The rest of Helsinki...

 

Well, my trip to Finland at the end of September produced a lot of photos. 

 

I had a Saturday morning to myself, and got up quite early.  I was quite pleased with my harbor area photos at dawn.  The following are from my walk as I continued around the city center, still rather early on Saturday, 28-Sept-2013, plus a few taken on the way to and from dinner the evenings before.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

The Greek Orthodox Uspenski Cathedral, in the low-angle light as the sun set on Wednesday evening. 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 

The western harbor area, in the soft evening light.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

The fountain, on the way back from dinner Thursday evening.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 

A street just south of the Main Lutheran Cathedral, sun creeping in, trolley tracks running down the street.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Spectacular blue sky...with the cathedral looking equally spectacular in the early morning light.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Just another street south, and you are back in the main harbor area, where the local farmers /. food vendor / souvenir market was setting up.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

It's Finland...there's plenty of salmon !

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

A Dutch warship was there on a port call.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Temppeliaukio Kirkko, known as The Church in the Rock.  It's fantastic ! 
They started with a mound of granite, and blasted out the center. 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

They built up the walls a bit as needed, then made this beautiful copper domed roof.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

The pipe organ is hung from the rock face.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Sunlight streams in through the beams in the glass part of the roof.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

The main train station, against a shocking blue sky.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Trolley tracks,...

...woven through cobblestones.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

There's a lot to see in Helsinki.
Take a walk !

Y'all take care.

- Mark W. Laughlin

 

 

 

Balloons...!!!

 

We started again on Sunday morning early...

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 Filling balloons, first with fans, and then with the burners.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 ...and then the sun came up !!

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 The future's so bright...

 

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 I tried to get my photos to convey the huge numbers of people there.

 

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 ...and more people...but a large area, so it didn't feel crowded.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 Lots of shapes.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 Balloons, "shoulder to shoulder" on the field.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

...and more shapes.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

  

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Yep, color...

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

  

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

More and more, launching as fast as they could.

 

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Dang, this angel has big feet !!

 

 

Y'all take care,

- Mark W. Laughlin 

 

 

 

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

It's all about the color !

Hello Followers !!

Hello
Followers !!

I very much appreciate my followers around the world ! 

Recently, WrittenPost has reached 5,000 all-time visits, with visitors from over 50 countries around the world.  Many (well, most) of the visits are from my friends, family and work-associates.  But many are from "Followers" who have noticed WrittenPost along the way and like to follow our activities.  To those Followers,  would like to say, "Thank You !!".

 

We would most appreciate an opportunity to get to know our Followers.  Please send us an e-mail at mlaugh1931@aol.com and introduce yourselves.  Or leave a Comment on the blogsite (just under any post), but in any case, keep tuning in and we hope you continue to enjoy WrittenPost.

Thanks again,

- Mark W. Laughlin

 

 

http://writtenpost.blogspot.com/p/the-trail-of-fox.html

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Helsinki Harbor, 25-Sept-2013

Balloons...Pre-Dawn !

One thing about the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta...the Morning Sessions start early !

The first Park & Ride Shuttles are at 4:30am, and I recommend that you be on it.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

The other thing...dress warmly.  The early October mornings in Albuquerque can be chilly.  The wind chill on Sat 5-Oct was about 33 deg F (1 deg C) !

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

We arrived on the wide, open field a few minutes after 5am.  At that hour, crews from some of the 580 (580 !!) registered balloon teams were busy scurrying around in the pitch dark, positioning and starting to set up their equipment.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

The only light out there is the occasional headlight from a vehicle, or maybe my flash.  We had to stop sharply to avoid stepping on one of the Dawn Patrol balloons.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

But the big hit of the pre-dawn show was the "burner warm-up's"...they definitely get your attention.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

As the sky began to brighten lust a little, we could see the line of 15 or so Dawn Patrol balloons beginning to inflate.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

A properly warmed burner shoots out a 2-3m long blue-white flame, jetting hot exhaust gases up into the balloon.  Hot air wants to rise, and so that lifts the balloon...

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

But the whole point of the Pre-Dawn Show is that the flame makes for a cool site as it lights up the balloon from inside.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

And so the balloonists retard the air-flow to the burner just a little, turning the flame a brighter orange, really lighting up the balloons, here right on cue, all together.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

By the way, notice all the people ?  They said that on weekends, they get attendance of 100,000+.  From other photos I will show, I would not be surprised at all if they exceeded that number on Saturday, and on Sunday !

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

And finally, the group takes off.  One of the points of doing the Dawn Patrol is checking out the weather and the winds aloft, so 500+ balloons following about an hour later will have better intel about conditions.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Of course, flying in the pre-dawn sky requires certain safety devices...
 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 ...and up they go.

 

 

Look up a balloon festival some place near you,

or better yet, start making plans for October 2014,

when Albuquerque will be at it again.

As my dear wife said several times,

"It's Awesome !"

 

Have fun,

- Mark W. Laughlin

 

 

 

 

  Next...

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 

...I'll show you what happens when the sun comes up !!

 

 

 

 
The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
Annually, in October, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
http://www.balloonfiesta.com/
 

Hot Air Balloon Festivals around the World !!
Look one up near you...
http://www.hotairballoon.com/showall.taf
 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin