There is this field near to where I Iive, an old football field. It hasn’t been used for almost 25 years now, the grass is cut once every summer, that is all. It’s a quiet place.

 

I go for walks on that old football field. Sometimes I take the dog, sometimes I just walk there myself, alone with my thoughts. I always walk this one particular path. It is entirely possible I have made that path, I never see anyone else there.

 

I like that old football field.

Little known fact: the Lucasfilm crew made a blunder in Norway back in the winter of 1979. As we all know, they were doing a fine job shooting their movie but at the same time they were a little too careless with everything they had shipped to the location. Snowspeeders, beasts of the ice planet and even the big AT-AT walkers were frequently left unguarded. And sure enough, eventually one of these giants escaped the area during a snowstorm.

 

Now, 37 years later, we have a feral AT-AT walker loose up here in the north. It’s never been caught, it’s a master of disguise. Luckily, this thing is not dangerous but it makes a big mess stepping on parked cars and such.

 

Thanks a lot Lucasfilm!

Earlier the year there was a Naboo N-1 Starfighter in an episode of The Book of Boba Fett. It was an old piece of junk stripped to bare metal and used for scrap. It looked super cool and immediately upon seeing it I rushed to buy a plastic scale model of it. I never had one before. The prices went up right after that.

 

As I began to build mine I saw many similar projects going on here and there. I quickly realised I was not going to be able to match those astonishing 3d-printed masterpieces, not even close. They were truly remarkable. I also began to feel the Mandalorian N-1 was already, you know, seen. So, I changed my plan on the go.

 

I had already cut off the front cones from the engines, I left them as they were and built the rest pretty much straight from the box except for the small cannons on the nose. The engines, cockpit and the astromech unit are lit with small leds and optic fiber. They can not be seen from this angle and light. This N-1 is painted white instead of the standard yellow. I had an idea for a photo that required the white but it didn’t work out in the end. The reflective metal paint on the engines is a pain to photograph!

 

I have used clouds as backdrop for these before, mostly for a series I did a couple of years ago. This expands the series by one.

Summer nights are at their best right now. Up here in the north it never gets dark during these few weeks around the summer solstice. The light is... well, light, as in not heavy. We call them the white nights.

 

This visitor was photographed about 00.30 am. It’s not quite that light to the naked eye but thereabouts.

Spring is here! From underneath the disappearing snow, all kinds of things emerge. Like this piece of junk. It’s been there for years. If nobody turns up with proof of ownership soon, I'm going to claim it mine. There's room in my garage for another project.

 

Even though they built those with duraluminum and all kinds of corrosion resisting materials, this needs a good and thorough overhaul, maybe even welding here and there. Winters can be a little rough on these.

I like to take long walks in the woods. Sometimes I take the dog with me, sometimes the camera, sometimes both. You find wonderful things in these woods if you keep your eyes open.

 

This is from last spring. I think that thing had been there all winter. Maybe longer.

It is rare to see this thing walking in bright daylight like this. Usually, if you’re very lucky, you’ll see only a silhouette in the shadows, or maybe just the glowing eyes. This is really something!

 

This is why I carry a camera at all times, it’s like being on a constant birdwatch for rare species.

 

One point scored!

Making plans for holidays next summer. Took my Eagle Tourer out for a short spin to check if it’s ready and fit for any upcoming camping trips.

 

My Eagle Tourer is a refurbished 1975 classic Transport model. The passenger pod is fitted with modern interior designed for light leisure travel. It bunks four, there is also a lounge and a small kitchenette. Toilet and shower took a little effort to fit in because, as you know, spaceships rarely have them, but in the end, they went in and work like a charm. Mosquito nets on doorways are a given, there is also a 100mb/s continuous broadband wi-fi.

 

With the Tourer, any trip is a hoot. You can fly wherever you like (bar non-flying zones) and live in the comfort of the Tourer pod. Holidays – I can’t wait!

Little known fact: cruising speed in atmosphere needed so little thrust that the X-wing Incom 4L4 fusial thrust engines did not display their signature magenta glow. Only when in attack mode or on trajectory to orbit and beyond, the glow appeared.

The colour magenta was a result of ionization, a harmless phenomenon, something akin to what we know as the aurora borealis, the northern lights.

One photograph from last winter to break the August heatwave.

