Church of Rock

Each summer seems to be shorter, the older you get. Been meaning to post about this for nearly two months but been too busy wondering in the wilderness before the winter comes.

I had the privilege to do lighting for an electronic music concerts in the Church of Kallio (translates as Rock) in Helsinki. The architecture not allowing for a complicated technical setup it felt better to work with the natural light. Using two different type of smoke machines I was able to create an atmosphere to the space that beautifully revealed the beams of late summer sun. To keep it simple I added only one follow-spot to bring out the performers.

Apparently the church hasn't been so busy for years.

Nordic light

Having spent the last few weeks in Finland I was reminded where my fascination with light comes from. The buildings in Helsinki are low and the streets wide so there's always a big strip of sky visible. It gives room for thoughts, your thinking feels more free when you're constantly exposed to daylight. The October was exceptionally sunny, normally that month is associated with an overcast grey and misery drizzle. But the clouds being away a near lateral sun shone against you if your journey in the afternoon was towards West and stretched your shadow several metres behind you.

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4pm shadow

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October sun at noon in Helsinki

After the sun had disappeared behind the horizon a spectacular display of colour gradient was painted on the sky. Yes, you get gradients in all sunsets but not ones that render from white to indigo over 100°. The journey was super-inspiring, keep your eyes peeled for some gradients to come.

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