Portraits of nutritionist Annika from Soulfood Nutrition

August 7, 2016

Annika-portrait-photography-Studio-Metsa-Helsinki-Finland

Meet Annika.

She won this photoshoot through a contest I held a while back for all my newsletter subscribers (if you’re not yet a subscriber, subscribe at the bottom of this page).

Annika also happens to be a good friend of mine whom I’ve known for half of my life.

In addition to that she is a nutritionist who is just about to graduate as a nutritional therapist.

Annika’s first degree is in marketing and she was doing marketing for around 8 years until recently when she decided to make the move towards a full-time focus on nutrition.

Some years back Annika discovered how much she had started to care about what exactly went in her mouth and the unavoidable consequences they have not only on our physical, but our mental and emotional health as well. She found herself so immersed in the world of nutrition that she decided to take a step further and began studying it.

Annika the superwoman

I’m telling you, this woman is a real-life superwoman.

Yes, she is.

Not only did she go to school while still working full-time in her marketing position, she also took care of her young son (and gave time to her marriage, friendships and family in addition to her own health).

I’m not entirely sure how she was able to manage it all, but so she did and now she’s nearly done with her school. One more step and she’ll officially be a nutritional therapist.

She’s making a huge change in her life right now, transferring from full-time marketing coordinator to full-time nutritionist.

It’s a scary time but anything worth something will always bring up different levels of fear.

I, for one, am immensely proud of her for taking this step and for believing in herself. She’s going to do so great in her new position and will change so many people’s lives.

If you’re interested in taking care of yourself through nutrition, you should be sure to check out her business Soulfood Nutrition and ‘like’ her page on Facebook.

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Thank you for reading and caring! I would love to hear from you though, what are the things you would like to do if you had no fear? Comment below!

Until next time lovelies,
xoxo Erika

In the spotlight: Enni

July 24, 2016

Potrettikuvaus Studio Metsä Valokuvaus Helsinki

One of the greatest things about being a photographer is meeting new people. It’s a constant reminder of what a fantastic bunch of people this earth truly carries.

The fact that a person can open themselves up and let someone come so close in such a short amount of time is a real gift. That person takes a step into the unknown, challenges themselves and shows themselves, and others, what they’re capable of.

Because photo shoots are really intimate. As I’m fighting with the wind to keep the reflector steady and aiming to photograph at the same time, I often mention how having an extra pair of hands would be really useful right about then. However, the truth is, I don’t want an assistant because I want to be alone with my client to keep that intimacy intact. I want my focus to be 100% on the client.

Spotlight

As we were photographing, Enni and I had a few funny moments in the bird tower in Lauttasaari. At one point the reflector was literally gone with the wind and left on the ground to compete with the sun about which one is brighter. We also got some company when a lady along with her children came up in the tower and ended up staying a while longer to check out the beautiful Enni and our photoshoot. I believe we were even caught in a few cell phone pictures ;)

It was really a pleasure to photograph Enni. We had beautiful sunshine which came pouring in gorgeously through the wood. It inspired me to create a bit more fashion-y portraits of Enni. The strong contrasts between the light and shade complimented Enni’s cool look.

Here are a few frames from our photo shoot!

Happy Sunday to you all and a wonderful start for a new week! Until next time..

With hugs,
Erika

Studio Metsä 6 months!

May 6, 2016

Portrait Series: Tuuli in the center of attention

April 14, 2016

Four portraits of Tuuli by Studio Metsä Photography

It always feels so surreal to me when I meet ladies who tell me they never look good in photographs and therefore hate being in front of a camera.

I always think ‘If only you saw what I see’.

Which is why I do the work I do. I want every woman who gets in front of my camera to feel beautiful, accepted and loved. I want to give them a different perspective on themselves; to show them what I see, to show them their inner and outer beauty.

We were all created different and in those differences is where our beauty lies.

—

Today I’m presenting you the beautiful and amazing Tuuli.

She originally contacted me because she has been on a quest to challenge herself, to do things she never thought she would and to build up her self-esteem.

One of the things she dislikes, normally, is being in front of a camera and she, like many women unfortunately, is very critical of photographs of herself. The idea of being photographed in front of people also made her very uncomfortable.

So naturally that’s where I took her – in the middle of people, right in the heart of Helsinki.

Let’s see what happened..

Tuuli in the center of attention

Sanomatalo was our first location. Sitting here something magical started to happen. I had photographed Tuuli for a little while when she said to me: “You know what? I’m no longer nervous! I feel really relaxed.”

Magic!!

That made us both shriek in joy and excitement – we had somehow managed to move past her fears in the first location already.

I felt giddy.

“HAPPINESS IS AN INSIDE JOB.” -WILLIAM ARTHUR WARD

“You yourself, as much as anyone in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.” -Buddha

Our second location was the beautiful Musiikkitalo with its gorgeous clean lines. At this point Tuuli was radiating – you could see how she enjoyed being photographed.

Imagine that! The girl who, until now, has very much disliked being photographed.

Our photo session became so natural and such a beautiful moment.

Later on this is what Tuuli said about the experience:

“I tried not to think too much about where we were going to go, but like I said, the first thought was oh I hope we are not going to really public places! On the other hand I thought, I trust you and your vision. Besides you have a nice and calming presence.

