ShannonLeanne Photography

A Day In Motion

A fitting title, even if it is computer generated suggestion for my first post.  ”Hello, World!” kind of makes me smile because I am currently sitting in the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, grabbing a shot as the world races by and waiting for my flight to Helsinki, Finland.  Handsome hubby is there already, teaching MBA students at the Helsinki College of Economics (not sure how, but that translates to HKKK over there.  ??  I do not pretend for one moment to understand Finnish–but I love the country and the people!).  Great flight over–no delays and other than my dairy-free meal order didn’t register with the airlines (ate a granola bar and 15 lettuce leaves) and that my seat partner was a bit gassy (probably SHOULD have ordered a d.f. meal, too!), it was a painless flight. Looking forward to a couple of weeks of fun and photography, but mostly, to just having Dan all to myself.  Selfish that way every once in a while.

Yes, Yes--I realize there is some 'handshake' because I wanted the shutter open before that red umbrella strolled beyond my window! Who has time for a tripod in a moment like that??

Just after I unpacked my bags at our apartment, the skies opened up with gorgeous rain.  ’Gorgeous??’, you say…yes, indeedy.  There is something really beautiful about rain in Europe.  I’m sure there are plenty of days of nasty, stormy rain, but I’ve been fortunate to only be present for great rainfall.  It doesn’t seem to matter what part of Europe I’ve been in, the rain is unique here-the light is delicious and the old streets just gloss over, reflecting all the lights of the cars and trams.  During the two years that Dan served his mission for our church in The Netherlands and Belgium, he said the rain always had that beautiful light.  (We won’t talk about how fun it was to wear a suit while riding a bike in that rain for two years, though!)

So, here I am…all settled into our cozy apartment in downtown Helsinki and singing about the rain.  Probably because the first thing I saw when I looked out the window was a big red umbrella bustling by.

Swoon!