The month of the vine in the Celtic tree calendar extends from September 2 to September 29, at least according the version of the calendar that I have decided to follow for my attempt at creating a brief video with the tree of each moth, in Helsinki. The place is a crucial restriction, since not all of the trees or plants in the calendar grow in Helsinki. Besides the holly, which I found in a botanical garden, the vine and the ivy are posing problems. It is possible to grow grape vines in southern Finland, and I looked up a potential site in Helsinki, the Annala Garden. Before I learned about the possibility of finding grape vines in Helsinki I had thought of the popular creeper or vine called “villiviini” (or wild vine) in Finnish. In the backyard of the house where I live there is a huge vine or actually a whole group of vines climbing up the wall of the neighbouring house, and I have considered the possibility of trying to somehow record them for quite a while. Today when returning from my regular visit to the trees (the alder and the elm) in Kaivopuisto Park I decided to take a look. After all, I had my black clothes on and my camera and tripod with me, and I had an hour before I would have to leave for the airport, so why not? When I saw that the vine had already turned red I realized this was the moment to do it; two weeks later when I would be back from my trip it might be too late.
 

 
My first attempt was unsuccessful, I did not even manage to enter the image. The leaves of the vine are concentrated rather high up on the wall, and the stems closer to the ground are bare. A further complication is the narrow space between the two walls. After some experimenting I found an angle for the camera, where I would be visible in the lower right hand corner, if I stood on top of the bicycle supports. By rotating the camera for a vertical image, I could get the whole wall with the vine, or most of it, into the image frame. I knew from before that trying to create vertical video resulted in numerous problems, although it was so easy with still photos, but it was not impossible. You simply had to use a monitor or flat screen instead of a projector, and rotate the screen for the display. So I decided to forget about Annala garden and spend some time clinging to the wall. The final video is brief, 5 min and 15 seconds, (see Vine in September), but that is sufficient for the tree calendar.