So beforehand I was scared and nervous about the whole thing, how could I be in front of a camera when it doesn’t feel like me at all. I was nervous about being the center of attention and the unnatural feel of it. What will other people think of me and of the entire situation? That thought has eaten me for years. I still arrived with a relaxed mind. And the whole thing started off with good vibes and relaxed atmosphere. I wasn’t nervous about the people around me (the biggest surprise) nor did I feel uncomfortable (the second WOW). I didn’t even think of what I looked like.

And I was left with a winner feeling! I felt so good.

This is a long road I am on towards an overall self-respect, courage and stronger self-esteem. I’m also after a more merciful attitude towards myself and my shortcomings and accepting myself for who I am. Our photography session brought me much further in this goal. It might sound shallow and meaningless to someone else, and in some way I find it hard to articulate all of the positive and empowering feelings that came with this experience.

Thank you so much again, it was such a great moment with you!”

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If you would like to be photographed to increase your confidence, to face your fears, to do something you never thought you would, contact me via info@studiometsa.com – I would love to work with you and help you move towards a stronger path.

Thank you so much for reading the story of the beautiful Tuuli and checking out the photographs we created together. If you found this blog post and these photographs touching, please share them with friends and family who might gain something from them as well.

Thank you again – I wish you a wonderful day!

Until next time lovelies,
xoxo Erika

Photo Series: The Beauty and The Mastectomy

March 20, 2016

After mastectomy portrait by Studio Metsä Photography

About a month ago I photographed a woman who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer (read the full post and see the photos here) and was about to go under the knife. The mastectomy was scheduled to take place a week after our first photoshoot.

Once we got together for this post-mastectomy photoshoot, she told me more about the surgery, the experience and all the things that went through her head during. Through it all, she has maintained her sensibility and optimistic outlook on life.

Her humour especially is still very much intact: a few days after the surgery she was already joking about the new breast she has ordered from the surgeon!

This woman is an inspiration.

See for yourselves.

Post-mastectomy

The final photograph perfectly portrays her joie-de-vivre.

Just look at her.

Isn’t she beautiful?

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Thank you, again, for letting me come to your home and to such an intimate situation with you. I feel blessed to have gotten to know you and in some way experience this with you.

—

Until next time lovelies,
xoxo Erika

Travel Diaries: Norway // Day Ten

March 16, 2016

Girl overlooking the ocean by Studio Metsä Photography

All things must come to an end.

And so does this trip of ours.

I can speak for both Veronika and I when I say we did not want to leave.

DAY TEN: LAST MOMENTS IN ÅLESUND

AT LYSPUNKTET CAFE

Bye bye Ålesund!

We had an incredible trip.

Thank you Noora, Mirjam, Emilia and Kaytlin for sharing your space with us! You are all amazing girls and I am so lucky to have met you. I’m already looking forward to seeing you girls some time in the future again!

Thank you everyone for following along and liking, commenting and sharing. It means the world to me to have the support of such lovely people!

Until next time lovelies,
xoxo Erika

Travel Diaries: Norway // Day Nine

March 15, 2016

Last full day in Norway! And we made the most of it.

Remember I told you earlier about our plan to visit the nearby islands (but then fate got in the way and directed us elsewhere)? Well, today we made it happen.

Our first stop was an island called Godoya.

Alnes is a small town/village in one end of the island with a beautiful lighthouse.

DAY NINE: NEARBY ISLANDS

It soon began to rain so we drove to another island called Giske to take some cover and have something to eat.

And Veronika made a few portraits of me. She saw the colours and said I look like I belong there. She’s got good eye, doesn’t she?

Once we left the restaurant, we came across this beach which looked amazing.

The water was still and the waves small, but they made a much more powerful sound than what you would expect.

The day before we met a couple that was staying in Alnes and they were kind enough to invite us over for tea. We had a great time – thanks for hosting us Sarah and Graham!

Turns out Sarah was born in Vancouver and studied in Victoria on Vancouver Island at the same time I was studying in Vancouver :) Small world!

Anyway, after the lovely afternoon tea, we wanted to hike the mountain that was just behind their house and luckily were guided on a path that would take us up there.

And boy, oh boy, was it ever so glorious.

Another WHAAATTTT moment for me.

You’ll see.

“WHAAATTT?!?!?!!”

We were told there was a lake up on the mountain but HOLY SMOKES I had never seen anything like this!

Mesmerizing.

Breathtaking.

And so silent.

I joked to Veronika that we should build a summer cottage up there!

Then I realized the clouds started rolling in…

SO HAPPY

WHAT an experience!

I was completely high on life.

Again.

(Or still.)

Wow.

Another amazing day in Norway.

We are so blessed to have been able to experience all of this.

Tomorrow will be the last day,

until then lovelies,
xoxo Erika

Travel Diaries: Norway // Day Eight

March 14, 2016

On day eight, I woke up feeling immensely grateful for being in Norway and being able to experience all of these amazing things. I was very aware of the blessings that were being handed to me.

Following such a high from the day before, Veronika and I decided to take it easy and explore some more areas of Ålesund we hadn’t yet seen.

DAY EIGHT: NOOKS AND CRANNIES OF ÅLESUND

Thank you for joining us on another journey in Norway! It means the world to me to have all of your amazing support.

Two days left!

