A beautiful sunset as we're pondering the next step vis-à-vis living quarters. We've been on the lookout for a house for months now and there is one specific house that I have kept my eyes on for quite some time.

Yesterday I noticed that the price had dropped and T. phoned his parents asking whether they, who live closer, could find out more. They were happy to do so and after a while they phoned and said that they in fact were on their way to look at it.

When they phoned the next time they told us all about it and, although there are a few things that need to be done to it, they considered it to be a solid house. Good news so far.

T. hesitates. I'm positive. T. wonders if it's the right location. I can't say much about that. T. is slightly apprehensive about the possible renovation costs. I really like the way the house looks in the photos and the fact that it was built in the late 18th century. The debate probably sounds more polarised that it actually is. I do want the numbers to add upp and T. does want to find a house that would work for us. Well, well... time will tell.

A few years ago, I came across a very talented photographer on Flickr, Tolga "Musato" Erbay, and I have followed his work since then. The majority of his beautiful photos have been taken in his native Istanbul and they are well worth a peek.

This is an example of a) the beautiful cherry trees in the garden of my sister-in-law and b) what my new camera can do. The weather is amazing at the moment, the trees are in bloom everywhere and it's a joy to be outside. T. has worked hard weeding the vegetable patch and we enjoy watching everything grow. Happy.

My new camera needs company. ;) It's not as if it's mandatory, but I've been thinking of finding a solution for macro photography, since I'd like to get a bit closer to my motive. Right now I haven't found out which solution will suit me the best, but I'm investingating the options.

An Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8, an Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ES-M 17mm 1.2.8 silver pancake lens, a proper Olympus ZUIKO DIGITAL 35mm 1:3.5 macro lens or a slightly less expensive Olympus MCON-P01 macro converter suitable for M. 14-42 mm II, M. 14-150 mm, M. 40-150 mm lenses could be possibilities, and various filters and an extra battery probably wouldn't hurt.

I've really enjoyed these last few days trying out my new camera in every possible context on a variety of motifs. I love the new possibilities to work with the lenses, to create tension and balance in the photos, and the colours are rich. To work with the short focal span feels fresh and exciting and I'm looking forward to learning more and more as I continue to experiment with the camera.

The photo above was taken in the garden of my sister-in-law and it's really fortunate that everything looks so beautiful and inspiring right now.

Decision time with a little help, since T. decided to pitch in as a birthday present for me. Here and here I've outlined some of the stops in my search for a new camera. For a few weeks now, I've scanned various stores online, second hand venues both online and offline, compared different cameras, models and prices, read reviews, and thought about what is important to me as a photographer and what is less so. Throughout my search, I've looked for a small, light camera that is versatile enough to allow me to take extreme close-ups while offering a decent zoom — at a reasonable price. In addition, I reckoned it wouldn't hurt if the camera was available in white. ;)

This is what I eventually ended up buying: an Olympus PEN mini E-PM1 with interchangeable 14-42 mm and 40-150mm lenses. The camera is reasonably small (109,5 × 63,7 × 34 mm) and light (217 g), which is slightly less than half of the weight of my current Olympus SP 550-uz. Nevertheless, I've been very happy with that and with the performance of the Olympus cameras in general, and I've heard that the lenses are good as well. I was slightly apprehensive when thinking about carrying different lenses with me, but I finally decided on this option since the total weight of the E-PM1 package is not that bad. The newer version, E-PM2, has a few more features, but it is also slightly bigger and heavier and much more expensive, so I hope the E-PM1 will be a good match for me and I think the price was more than fair. I consider it to be the icing on the cake that it indeed is white.

About a week ago, I wrote about considering a new camera and how I had come to the conclusion that Olympus PEN E-PL5 would be a good candidate. Since then I've thought a bit more and I really think the above camera, an Olympus SP-820 UZ, which is the newest version of the camera I have at the moment, might be an even better candidate. It has a built-in optical 40x zoom, which would be the feature that would most definitely sway me, since I'm not that thrilled about the idea of carrying a separate lens. It seems to be slightly heavier than the one I have now, but not too large or heavy to bring with me at all times.

I bought my trusted Olympus SP-550 UZ back in 2007 and it has been a great camera which I've brought with me everywhere with thousands and thousands of photos as a result. It still works, but the battery hatch is not as trustworthy, the rubber parts have fallen away, and the zoom doesn't move as smoothly anymore. I'm considering finding a replacement, not immediately, but at some point in the future and I definitely haven't yet decided what would suit me best.

