It was bitterly cold (-35 degrees C) when I and three friends hiked up to the top of a hill in this stunning national park in eastern Finland in January 2026. A breeze was blowing, causing the trees to move a bit and some snow to fall.
I was keen to capture some depth of field, but had set the aperture too closed. The ISO was high to keep the shutter speed up. The glow in the sky deepened just before the sun rose, showing the best of the Belt of Venus with the moon clear to see.
Shortly after, the sun came up further and the snow turned a pink colour. It was time to retreat to somewhere warmer.
