch, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Blacksmith's Audience

Blacksmith's Audience by Rollofunk
Blacksmith's Audience, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

The 45mm, equalling a 90mm in film size, is such a nice lens for shooting people, even in poor light.

Warmth

Warmth by Rollofunk
Warmth, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Almond Stand

Almond Stand by Rollofunk
Almond Stand, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Took the Oly 45mm out for a bit of trials in difficult conditions tonight: The annual Chirstmas market here in Helsinki. Varying lights, lot's of stuff in the depth range and moving people pose enough challenges for a long lens as this, but combined with the tiny GF1 body it proved a most capable tool in the busy, cramped spaces. Surprisingly many of the shots were keepers.

Thursday, December 08, 2011

And So It Begins

And So It Begins by Rollofunk
And So It Begins, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

To be fair, the first snow here in Helsinki came the night between Monday and Tuesday, but tonight's snowfall was already a much better effort.

Evening Reading

Evening Reading by Rollofunk
Evening Reading, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Academic Graffiti

Academic Graffiti by Rollofunk
Academic Graffiti, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Spotted on the construction site fence of Helsinki University Library

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Star of the Evening

Star of the Evening by Rollofunk
Star of the Evening, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Not your average Whisky, that's for sure. Someone mentioned a bottle like this goes for around 800€, if one can be found somewhere. Way too much for a layman like me to comprehend, but then again people spend a lot more on some other hobbies (guilty as charged).

Whisky Tasting @Punavuoren Ahven

The classic before shot.

A hard fought battle at the end between numbers 2 and 5: Buichladdich 1988/2003 and Ardbeg SC 1378 1975/2006. The Bruichladdich is an old favourite from previous tastings, and still held it's own, but in the end the sheer depth and complexity of the Ardbeg's taste range led me to pick it as my number one tonight. Hints of chocolate, gingerbread and perhaps some liquorice combined with the characteristic peatines of Ardbeg, and smoothened and lengthened by 31 years in a sherry cask just made it a fantastic Whisky. A privilege to taste.

A slight disappointment was the Caol Ila 25 yo, which didn't live up to the expectation of how good a +20 year old Whisky can be. Part of it might be due to the diluting to 43% from cask strength, which inevitably evens out the taste a bit.

The Menu

The Menu by Rollofunk
The Menu, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

A rather old and distinguished lineup at tonight's whisky tasting:

Bruichladdich Infinity [3] Edition 3_10

Bruichladdich 1988/2003 Gordon&MacPhail Bottling

Caol Ila 25 yo

Laphroaig 25 yo 2009 Edition

Ardbeg SC 1378, 1975/2006

Monday, November 21, 2011

GF1 At Work

GF1 At Work by Rollofunk
GF1 At Work, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

As the GF1 is a pretty capable video tool as well, especially when using the 20mm and 45mm lenses, I decided trying it out a bit. Result:

First Frost from Mikael Leppä on Vimeo.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Locked Up

Locked Up by Rollofunk
Locked Up, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

First they build a really nice shelter, stock it with firewood for anyone to use, provide a fire extinguisher for when things get too hot, and lock up the aforementioned so that nobody can steal it. That's some nice design philosophy for public use right there.

B&W

B&W by Rollofunk
B&W, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Nice sunny day, and still being able to get a moody black & white shot.

Best of Autumn

Best of Autumn by Rollofunk
Best of Autumn, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Straws on Ice

Straws on Ice by Rollofunk
Straws on Ice, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

The new 45mm lens doing one of the things it does best.

Ice Patterns

Ice Patterns by Rollofunk
Ice Patterns, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

The lakes had received their first coating. Not there to last yet perhaps, but making a good show while it lasts.

First Frost

First Frost by Rollofunk
First Frost, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Today might have been the best day of the rest of the year for taking the camera out for a daytrip in Nuuksio National Park, so that's what I did. Felt good.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Wacom Cintiq 24HD

Wacom Cintiq 24HD by Rollofunk
Wacom Cintiq 24HD, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Our new office toy. Whenever I feel that the 12" screen of my Lenovo tablet PC is too small for current sketching needs, I can plug it into this to get double the screen size to doodle on. Nice!

