Annika Ruohonen describes herself as an educator, environmentalist, adventurer, photographer and mother of two. She was gracious enough to do this interview. I love her work - the intensity, joy and calm - please make time to visit her website and Flickr to see all of her work. As you can see, I only have a few images here...it was very difficult to decide which ones to include.
The Interview...
Dear Annika,
I am mesmerized by your stunning images, after reading your post about Winter Solstice, they become more amazing. Your post titled "About Light..." was fascinating to me. Is there a certain time of day that you shoot?
Annika: "Thank you, Sondra.
I try to get out when the light is best. I take most of my photos outside, and I try to get out when the sun is shining. In most of my photos you can't really see direct sunlight, they aren't sunny pictures, and that is not really my style, but even in a picture like 'lightness of being' (and in almost all images in 'All that is left'-set) you need to have sun light in order to create the contrast.
During summer it's easier to find opportunities for good shots, but now during winter when we have only a few hours of daylight and even then most of the time it's snowing or the sun is so low that trees block all the light in the forest.
In my part of the world the weather changes so quickly that it's no point waiting for the perfect weather because if you do wait for it, the sun is gone by the time you're at the location.
I just grab my camera and go out to the woods, wonder around for a couple of hours and most of the time I find plenty of interesting things to shoot. Usually I go trekking during weekend around noon, on at least one day, sometimes two. During summer more often, around four times a week, and also later in the day.
Sometimes I shoot inside also. Most of my flower images are shot inside. Even then I use only natural light and take the pictures in front of a large window in sun light. Such images are for example the roses, asters and willows in the Illuminance set. Those situations come up quite spontaneously, when I suddenly realize that there is a beautiful light outside the window."
How does the weather in Finland affect your photography? What preparation is involved? How many images do you take in one day?
Annika: "Weather in Finland changes quickly. There is no point in waiting for the perfect ray of sun come out from between the clouds. I go out to the forest anyway, and I would even if I didn't take photos and I carry my camera with me all the time. Just yesterday when I took off it was snowing very heavily, I walked about two miles in deep snow and in the end I happened to catch the evening sun coloring the sky pink. I like the element of surprise in nature, and I enjoy watching how familiar places look different in different light and during different seasons. (see my blog post That Lake for more info on that).
During winter you need to wear many layers of good clothing. It gets very cold here, 5 degrees Fahrenheit (-15C) is about the lowest temperature when you can go trekking. If it's colder than that you can't really protect your face from the cold. I have good quality clothes, lots of wool and layers, good warm shoes and mittens. The trickiest part is to prevent snow from going into your boots if you have to walk in deep snow. It's also a good workout to walk in deep snow, snow shoes are naturally a great help in that.
I take a lot of pictures when I'm out in the forest. There are often 100-200 images in my camera when I came back from forest. I don't do any post processing, so I want to have the perfect capture shot in location and that's why I take so many pictures. I don't delete any from the card in the forest, it is sometimes difficult to see them well enough on the camera and also I like giving myself the freedom to just shoot and not to worry about the result when I'm out there enjoying the nature. When I come back and look at the pictures I don't normally accept many of them, I'm very particular about the photos I post on my page, if there is anything at all that bothers me, I won't share it with other people."
When did you become interested in photography? Do you recall when you took your first image?
Annika: "My godmother gave me my first camera when I was 14. Ever since I've taken a lot of pictures and that is about 25 years ago. I took a two day course that summer, we used system cameras and developed the pictures ourselves. This was when I took my first image and I shot a small bird eating a crumb next to a parked car in some parking lot. I was unhappy about the picture when I developed it in the darkroom because I hadn't realized that there was a shadow over the bird and you couldn't see it clearly enough.
I was angry at myself for not realizing that when I took the picture. I guess that describes well how I've become so aware of the lights and shadows. But thinking about it afterwards maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on myself, I was only 14 and it was the first time I used a system camera and a dark room. That is the only course in photography I've ever taken, all the rest I've learned myself."
It is clear that you are an environmentalist by your images, how did that inspiration develop?
Annika: "Being out in nature has always been very important to me. When I was little my grandparents took me trekking all the time. We spent a lot of time in the forests picking berries and mushrooms and looking at different plants. In Finland you can go to any forest and pick all the berries and mushrooms you like and there are lots of them around.
