The key - Collaboration

     Even if the photographer is the one who presses the shutter release, and so often gets credits for a good picture, there's still always at least one more person involved in making of the image, and that's the model/s of course. So in the end that superb image is not only a result of one person standing in the front of the camera, and someone else standing behind it and then pressing that button, but it's  more like a beautiful co-work of two persons wanting to create something nice and beautiful.

   Both have their roles of course! A good model actively tries to find poses and expressions. She/He also listens what the photographer is telling to do and tries to follow that guidance. And then if She/He has good ideas, I don't think any photographer would shut the ears from listening to good ideas. I mean if a model is wanting to try some ideas of her own, it's just showing she's actively trying to make the shoot end up with good results.

  If the model should be active, then the photographer should be even more. It's not just giving direction, telling the model to do this and doing that, but it's more like building a good connection between the two parts. Keeping up the conversation, joking, giving compliments, making the model to relax. Then there's  that posing part. Sometimes the model finds the good poses by herself, and sometimes the photographer have to tell her what he wants to be accomplished. Often the pose is good, but still a small fine tuning is needed, so that's when the photographer tells what to do. And the photographer tries to check out where the light is good so that the model is placed in the right spot. if any artificial lights are used he/she makes sure that they are moved so that the light hits the subject perfectly. And don't forget the backdrop, the photographer keeps constant watch over the background so that there are no distractions being visible, no poles sticking out from the talents head or something else that will distract the viewer 

  When both parts actively try to do their best, the outcome will be a bunch of good maybe even excellent photos! Ok, there will probably be a load of frames with bad poses, closed eyes, awkward hands and weird composing, but with good cooperation all those misses are minimized, and the result will be a fun shoot and excellent images!

  Here's a few images from a shoot with Sini a couple of weeks ago. The shoot was fun and cool, and with some good collaboration we made some really beautiful pictures!

        

Shooting with strangers can be scary, but it's worth of it!

   One of the most challenging genres of photography for me has always been people photography. For years I used to say that I love to shoot turtles and snakes because they won't complain about the images taken of them. Honestly, as a shy person, I just avoided portraiture and shooting people, because I was afraid! But as I saw more and more good portraiture, good photography involving people, I started to feel like "Hey that's something I want to do!". I'm lucky to have a nice and beautiful wife, so I started with her as a model. Then I moved to friends. Some where more eager than others and I have had the privilege to shoot weddings, family portraits and some personal photos with friends and family. So if you'd love to shoot people, start with the ones next to you. That's good training! Finally I had the guts to try with someone I don't know. I've always felt like that's the ultimate thing to do as a photographer, to get in contact with people you don't know, make an appointment, discus what to shoot, where to shoot and when. I so hoped that someone would make it easy for me and they just would call me out of the blue and beg me to photograph them. I didn't happen! So finally I decided to write a few lines on social media begging for help. I turned to a local TFCD-group on Facebook and asked if there would be someone willing to model for me (If you don't know what is TFCD, just Google it). And just to make a short story a bit shorter, I found a model to shoot with! To be honest, It scared the... out of me to do it! First to ask, then to answer for the willing model, ask where, when and what etc. etc.! But after an agreement for co-operation and one lousily slept night before the shoot, there I was finally in a park on a sunny Saturday in the center of Helsinki, getting ready to shoot with this gorgeous model. I definitely was nervous, but no worries, she was a very easy going person with whom it was nice to talk. She didn't bite and we had a two hour photo shoot and great time together (At least I had). So the only question for my self is, "Why didn't I do this earlier?" Here's a few pictures we made together...

       

URBEX?!

  Urbex, urban exploration, ue...?! You ever stumbled across these terms and wondered what is that?

  First, what it's not! It's not burglary! It's not vandalizing or braking places! It's not what only kids do!

  How about illegal? Yes... well in some cases! Dangerous? It could be? Interesting? depends! Fun? Well, in my and many other peoples opinion, definitely YES!

  Here's a wikipedia definition of urban exploration  and what it might include.

  For me and so many others entering and exploring abandoned places is one way of coping with stress. It's also away to be interested about history, people and how they lived and what they did before. And for me personally it's a way of challenging my self. Why? I've always been a bit of afraid of  darkness, so for me every time I enter a new abandoned building or place, it's like a conquer. It's like competing with my fear and winning! And then the photos you can make in such places, they are just marvelous. Of course there are some risks. Some places are already falling apart, so you can end up falling and hurting yourself or the ceiling might fall on you. Asbestos, mold, glass! And then occasionally you might bump into other people, like for example junkies, vandals, homeless, other urbexers... and as you know people are people, some are good some are bad but you never know who's what, and in an abandoned building or such it's pretty "interesting" to meet people. So there definitely are some risks to consider. But then you can always minimize some of them. Good shoes and clothing, a torch, good physical and mental health, minding where you step, good skills in communicating with people etc.

  Do you feel intrigued? Me too! How do you find all those abandoned and interesting places? I'll return to that in some other post. For now, enjoy the images from different locations... and by the way, do you love to explore abandoned and decaying places? If you do, please comment below why!

   

My plans for this year (and something from the last)!

  Lets start again because it's the beginning of the year anyway! I don't do any new years promises, but I still can make a try to keep this blog going on.
As it's a new start, I'll try to make and write in this post some kind of a framework for my future posts for this year... Ready?

I will definitely gonna write about urban exploration, which is checking out and exploring all kinds of decaying and abandoned stuff, buildings, vehicles, places, just to mention a few. Here's a couple of images from this and last year.... (text continues after the pics!)

Then there is my other love, Portraiture! That's definitely on the top of my want to write about things! What gear, how to light, how to pose, head shots, full body, fantasy... well, people photography you know and me learning and doing things. Here's a couple of examples from the past year...                                         

  

And then there is landscapes! I shot a few of them last year, and nothing will stop me shooting them this year...                                                                                                                                                  

                                                                                 

And who knows if I'll take my gear out in the search of  snakes and other interesting creatures and natural phenomenons?...                                                                                                                             

...Hope you enjoyed the images, and I really wish there will be lots of more both pictures and adventures for me and you this year. Stay tuned for more!