Arno Rafael Minkkinen / Photography as Cinema

Pieter Ten Hoopen / The Art of Storytelling

Kannisto & Kantanen / Open Air Studio

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SUOMENVALO FINNISH LIGHT INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS

Suomen means Finnish. Valo means Light.

We’re happy to announce that we have started an exciting collaboration in Finland with Arno Rafael Minkkinen and Kimmo Koskela, cofounders of SUOMENVALO Workshops, a new summer and winter international photography workshop program. Together we will be partnering to promote each other’s workshops, assist students in the enrollment process, share programming ideas and teacher recommendations. It all takes place in a vast courtyard residence of a former farm that serves as the SUOMENVALO campus. From there it’s an easy stroll to the sunset shores of Lake Oulujärvi in the village of Paltaniemi not far from the city of Kajaani. The idea surfaced last summer in Puistola when Minkkinen and Koskela, both involved with filmmaking—as a screenwriter and cinematographer respectively—were working on the development of a feature film.

SUOMENVALO Workshops endeavors to address the global issues of our times by setting the stage for innovative practice and thinking by uniting broad perspectives capable of encompassing a diversity of cultures worldwide. By offering a teaching and learning environment that equates image making with risk taking, new pathways can emerge as much as existing directions find inspiring realms of expansion.

It’s not enough to just like a photograph anymore.

To learn why is critical. Knowing why helps our eyes, heart,

and mind see more, see better.