For the love of contrasts, in life and in street photography

I love contrasts. I admit that. In this story, I want to highlight what makes me and creates my photography style, what I bring out in my street photography. Not just shadows and light, but also life’s own contrasts.

The photo paper feels good on the fingers. Memories flash in the eyes. I was just looking at my 25-year-old film photos and negatives when I was going through them when I moved. It reminds me how my love for creativity was awakened at that time in the 90’s. I love the practicality and aesthetics of old paper photos and surely also film photography. I also love how they always remind me of the moment when you take the picture in your hand and remember what happened around the picture — even the smells that were there in that fleeting moment. Maybe that’s why I think and claim that street photography is all about time. About capturing time and that moment that will never repeat itself again. That’s the charm of the street photography.

I was born in 1975 in the northern part of Finland, in Oulu. North Finland is where the contrasts meet — in winter there are only a few hours of daylight per day, and correspondingly in summer we spend “nightless nights”, i.e. the sun doesn’t really set at all. Nature’s own contrasts. Currently, I live in Helsinki, which is the capital of Finland.

Nowadays, in my work, I have the honor of working with many professionals from different creative fields, because my daily work is to produce e.g. events and film/video shoots. It’s always great to do big projects together, which always results in something great, new creative things. Like also in street photographers’ photowalks, it’s great that even ten street photographers take a photo from the same place and time, it looks like the person who took the picture because we all have our own style and mood and what we are aiming for.

But then why do I love street photography in particular? Maybe because I see it as a genre of photography that focuses on capturing the everyday life of the people around me, and those spontaneous moments in all public places. I love the thought that the essence of street photography lies in documenting the unscripted and candid moments that unfold in the streets, providing a glimpse into the human experience.

I also enjoy the social side of street photography a lot, even though I have a contrast there too — I feel that I am sometimes a very introverted person, but when I meet like-minded photographers, I forget this and become very extroverted — I think that the most important thing in these photo walks is not the photography itself, but that you meet new people with their own style and story.

During these street photography walks, I have noticed that the old film photography has now made a new strong arrival in the last couple of years. It has been great to notice how younger fellow photographers shoot on film and then develop them themselves, and this is a delightful contrast because it confirms what is important in filming, it should be fun and enjoyable.

I was just talking with a friend about the fact that digital photography has become a kind of “fast food”, i.e. we take a picture and immediately see if it was successful and leave no room for chances and surprises. The thing about film photography is that you never know what happy surprises will develop from the roll. That’s why when I go to shoot in the streets, I usually only look at the pictures at home, in peace. Patience is the key in street photography.

But where do I get inspiration and that mood to get into the streets? Most inclusive thing for me might be other fellow street Photographers on Instagram and various platforms, but maybe especially Finnish Master of Photography like Hannes Heikura (www.hannesheikura.com) and Pentti Sammallahti (www.100finnishphotographers.fi/pentti-sammallahti/). Those are masters who capture Finnish melancholy in their photo art.

When I photograph, I don’t focus on looking for concrete contrasts only in the sun and shadows, but I also want to find them in life. Finland has been chosen as the “happiest nation in the world” many times, but I want to show in my pictures that there is also a flip side to that — Finnish people also like to be in their own peace, very quietly. Finnish melancholy is already a concept in the world, which, for example, the Finnish film director Aki Kaurismäki (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aki_Kaurism) brings out in his films. A reduced visual mental landscape, seasoned with Finnish melancholy and low-key gestures. This is what I want to bring out in my own pictures as well.

I often say that the most important thing in street photography is not the technology you use, but the most important thing is that you are curious and want to see the environment differently than usual. We have a lot of beauty and details around us and because we live in such a busy world, many people miss them.

But in order to realize the visions you have, a good camera is the best travel companion to capture those moments and insights, and through that, you also hone your own visual style. I always have a camera with me everywhere.

For many years, I used a small Canon G9X pocket camera because it was compact and fit in my pocket, but at one point, many years ago, I borrowed a Fujifilm X100F camera from a friend, and I was totally sold. It executed my vision really well, gave me a lot to learn and I love its film emulations and settings. Especially in the X100F model, I love that it is immediately ready to use when I see a situation on the streets. At that time, we often even talk about seconds — from insight to taking a picture. And that situation is over and will never happen again.

It’s funny how the camera also supports and evolves your own style. I’ve been using the X100F’s 23mm lens on the streets for so many years now that it’s even become a bit of my signature style. I want to photograph things from a distance, giving space to composition, person, and the most important thing, i.e. the emotion.

In Finland, it is easy to photograph in the dark, especially in winter. at that time, I think Fuji’s strength comes into play in that case. I think it’s an excellent choice for almost any corner of the country because I’ve been shooting a lot in, for example, Budapest because I love the sunlight they have there.

The last time I went to shoot in Barcelona, and this is also one of Fuji’s advantages, with Fuji’s recipes, you can create a completely new color scheme for each subject. I like to play with White Balance, for example, which means I can adjust the values completely to, say, pink. Which gives a great new atmosphere to e.g. sunset photos. I learned this trick from Fuji master Tom (Instagram: @bewaremyfuji). You should definitely check out his tutorials.

The image quality of the X100F is excellent for my use. It may be funny to say, but I personally don’t like it if the result is too precise or clean — it’s good to leave and get small accidents, blur and damage to the film. These “mistakes” bring a nice own mood to the pictures, life isn’t perfect either, I say.

Perhaps the fact that after more than three years of daily active use, I had to send my X100F for maintenance, I really felt really empty feeling without my best partner in the streets. Maybe that tells about my close relationship with my camera.

During that time, when my trusty X100F was gone, I tried the newer Fujifilm X100V model for a couple of weeks. For my own use, the image quality of both was really good and sufficient, but I have to admit that I really liked the X100V tilting screen very much. It gave a whole new dimension to my photography when I could also shoot well from street level. Small things like this can create a whole new dimension to your photography.

In conclusion, I could say that in addition to street photography, into my creative life brings great joy to my very imaginative 9-year-old son, whom I also want to encourage in every way to be creative. He has already taken his first photographs very well, but I want to encourage him to try a lot of different creative arts — if he could find his own way to create something completely new.

I can also imagine that now he takes some images, prints them and looks at those photos in 25 years from now, just like I did now. Feel that photo paper in the fingers. And he remembers those warm moments.