We normally pick lots of lingonberries, blueberries and winter mushrooms to put into the freezer and we eat them during the winter. For me it has always been self-evident that I spend time in the forest and I enjoy it so much that it makes me really angry to see people destroy it. I also teach environmental education in junior high school. Here are some links to the sites that my students are working on:"
http://www.ejournal.fi/moi
http://richindiversity.wordpress.com/about/
http://smallthingsbigissues.wordpress.com/about/
I don’t know the ages of your children, but if appropriate, do they have your interests in photography and the environment?
Annika: "My sons aged 4 and 6 enjoy trekking a lot. They always want to go to the forest, to pick berries and throw stones into the creek, or go fishing etc. My older son is into taking pictures also, I have let him use my camera a few times and he can frame a shot really well."
Is photography your full time work, aside from raising your children?
Annika: "I am an English and Swedish teacher in a junior high school. I'm also very much into global education (global awareness and environmental education as previously mentioned) so I've also started a course on that. I love teaching and being with young people. I have cut my lessons into a minimum to be able to take photos, go out into the forest and be with my family.
I guess I'm the type of person who is never bored. I always have a project that I'm working on, if I don't have one it won't take me long to come up with one. Most of the time I find myself doing three things at the same time and that is what gives me energy and makes me do well."
One of my favorites, although I dare say that, since it is very difficult for me to chose, is “Intersection” (as seen above). You describe yourself as an adventurer on your blog, it sounded like taking this image was an “adventure”, can you tell us about how you took this image?
Annika: "It was one of my regular walks in the forest but that time the weather was really good and I had lots of energy so I decided to climb up a cliff. From up there I could see the footprints on the lake. Someone had skied across the lake, some people had walked across to the same direction and then there had also been a fox who had walked across the man made prints. I enjoy the shot enormously because you can almost see the fox going across the lake carefully sniffing the prints in the snow. If you think about the pattern you can see how it has followed the man made prints just a bit to sniff them.
The sun light was so bright that day that I had tears coming out of my eyes and I couldn't really see if I caught the prints or not, but I was really happy when I saw the picture at home later. I have been up that cliff only once. But I'm definately going back some day."
Have you ever wanted to re-locate to another location in the world in order to have a another perspective?
Annika: "I have traveled a lot (see my Flickr map). I was in India a year ago and I regret I didn't take my best camera with me to that trip. Most of the pictures came up too blurry (have one or two in Flickr I think), I wish I could go back some day. I love traveling and I have also lived in other countries. I will most definitely do so in the future as well. Still the best images I take in the environment I know the best. I think I will always come back to Finland."
For more information about Annika, read her thoughts on the Art of Day Blog by James Day.
Her images come in large sizes (500cm x 800cm) (16' 4" - 26' 3") printed on an aluminium board. They also have a protective layer covering the image, so they are very durable. An example: http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikar/4764366855/
Exhibition:
Annika displayed her work in a group show called ArtSibbe at the Nikkilä library in the town of Sipoo, Finland - July 5 - August 26, 2010.
Contact information:
website and blog - http://annikaruohonen.wordpress.com/
Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikar/
Twitter - @Ruohoska http://twitter.com/#!/Ruohoska
Email - annika.ruohonen(at)porvoo.fi
If you are interested in purchasing any of her works, please email her.
Thank you, Annika for gracing my blog. I am so glad that our paths crossed.
You are a gift to us all...
Sondra
The Interview...
Dear Annika,
I am mesmerized by your stunning images, after reading your post about Winter Solstice, they become more amazing. Your post titled "About Light..." was fascinating to me. Is there a certain time of day that you shoot?
Annika: "Thank you, Sondra.
I try to get out when the light is best. I take most of my photos outside, and I try to get out when the sun is shining. In most of my photos you can't really see direct sunlight, they aren't sunny pictures, and that is not really my style, but even in a picture like 'lightness of being' (and in almost all images in 'All that is left'-set) you need to have sun light in order to create the contrast.
During summer it's easier to find opportunities for good shots, but now during winter when we have only a few hours of daylight and even then most of the time it's snowing or the sun is so low that trees block all the light in the forest.
In my part of the world the weather changes so quickly that it's no point waiting for the perfect weather because if you do wait for it, the sun is gone by the time you're at the location.