Until tomorrow lovelies,
xoxo Erika

Travel Diaries: Norway // Day Seven

March 13, 2016

Us girls enjoying the Norwegian landscape

Following the greatness of Veronika’s 30th birthday celebration, we embarked on another incredible journey in Norway.

We set out to visit the nearby islands because it only takes a mere 30-40mins to drive there allowing us more time outside. However, you can only get there through one route and that’s through a tunnel. As we were about the enter the first tunnel, we were stopped by a line of cars. Soon enough we saw police cars and fire trucks entering the tunnel. This is when we decided not to risk it and rather go along with our original plan of driving to the nearby fjords.

I’ll tell you this: it was meant to be.

It was the best decision we could have made.

From the first glimpses of the incredible landscape all the way to the end of us driving in the darkness, I was on the edge of my seat screaming from the top of my lungs “WHAAATTTT?!?!” and “THIS IS SO AMAZING!!!”… and “HOW CAN THIS BE?!?!?!”. But mostly I just screamed out “WHAAATTTTTTTTT” accompanied by shrieks of excitement and laughter.

I was high on life.

Entirely high. on. life.

DAY SEVEN: VALLDAL AND THE DRIVE THERE

As you can see, I wasn’t exaggerating about the level of excitement I felt ;)

In the middle of the drive, in search of a better view of the mountains, we drove to the end of a road only to find the most beautiful house in the most beautiful landscape. Imagine waking up to this view every morning!

From a house like this:

With the eyes of my soul, I saw stories upon stories of wonderful Christmases spent in this house with the entire extended family, curling up by the fireplace singing Christmas carols and drinking hot chocolate. Then during the daytime, go out for some hikes and snow fights with the laughter and screams echoing in the vast landscape.

Ahh.

I hope my dreams somewhat reflect the truth.

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Next we stopped at a campground that was silent, foggy and windy.

It was really nice to be travelling there this time of year because we saw no other tourists. I can imagine how different our experience would have been in the summertime when all the nooks and crannies are filled with foreigners, such as ourselves, from a variety of countries dying from the same excitement we did.

Luckily we got to experience the purity of the country which I, for one, loved.

And then our quite random turn took us here:

“WHAAAATTTT??!!?!?”

Another reason for a lot of excitement.

And a few magic dance moves.

Can you imagine what it feels like to stand there looking at this?

By now insatiable, we needed more so we decided to keep going down this road and see what we find.

It was the end of the road and a ferry took off from there to a place called Stranda.

We decided that was not the trip we wanted to take so we drove back up and continued down the road we had planned.

Honestly, I was so happy.

And I hope you will feel even a fraction of the heart-expanding happiness I felt when looking at these photographs.

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Next we drove through a small town by the name of Stordal and spotted a beautiful old church we wanted to visit.

All the main doors were closed but since there was a car parked on the parking lot, we figured someone had to be inside. We went to look for other entrances and found one smaller door to be open.

Score!

In we went and ran into a man there. We politely asked him if we could take a look around the church and he politely agreed. We ended up having a really nice conversation with this man.

His name is Olav.

We had a great time talking to Olav and the two photographs of the shadows of the benches are all the photos I managed to make inside!

Our new friend Olav:

Such a nice man!

In fact, every Norwegian we had the pleasure of randomly meeting were incredibly friendly. Ole specifically had really good English and his vocabulary was astounding!

We finally arrived to Valldal (or Valldalen) and had we had more hours of daylight, would have continued all the way down to Geiranger which is one of the most visited fjords in Norway. But we were more than happy to be where we were and with what we had seen.

Valldal turned out to be a small town with next to no restaurants to eat at. The only place we found that was still open and served food was a bowling alley called Kulå. They made us some sandwiches and we flushed them down with sodas! Mmm, healthy!

By the time we got out of Kulå, the sun had already fully set and it was dark.

At one point we were driving in the middle of nowhere and I saw this house. This perfect house with lights on each window, sitting there in the middle of darkness, lighting its immediate surroundings. I had to stop the car and photograph it.

It was so picture perfect.

Here concludes our day seven.

Man, it was a glorious day.

We returned back to our lodging exhausted but deliriously happy.

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Until tomorrow lovelies,
xoxo Erika

Travel Diaries: Norway // Day Six: Celebration

March 12, 2016

Day Six and it just so happens that on that day my lovely travel companion Veronika turned 30.

The big 3-0.

There couldn’t have been a better place to celebrate this special day than the gorgeousness of Ålesund and the incredible people living there.

DAY SIX: IT’S A CELEBRATION

Veronika and I had planned to spend a portion of her birthday at the Waldehuset Museum. The house has an interesting story – the city burned down in 1904 destroying most of the city leaving this house intact while other houses around it burned down.

The story tells us that the man living in the house saw an angel who told him about the fire but encouraged him to stay in the house because his house wasn’t going to burn down.

And it didn’t.

We had to see it.

JACU COFFEE ROASTERY

Veronika’s sister, Noora, had organized an evening with a barista at Jacu coffee roastery as a birthday surprise for Veronika. So she got to learn how to make good coffee and enjoy the fruit of her labour.

Unfortunately I don’t drink coffee so I couldn’t appreciate the tasting side of it but I fully embraced the art that goes into making a perfect up of joe.

BIRTHDAY CAKE AT LYSPUNKTET

It was a beautiful day and most importantly, Veronika felt special and loved. I’m certain she will never forget about this birthday!

Tomorrow we go into the wild and I am so excited to share the wilderness of Norway with you!

Until tomorrow lovelies,
xoxo Erika

Travel Diaries: Norway // Day Five: Viewpoint

March 11, 2016

Man enjoying the view in Fjellstua restaurant Ålesund by Studio Metsä Photography

Holy smokes, people, this is where the true goodies start!

Welcome to the beauty of Ålesund.

DAY FIVE: ÅLESUND & AKSLA VIEWPOINT

To those of you that don’t know, I lived in Vancouver, Canada for five years and one of the things I loved (and still love) the most was the combination of mountains with ocean/water. It was the first thing that struck me about Vancouver and it was also the first thing that struck me about Ålesund. There is so much power in mountains and the ocean.

Not to mention the aesthetic pleasure it provides.

On our fifth day in Norway and second day in Ålesund, we decided to “hike” up one of the mountains to Aksla viewpoint in order to get a full view of the town and surrounding scenery.

Before reaching the bottom of the mountain, we walked through a park with this cat sculpture. I found it so interesting because the cat is in a defensive position trying to make itself look bigger by arching its back. Cats aren’t often portrayed like this and I wonder why it was chosen. If anyone has any insight please let me know!

I later discovered the artist behind this sculpture is Skule Waksvik who has various animal sculptures in public spaces around Norway.

SO NOW IT IS TIME TO GO UP WITH MY TRUSTED COMPANION..

YES, IT’S AMAZING, ISN’T IT??

(Thank you, Veronika, for this beautiful photograph you made of me!)

Fjellstua Restaurant

On top of the Aksla viewpoint with spectacular views stands the Fjellstua restaurant. We stopped to enjoy some local goodies along with tea (for me) and coffee (for Veronika). We could have stayed there for the rest of the day. In fact I was a tad envious of a girl I saw sitting there working on her laptop. Man, these aren’t exactly your everyday office views, are they?

But imagine: a nice little hike that wakes you up, a cup of tea from Fjellstua and out comes your laptop and off to work you go.

Ahhhh!

Yes, please. I will take a large order of that!

(The girl was sitting just to the right from here)

DOWNTOWN ÅLESUND

You see the seats to the left of the photo? Those seats are heated.

That’s right.

They’re heated.

Need I say more about the quality of life in this country?

Veronika’s sister, Noora, took us to the heated benches on our first day and I forgot to include this lovely photograph she made of us sitting on them.

Can you guess where we were headed? (Hint can be found by clicking here.)

But before reaching our destination, we took a little detour to a glass-blowing studio. Unfortunately I don’t have any photographs of the studio itself because I got distracted by this cutie pie:

He was one of the cats living in the studio and I fell in love immediately. Being a cat lover I of course jumped at the chance to pet him! As I was getting to know him by petting him (much to his pleasure of course), Veronika was reading about him out loud from a piece of paper.

She said he might bite.

And his name was Mr. Evil.

Umm..

Here I am petting a cat called Mr. Evil who might bite.

Great.

But, I decided to trust myself and my knowledge about cats and kept petting him.

And.

He loved it.

He was purring and his paws came out to knead (which is something they only do if they really like it).

And just like that Mr. Evil left and instead entered Mr. Cutie-pie-delightful-purring-creature!

After all that petting, we finally headed to our destination. I’ll give you one more hint:

YES, you guessed it!

We went back to the amazing Antik Galleri we fell in love with the day before.

This time we bought some coffee, tea and chocolate (by the way, Norway has the best and better version of the KitKat! YUM) and sat down to enjoy the view.

We had a break and we had a .. not-kit-kat.

Norway-Aalesund-iPhone-View-Tea-Cup-Studio-Metsa-Photography

Photo by iPhone 4

(And a final little light-weight cell phone photograph of us from Veronika’s phone)

So there concludes our day five. More or less.

Phew.

That was a load of photos wasn’t it?

And this is only the beginning!

I am so excited to share the upcoming photos with you fine folks! Stay tuned for more tomorrow!

Until then lovelies,
xoxo Erika

Travel Diaries: Norway // Day Four

March 10, 2016

Plane windows on our way to Ålesund, Norway by Studio Metsä Photography

Flying from Oslo to Ålesund was short and sweet but most importantly breathtakingly gorgeous. It gave us, or mostly me since my partner-in-crime was fast asleep for the better part of the flight ;), a taste of what was to come. And I was beyond excited! This is the Norway I came to see.

Day Four: Ålesund

Those of you that haven’t yet seen the previous blog posts, my friend Veronika and I were travelling in Norway for 10 days. The main purpose of our trip was to go to Ålesund and visit her sister, Noora, who has been living there for the past few years.

On our first day in Ålesund, Noora gave us a little tour of the town before settling into our accommodation. She took us to this antique store that was located right by the water (you can see it in the above photo on the right side with black window frames) and I immediately fell in love. Not only was the store filled with antiques (duh! ;)) but it had a little coffee shop where you could get tea or coffee and some chocolates and enjoy them while overlooking the calming, inspiring and exciting scenery of the Ålesund islands. The wall of the house is right where the water is, so there is no separation between you and the water. Man, I just wanted to stay and sit there all day.