As a rule, I prefer not to have a heavy camera, since I find it difficult to hold it still the heavier it is. I would, however, want an even better lens/zoom this time. Browsing the Internet, I think the white Olympus PEN E-PL5 seems interesting and the reviews are generally in its favour. At some point in the future... perhaps.

After having finished today's work, T. and I decided to drive to one of the local farmers to buy apples. We usually go there to buy potatoes and vegetables, but they also have some amazing apples called Elise that are wonderful to eat as they are, but also very nice in apple pies etc.

While driving back home I suddenly saw what I thought was four deers. T. borrowed my camera and, when we looked at the photos he took, we realiesed that there actually were ten of them. I've never seen so many deers in the wild at the same time before — and they were beautiful!

We have seen at least one of these pheasants almost every day since we moved here and they are always walking around in our garden. It's actually two male pheasants and they seem to be bickering most of the time. Yesterday morning we could hear them just outside our window and the above was the sight we saw. The wildlife around our house is pretty amazing and we're enjoying the possibility to watch tremendously.

This morning was beautiful and it's still pretty warm where we live. Many of the trees and the fields are still green, but there are hints of red, orange, and yellow as well. This year, the autumn has been far nicer than summer was and I love the clear — although not yet so crisp — air.

A lazy day today. The weather does not really seem that inviting as it's more cloudy today and windy as well.

Yesterday was nice, however, and the day before that was even better. The above photo was taken that evening as the sun was slowly setting over the meadows by the sea. The sheep were curious as we strolled by, amazed by the warmth and the beauty of the scenery. A bit more of that, please!

When we moved here our neighbour told us that their sheep would arrive soon and now they're here. They are so cute! It's actually amazing to wake up and hear them baa as they walk around grazing leisurely. This is one of the definite advantages of moving here.

The weather was wonderful yesterday and it felt like summer. There was a light, warm breeze, and we did some outdoor work. There are flowers everywhere and the air is filled with their scent. One of them I have a love-hate relationship with — the bird cherry. I'm actually allergic to them, but they nevertheless signify the start of the period in late spring when nature seems to burst and I love this time of year so much. I took this photo of the bird cherry yesterday and the white blossoms can be seen everywhere although the weather is a bit cooler today. The sun is shining from a clear blue sky, however, and it feels like a wonderful Saturday. Have a good weekend!

It has been a cold week and it is now getting a bit warmer, which means that the fog tends to emerge. This morning was beautiful as the sun almost managed to get through the mist and there was even some blue sky.

It has been a fairly productive day as well, although we have no results to show for it yet. Patience, I guess... which incidentally is not my strong side.

It has been a week of suprises, some good, some not so good. This one was good, however: Around sunset today we drove towards the local harbour to take some photos and on the way there we were lucky enough to see three deers on the road. We stopped the car and watched them for several minutes before they turned and leapt into the forest. After that the beautiful sunset sky was just a bonus.

The sun is shining from a blue sky today and we will hopefully see a sunset like the one above. The photo was taken in mid November on an amazing Tuesday evening as we were driving by the sea, watching the cows grazing on the meadows. These moments have been wonderful at a time when we have all been struggling to get back on our feet after the accident and everything it brought with it.

We just saw wild geese flying over our house again, thus underlining the fact that there is no real winter here where we live. These migrant birds tend to stay away from Scandinavia during the winter, but this year we've seen them almost every day. They communicate all the time and even if we don't see them, we certainly hear them, as the leader goose seems to encourage its followers in the most verbal manner and the following geese respond. It's fascinating.

It has been another beautiful day with the sun shining from a clear blue sky over yellow fields — slightly windy too, to be honest. Otherwise it has been a quiet day. We have seen our eldest off at the train station (he will be back tomorrow evening), run some errands, feasted on fresh raspberries and blueberries, and played late evening croquet with our youngest as the garden was getting darker and darker.

The day the above photo was taken was far less windy, but equally beautiful. The ears that suddenly appeared in the midst of the crops caught our attention and we stopped the car and watched. It was amazing to see the deer look at us for perhaps ten minutes before we decided to drive away, leaving it to its business. Surprisingly, there is quite a lot of wildlife around where we live. We've seen rabbits twice and when we saw the deer we also saw a pheasant.

I'm "moving into" my new computer at the moment, personalising it, and tweaking the small details the way I want them. The above photo is my desktop image. The original is a photo I took years ago of rain with a dark blue background, which has then been altered in Photoshop. It's a bit funny how this computer feels even more like my own. I have almost felt the same about my work computer, but there is definitely a difference. I like that.