Winter scapes
Snow, the Sun - and the frozen sea
January and February of 2026 have so far been truly exceptional weather wise. It almost felt like winters in the 80s and 90s, or at least how I remember them, cold and loads of snow to play with! In this post I feature some of the aerial images I have taken between 4 January and 8 February. I certainly would have gone out more, but workload and sometimes very cold temperatures were just too much for me.
Vuosaari
I live in Vuosaari and so it is no surprise that I take a lot of photographs just outside my doorsteps so to speak. Now, this winter with the sea frozen solidly again I have been out visiting the few islands on foot and by bike. My neighbourhood area has enlarged, I have access to places I usually could not set foot on.
Kruunuvuori bridge
When passing from Kalasatama to Kulosaari by metro, on the right hand side you see the top of bridge behind the spruces of Mustikkamaa. I was wondering many times what the bridge would look like from close up? So, one Sunday morning I took my bike and went to check it out. I was not disappointed; it's grand and rather intimidating.
VUOSAARI
Vuosaari, in the very East of Helsinki, is a gem; it has been my home now for over 17 years. I have been photographing many of its areas all year round over and over. Spring is lovely with the cherry blossoms, the architecture is increasingly more interesting, but nature is just stunning. Uutela, Mustavuori and Kallahti just to name a few, with the inviting forests are pockets of calm, offering breathing space. But in winter when the sea is properly frozen, the publicly accessible space grows. It’s very interesting to see eg. how clear paths are being formed on ice! How does this happen? To me this is fascinating.
I have taken all the following images with my drone. Click on the image to see it larger, at the bottom you’ll see the caption.
Enjoy!
VUOSAARI
KRUUNUVUOREN SILTA
In August 2022 I already was exploring the building of this massive construction project, check out the post: rakenteilla. The bridge connects the suburb Laajasalo with the city centre in Hakaniemi, where I took my images and videos from. The final connecting stretch to Hakaniemi had not been completed and the main bridge seemed very far away.
This time I got very close. I cycled underneath, along it and had a good look at it. Who knows when I would have a similar opportunity the next time? I tried to make the most out of this visit, but it was cold and operating a drone safely in cold conditions is a challenge. So, I am not very happy with the results, I would have wanted to study the angles and different perspectives more. In any case, for Helsinki the bridge is huge and and bold statement – it will be accessible only to pedestrians, cyclists and the tram. Yes, no cars!