Unfortunately we couldn’t then but Veronika and I returned to this place numerous times just to have tea and take in the powerful scenery.

Veronika’s sister Noora plays the piano, sings and writes music. We had the pleasure of hearing her play and sing nearly every day during our stay.

I have always loved the piano as an instrument and even played it when I was younger. There’s just something special about the sounds that it produces that makes me relax and really feel. Goosebumps are also known to appear quite regularly when I listen to piano music :)

In the evening we attended an event with Noora and her friends. We met a lot of great people, some from Norway, some from the US and some from Finland. We were tired but happy! What a great start to our stay in Ålesund.

Girls sitting in the living room by Studio Metsä Photography

Veronika and I on our first night in Ålesund

Tomorrow we will explore more of Ålesund and take in the breathtaking views.

Until then lovelies,
xoxo Erika

Travel Diaries: Norway // Day Three in Oslo

March 9, 2016

Day Three: Sunday Funday equals to museum day for us. There are countless museums in Oslo and we soon realized that we are actually incredibly pressed for time as most museums are only open four to five hours on Sundays.

That called for quick decisions – we both had to choose one museum we absolutely had to see and the rest we will leave.

Veronika’s choice was the Viking Ship Museum and mine the Contemporary Art Museum.

THE VIKING SHIP MUSEUM

The Viking Ship Museum is located a bit further away from the centre so we made our way there first. The museum is in a beautiful, more rural area of Oslo, actually really close to the King’s summer residence (as we were told by a charming older lady on the bus). This area is really popular during the summer months when many escape the city to the nearby beaches.

The building of the museum is an old cathedral and is in itself beautiful with high ceilings, big windows and stone floors.

The ships are from before and after 900AD and were found between 1867-1903, at a thousand years old! Isn’t it just absolutely amazing that they have survived for that long in such good condition?

The bones of two ladies were found (from 834) in one of the ships along with many burial gifts. They do not know what kind of a background the women had, but they suspect they, or at least one, must have had a bigger role in the community based on the grave they had received. They’ve estimated the ladies ages to have been 50 for one and between 70-80 for the other, and their heights estimated at 153cm. The older lady died of cancer but they don’t know what caused the death of the younger woman… one theory places her as sacrifice for the older lady so she wouldn’t be lonely going from this world to the next.

The Contemporary Art Museum

The Contemporary Art Museum is located right in the centre of Oslo in a beautiful Art Nouveau-inspired building, though we didn’t get to see it in its full glory because they had some construction happening around the front. The current exhibitions they have are “Poor Art – Rich Legacy. Arte Povera and Parallel Practices 1968–2015” and “Anna-Eva Bergman. A Graphic Universe”.

A piece by Anna-Eva Bergman in the Norwegian Contemporary Art Museum by Studio Metsä Photography

Anna-Eva Bergman / Photo by iPhone 4

At the Norwegian Contemporary Art Museum by Studio Metsä Photography

Ilya Kabakov’s installation Garbage Man (The Man Who Never Threw Anything Away) – Permanent installation

ON THE STREET

The day went by fast when immersed in other realities. If you’re ever in Oslo, I would highly recommend visiting both museums.

This was the last day in the sunny Oslo.

Next day Ålesund!

Until then,
xoxo Erika

Travel Diaries: Norway // Day Two

March 8, 2016

Before jumping into the actual travel diary, I wanted to say a little something to the ladies in my life.

In honour of International Women’s Day, THANK YOU to all the ladies in my life who have stood by me through thick and thin – who have listened, hugged, cared for, trusted and loved me. If it weren’t for all of you, I wouldn’t be where I am today. So thank you for giving me so much and for allowing me to be a part of your lives.

Here’s a small selection of a few of these ladies that have impacted my life. Please click on the bolded text to view their work! Enjoy!

Erica Wilk – multidisciplinary artist who has her own printing press company, Moniker Press, in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Magda Sierzputowska – designer and photographer currently based in Warsaw, Poland.
Annabelle Antas – photographic artist and wedding photographer currently based in Ekenäs, Finland.
Grace Vane Percy – photographic artist based in Helsinki, Finland and London, UK.
Joelle Gebhardt – illustration artist currently based in Berlin, Germany.
Sherise Talbott – ceramicist and illustrator currently based in Denver, Colorado, USA.
Annika Aro – nutritionist and owner of Soul Food Nutrition currently based in Vantaa, Finland.
Courtney Colbon – illustrator and artist currently based in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Defne Corbacioglu – graphic designer currently based in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Julie Damhus – industrial designer currently based in Aarhus, Denmark.

DAY 2: OSLO, NORWAY

So now, onto the travel diary! But since I am already feeling all sentimental, I’m going to keep it going just a little bit longer ;)

I wanted to give a shoutout to my travel companion, Veronika. She made the trip what it was and it would have not been the same without her. Even though it was the first time we travelled together, everything went better than planned. She is one of the most genuine people I have ever met and so easy to be with. Despite having gone through a lot in the past year, she hasn’t lost her caring nature. She is so much stronger than she might think and has a gift of bringing humour and warmth into all situations.

This vacation made us that much closer – she’s now the sister I never had.

