STRAP

IMPORTANT: The WORK blog is now combined with the regular blog. Click here for last year's WORK.

Just some updating and ummm.. 27 Aug 2007 Posted by Jussi Leinonen.

We decided to upgrade the blog images to 550pix, so the need for enlarging them through a link would get lower. I hope it's enough for you guys with crazy resolutions out there. Because of this, earlier articles may look a bit stupid now, but I'll put Petri to work with fresh updates. Hah!

The image I'm posting today was shot today, while trying to fill up a roll so I could get it developed. My camera somewhat exposed it to hell, so enjoy the grain!

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Scanning all day long. 20 Aug 2007 Posted by Petri Uutela.

Once I started to put my next story together I realized how messy my image archice really was. Actually to find those frames related to the story I had to digg through few thousand digital files and about 150 rolls of film... Most of those films were not scanned properly, some image here and there, so I made a plan how to deal with this mess and how to get images in control and decided to go through every single roll of film I have ever developed and to scan every single remotely decent image that might be usefull to have in digital format for future projects. I've been scanning now for almost...I dunno, week or two and 1/3 of the pile of negatives have now been digitized and negatives archived properly. This is the only way I can keep track on what I'm doing...and to avoid this in the future I promise myself to scan my films right away after the developing.

As you might have guessed the image here is one of those recently scanned frames. Shot at a backstage of a cafe in Rovaniemi for one of my projects that I plan to continue when the time is right.

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In the year 2004.. 19 Aug 2007 Posted by Jussi Leinonen.

Few days ago I was being smart and doing some of my personal blog posts in advance.. I was running out of images to post, you know I post pictures almost every day so my archive of good pics is starting to run low, with all this saving pictures for strap projects stuff going on now.

So anyway I came across some scans of prints from my first ever roll of film, these are darkroom prints of images I shot in the fall of 2004. And let me tell you guys, I had zero understanding of what I was doing. I remember I tore the film when I couldn't even rewind it properly, thus losing about 10 pictures. All I knew was that I had to get the exposure meter to turn on the LED around the 0 sign, which isn't even true now that I know something. I had no idea about apertures, times, depth-of-field, or anything, but the least I knew what I wanted the pictures to look like. I had pictures of my friends face, with nothing, just empty pictures with no style or real interest. I think I liked how the background went blurry, whoa. I had pictures of a bridge, pictures even I don't really give a sh*t about, not then, not now.

When I first was properly exposed to making photos I was influenced by boring stuff and was struggling to just make a decent exposure, however what I seem to have managed to do was to realize what I strongly stand behind today: Moments. Capturing moments of your family and people as what they are, not what they look like with a blurred background. I always tell people that I photograph that it doesn't matter if their hair is done in the photograph, it isn't the hair I want to pass on to people that they someday leave behind, it's them.
I had this one funny shot of my parents, my mother is about to crack up, I don't know why, maybe she is as unfamiliar with being in the photograph as I was taking a photograph. I put it up, please click to see it bigger. Other one is about a dog, you can't really see the dog because of my lack of skill and understanding about anything within the frame, so click it bigger too. Outside of the frame happened something that still inflicts me today, the realization of patience with photography and respect for the moment that matters and maybe even makes the picture.
Thanks for reading.

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About ongoing projects 14 Aug 2007 Posted by Jussi Leinonen.

As for myself at least, I don't know if Petri is ready to unveil his doings just yet.. I've been shooting this project from last summer, or maybe really since this spring, since I didn't know I was shooting for a project last year when I made some pictures. Well, it's about Arktikum skateboarders, yeah I know what you think, skateboarding -- fisheyes and 5 flashes. Naah.
Arktikum is a place once built as a parking building for a museum, however it is only used by skateboarders, nobody really parks cars there. When you pass by Arktikum, there usually is nothing happening, just a big piece of useless concrete. But the more you go there, the more people you meet and see.

However it was reported that this parking building for Arktikum museum might be demolished for something more useful. I've got my ear on the ground about this, but it might take few years to actually come to a decision. And the way things go here in Rovaniemi, the people of the city usually don't know about the decision before the bulldozers arrive.
The project is scheduled to be released in a webzine run by couple of finnish photographers, Buense. Their new double issue should arrive before winter gets here, but you never know. I don't know how many pictures I'll put in the magazine, but the full essay will be up on this site after the release too. And since the situation with the place is uncertain, I hope to continue with the project after the initial release.
Thank you for reading, I hope you like the picture I posted. It's from the series but I don't know if it's good enough for the final work.
Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. I made myself a simple portrait of my photowork from 2004-2007. Please check it out here.

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Street photography project update & new link section! 10 Aug 2007 Posted by Petri Uutela.

