THE ATELIERI O.HAAPALA BOOK

The crowd-funded Atelieri O.Haapala book is finally here and it is so beautiful I almost want to cry!

The bi-lingual book -the texts are both in Finnish and English- features the studio's portraits and distinctive style of photography from the last decade (the studio/project was active 2008-2016 and produced more than 7000 portraits),  taking you on a journey trough an imaginary past:

Performers, artists, family portraits, guests at events who photographed themselves in the popup photo booth, as well as some of the studio's own project series and adventure scenarios...

...not to forget a few of Saara and Marcos, the photographers', most iconic theme-looks!

But apart from being a book with hundreds of beautiful creative images to aesthetically enjoy, this work functions as quite the emotional nostalgia pack for me, being filled with amazing people, dear friends, and oh-so many memories.



The Atelieri O.Haapala book is a superb coffee table book and will most definitely make a great Christmas present! Get your own book via their website.

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LE VOYAGE DANS LA LUNE

Photo: Neil Kendall

It will be a full moon tonight and if the sky is clear I know I will most likely be woken up by it, as it stares straight into my window around 3am with a light strong enough to penetrate my sleep. But I still don't want to close the curtains because there is just something about being woken up by a bright full moon, so I most often tend to stare back at it for a while and ponder the universe.

So in honour of that I'll post a picture from a photo series inspired by Méliès 1902 film La Voyage Dans La Lune – taken at the end of this summer, when I had the chance to shoot with amazing vintage style photographer Neil Kendall in Chester and I got to be the first one to try out his new moon set!

Not to be shared without proper credits.

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HAPPILY EVER AFTER

You recently saw a couple of the photos we took with AskoJonathan Photography for my Happily Ever After-act.

Because behind-the-scenes photos always make things better here's the set up for the series.

A lot can be, and is done by photoshop, but the more you can put into the set organically the better.

So I had the other photoshootees of the day functioning as ground for my rose bushes. As one does.

Obviously the raw shots where there's a faun peeking out under my elbow are the best ones.

Here are some shots of how the actual act looks on stage -

photo: Bernhard Miettinen

photo: Minna Jerrman

photo: Bernhard Miettinen

It's my most Burton-esque act, that even though it begins eerie and sad, sort of a too-late Sleeping Beauty scenario, actually is rather humorous. In a tragicomic Burton kind of way. It started out as an idea for a quick Halloween act for our own event, where I wanted to dance with, what I first just planned as a ghost out of fabric, but then came up with - a skeleton (that you could see me craft on the kitchen floor in October...).  And then of course other things happen, as they tend to do in burlesque.

Some acts I plan for years before I start working with them practically, and some I work on for a year or years before they're out, but sometimes I get the idea and song on spot at once and can get practical right away, which was the case in this one. This act got to jump ahead in the queue (I usually have several acts in the making in one stage or another at once) and was stage ready in a month. Is is a lot of fun to perform (and my bony friend here has a great smile), even though the beginning got so sad I always get a little moved by it myself. Haha.

photo: Asko Jonathan Photography

And tonight it's on at the last ever Pirates Pleasures club: Witch Please!

Sail with me onto dark water at Wäiski!

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YOUR EASTER WITCH

Ok, perhaps not exactly. But suitably for a time of growth, flowers, resurrection and Easter witches Asko and I did a photoseries for my act Happily Ever After, which is something of a reversed Sleeping Beauty ghost story.

Photos by Asko Rantanen / Asko Jonathan Photography
Concept and muah by me.

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SUPPORT THE ATELIERI O.HAAPALA BOOK!

Anyone who has rad my blog troughout the years would by this point be familiar with Atelieri O.Haapala,  the neo-victorian portrait studio by Saara Salmi and Marco Melander! The project went on for a decade, and there were many amazing themes, backdrops and set ups, with thousands of beautiful pictures as a result. I've had the pleasure to have my photo taken several time during the years, both in studio but mainly at the pop-up events.

And now they are aiming to make a beautiful and elaborate book out of it!

You can pre-order the book by supporting Atelieri's Indiegogo campaign, or support the book with smaller printed perks. And please do! You will love it - and I definitely want my copy too - so lets make this happen!

You can find most of Atelieri O.Haapalas photos in their Facebook albums.

Oh, and the image you see being edited at one spot in the film?
This is the final version; from Helsinki Burlesque Festival 2017.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/atelieri-o-haapala-neo-victorian-photography-book-art#/

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Hi there! I am still around, believe it or not!
I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Let's see if we'll see more of each other in 2018, perhaps?