So thank you, Veronika, for being who you are and for opening yourself to me. Let’s do this again some time! ;)

Second day in Norway and we woke up to another beautiful, sunny day in Oslo (little did we know this would be the most sun we would see all trip long ;)).

The metro station near our lodging had the most gorgeous structures ->

What I love most about sunny weather is how the light creates different types of shadows and patches of light. Seeing light patterns or patterns from shadows, makes me go nuts – in the best possible way!

Until tomorrow lovelies,
xoxo Erika

Travel Diaries: Norway // Day One

March 7, 2016

Fjords in Norway by Studio Metsä Photography

Welcome to the new Travel Diaries series!

This is the first of many to come and this time we will be diving into the gorgeous Norway.

This morning I woke up in my own bed after a few short hours of sleep, having arrived from the airport at 2:30am. I was exhausted but oh, so happy! This 10-day trip to Norway has been one of the most memorable trips of my entire life. We have laughed so much, talked our ears off, sat in silence, screamed with excitement, cried, met amazing new people and had spiritual experiences. All in all our trip was as breathtaking as the scenery itself.

Once I had emptied all of my memory cards, I was left with 2700 photographs (plus 600+ from my iPhone). It was a tad overwhelming, especially as I was still dealing with 729 photographs after the initial edit.

Ooops! That could take a while!

So I decided to save all of you, and myself, from an overload and instead will be doing a travel diary of each day. Smaller batches with more concentration! ;)

So, without further ado –>

DAY 1: OSLO, NORWAY

A friend of mine invited me to go to Norway with her to visit her sister who lives in Ålesund. But since I had never been to Norway before, I suggested we spend a weekend in Oslo before heading out further north.

The Central Railway Station of Helsinki by Studio Metsä Photography

Leaving early morning from the Helsinki Railway Station

Girl photographing by Studio Metsä Photography

My lovely travel companion

We arrived to Oslo at around eight on Friday morning (Feb 26th). We had a lot of time to kill since the check-in to our AirBnB lodging wasn’t until five in the afternoon. We decided to take it easy and start our day properly with breakfast. We asked a few locals for a good place to go for some breakfast and got a recommendation for a coffee shop called ‘BIT’.

The food was delicious and I loved the cozy industrial look of the coffee shop.

Above six photos by iPhone 4

The rest of the time we spent exploring the city and some more coffee shops ;) The first thing that surprised me about Oslo was how small it is! The population is somewhere around the same as Helsinki, but the city itself is quite compact and easy to walk around. The people were really friendly towards us and we felt very welcomed.

EXPLORING THE CENTRAL RAILWAY STATION

KAFFEBRENNERIET

ON THE STREETS

It was a long, but a wonderful first day. We got to our lodging at around seven and rested the rest of the evening so we could get up refreshed the next day.

So that, in a nutshell, was our first day! More to come tomorrow :)

Until then, lovelies,
xoxo Erika

Heart and Soul Present: Meditation and Negative Feelings

February 25, 2016

Painting with light self-portraits by Studio Metsä Photography

Lately I have been semi-absent in the Studio Metsä social media world and I apologize for that.

In addition to photographs, Studio Metsä also makes websites and the final deadlines of a few websites have kept me busy in the last week or two. On top of that I was hit by a massive wave of depression this week and after wallowing in it for a few days, I finally picked myself up today and decided “no more!”. These kinds of things are not often talked of in public, especially as business owners, maybe because we think it will somehow harm our reputation. But if you are a human being (which I assume you are since you are reading this blog post ;)) you are not immune to negative feelings so why shouldn’t we talk about them?

After all:

It is not about the negative feelings, it is all about how you handle them.

A big factor in me slipping down that slippery slope was the fact that I had started to neglect my very sacred morning routine of reading and meditating. Whenever I have started my day by reading something new or inspiring about business and/or self-improvement followed by even just 5-10 minutes of meditation, my day has been laid with a strong foundation to stand on and my mind has been clear and focused to take on the tasks of the day.

These few days have been a great reminder to never neglect it again.

So in honour of meditation, I wanted to talk about another form of meditation I take part in.

Photography.

(Shocked?! ;P)

Never having been much of a self-portrait photographer, I first took upon myself to find myself and my emotions in self-portraiture (this is not to be confused with the ever-growing world of selfies) back in 2011 when I was on exchange in the Netherlands. Self-portraiture is actually harder than it seems as you have to try to imagine what the photograph is going to look like without actually being able to see through the viewfinder (although with the advances of technology, this seems to be lost now too as a friend of mine demonstrated just earlier this week with her new Canon 6D: you can connect it to your phone via WiFi and use your phone as the viewfinder and shutter release). In the old-school world of self-portraiture, it is a string of trial-and-errors and in its repetitive form, extremely meditative.

The following photographs are from the autumn/winter of 2014. They were shot in pitch black darkness with some light from my cell phone. This is how they were in camera, they haven’t been cropped or edited much. The only exception is the very first photo which I used as a trial for a tad darker, colder blue and some sharpening of edges. Other wise the photos are exactly as they were shot.

PHOTOGRAPHIC MEDITATION

Thank you for reading!

I would love to hear about your routines and your own form of meditation! Please connect with me by using the comment section below :)

Until next time lovelies,
xoxo Erika

Cats in search of a life-long home

February 19, 2016

Kissa etsii loppuelämän kotia HESYssä - valokuva Studio Metsä

Cats, cats, cats! I’ve always loved cats.

