Foreword
The Finnish word Kaamos refers to the polar night, a period when the sun doesn’t rise over the horizon inside the Arctic Circle. The polar night occurs only in the northernmost parts of Finland, but Kaamos is often used as a general term for the darkest months of the year in the whole country.
Even though the south enjoys milder temperatures and a few hours of sunlight during the Kaamos season, the wet, cold & violently grey southern city can be a more psychologically damaging milieu than the winter wonderland of the Arctic north with deep blue and pink hues, snow-covered forests and the Aurora Borealis.
This photo essay can be viewed as a multimedia presentation with sound and a panorama, or a slightly different image gallery below.
Sidenote
Goethe writes in his 1810 book Theory of Colours that vivid colours are for “savage nations, uneducated people, and children” and that “people of refinement avoid vivid colours – – and seem to banish them altogether from their presence.”
I guess “people of refinement” would enjoy Helsinki winter, as vivid colours are not an issue there.
Images & Presentation: Sami Maununen
Soundscapes: Solarman Storms
Ambient sounds: InspectorJ, www.jshaw.co.uk (via Freesound.org), jakobhandersen, jakobhandersen.dk (via Freesound.org)