Photo: Asko Rantanen / Asko Jonathan photography

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Why You May Consider a Family Photo Shooting Session

The entrance of my photo studio

A couple of weeks ago, I won a free family photo shooting at a newly opened studio in my neighbourhood and besides the happy feeling of getting a present I openly accepted, I decided to give more than a thought to such an event.

I am personally very camera shy and I rarely have pictures of myself. I went all over the world and I can hardly have any single picture of me in the front of a famous world wonder. With my kids, except one or two selfies, I am usually the one who is always taking the pictures, therefore, we have only a few precious memories of all of us in the same photo. And it is a big pitty, as having those pictures together is part of the common memories we build about us as a family, from a very early age. Therefore, at least one family photo once the year or every two years is very inspired idea, especially if you are looking for some professional inspiration. Isn't it so moving after years to look how all of you changed, developing from small crawling babies to handsome responsible adults?

However, such an adventure might come with costs. For a basic photo shooting that lasts around 30 minutes, the printing of the photos and other additional editing, plus the make-up and other specific arrangements can get you an invoice of around 300 EUR. The costs increase if you want the photographer to come to your home or for a special event - like anniversary. 

In order to avoid the costs, one can consider asking the neighbour with the camera to do it, but free doesn't mean that you will be offered high-end results. An experienced photographer knows how to create the best angle and catch the right expression of all of you and also will use the best quality paper to print your photos.  

All you need is to relax, look your best and gather more and more beautiful memories with your family. It is worth any single euro.

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LUST

Late last summer we shot a series of editorial photos with Karl Vilhjálmsson for a feature article series for Hufvudstadsbladet.  The series is about lust and how it has been depicted and received in film, literature and society in Finland.

The articles talk about censorship of erotica and sex and Finnish film history related to that, how a famous daring film affected the actress, and also about the many faces of porn, the small domestic industry as well as research around the subject.

Modelling with me were Ruska Schönberg and Sampo Marjomaa. Some of the images we shot in our back yard, I guess the views are familiar to some of you already.

The images play with the mindscapes and clichés around the themes. We had a lot of fun shooting these!  (And some people were, of course, offended by the whole thing). 

Photos by Karl Vilhjálmsson.

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PIN-UPS FOR 2018!

The Pin-Up Finland calendar for 2018, featuring the finalists of the competition, is out now! And the very intense yearly "pageant"-weekend is also over. I slept until 12 today and had a big milkshake for lunch and am now at our studio with the intention to actually attend one of our guest-teacher classes myself. Mondays are my Sundays you know!

Anyway, here are the calendar pictures!

The cover picture depictsde a usual day at the Shangri-La Rubies office.

January: Lily Wanderlust
February: Mondy Delight & Marie Luscious

March: Lady Winkheart
April: Shanona Dreem 

May: Miss Kris

June: Arctic Cherry 

July: Stormin A. Teacup & Betty von Black

August: Miss Alice Angel 

September: Nancy Gold & Miss Cherry Bow

October: Sin D.Skye 

November: Miss Rosie Revolution

December: Lilia Regina & Sanita de Champagne

What is your favourite month?

The jury selected Sin D.Skye as this year's Pin-Up Finland! 1st runner up was Stormin A.Teacup and 2nd Miss Kris! But as usual the most important is really not winning but the experience, networking and the expoure the competition gives.

Styling, concept & direction: TurrrboCherry & Tinker Bell

Photography: Micky's Pictures / Mikael Häggblom

Muah: Eve Komi, Taija Riihimäki, Miss Kris

Production: Autot ja Viihde/Pin-Up Finland / Kirsi Ojaniemi
-Feel free to share if properly credited!-

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WORK / PIN-UP FINLAND

This summer and fall I have as usual been working with Pin-Up Finland, which is the oldest and biggest pin-up competition for aspiring pin-up models over here,  creating and directing photoshoots for the finalists together with Tinker Bell and planning the show at the Pin-Up Finland finals in Lahti.

This year we shot a calendar old school style for the competition.  It both amazes and pleases me to find how much stuff and how many props one has gathered during the years, as a lot of the things we use for shoots we grab from the stashes at home.

Different skills come in to place. Like the anatomy of lifting skirts for example. (Or how to smoothly blow up beach balls, as un-willingly demonstrated by yours truly over in a video series at IG...)

All set-up and light-check images must always be dorky.

In the end got to shoot a little ourselves as well.

Concepting and styling photoshoots is something I really like to do and would I have more time over from the rest of the eclectic mess of things I work with I would definitely do more of this. But both my colleague and I are people who do not know how to deal with the concept of "time off" so we do have some plans in mind regarding this and the future...