I just grab my camera and go out to the woods, wonder around for a couple of hours and most of the time I find plenty of interesting things to shoot. Usually I go trekking during weekend around noon, on at least one day, sometimes two. During summer more often, around four times a week, and also later in the day.
Sometimes I shoot inside also. Most of my flower images are shot inside. Even then I use only natural light and take the pictures in front of a large window in sun light. Such images are for example the roses, asters and willows in the Illuminance set. Those situations come up quite spontaneously, when I suddenly realize that there is a beautiful light outside the window."
 |
| Diva © copyright Annika Ruohonen 2010 This image is copyrighted - please do not use in any way (including website, blogs etc.) without my written permission. © All rights reserved. |
How does the weather in Finland affect your photography? What preparation is involved? How many images do you take in one day?
Annika: "Weather in Finland changes quickly. There is no point in waiting for the perfect ray of sun come out from between the clouds. I go out to the forest anyway, and I would even if I didn't take photos and I carry my camera with me all the time. Just yesterday when I took off it was snowing very heavily, I walked about two miles in deep snow and in the end I happened to catch the evening sun coloring the sky pink. I like the element of surprise in nature, and I enjoy watching how familiar places look different in different light and during different seasons. (see my blog post That Lake for more info on that).
During winter you need to wear many layers of good clothing. It gets very cold here, 5 degrees Fahrenheit (-15C) is about the lowest temperature when you can go trekking. If it's colder than that you can't really protect your face from the cold. I have good quality clothes, lots of wool and layers, good warm shoes and mittens. The trickiest part is to prevent snow from going into your boots if you have to walk in deep snow. It's also a good workout to walk in deep snow, snow shoes are naturally a great help in that.
I take a lot of pictures when I'm out in the forest. There are often 100-200 images in my camera when I came back from forest. I don't do any post processing, so I want to have the perfect capture shot in location and that's why I take so many pictures. I don't delete any from the card in the forest, it is sometimes difficult to see them well enough on the camera and also I like giving myself the freedom to just shoot and not to worry about the result when I'm out there enjoying the nature. When I come back and look at the pictures I don't normally accept many of them, I'm very particular about the photos I post on my page, if there is anything at all that bothers me, I won't share it with other people."
 |
| 800 - © copyright Annika Ruohonen 2010 This image is copyrighted - please do not use in any way (including website, blogs etc.) without my written permission. © All rights reserved. |
When did you become interested in photography? Do you recall when you took your first image?
Annika: "My godmother gave me my first camera when I was 14. Ever since I've taken a lot of pictures and that is about 25 years ago. I took a two day course that summer, we used system cameras and developed the pictures ourselves. This was when I took my first image and I shot a small bird eating a crumb next to a parked car in some parking lot. I was unhappy about the picture when I developed it in the darkroom because I hadn't realized that there was a shadow over the bird and you couldn't see it clearly enough.
I was angry at myself for not realizing that when I took the picture. I guess that describes well how I've become so aware of the lights and shadows. But thinking about it afterwards maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on myself, I was only 14 and it was the first time I used a system camera and a dark room. That is the only course in photography I've ever taken, all the rest I've learned myself."
 |
| Caught ll - © copyright Annika Ruohonen 2010 This image is copyrighted - please do not use in any way (including website, blogs etc.) without my written permission. © All rights reserved. |
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| Yellow - © copyright Annika Ruohonen 2010 This image is copyrighted - please do not use in any way (including website, blogs etc.) without my written permission. © All rights reserved. |
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| Out of the sun and into the rain - © copyright Annika Ruohonen 2010 This image is copyrighted - please do not use in any way (including website, blogs etc.) without my written permission. © All rights reserved. |
It is clear that you are an environmentalist by your images, how did that inspiration develop?
Annika: "Being out in nature has always been very important to me. When I was little my grandparents took me trekking all the time. We spent a lot of time in the forests picking berries and mushrooms and looking at different plants. In Finland you can go to any forest and pick all the berries and mushrooms you like and there are lots of them around.