But growing up I didn’t have a chance to have one. My father has asthma and at the time was reacting terribly to cats. As a result it was always an absolutely-not for any animal but cats were the biggest no-no of all. So, I was left petting all the cats I could get my hands on outside of our house.

I remember a night I spent at my friend’s house who had just gotten a little kitten. My heart went to heaven upon waking up and having the little kittie come up to me purring. I thought, ‘how amazing would it be to wake up like this every day‘!

That’s what I dreamt about.

All animals have always held a very special place in my heart, but cats…there’s something special about them. Perhaps it’s their independence, their absolute resolution to showing how they’re feeling – no sugar-coating, no detours, just honesty (which I guess is also the very thing that some people are put off by). Not to mention their unwavering forgiveness – you accidentally step on their tail, they meow in protest and you kneel down to apologize and there they are, already purring, as if the tail-stepping never happened. Seriously! How amazing is this species.

At the age of 19, I finally got my own cat. Her name is Mimmi, she is now 13 years old (turning 14 this year!) and she is the most amazing cat in the world. Her and I used to take naps together when I was still living at home (that’s right, I got a cat while living at home with my asthmatic father. His reactions are long gone and he hasn’t suffered from any symptoms caused by cats thereafter) – so Mimmi and I would take naps together, I laying on the floor and she would sleep on my chest. When we lived in Helsinki and I would cry, she would come to me and lick the tears away. And every time I came home from work, she was already behind the door meowing and so excited to have me back.

How could you not love these gorgeous, fascinating beings?

—

As a result of this life-long love affair with cats, I have taken interest in their welfare and helping out any way I can. I first became more involved with animal shelters when I moved to Canada. I was volunteering at the local SPCA and began photographing the cats as time went on.

Since moving back to Finland, I have been involved with the local HESY organization doing photography for them here and there.

This week I went back to photograph some of the cats currently up for adoption.

MEET THE CATS:

Kissa makoilee HESYn tiloissa Helsingissä - valokuva Studio Metsä / Cats of Hesy

Halla – male – born in 2015

Halla is a chill cat. He is glorious in his size, he is thin but long. He came to HESY with his siblings who are all a bit timid, but friendly. He will be adopted with another one of his siblings or alone to a family that already has a cat.

Mosse – male

As soon as I got there, Mosse caught my attention. He was by far the most affectionate of all the cats there. I immediately fell in love with him. He will need a family who have time to spend with him, petting and socializing.

Viiru – female – about 1 year old

She was an interesting little kittie – she would be very interested in what’s happening around her, but as soon as the door is opened to their little room, she ran away. She is clearly looking for love and affection but is, for one reason or another, a bit timid. I have no doubt that she wouldn’t be the most affectionate cat with the right, patient and loving owner.
Viiru will be adopted along with her friend Pesonen (featured in one of the photos) to a home with previous knowledge about cats and no children.

Kissa etsii loppuelämän kotia HESYssä - valokuva Studio Metsä / Cats of Hesy

Viima – male – born in 2015

Viima is Halla’s brother and has the same timid personality as Halla does. He will also be adopted with another one of his siblings or alone to a family that already has a cat. He needs a family that has experience of cats.

John HESYn tiloissa odottamassa adoptiota - valokuva Studio Metsä // Cats of HESY

John – male

John was a real charmer and has a gorgeous fur coat. He will be adopted along with Smith and they need a home that doesn’t have small children. Both of their fur coats need to be groomed daily.

Smith HESYn tiloissa odottamassa adoptiota - valokuva Studio Metsä // Cats of HESY

Smith – male

If you’re interested in adopting any of these cats, please go to the shelter directly to get to know them! Also, please remember that these cats deserve, and need, a life-long home and should be chosen as a great fit to your family, where everyone takes an active role in taking care of the cat.

HESY ry
Yhdyskunnantie 11
00680 Helsinki

Cats can be visited Wed-Fri between 3-6pm and Sat-Sun 1-5pm

Until next time lovelies,
xoxo Erika

Photo Series: The Beauty and The Breast

February 10, 2016

Portrait of a breast cancer patient by Studio Metsä Photography

Of all the messages I got regarding the “I Challenge“- photo series, the one from this woman was the most impactful.

She had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and wanted to document her breast before it went under the knife.

—

For a moment I didn’t know what to say – all I knew was, I had to and I wanted to do it.

On the day of the photo shoot, I arrived to her house and she opened the door smiling. We had a long conversation over tea before getting to what I actually came there to do. She told me a lot about herself and we shared many experiences, thoughts and emotions with her.

This woman is fantastic. She is so friendly, so open, so strong and she has such a good heart. It was easy being around her and I nearly forgot why I came there in the first place.

Once we started the process of photographing, there was no sadness, there was no awkwardness, it was just her and I conversing, sharing a moment that will forever be marked by the photographs we were producing.

We were creating work that she will carry in her heart forever.

Photo Series: The Beauty and The Breast

She didn’t find a lump in her chest, but instead she was alarmed by the oddity of her breast – it had changed in appearance. The breast felt different, it was resting oddly and she noticed her nipple had turned inward.

She is going under the knife next week.

And she will come out of it without her left breast.