 

The X-wing fighter is surprisingly comfortable in extreme weather. That’s really no surprise considering its ability to interstellar travel, but still, the seat is comfortable and the audio system is pretty good. I think six loudspeakers.

 

Anyway, I often kept this baby in the backyard because it didn’t fit on the street, it’s always full of cars and snow banks.

TK-24/7 had his AT-ST walker serviced and inspected annually. Standard procedure. After inspection a short walk next to the shop for a live systems check. Everything worked perfectly. ⁣
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While waiting for a pick-up en route to the next mission, TK-24/7 made himself comfortable inside his trusty walker, he had almost 24 hours to pass. A cup of hot cocoa and an entertaining audiobook was just perfect. ⁣
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The opening in the forest (Central Park Helsinki) is not due to logging, it is because of a storm surge a few years ago. Some of the fallen trees have been taken away but not all, they try to preserve these woods in somewhat natural state, fallen trees shall decay in peace.

The original caption from 2014:

 

Many people have asked me how do I do these spaceship photographs. My answer is this: I take a camera and I photograph what I see. This is on our backyard in April 2013.

 

No, I wish it was that simple. This is a shot that I did not know how to process at the time I shot it and I abandoned it. I found it this weekend but I could not find the RAW format originals anymore, I guess I tossed them in frustration. So, I thought it might be a good idea to try to salvage this using what I had. And bingo! I realized what I’d done wrong almost a year ago, and after that epiphany this was not that difficult a composite anymore.

 

The lesson we learn from this: never throw out anything, buy more memory instead.

The Y-wing flies like a brick, it goes straight once you set course, even in atmospheric flight. Storms means nothing to it, it’s a brilliant workhorse.

 

Attempt any aerobatics with the Y-wing and you’ll find it awkward fast, dangerous even. But in the hands of a truly skilled pilot even the Y-wing can display grace and elegance. The pilot I hired to fly my bird for this photoshoot is the best I know. My friend, a military instructor, flew it like it was a hummingbird. I've never seen a Y-wing make such a beautiful and weightless immelmann turn. I would never dare to try anything like this myself.

 

We had a window for doing this manoeuver only once. That pretty backdrop was a thunderstorm coming our way fast. It wouldn’t have been a problem for the Y-wing, but for us in our little Cessna it was an unpleasant scenario. We headed home to safety. I got my shot.

I mean, I’ve had these images on my computer hard drive and I got this peculiar feeling about them. I went through the archive and what do you know, I found this! It’s from January 2016 and I don’t recall seeing that thing sitting there when I took it.

 

The question is, is this photograph from a different timeline in which that pod was there? When I took it, it wasn’t there but now that it keeps showing up, it does it in images taken before it appeared? Is that thing able to travel through time and space? What is this?

 

They always come at sundown, swarming like insects they drop out of nowhere...

 

I saved this photograph I took from an airplane window long ago. I think it had a nice ambience. The big sky and a lonely airplane among the clouds makes it feel a little bit ominous, suitable for a swarm of TIE fighters.

Carrying a camera with you at all times in case you run into something interesting is a burden. I should do it always but I rarely do, not with the big camera, at least. I do pack a pocket camera quite often though, and it came in handy the other day when we had a nice little blizzard. It wasn't a bad blizzard, merely some heavy snowfall, but enough to lure the snowspeeders out. That’s always fun! I just love how they skim just above the snowy roads.

 

And that sound! Man, it’s amazing! These things have the most awkward aerodynamics, and all the drag and turbulence makes the most distinct sound.

This is my garage. Well, it’s an old warehouse near where I live but I like to call it Garage. It’s a nice roomy place to build stuff.

 

There's my ’64 Ford Fairlane, a classic! I’ve had it for a long, long time. It doesn't run, though, something to do with the carburetor, I haven’t had the time to fix it. There’s also that old Opel truck. It doesn’t run either, it was there when I bought the place.

 

What else, let’s see... Oh, there's also my X-wing fighter. That runs pretty well. My favourite ride. The engines just needs some tlc from time to time.

 

They promised thunder and lightning for today. Nothing so far. The forecast reminded me of this photograph I took some time ago.

 

It is amazing what those ships can endure, the technology in them is quite something. I haven’t seen that one after this though. I wonder if it got fried after all.