My Finland

I have been living here in Finland for close to 7 years now, after coming to Finland in 2011 in search of new adventures. I fell in love with the arctic and a local Finnish woman and have never left. While Enontekiö and Kilpisjärvi are my home and base for my guiding business, I have been lucky enough to live and visit a large number of places throughout Finland. Below is a summary of my Finland, in 5 photos. Enjoy!

These are the fells of Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park in the middle of autumn. This was taken the old fashioned way, out the window of a 2 seater aeroplane, piloted by my wife’s Uncle. The park has everything Lapland has to offer in one location, open fell tops, forests, marshes and lakes. As one of the national parks certified guides it was great to be able to see one of my workplaces from the air.

Kilpisjärvi, located in the arm of Finland, on the border of Sweden and Norway, is my home. There is nowhere else in Finland which offers the same mountainous landscapes. It’s a fantastic place for viewing the northern lights, and in winter you can ski or snowshoe pretty much anywhere you like. This shot is taken under Saana Fell looking over Lake Kilpisjärvi towards the Norwegian mountains.

At the other end of the country is Teijo National Park. It’s only a couple of hours from Helsinki, close to Turku and has around 80km of hiking trails. I was sleeping in of the laavu’s (a lean-to-shelter) in the park and was woken by the sun at around 4:30am to find myself shrouded in mist. This was one of the last photos I shot before the mist cleared. Misty mornings are common in Finland, particularly in autumn as the temperatures start to cool.

For me, this shot is winter. It’s one of the reasons I never went back to NZ. The temperature at the time was -42 C, the air was crisp and froze on the back of my camera every time I took a breath. When I looked through the viewfinder, my nose would freeze to the screen. Both our cars wouldn’t start and while most people stayed indoors, I was out exploring on snowshoes for a good couple of hours. I may not have been born in the north but I often feel as if I was meant to be.

I also love forests, which is a good thing as Finland is a land of forests, with seventy five percent of the country covered by them.  In the middle of summer, when everything is lush and green, that’s when they are at their best. This image was shot at Koli National Park back in 2015. The views from the top of the of the park are amazing, but it was the lushness of the forest which stood out for me.

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