My Stockholm 1

And now more talk about Stockholm.

It wasn't that kind of place that would have stolen my heart, or that I am going to want to visit soon again. Not my place, but it was an interesting and inspiring experience anyway.

In the Photography Museum the exposition of Henri Cartier-Bressons (1908-2004) left me speechless. (I recommend googling the name if it doesn't say anything to you!) Just amazing photographs. And not only the good photos make him so special, but the fact that he has been able to be at the right place at the right time so many times when historical moments have been experienced around the world: revolutions, uprisings and new winds blowing in the world. 

I couldn't tell what would my photographing be like if I had to learn to use a non digital camera of the time he shot most of his work. Nowadays it is so easy for anyone to take a picture even with a cell phone, but it is an art knowing how to get all the settings right manually and without any possibilities of editing them afterwords or taking ten pics of the same scene. Though you could see the quality of the cameras has increased a lot, as the largest prints in the exhibition were uncomfortable to watch close because of the blurriness. Medium sized were the most comfortable for the eye as the quality met the size well. 

I warmly recommend to anyone to get to know his work - some of it is just stunning. I had heard the name before but never payed much interest in it, and now he has turned into one of my idols in the field of photography.

Well, there's actually not much more to say about Stockholm, but there are enough pictures for another post tomorrow. And if Stockholm wasn't "my place", I have to say that I can't keep calm when I think there are only two weeks remaining until our six weeks' trip to Chile! The colourful and warm culture of Latin America fits me so well, even though there are things I'd prefer different (of course, everywhere there are, silly me). I just feel like the things I dislike there are much more bearable than the things I dislike in the Finnish culture: in Chile I miss hot water (it only gets warm) while showering, the lack of stray dogs on the streets, well isolated walls and windows (in Finland it's obvious for cold winters, in Chile in winter the house is almost as cold as it's outside, between ten and twenty degrees celsius), and not having to worry about if your car is still going to be where you left it. What I love there compared to the Finnish culture and people are more like the warm and caring people, rhythm of the music, closeness between each one and carelessness - it's not a big deal to make mistakes or be a little different. 

Just in case you don't have experience of Finnish culture, it's described as pretty cold, as we are taught to be independent and responsible and not to be too cosy with anyone since we're kids. Family has much less importance than I think it should in this culture, and my favourite about it here is christmas, as it is so familiar, traditional and warm celebration. I will probably open up about the Finnish culture later in some post, as it really bugs me sometimes.

And, well, in Chile the educational system is the one thing that drives me mad, as the people are fighting for a better and cheaper education, but the ones with power won't do anything about it - but of that I'll complain later, too.

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