Drinking and Shooting

The Vappu 2004 pictures are online. Vappu this year had fabulously warm, sunny weather which was a nice change from last year's cold and rain. I was either stupid enough or brave enough to take my camera along for Vappu since photographing people in large crowds with a fully manual camera requires you to know your camera and have the ability to focus quickly. Vappu is a perfect place to practice and I had a great time getting some decent shots of friends and strangers. I'm still amazed that some of the photos I took later in the evening were in focus at all since my vision was already a bit fuzzy. The Portra UC film seems to utterly adore red and sucks up more of it than any other colour. [Those unfamiliar with Vappu might enjoy the International Hessa's explanation of sorts.]

The picnic at Francis' house with the deadly punch and toxic jell-o was very entertaining, especially as the evening wore on and we managed to make it to downtown where the jell-o was proffered to various ladies. Later in the evening, the guys gave the jell-o to a couple of guys who had a table full of empty shot glasses. Amazingly, they seemed game enough to try it. The jell-o was so strong with the homemade Canadian vodka that you could have gotten drunk from the fumes it gave off alone.

We didn't make it to Kaivopuisto last year due to a sahti induced vicious hangover and the rainy weather. Wading into the park on Vappu for the first time was a tremendous sight with a sea of people, young and old, wearing white caps. I felt left out without a hat so maybe next year I'll dig out my mortarboard and hood to wear around the park. With so many people in such a small space, I was rather pleased to see how peaceful everyone was. Perhaps it's because most people are either hungover or still drunk from the night before. :) Entire families and young children, grills, hookahs, discoballs, minstrels, tents, a VW Bus sauna and all the usual mayhem that comes with picnics en masse were to be had in Kaivopuisto. Vappu is a great party for everyone. Now we just have to hope that the weather isn't too hot and dry until Juhannus.