The calendar will be out in time for the finals at the Autot &Viihde-weekend.
You can see some pictures of the contestants over at mtv-viihde for example (under a typical click-bait headline *adding eyeroll*), in a shoot that we put together with Asko Rantanen over at Weird Antiques (but where the finalists otherwise got to style themselves).

See you in Lahti on Saturday!

Phone snaps of the set photos by Mikael Häggblom, the rest is à la iphone from my instagram.

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LAST OF APRIL, FIRST OF MAY

Iiro Nurminen 1960, Helsingin Kaupunginmuseo

Vappu.  Valborg. Vappen. The most likely biggest of the Finnish festivities!  Party-wise, I guess. If the city empties at Midsummer Vappu is the opposite - the city is full of thousands and thousands of celebrating people. We've had mead and funnel cakes and donuts for a the past days and I'm getting rather stuffed by now.

Vappen is a festivity for quirky hats and faux noses and costumes and serpentines and confetti (and just making a mess our of everything in general). Kindergartens and schools most often have a masquerade they day before Vappu. Last year Dag was a ninja, this year he went as his latest obsession: a knight!

Costumes that I wore when I was little included princess (quelle surprise), medieval lady and cowgirl.

I've spent most of my Vappu-day, as in the day after; 1st of May, out on town celebrating since early morning, and even those years I was on shift in the harbour I tried to sneak in a visit to to the park before work. Lots of fun memories ever since my early childhood years. The tradition of Valborg, which itself goes way back in time has been celebrated in today's form, with partying on the streets, balloons and picnics and such, since the 1800's. On first of May labour's day and marches meet academic festivities and a sea of white graduation caps.

First of may on the Observatory Hill of Kaivopuisto.
Arvo Kajante 1959. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo.

 Kari Hakli 1972. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo.

Picnic in Kaisaniemi.

Ivan Timiriasew 1920. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo.

 Ivan Timiriasew 1912. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo.

Student gathering in Kaisaniemi.

Unknown photographer, 1870. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo. 

Communist march. Simo Rista SER 1970. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo.

Labourers' march. Unknown photographer, 1919. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo. 

 Juha Jernvall 1950, Helsingin kaupunginmuseo.

Above are photos from celebrations in Helsinki from past days; the Helsinki City museum has released a site -helsinkikuvia.fi- where you can browse and download their collection of 40,000 photographies of Helsinki from then and now, with a free-to-use-if credited license. A lot of interesting and nostalgic pics! So I checked out Vappu-celebrations from past times; turns out they had as shitty weather as we do back in 1899 as well for example. And 1957 and 1929. Phew.

Drawing by A.Federley of their first of May in 1899. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo.

But when you've blogged for a decade (!!) you get quite the archive of your own life during those years as well.
This year, as I was working in the day and as Eddi is away on work in Shiraz I am just staying at home in bed with a glass of, in fact, Shiraz as well (going for that old traditional, but with newly found internet fame, mode of kalsarikännit. Well not really, but close enough. Not drunk but no pants.) I browsed some of my own Vappus from the last years -

2010 we were out with Eddi and some friends on town. (And it was cold. Not like now, but I was freezing in my dress.Weather is such a factor here.). Just remembered that the Vappu before we had been on a day-date after having been on a break and I biked to work in the sunshine wondering weather it would turn into something or not.

2011 we got engaged in the pale May night on our way home after a long odyssey of park picnics and suburbian bars. It was warm and I wore a 50's dress and my big pink petticoat that I managed to spill beer on and Eddi picked me a yellow dandelion and gave me a ring. (We had actually booked our wedding in Vegas by then already but it was still a sweet move.)

2012 I was super pregnant amd we went to a Vappu brunch after the park.

2013 Eddi was in Bolivia and I was home on the countryside with Dag minding my flowers and drinking beer. Kind of like now, heh.
And I got carried away at my son's first chance for a Vappu balloon and got him two. Dag has a dinosaur balloon this year as well btw (< THE INTERNET HAS TO KNOW!)

But I also brought Dag to his first First of May park experience then!
I remember he started screaming so hard in the bus (that was packed) on our way downtown I had to get off and wait for another one. Not very surprisingly we went for brunch after the park.
(Most restaurants organise late brunches on May 1st. )

Last year we stayed out on the countryside and had some friends over for bbq and fixed up my old car. And yes it was so much warmer than now. And no, that's not a real butt.

Glada Vappen!

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