The Initial Ten
This set of ten images contains some of my personal favorites, shot in various locations, with various gear, over the course of more than a decade.
Sokcho
Sokcho, South Korea, January 2011. Sokcho is a rather small town on the east coast of South Korea. It is famous for being the gateway to the Seoraksan mountains, which can be seen on the horizon. With the sea and the mountains facing each other, it is said that in Sokcho you can get some of the most beautiful views in all of South Korea.
This is one of the most memorable photographs I took when I was living in South Korea in 2010-11. In addition to the beautiful sunset, I like the sense of solitude and stoicism implied by the lone fisherman going to check and adjust his gear.
Date: January 2nd, 2011
Ports of Call
Busan, South Korea, October 2010. I was with my then-fiancee, now-wife, watching the sunset on a peninsula. We were far from both our residence in Seoul and families in Finland. I wonder if the crews on those boats were as far from home as we were.
I named the photo after a video game I used to play on Amiga as a kid.
Date: October 9th, 2010
Ocean’s Edge
Madeira, Portugal, December 2015. Ever since we did a week of (mostly) hiking on this amazingly beautiful island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, my wife and I have been wanting to go back. I doubt it is easy to live in such a remote place, but at the same time you can wake up every morning to a sunrise over the ocean (we did) and enjoy some absolutely stunning landscapes. Just looking at this image fills me with longing.
Date: December 10th, 2015
After the Storm
Finland is known for its lakes. The road from Orivesi to Keuruu goes past some rather picturesque scenery with forests, farmlands, and of course lakes. The weather has been rather sketchy surprisingly often when I’ve taken that route. On the flipside, if you manage to time it right, you can get some beautiful views during summer after the rains have passed.
Date: July 21st, 2015
Lost in a Dream
Summers in Finland can be magical. Without sun setting down, the passage of time feels different. The nights especially have a sort of ethereal quality. A feel of something that is not quite real. That said, despite this image invoking thoughts of summer nights, it was actually taken during the darkest time of the year, with only a couple hours of sunlight here in southern Finland. I think this makes the picture even more dreamlike.
Date: December 25th, 2014
Strength
Sometimes it doesn’t take more than a glance to know where things stand.
Date: July 9th, 2012
Carnival Bride
We were visiting friends in Geneva, Switzerland and decided on a whim to go visit Yvoire in France, which is one of the small medieval towns alongside Lake Geneva. By pure chance it was the day of a carnival and I managed to capture this image.
Date: May 13th, 2012
Snow Arrives in Seoul
There is a lot of special meaning in this photo: It was shot on the street where I lived with my future wife, almost right outside the hasuk (a Korean style boarding house) where we were renting a room. We were not expecting to see any snow in Seoul, but the winter turned out exceptionally cold. On the right you can see the Santa Claus Cafe, which is not there anymore, but it had a lot of memorabilia from Lapland, so whenever we got homesick, we could pretty much just walk across the street and have a piece of Finland in the middle of Seoul.
I really do miss this place and the time we got to spend there.
Date: November 28th, 2010
Helsinki Cathedral by Night
Even though I am not originally from here, Helsinki has become home during my adult life. And if you ever visit Helsinki, you’re likely to see the cathedral. If for no other reason that it is the tallest building in the historic city center.
I took this photograph when I had just gotten the Fujifilm X100F, which became one of the most important cameras for developing my skills in seeing, composition and exposure. It was a cold December evening, but there was magic in the air.
Date: December 16th, 2017
The Sky Is Heavy
This is not usually the kind of picture that comes to mind when you think about Kyoto, Japan. However, it depicts perfectly the cold and overcast January when I visited the place. As if everything was just waiting for the spring to come. The edit is a bit heavy-handed, but I think it suits the mood.
Date: January 18th, 2011