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My oldest, eternal love is the Baltic sea, which ripples along the shores of my homeland. I've been photographing it since my childhood, spending summers in the archipelago. Over the years, I've accumulated a collection of images. I've also published two books about it: 'Kuohu – koukussa saaristoon’ (Hooked on the Archipelago with Finnish or Swedish texts) and 'The Sea that Rinses my Feet' (Finnish, Swedish and English texts). You can inquire about them by Contact us. In this series, I've compiled a few memorable shots from the home shores over the years.

In the dim light of the waterfront shed, you can still discern the practical beauty of the handle, honed by decades of use. The spirit of the curly pine tree, from which it was originally crafted, still lives on in this tool. The same is true of all the boxes and barrels, fishing net hooks, ice augers, corfs, decoy ducks, shovels, and scrapers in the shed... The new can never completely replace the old. It lacks the stories, spirits, and elves of an object that has seen life.

A series of pictures featuring different organisms living alone or in communities within their territories. Their own land is a crucial living environment, which knows no human-created boundaries, be they national, territorial, or other. Within its own land, the organism experiences not only peaceful coexistence, both with its own species and others, but also occasional conflicts and intense competition based on natural selection and balance – the struggle for existence.

The lighthouse stands at the edge of the world. The stairs, smoothed by thousands of steps, lead to the lantern room. From there you can see the shadows of the clouds in the mirror of the sea – and the small world of the lighthouse island or cape. In Finland lighthouses began to be left without their keepers from the 1950s. Some even became completely unnecessary. It wasn't until the turn of the millennium that the cultural and architectural values of the seamarks, abandoned to the mercy of weather and vandalism, began to be appreciated, and efforts were initiated to save them.

When abandoned on a shore, it feels like the sea separates. But when you step into a boat, the sea unites. The idea that the waves washing over my home beach could carry me around the world is enchanting. From the home dock, one can reach the Atlantic, the Arctic Ocean, the Mediterranean, and the tiny islands of the Pacific. Even though, for example, hiking in the mountains is magnificent, I find true tranquility by the sea. It's peculiar how the sea feels familiar even on the far away opposite shore. The seas are woven from the same foam and salt spray.

Color is light, and light has a significant impact on us. While it is partly personal and culturally bound, it has also been scientifically proven. Colors influence our emotions and actions. The most popular color is clearly blue, perceived as harmonious, reliable, and compassionate. Red attracts attention, is dynamic, pleasant, even seductive. Sunny yellow, seen as active and uplifting, enhances focus and a sense of happiness. Relaxing green is the color of growth, renewal, nature, and peace. No wonder humans have always enjoyed staring at fire and water.

The Science Terminology Bank defines beauty as an aesthetic quality generally regarded as a type of aesthetic value. According to the philosopher Plato, beauty is an existent reality that can be apprehended by reason, but imperfect reflections of it can also be perceived sensuously. Aristotle, on the other hand, advocated the principle of purposiveness. The opposite of these views is that beauty is a highly subjective value, meaning beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Ugliness too is in the eye of the beholder. Decadent Romanticism, the beauty of ugliness, is a philosophical trend that emerged in the late 18th century. According to this perspective, an object can be experienced as beautiful simply because gazing upon it brings pleasure.

Coming soon…