While staying with my son at Lake Salajarvi, northeast of Helsinki, we ventured out as often as possible to shoot the frozen, snow-covered lake at different times of day. This dawn shot was taken at 0715 (Finnish time) and was taken in the company of my son and my youngest grandson, who is already intrigued by photography. It was an epic morning, so quiet, nothing much stirring and no wind. It was cold, probably around -10C, but so dry that the cold did not really count for much. Although there was plenty of cloud cover, there was a clear band close to the horizon that promised a good, colourful, sunrise. The orientation was easterly and the sun would eventually peep above the tree horizon and give rise to a beautiful day. So it was ideal to get low and shoot across the snow-covered lake to capture the reddening clouds. I loved seeing how the pink affected the snow as well as the clouds.

Nastola is around 10km outside Lahti, which can be reached in an hour by bus or train from Helsinki. However, to get out and enjoy the lakes, the silver birches and the pines, you really need a car and its preferable to rent a cottage for a few nights. A visit to this region is not complete without seeing the beautiful church at Nastola and the new cathedral in Lahti itself. The region is best seen when covered in snow - there are so many interesting sights to focus your camera on!