A Lucky Day

About a month ago I received a present voucher for a massage at a physical therapy center in Helsinki. I reserved a time to go there today in the afternoon. The center is close to Hietalahti marketplace and I thought that I'd look for the highest house and then try to get as up as possible to shoot a tilt-shift.

There is a life insurance company building which has eight floors. I decided to march in and tell them what I'd like to do. I was prepared to be looked at as some kind of freak, and I started my sentence like this: "Hello my name is Nina, and I have a strange question for you. I'm a photographer and I'm doing these photos of Helsinki from above. Could I possibly go and photograph the marketplace from your top floor?"

The woman in the reception answered me kindly: "Well, it's you lucky day, the maintenance guy stands here and can take you up to the roof". To the ROOF! I was stunned but didn't jump yet. The reception woman said to me to wait a minute and she called someone who was in charge. "Yes you can go up on the roof now" she smiled at me.

So up we went, I was smiling inside, that wow, this is amazing! Such kindness and attitude! On the roof I went as close to the limit as I dared, being afraid of high places.

In this shot you can see the marketplace which is partly used at a parking place in the winter. When the snow melts and the days get warmer there will be a flee market during the whole summer. The old reddish building in the middle is a hall selling antique furniture and stuff. Best viewed as large.

P.S. The massage was great, done by a student who will finish her studies in May.