Saturday, November 05, 2011

Boombox

Boombox by Rollofunk
Boombox, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

As far as cool audio gear goes, Hi-fi Expo was full of it. Spreading out around several hotel floors might have been good for quiet listening experiences, but didn't help finding stuff at all for novices such as us. Exhibition layouts can be slightly intimidating and confusing, depending in expertise level in the exhibited subject.

Archipictor @Skiexpo

Archipictor @Skiexpo by Rollofunk
Archipictor @Skiexpo, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Skiexpo time again. Not really there for the exhibits anymore; Got a solid pair of planks to slide downhill on, and little to no knowledge of possible holiday time in winter, so not much of interest this year either. The event is more for catching up with some old friends who manage to spend a lot more time in the mountains than me. And since they've combined it with camera-heavy Digiexpo I managed to pick up a 16GB SDCH card for the camera cheaply as well.

Ossi's fine magazine illustration was all over the place as well, of course, which was nice.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

N8 Doing AR: Nokia Live View

Downloaded the Nokia Live View app for the N8 today. It's still in beta, and downtown Helsinki isn't perhaps where I'd be in need of this kind of app, but a quick test here tonight showed pretty good UI logic, layering and nice integration to maps and navigation. The direction and location of items were sometimes a bit off, but I guess that's still acceptable in a beta app. Overall a positive experience, and I see plenty of potential here.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Seasonal Pumpkins

Seasonal Pumpkins  by Rollofunk
Seasonal Pumpkins , a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Excellent pumpkin sales trick at our local supermarket.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

'Shroom

'Shroom by Rollofunk
'Shroom, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Happy to notice that the 45mm does a nice job with close-ups too. It's no macro, though, but not needing that much anyway.

Healthy and Nutritious

Healthy and Nutritious by Rollofunk
Healthy and Nutritious, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

The kind of outdoor lunch to make when you can get home in the evening to wash the dishes.

Rocks

Rocks by Rollofunk
Rocks, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

45mm in the Forest

45mm in the Forest by Rollofunk
45mm in the Forest, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

The Panasonic 14-45mm zoom has been my standard outdoor lens for as long as I've had it, but for today's daytrip to out local national park I decided to try out the new Olympus 45mm f1.8 glass in hiking conditions. Overall I was pleasantly surprised how versatile it is. Didn't feel I missed any shot because of the restricted focal length, and in today's cloudy weather and flat lowish light the bright f1.8 and narrow depth of focus kept things interesting. The autofocus was not quite foolproof, but in thick forest with plenty of branches and stuff to fool it I'd call the results good enough, and there's always the possibility to use manual focus too. So, the lens is a good piece of outdoor glass too, it seems. Not perhaps the only lens to take on a hike, but certainly good enough to bring along.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

45mm Doing Portrait

45mm Doing Portrait by Rollofunk
45mm Doing Portrait, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Thank's to Mikko for being the unsuspecting victim.

Sunday, October 09, 2011

Abandoned Cart

Abandoned Cart by Rollofunk
Abandoned Cart, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Tried out the new Oly 45mm lens after dark tonight. Good results all-in-all, and would have been even better had I bothered to dig out the Gorillapod from my bag. The AF wasn't always spot-on in the darkest places, but that's what manual focus is for. With conditions as dark as tonight I wouldn't expect to catch moving subjects well with this gear anyway.

Saturday, October 08, 2011

Alligator Tamer

Alligator Tamer by Rollofunk
Alligator Tamer, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Taishin -kun has grown a lot since I last saw him in 2006. These days he's a fearless explorer of the animal kingdom (especially if the animal is made of wood and thus won't bite).

Snow Leopard

Snow Leopard by Rollofunk
Snow Leopard, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

The new Olympus 45mm f1.8 in action at the Helsinki Zoo. Liking it a lot already!

Thursday, October 06, 2011

New Glass: Olympus 45mm f1.8

Fresh arrival from Japan. I'm kind of liking the contrast to the black GF1 body, and both AF and manual focus seemed smooth and quick at the first trials. Looking forward to trying it out properly over the weekend.

Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Relandersgrund

Relandersgrund by Rollofunk
Relandersgrund, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Took the camera out for a walk tonight, and here's one of the more presentable results. Not used to how quickly it gets dark these days, so had left my Gorillapod at home and had to use any railing or lamppost available to get steady shots with the 14-45mm lens. Well, by the end of the week I should get some new optics hand delivered straight from Tokyo, and then I'll have more room to play with in low light situations.

Sunday, October 02, 2011

Helsinki Herring Market

Helsinki Herring Market by Rollofunk
Helsinki Herring Market, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Herring Tasting Judges @City Hall

Overheard from the judge's table: "Hey, taste number 16. They haven't been cheap on the rum in that sauce!"

Herring Tasting Competition Entries

One of the many traditions surrounding the annual Helsinki Herring Market: Competition between various makers of herrings in sauce.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Kilchoman Family

Kilchoman Family by Rollofunk
Kilchoman Family, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

On the left the future Kilchoman bottle design, in use for the Inaugural 100% Islay Release, next the Spring 2011, Spring 2010, Inaugural and New Spirit, which is only available in tiny 5cl bottles.

Kilchoman Tasting @Punavuoren Ahven

Just back home form spending a nice evening with a new single malt acquaintance: Kilchoman. Being the newest distillery on Islay, only opened in 2005, they have been making quite an impression on people who know about these things, and based on tonight and a few times before I think I see what it's about.

We had Inaugural and Inaugural 100% Islay, Spring releases 2010 and 2011, and to top it of a taste of New Spirit. The last one is technically not a whisky, just a distilled product, but surprisingly tasty already, and a great privilege to be able to taste the origin of Kilchoman whisky. That's something impossible for pretty much any other distillery in Scotland, it seems. The others showed great potential for such young bottlings, the Inaugural Release suiting my taste the best, and it will be interesting to follow this whisky well into the future, now that we know where it's beginning is.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

To A or to B? Habitare 2011

To A or to B? Habitare 2011 by Rollofunk
To A or to B? Habitare 2011, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

The big interior design fair has turned into an annual event, apparently. Still having a bit of an identity crisis between displaying and selling, like so many other public fairs here (cough, SkiExpo, cough). Still, the thing that feels most left out in my perspective are the actual designed spaces. Sure, each manufacturer makes a good effort of showing off their products in a nice setting, but interior design is combining various elements, and that is still sadly left for the viewers imagination in Habitare.

Pictured: One bathroom fitting manufacturer that shan't be named thought apparently it would be a good idea to let the public play design manager. If it only were that easy.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Rabbit Carpet

Rabbit Carpet by Rollofunk
Rabbit Carpet, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Actually it's called Silence, and designed by Studio Permafrost in Norway. Spotted at the To Declare design exhibition last night, along with some other refreshing stuff.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Dirty Design Work

Dirty Design Work by Rollofunk
Dirty Design Work, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Footwear spotted after user interview day at the LINK office.

Toshiba Mini NB550D

Toshiba Mini NB550D by Rollofunk
Toshiba Mini NB550D, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

And that's the business side of it. Liking the keyboard knock-and-feel, and internals are upgradeable as need arises.

Green Machine

Green Machine by Rollofunk
Green Machine, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

The bronze version would have been slightly more stylish, but not 30€ more stylish, so green it is.

Toshiba Mini NB550D Unboxing

After seeing a few Apple products unboxed, the experience here is decidedly more rough, but so what. It's what's inside that counts.

Inside is the reason of a little gap in the blogging. Got myself a highly untrendy netbook for freelance work and blogging. Handles web, photos and writing more efficiently than a tablet. That's basically my excuse.

Timed Drying

Timed Drying by Rollofunk
Timed Drying, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

The little extra of the humble hand dryer: Timer on the left, showing progress.

Friday, September 09, 2011

Big Heart

Big Heart by Rollofunk
Big Heart, a photo by Rollofunk on Flickr.

Some buildings have soul, this one's got a heart!

Inside there seemed to be some designer party going on, which makes sense as the annual Helsinki Design Week is about to begin again.