Kuusamo XXIII Nature Photo Festival

Performers

is a Finnish journalist, photographer and cultural communication consultant. Since 2004, she has been based in Cairo, Egypt. She specializes in human rights issues, development cooperation, environmental and animal welfare issues, and tourism and cultures, among others things.

Travelling with a photojournalist in Australia, the Sultanate of Oman and India

The photos of the experienced editor and photographer show what kind of animals one can run into in Bangkok city centre, how venom is drawn from snakes and spiders for antibody production in Australia, and the situation and culture of Australian Aborigines.

is a Russian biologist whose career is related to the state reserve system. Currently he is the inspector of the Baikal State Biosphere Reserve in Russia. As a photographer, he specializes in wild mammals and birds. Aleksey's works are represented by photos of the wild nature of eastern Russia, in particular the peninsulas of Chukotka and Kamchatka, the Primorsky Territory, the Sakhalin Island, and the southern Baikal region. He has been awarded in several international photography competitions.

Wild world of East Russia

The presentation is based on the results of two work seasons at the Wrangel Island and two years at the Kamchatka peninsula. Photos from southern Primorye are also presented. Aleksey's main models are large local mammals, birds, and their environment.

got his first SLR camera in 1970 and has been an active photographer ever since. As a photographer, he considers himself a documentarist, presenting his subjects in a natural and truthful way. Although birds of prey have always been his passion, as a photographer he is interested in all forms of life.

A Decade stalking Raptors in Europe and beyond

The presentation is about a quest to photograph all birds of prey species found in the Western Palaearctic for an identification guide. The travels took me from the Arctic tundra to the tropical Africa and from the Atlantic islands to Japan. Although the project as such was a success, it was not short of challenges along the way.  

Urban Goshawks

The Northern Goshawk is a secretive denizen of the deep forest. However, during the past decade an urban population has settled in the capital area, where the birds are thriving. The new situation offers a unique possibility to study the everyday life of this shy bird.

is a Finnish photographer and writer whose roots are in the forests of Kainuu and in the valley of River Tenojoki. The photographs in his Kuusamo presentation have been taken between 2010 and 2018 during hundreds and hundreds of days at the northern fells and the Arctic Ocean. Haataja specializes in photographing the northern ecosystem and monitoring the lives of the Sami people. The places of his passion and interest have been the wildest areas of Utsjoki, Enontekiö, Inari, Finnmark, Tromsø and Norrbotten and the Arctic Ocean.

A story about Lapland and the icy sea

In the white fields of Kaamos, the play of the wind and snow colour the world of white animals in hues of blue and red, and the northern lights glitter green in the starry sky. When the summer arrives, the light of the midnight sun illuminates the northern taiga forest at the snow-capped mountains and in the wilderness opens over the fells and far into the horizon. Haataja takes you on a trip to the windy highlands and the shores of the Arctic Ocean.

North - Great hikes in Sámi

Sámi is an ecosystem shaped by large migrations. The lemming and the reindeer form the landscape into the shape that we see. The migrating salmon fill the rivers and the mosquito armies the sky, bringing life to the light nights during the short but fierce summer. The migrating animals shape the northern fells, rivers, forests and the Arctic Ocean to what we see today. The presentation follows the animal migrations from winter to summer.

Hannu Hautala has had a long and meritorious career as the pioneer of Finnish nature photography. He is Finland's best-known and most award-winning nature photographer. He is the author of more than 50 books, Pro-Finlandia medalist, and Honorary Doctor of the University of Oulu. He is known as an open-minded experimenter with vast knowledge and experience. He continues to photograph on film.

Brave white swan

The publisher persuaded Hannu to do one more book, his third book about Finland's national bird, the swan. The book comprises images from many decades. In his presentation Hannu talks in his colourful manner about the swan, about photographing it over the years, and about writing books on it.

is a full-time professional nature photographer who specialises in polar photography. He lives in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Joshua is a fully accredited AIPP Master of Photography and member of the Australian Institute of Professional Photographers (AIPP). He has won countless awards for his photography including being named the 2015 Global Arctic Photographer of the Year.

Antarctica – White Nature

A veteran of more than twenty-four expeditions to the Antarctica, Joshua has extensive experience working and photographing there. The presentation showcases Joshua’s incredible portfolio of both landscape and wildlife imagery from one of the world's last true wilderness areas.

Australian Nature Photography

The presentation takes a look at Australias’s beautiful and unique nature, both the spectacular coastal landscapes and the varied wildlife of Victoria in Southern Australia. Perhaps best know for its marine wildlife, southern Australia is also home to a plethora of bird species as well as marsupials including the kangaroo and the koala bear.

is a Finnish professional nature photographer who lives in Rovaniemi. He has photographed the nature since 1974. Nowadays, his most important subjects are the golden eagle and the white-tailed eagle as well as landscapes.

Encounters with eagles

Arto Komulainen has worked as an inspector for eagle nests in Lapland since 1990. From these trips he has stories and plenty of photographs. He has photographed both the golden eagle and the white-tailed eagle also at feeding sites in the wintery landscapes of Northern Finland.

is a Finnish photographer to whom nature is emotions, voices and visions – a place of holistic experiences and a haven of peace. In Nikula's nature photography, the way things feel and are experienced has become increasingly important for his expression. An image does not only arise from what we see –  a second nature speaks more and more in Nikula’s images.