We normally pick lots of lingonberries, blueberries and winter mushrooms to put into the freezer and we eat them during the winter. For me it has always been self-evident that I spend time in the forest and I enjoy it so much that it makes me really angry to see people destroy it. I also teach environmental education in junior high school. Here are some links to the sites that my students are working on:"
http://www.ejournal.fi/moi
http://richindiversity.wordpress.com/about/
http://smallthingsbigissues.wordpress.com/about/
 |
| Bent - © copyright Annika Ruohonen 2010 This image is copyrighted - please do not use in any way (including website, blogs etc.) without my written permission. © All rights reserved. |
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| Tuesday Tunes - © copyright Annika Ruohonen 2010 This image is copyrighted - please do not use in any way (including website, blogs etc.) without my written permission. © All rights reserved. |
I don’t know the ages of your children, but if appropriate, do they have your interests in photography and the environment?
Annika: "My sons aged 4 and 6 enjoy trekking a lot. They always want to go to the forest, to pick berries and throw stones into the creek, or go fishing etc. My older son is into taking pictures also, I have let him use my camera a few times and he can frame a shot really well."
 |
| Leaves applaud the wind - © copyright Annika Ruohonen 2010 This image is copyrighted - please do not use in any way (including website, blogs etc.) without my written permission. © All rights reserved. |
Annika: "I am an English and Swedish teacher in a junior high school. I'm also very much into global education (global awareness and environmental education as previously mentioned) so I've also started a course on that. I love teaching and being with young people. I have cut my lessons into a minimum to be able to take photos, go out into the forest and be with my family.
I guess I'm the type of person who is never bored. I always have a project that I'm working on, if I don't have one it won't take me long to come up with one. Most of the time I find myself doing three things at the same time and that is what gives me energy and makes me do well."
 |
| Intersection - © copyright Annika Ruohonen 2010 This image is copyrighted - please do not use in any way (including website, blogs etc.) without my written permission. © All rights reserved. |
One of my favorites, although I dare say that, since it is very difficult for me to chose, is “Intersection” (as seen above). You describe yourself as an adventurer on your blog, it sounded like taking this image was an “adventure”, can you tell us about how you took this image?
Annika: "It was one of my regular walks in the forest but that time the weather was really good and I had lots of energy so I decided to climb up a cliff. From up there I could see the footprints on the lake. Someone had skied across the lake, some people had walked across to the same direction and then there had also been a fox who had walked across the man made prints. I enjoy the shot enormously because you can almost see the fox going across the lake carefully sniffing the prints in the snow. If you think about the pattern you can see how it has followed the man made prints just a bit to sniff them.
The sun light was so bright that day that I had tears coming out of my eyes and I couldn't really see if I caught the prints or not, but I was really happy when I saw the picture at home later. I have been up that cliff only once. But I'm definately going back some day."
 |
| Hiding from the sun - © copyright Annika Ruohonen 2010 This image is copyrighted - please do not use in any way (including website, blogs etc.) without my written permission. © All rights reserved. |
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| Nature's Creations l - © copyright Annika Ruohonen 2010 This image is copyrighted - please do not use in any way (including website, blogs etc.) without my written permission. © All rights reserved. |
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| Dream of winter - © copyright Annika Ruohonen 2010 This image is copyrighted - please do not use in any way (including website, blogs etc.) without my written permission. © All rights reserved. |
Annika: "I have traveled a lot (see my Flickr map). I was in India a year ago and I regret I didn't take my best camera with me to that trip. Most of the pictures came up too blurry (have one or two in Flickr I think), I wish I could go back some day. I love traveling and I have also lived in other countries. I will most definitely do so in the future as well. Still the best images I take in the environment I know the best. I think I will always come back to Finland."
For more information about Annika, read her thoughts on the Art of Day Blog by James Day.
Her images come in large sizes (500cm x 800cm) (16' 4" - 26' 3") printed on an aluminium board. They also have a protective layer covering the image, so they are very durable. An example: http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikar/4764366855/
Exhibition:
Annika displayed her work in a group show called ArtSibbe at the Nikkilä library in the town of Sipoo, Finland - July 5 - August 26, 2010.
Contact information:
website and blog - http://annikaruohonen.wordpress.com/
Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/annikar/
Twitter - @Ruohoska http://twitter.com/#!/Ruohoska
Email - annika.ruohonen(at)porvoo.fi
If you are interested in purchasing any of her works, please email her.
 |
| Holding on - © copyright Annika Ruohonen 2010 This image is copyrighted - please do not use in any way (including website, blogs etc.) without my written permission. © All rights reserved. |
You are a gift to us all...
Sondra