I have a trouble of getting the words out of my head because of the weather here in Finland, damn itŽs so hot that my brain doesn't work properly. I am not used to this kind of weather and I dont like the fact that 5 minutes after taking a shower I am swetty all over again. Well actually it is only around +25 -- +30 celsius degrees and some of you international readers can handle that without any trouble, but not me...I'm not used to this. Last time when I visited Helsinki it was similiarly hot weather, I was sweating like a pig. Actually when I decided to visit the city I was hoping that the weather would be really bad, raining and all, but no... it tends to be a little boring photography wise if all photos from the set have that same light and shadows. That is why I decided to extend my "Helsinki streets" -photography project a little further, I intend to take couple of more visits to the city later this year when the weather turns bad and winter starts to come... Image presented here is one of those frames I took in last May. Playing with deep shadows, hard light and people passing by in the streets of our fine capital city...

As some of you already noticed we decided to give a little space in our site to present links to some nice photographic (or non-photographic) sites found on the web. The link will be changed every week or two, you never know. The links will be something we both or either one of us find interesting and worth linking at our site. Go check them out!

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This is how NOT to photograph. 07 Aug 2007 Posted by Jussi Leinonen.

I was going through some scans and this frame came up. There is absolutely almost everything wrong in this picture, even if you don't photograph by the well-known guidelines of how photographs should look. By all means, click to enlarge and see for yourself.

First of all you don't go and put devil horns (pipes) on a respectable older man, neither should you have a pipe growing out of a head of this younger gentleman. Also it's not good to have a line dripping out of a nose. And a human being having his hands doing something iffy around the genital area is also a thing to be careful with, of course that depends of which genre you're working with..
Well, you can't be perfect all the time. Hah!

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Howdy. 06 Aug 2007 Posted by Petri Uutela.

Cheerios everyone and greetings from Lahti. So, here I am at my new very small studio apartment with all my stuff. I was very busy unpacking my stuff last weekend, but now everything is done and I am able to relax a while. And today I got my internet working so I will be able to post something at this blog without a big hazzle. Actually at the moment I am pretty tired and I don't have anything in my mind to write about... I am editing a new story at the moment, scanning and photoshopping etc... The story is part 1. of something I have worked with a long time and I want to make sure that everything is OK before it goes online. Actually there is still a lot of work to do, so I'll continue the scanning right now...

I had trouble deciding which image to post with this text. I have couple of sets of images that I don't want to post yet and many images shot in winter time...and I don't want to post those either. So, here is a image of a flower. LOL.

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Water resistant. 01 Aug 2007 Posted by Jussi Leinonen.

I have a freak relationship with water. I know it's refreshing and fun to dip in for a swim, I know I won't drown and I know it's good for me to spend time in water.. But somehow I just don't. I don't think I'm afraid of it, there just is a simple invisible step I'd have to take to jump in. It must have something to do with my childhood and how it was the same way then, the waters in the river were cold and somehow I never learned to swim good, I can manage though. Click the image to view it enlarged.

This image is a result of my habit of not swimming. It gives me a chance to watch people swimming, which may look and sound a bit perverted though. I'd like to photograph underwater but that might be difficult for me right now. I'll have to better myself for future adventures.
About Strap related issues.. Petri is currently moving his ass down to Lahti. Apparently he found some nice dump of an apartment with a reasonable price per month. News is that he'll have a internet connection sometime during next week, so much for his escape of the information super highway.
Thanks for checking back, come again!

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Pictures that we don't even take. 30 Jul 2007 Posted by Jussi Leinonen.

What's funny about photography is the pictures you don't remember taking, or even the pictures you didn't even take. You know those accidents and first exposures. This is a first picture in a roll I shot on my trip, I didn't compose this or even look throught the viewfinder but simply banged few frames to avoid important pictures looking like this. Click to enlarge.

Did I take this picture, is it my artwork. How big amount of luck and chance are we dealing with when creating pictures. I remember reading a comment somewhere on the internet that when you get to know your equipment and become familiar with photographing, luck seems to strike you more often. This picture is just pure luck, nothing more. But with photography having luck is just another extend of having some sort of understanding about what is going to happen, some people refer it to luck, some people say it's a matter of coincidence. But I believe it's all those things happening and one having the skill and knowledge of the event to capture it. Me, sometimes I just get lucky and get things the way I wanted them, or even better. The most important part is to be able to make the exposure when needed, no point having everything just the way they should and missing the shot.

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Just an update. 26 Jul 2007 Posted by Petri Uutela.

I have being busy the last few days...I took a few days trip to visit some relatives and now I'm busy packing my stuff. I will be moving most of my stuff (including my computer) next weekend and officially I will be in Lahti city next weeks friday. So I don't know how am I able to post you these photos of mine during that period...and also it might take up to 4 weeks in Lahti to get my new internet connection working! I must use that internet/television free 4 week period effectively and scan / edit new stories when I have nothing else to do. But I'll try finding an internet access somewhere so I can post you something every once in a while... Yeah, now I will continue packing my stuff.

Todays picture is from that "portraits" -project again. Ballet and all. Have a nice day everyone.

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