Passer Domesticus: Finland

Showing posts with label Finland. Show all posts

21 February 2018

28.01.2018

On the last Sunday of January we met for the first time with Marjana. As soon as she contacted me on Instagram, I fell in love with her beautiful red hair and decided to arrange a photo session right away!

The idea of shooting in the city had already been appealing to me for quite a while, though I decided to go for an area of Helsinki that is not commonly considered pretty: Merihaka. The neighbourhood was build between the 70's and the 80's and it consists of massive concrete buildings in Soviet Union style.

Besides the location, I believe the grey sky and the snowfall also made for a wonderfully atmospheric urban session. Not to mention that having Marjana in front of my camera was a pleasure — I am pretty sure I am going to call her many more times again!

11 February 2018

08.01.2018

I was really surprised by the positive reaction I got towards my portraits in urban settings, so much so that I have started enjoying getting out of my comfort zone!

In occasion of LUX Festivals of Lights in Helsinki, I decided to try something different with darling Riim, in the company of my dear friends Alina and Tapio. I had a wonderful time that evening and I am very pleased with these photographs too!

06 February 2018

07.01.2018

The first official photoshoot of 2018 was with lovely Eeva in one of my favourite spots, just outside Helsinki. It was a very beautiful Sunday afternoon, even though the wind was cold and the temperature was several degrees below zero. Those are the crispy winter days that I like the most — though there was no snow in sight.

This was the third time I met with Eeva and — just like the previous times — I am very happy with the photographs, but I am especially happy I got to know her more. That is what I like the most about photowalks: having the chance to meet wonderful people!

27 January 2018

31.12.2017

On New Years Eve we rented a cabin in the countryside; even if it was less than a two-hour drive from Helsinki, the snowy landscape was beautiful and the atmosphere was completely different from the grey winter of the city.

When we left for an afternoon walk before having a sauna, I only took my camera by chance and I am so happy I did; we were surprised by an incredible sunset and Alina looked so beautiful in the golden light — a magical moment to remember!

21 January 2018

02.12.2017

December started with snow and a little bit of sunshine on a Saturday morning — which is so rare at this time of the year and must be enjoyed outdoors! These were taken at the garden of Annalan Kartano, where Jacopo posed for me among the frosty branches.

It occurreded to me it was the first time I was using my 135 mm with the snow and I am quite happy with the bokeh. I hope I will have many more occasions to take portraits in the snow this winter! This is a good start though, don't you agree?

16 January 2018

25.11.2017

On an extraordinarily sunny Sunday afternoon we took a relaxed photowalk with darling Alina, in one of my favourite locations just outside Helsinki. The wintry setting sun makes these photos quite melancholy and that is perhaps why I like them so much!

It's always such a pleasure to have Alina in front of my camera and to spend time with her; in the past year she has become one of my closest friends! That day we had cake and tea at the lovely cafe nearby to end our photowalk in the best possible way.

11 January 2018

23.11.2017

The Helsinki metropolitan area has recently extended the metro line to Espoo: it's a big deal for all the people that commute back and forth, who were waiting for it for several years. I live and work in the centre of Helsinki, but even if Länsimetro doesn't mean so much to me, I am still excited about the new metro stations: each of them is different and they all look very clean and modern — they make me want to travel outside the city!

That evening I decided to go completely out of my comfort zone and arranged a portrait session with Riim at the new metro stations. Tapio — a new lovely friend I got to meet through Instagram — came along too and gave me some useful tips, as he is very much into urban photography.

I had a really fun time and even got a few shots that I am quite happy with: it was very interesting, even though challenging, to work with artificial light. It obviously helped a lot to have Riim in front of my camera: she is truly wonderful!

06 January 2018

12.11.2017

In my portraits there is always a natural element in the frame; this time though I wanted to challenge myself and try out something completely different. I'm really happy that Alexandra joined me for this experimental photowalk in the city, since it's always a pleasure to spend time with her and have her in front of my camera!

I had this idea to play with glass and reflections with some very well known buildings in Helsinki — Musiikkitalo and Kiasma. The forecast predicted rain, so I was hoping to get some droplets on the windows but it did not happen. Having said that, I am pretty happy with these photographs being it the very first time I did something so urban. I do miss the natural elements though, how about you?

28 December 2017

11.11.2017

The month of November in Finland is always the hardest for photographs, when all the colours seem to have disappeared and the darkness settles in. After several rainy days, I decided to embrace the bad weather and arranged a very wet portrait session — I even bought a transparent umbrella for the occasion.

Naturally I decided to call Riim — since every photowalk with her had been a success — and settled for one of my favourite locations where we could still find some greenery — oh how I love pine trees!

I am so happy with the way these photographs turned out, that I seriously had trouble selecting just a few: I can only hope November will bring more of this!

05 December 2017

24.10.2017

I can't take any credit whatsoever for these beautiful portraits, since Jacopo was the one behind the camera this time. Though I really wanted to share these here and on Instagram because I really like them, don't you? I'm also very much into my new winter jacket by Samsøe & Samsøe, which is very warm and a perfect shade of green!