Portrait

PEKI x ENCONTROS DA IMAGEM

GREAT NEWS! Finnish Teens is going to be exhibited in … [rolls drum … drums keeps rolling… drum rolls way too long … come on Matt Sorum … Can you please stop now… ] … PORTUGAL.

To be more presice there will be a great selection of my photos (even some new prints) in the Encontros da Imagem. That is an international festival of photography and video curated by Rui Prata. Ooh mama, I can tell you that there is going to be a really interesting photographers in that show…

–Yep, I have to admit that I’m thrilled to be part of this one!

Yours, Aki-Pekka Sinikoski

Encontros da Imagem

TATTIS, TACK AND THANKS!

 

Greetings from Gloria Hall in Helsinki. The Finnish Press Photographers’ Association is hosting The Picture of the Year gala here right tonight.

I’m happy to tell you that they have just chosen my picture above as the second best portrait photo taken here in Finland last year. Tattis, Tack and Thanks! This is especially good news if you think about the photo as part of of my Finnish Teens series originally published at my solo art exhibition at the Finnish Museum of Photography.

I love the idea that these weird and unnatural boundaries between different fields of photography (and communications and art in general) finally seems to be vanishing. In my eyes the most interesting stuff has always taken place in the borderlines between different worlds. If this would be my Oscar speech I would add that we all win if we can keep our eyes, minds and hearts open. But it’s not, so I will just end up my silver monologue with the quote from my 4-year-old daughter “This is only the first part of our journey, we have already started to build the space rocket.”

Cheers, Peki

CAMERA, LIGHT HOUSE, ACTION!

 

 

Good books, long walks by the sea shore, and the loved ones around you. O’boy! I always surprise myself with realizing what a good investment a long holiday is to onerself. Now I’m so entusiastic, full of energy and ready for new adventures.

Two weeks ago I was shooting photos for one of my forthcoming art project in Denmark. I was fortuned to travel there together with my family so it didn’t feel like working at all. We were playing together with my daughter on the snow covered beaches, spotting the lighthouses and really enjoying the cold winds blowing from sea and filling our lungs with fresh air and our heads with new ideas.

Even that I might sound naive I have to admit something. I really, trully love photographing. Sometimes when I’m busy with hundreds of different kind of projects, I forget to say it outloud. But here we go: I love photographing! It was crystalized to me during the holiday; finding myself standing in the ice cold water in Denmark just to capture the perfect image.

So, now I’m back in Helsinki and ready for the action. Waiting eagerly on what year 2011 will bring us. I have updated my web portfolio so please do yourself a favor and reserve a small break from everything else, grab a good cup of coffee, lift your feet on the table and enjoy the great new photos I have uploaded for you.

Cheers, Peki

P.S. A couple of months ago I was shooting an advertisement for Genelec together with the guys from Look Mama + Las Palmas in co-operation with N2. We did the advertisement with living legends Michael Monroe and Sam Yaffa. You can find the still picture for the ad in my portfolio. HERE you can find the video with the some behind the scene clips of the actual photo shooting.

EXPECT 2011 TO BE EVEN BETTER!

 

 

Peki a.k.a. Aki-Pekka Sinikoski is represented in the States by the Wonderful Machine. The people working there for him are huge fans of great photos and it has been really nice for him to be represented by the people who truly love his pictures. And guess what, the last two months of 2010 was fully booked already by the end of October so it seems that also his clients love his photos.

Year 2010 was superb for the citizens of Korea. We really managde to extend our client base. We did wonderful job with clients like The New Yorker, Veikkaus, Telia Sonera, Ruukki, Global Blue, Universal Music, Suunto, Sanoma Magazines, Aalto University and Polyvinyl Records. But of course we didn’t forget our old loyal clients either. For example during the last six months of the year Peki shooted four covers + cover stories for Suosikki, which is the biggest youth magazine in Scandinavia. It is also a client who has been using Peki’s photographic skills for more than 10 years now. That’s what we call a loyal customer relationship!

Suosikki made a cover story about juvenile delinquents trying to make their way back from the shadows to the brighter side of society. Suosikki ended up running a close up photo of one of these guys as a whole page opening photo for the story. On the cover shot the same guy was arrested by the cops. Afterwards Peki got feedback from the magazine, its readers, and even from his collegues that these were “great images with a strong emotional feeling”.

Technical qualities like good light and composition can make a good photo but if you are looking for a great one – it’s not enough. Like Mark Murrmann, photo editor at Mother Jones, puts it “What makes a great photo is an image that not only conveys some kind of information, but also works on an emotional level. It can be punch-you-in-the-gut direct, it can be more subtle, something that pulls you in slowly and allows you to wander around the image, keep coming back to it even if you aren’t sure why; it can be funny, witty, wry; it can be something that elicits a feeling of remembrance, something that reminds you of your own life; it can be horrifying, or gratifying. But it has to do something; it has to connect with the viewer.”

Most of Peki’s clients want to make their voice visual and they want their voice to be heard. They contact him because they are chasing great photos that stands out from the constantly growing flood of photographs. Even though we might sound like American TV Shop: It doesn’t matter if you don’t know what kind of photo are great for your business. It’s enough that you know that you need the great photos and you know where to get them. And hey, you should know it by now. Baby, welcome to Korea!

P.S. Peki is still shooting somewhere in Denmark, but don’t worry – he will be back next week so more truly great photos is available really soon.