Second nature

What happens when the use of the camera is dictated by the randomness of the outcome rather than what we see in front of us. The interface of the imaginary and true reveal a second nature, which can be seen in the presentation in Kuusamo.

is a Finnish journalist, writer, nature photographer and TV personality. Most Finnish people know him from his appearances on many nature programs broadcasted by the Finnish public broadcasting company Yle, and from his charity fundraising efforts. In 2016, Kimmo's six-part documentary series Saving the Nordic Nature gained international recognition. The series shed light on issues such as global warming and the effects of it on the Polar region and its inhabitants. Kimmo also has a personal presentation at the event.

The story in the picture

It is the golden age of nature photography in Finland. Every day, the social media is filled with countless wildlife images from all over our country. Nature photographs open thousands of windows into the Finnish nature, for all of us to experience. A good nature photograph always tells a story, but how is the story built? What stories can nature photography tell? Can an image protect nature?

is the founder of Kuusamo Nature Photo and has worked as its artistic director for years, first 1996-2010 and then 2016-2018. He is a Finnish wildlife photograper and a pioneer of photography tourism, as well as an author of about 30 books. His company Wildlife Safaris Finland has a base camp Kuikka in Kuhmo and 22 hides for viewing and photographing animals. Also in Kuusamo in Oulanka he has had an eagle hide since 1999.

Hossa

Already during high school Lassi got acquainted with Hossa in his home town of Suomussalmi. Later, Hossa became a state-owned hiking area and in summer 2017 it became Finland's 40th National Park. Lassi's next book – Hossa – will be released in autumn 2018.

graduated from the Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics of the Moscow State University, but has worked as an underwater photographer since 2004. The Russian photographer has been awarded in several international photo contests. Sergey likes to experiment and is constantly looking for new creative approaches in nature photography. His favorite places for diving are Russia, South Africa, Fiji, Indonesia, Cuba, Egypt and Norway.

Underwater world of the Far East of Russia

The nature of the Far East of Russia is very diverse and unique. The results of several years of travels in various regions of the Far East have been united into a single project, revealing the underwater world of the Bering, Okhotsk and Japanese seas. Sergey’s underwater expeditions have led him to Kamchatka, the Commander Islands and the Kurile Islands, Magadan, Primorye, Sakhalin and the Moneron Island.

is a professional photographer from Norway. Photography is a lifelong passion for him, and he is also happy to share his know-how with people who want to learn more about photography. He holds lectures and workshops, publishes articles in magazines, and organizes photography events for groups in Norway, Africa, India and Finland. Tommy loves being in nature and feels he finds peace and quiet there. This he also seeks to demonstrate with his nature photographs. He also hopes that his pictures point out that he puts his whole heart and soul into his work.

Mother Earth

An excursion around the world from Indian tigers to Congolese gorillas, with the photographer's travelling experiences and information from endangered species to ordinary animals. Solberg also presents pictures of his B&W art series, which is very important to him.

The little extra

The opportunities for photographing the bear and wolf in Finland are good, as are the chances for photographing the great spotted woodpecker at your own backyard. The photographer wants to show how easy it is to set up a feeding spot and get some good pictures of ordinary animals.

has photographed underwater since 1992. Pekka is particularly interested in local waters despite the cold and muddy water. Finnish waters are the last habitats in the world that have not been photographed very much. Focusing on this subject has also brought success in numerous Finnish and international photography competitions. In 2010, Pekka won the Finnish Nature Photo of the Year competition. In 2017, Pekka was named the Diver of the Year in Finland. Currently, his main project is a photography book about Finnish fish. The book will be released in 2019.

Underwater Finland: The Beauty of Fish

Fish are the best-known animals in our waters. However, only a few of our 70 species of fish are really known even among the Finnish people. We have often seen them only on the boat floor or on our plates before we eat them. Seen in their own habitat, fish are much more beautiful. Come and see the beauty of Finnish fish in situations captured over hundreds of hours spent under water!

is from Kuusamo and photographs mainly in the north-eastern parts of Finland. Since childhood and adolescence,  nature has been familiar to him through fishing and hunting. He has photographed nature since 1998, and for the last five years photography has been his profession. His knowledge of nature has deepened very much through nature photography, but new wonders are still constantly emerging. Törmänen has no specific favourite subjects in nature photography, but forests do fascinate him more and more at the moment.

Nature of Northeast Finland

Törmänen shows views of well-known and less-known nature locations in Northeast Finland.

spent his early years at a farm in the mountain village of Soknedal in County Sør-Trøndelag in Norway, where nature was close and offered a natural venue for spare time activities. His fascination for wildlife developed through numerous hikes in the forest surrounding his family farm as well as on hikes and hunting trips to Forelhogna National Park.
He is a lawyer by profession and specialized in transaction law in his early career. Since 2007 he has been managing the investment and asset management portfolio of the Staur Holding Group.

Timing and Light

Timing and light are what nature photography is all about. The photographer will present his favourite moments in nature with the camera, mostly featuring his neighbourhood wildlife in Central Norway. Many of these moments have been with the red deer and the capercaillie, these very shy and beautiful animals that have taken up much of his time over the last few years.

Among the Grizzly and Moose in Denali

The nature of Alaska is in many ways similar to the Nordic nature – but on steroids. Everything is a bit bigger, and meeting the giant moose and the grizzly fills you with awe. The pictures from my two recent trips to Denali National Park were captured in perfect autumn conditions, with the colours and snow mixing. I hope these pictures will inspire the viewers to visit the place at least once – it’s worth the trip!