Personal

I have to admit, sunset shoots tend to feel very cliched to me. It comes from seeing a lot of wedding photography – I think there is some kind of law that there must be at least one formal bridal on a beach at sunset. And yet…. how can I resist playing and exploring with my own photography and learning to love “The Golden Hour.”

These were shot on Lauttasaari – an island with the distinct advantage of being the last bit of land before the cruise ships dock at the port of Helsinki. They tend to arrive at sunset this time of the year (in another few months, the sun will stop setting at all and no more sunsets until late Autumn) and so just perfect for photography. Thankfully, it’s been a warm Winter so these location shoots are possible.

Typically, I’ll have squirrels and ducks stalking me when at this island. This time, it was a swan with a truly terrifying hiss. You can bet this four year old was up and running the minute she realized the swan had found her again after we had outrun it on the other side of the island!

She loves photography!

Life is too short to take boring portraits – especially when you have two wound up girls ready for a day of fun!

What a pleasure to do a session with a boy on the cusp of those tough teenage years. This is Jussi – a very serious and very intelligent young man. He could probably take apart your DVD player and then put it back together in the blink of an eye – but for today, we enjoyed the beauty of Hvittrask on a gorgeous and misty Winter day.

Now, why can’t I convince more people to do shoots in the gorgeous colors of Winter?

This question always come up – what do you listen to while proofing sessions? These days, it’s a bit of Finnish pop: Ultra Bra. They may have broken up in 2001 but I still enjoy their work.

A song entitled ‘Writings’:

The Boy from a year before:

and ‘The Nature of Friendships Between Girls”

After an incredibly short Winter that saw no chances for sledding (snow never stayed past a day!), the plants are all showing signs of opening buds a whole month early. Even the sun seems warmer than usual.

I love this location – an historical mansion and atelier  (c. 1902) situated on a small hill at the head of the bay that separates Helsinki from Espoo. More commonly known as Tarvaspää – home of Finnish art nouveau artist Alexi Gallen-Kallela.

I’ve shot one wedding and two formal shoots here – and I still want to explore more of this wonderful location.

The coarse wool ‘kitty eared’ hat is courtesy of Maia’s Aunt’s Sister in law Tiia. She makes these by hand in the traditional Finnish way – cute but always functional.

I never could resist the beauty of a bunad. And when Lisa Røstøen was kind enough to find one for me in Norway, I couldn’t have been happier. Of course, it’s a bit big right now so not quite the fit yet. Anyone have a stretching machine?

The location of this shoot is a very historical area near the mansion of Espoonkartano – the horsebreeding stable of the Swedish Kings for hundreds of years.