This will, I’m sure, take a lot of time and emotion to really understand and come to terms with. But I have no doubt in my mind that she wouldn’t come out of this stronger.

Through, and with, these photographs I send her my wishes, my prayers and my thoughts. I’m honoured that she trusted me with such a sensitive and fragile subject matter. She opened her heart to me even though up until we saw each other, I was a complete stranger to her. But it is, in fact, in these moments that we experience life at its best – when we jump into the unknown simply following our hearts. And I am so glad she did so with me.

—

Until next time lovelies,
xoxo Erika

NEW! Portrait series: I Challenge / Hanna

February 4, 2016

Welcome to Studio Metsä’s new portrait series – I Challenge.

For this series, I have met with girls who showed interest in being part of a photography experience that went a little deeper than the surface. Each meeting has been so genuine, open and up-lifting that I have left the coffee shop inspired, happy and excited. The questions I have asked the girls have penetrated the surface straight into the heart and have led to amazing conversations and connections.

These people have opened up to me about their pasts, experiences, fears, insecurities, hopes and dreams – you name it. I have felt incredibly honoured to be someone they can open up to. But through all of it, there was one common thread I was looking for – a source of discomfort.

We all have things we would rather not do, situations we would rather not be in. What’s interesting is why those specific things are so uncomfortable to us and what happens when we challenge ourselves and put ourselves into those situations regardless?

—

Today I would like you to meet, Hanna (Part I).

Hanna is a happy girl – at least this is my view on her based on the two times I have met her.

Smiling.

Laughing.

She is really out-going and friendly and always on the go. At work, she has a leadership position and loves what she does.

You can see there is a confidence and an ease she carries herself with.

But, and we all have a but,

she doesn’t like to be alone.

She especially dislikes being in silence with nothing to do.

She told me how one time she was in the sauna with her roommates and had asked them “Why do people go to the sauna? What do they do there?” – and lest you forget; she is from Finland and sauna is pretty much in our blood ;) – but for her, there is no point just sitting there, doing nothing and not even being able to have your cell-phone nearby to entertain you.

The Challenge for Hanna: Alone, in silence, doing nothing.

I invited her to Lauttasaari (a neighbourhood in Helsinki, Finland, known for its nature, peace and quiet) and asked her to not wear any make-up so that she will feel more open, raw and vulnerable.

I took her to a beautiful spot right by the ocean. It was quiet, we barely saw people and the only things making noise were the waves and the birds.

And I made her sit. And be still. And silent.

At one point she remarked “It really is so quiet here!”.

If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.

Challenge Series: Girl in the wintery forest by Studio Metsä Photography

(Isn’t she just gorgeous?!)

With this last photograph I was thinking about the idea of her always being in her head, even if physically she might be somewhere else.

—

The Result:
In the end, as much as she had enjoyed being photographed, she had also been frightened to be in silence. And then she told me why – she is nervous about how slowing down, or coming to a full stop, would affect her and her ambitious attitude.

I hope that through this experience, she might want to put herself more into situations like this and explore those feelings that arise.

—

That’s it for now. This was a great first photo shoot for the series, I’m excited!

Until next time lovelies,
xoxo Erika

Blogging Challenge #7:
From the good of the heart

January 31, 2016

Hooray, and holy smokes, this is the last post for the 7-Day Blogging Challenge! Much to my surprise, I actually really enjoyed it. In a way it is like journaling (which is something I have been doing ever since I was a little girl), which at its best can be incredibly therapeutic and meditative.

So, what do you say? Shall we get on with the last Blogging Challenge post?

We shall!

Something else that has carried with me from childhood is my absolute love and adoration for animals. They are creatures that most often far outweigh the human in more capacities than one. They have the ability to make you live in the moment and forget about all of your troubles, not to mention teach you how to love unconditionally. I mean seriously, have you ever had a furry friend hold a grudge? I sure haven’t. They have the amazing ability to forgive and forget, something we could all learn from!

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.
-Anatole France

The sad part is that, as we have domesticated animals, they sometimes end up in the care of people who are entirely incapable of caring for themselves, not to mention other living beings. This is how animals end up abused, living on the streets and, in some worst case scenarios, dead.

We patronize the animals for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they are more finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other Nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.
-Henry Beston

Luckily we have organizations that work to help these animals, care for them and provide them with a chance for a new life. One of those organizations is HESY, The Helsinki Society for Animal Protection. I have been lucky enough to have worked with them and help out in any way I can. They asked me to come in and photograph their vet at work for an article they were publishing in their magazine. These photographs are from that time.

And here are a few of the inhabitants at HESY at the time:

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
-Mahatma Gandhi

To give back and help these animals, please follow this link to donate to their important cause (the page is in English and all bank accounts are in the IBAN format so you can make a bank transfer from anywhere in the world).

I’m excitedly waiting to have a chance to work more with HESY and other organisations alike. If you have a desire to make the stories in your company or organisation visual, get in touch with me through info (at) studiometsa (dot) com – I can’t wait to hear from you!

And now, folks, this is it. I have completed my Blogging Challenge! Thanks to all of you for supporting me and commenting on my posts. It means the world to me! So even though the official challenge is over, I will still keep blogging since I am having so much fun! :)

Happy new week to all of you lovelies!

Until next time,
xoxo Erika