From coffee addiction to green tea

Snow

Portrait

Shadows

Curves

Water

Road

I read from a book that it takes only two weeks to change a habit, any habit. The author got rid of her coffee addiction in two weeks, which was impressive.

Not impressed? Maybe I should mention that Finland is number one in coffee consumption per capita, 12 kg annually. (Norway is second but far behind: 9.9 kg.)

And this means that coffee is consumed in meetings, at lunch, during breaks at work, and so on. So it is quite hard to stop drinking coffee when you are used to it.

My daily average intake has been 2-4 cups of coffee for over 20 years, but that is little compared to the average Finn. Anyway, in January I decided to try drinking tea instead of coffee, because I noticed that my coffee consumption was increasing.

One contributing factor was that I had bought an infuser for brewing tea (I have now two of them), which is a convenient way of making fresh tea as long as you have hot water.

During workdays I now drink 4-6 cups of tea daily, and during weekends 2-4 cups. And this week was the first one when I haven't consumed a single cup of coffee. Last week I drank one cup.

Of course, I haven't completely escaped the coffee addiction. When I smell coffee, I get the craving, but coping with it is getting easier and easier.

However, long meetings pose a problem. Often the tea that is served is almost undrinkable. Either too hot water - at boiling point - has been used, or the tea has been brewing too long. (Another matter is that often the coffee isn't so good either, but when you have the habit, you drink it anyway.)

And I much prefer green tea, which is not so often available. So, at work I often go to meetings carrying a cup of green tea that I made myself.

Of course, you could think that I have just replaced an addiction with another. But I don't think green tea is anywhere comparable to coffee in terms of addiction.

Finally, something about photography. Mike Moats made a posting in which the title caught my eye: "Do you have the natural ability to see art in nature?"

My spontaneus reaction was: that is the wrong question. The right one is: "Do you have the ability to see nature?" At least it is so for me. I don't try to see art, I try to see what is there to be seen.

Today was a sunny day. But I didn't go skiing, as the doctor recommended not doing any exercise which makes you sweat as long as the flu is bothering. So I went walking instead.

And what was surprising was that it was warm when you were in the sunshine. A novel feeling after the long winter: sun isn't so low on the horizon any more.

When it is truly instinct, brain matter, diastole, systole, reflex action

Morning

Houses

Boats

Trees

Today was a gray day. Yesterday the flu felt worse and I went to see a doctor. I got some recipies and the medicine has helped to feel better. But I'm far from normal.

Yesterday I mentioned taking photographs from a car, and so it happened that TOP made a posting on the same topic, giving an extreme example.

Maybe I need to mention that when I take photographs from inside a car, I'm not doing it while the car is moving 100 km/h in a snowstorm. In fact, there are so many traffic lights in Helsinki (and they take a long time to change) that there is plenty of opporturnities to take photographs from a non-moving car. Still, one has to be very, very careful, and skilled with the camera.

Having taken over 200,000 photographs with the Panasonic LX3 and over 55,000 photographs with the LX5, I think I am skilled enough.

I fact, using the LX5 is so instinctive that I don't need to think about it at all. And that is the way I want to take photographs: don't think about it.

(Posting title is from the poem Frederick Douglass by Robert Hayden.)

Squares from a car

Sunrise

Houses

Street

Gray

We had some discussion about the look of the photographs, and about using the square format, at Mark Hobson's blog. I quote myself (slightly edited):

I followed Mark's blog for some time until I grow into appreciation of the square format. He is definitely my inspiration.

But it wasn't until the Panasonic LX3 got the ability to take square photographs (and see them on the LCD) when I started to experiment with it.

Slowly I realized that the square fits my way of looking at the world. Maybe I always have been a bit squarish.

My mother had a 6x6/120 film camera, and was quite skilled with it. It may be that I learned to appreciate square photographs when looking at the family photographs when I was young.

The LX5 is even better than the LX3 as it has the 1:1 setting on the aspect ratio switch, no need for menus.

Also, I quote myself on the topic of a "recipe" for photographs:

I don't know of any particular recipe. I shoot straight jpegs (no RAW) and usually I don't do post-processing. I often underexpose a bit, but that is the way I see the world.

Maybe using the word underexposure is wrong, as for me it is the right exposure. And I try to get it right in the camera.

As to the topic of taking photographs from a car, here also Mark has been my inspiration. But I haven't gone to such extremes as Mark, who can take photographs in "a snow storm that made the driving interesting [...] with 1 hand while driving with the other hand".