Arts Design

UNPARALLELED WINTER MASTERPIECES NOW

by Mikko Lagerstedt. Between Two Worlds II.

MIKKO LAGERSTEDT

Nobody captures the magnificence of winter quite like fine art photographer Mikko Lagerstedt. Hailing from Finland, where it’s winter more often than not, Lagerstedt has plenty of time and opportunity to fill up his portfolio.

But it’s not just the sheer volume of photos that amazes us, it is the unparalleled brilliance and soul that emanates from each one.

He is patient, waiting for the light to grace the dark landscape just so. He takes long exposures.

Sometimes Lagerstedt merges two or more images together that were taken at different times in the same location.

Purple Haze is a composite of two photos, one taken just after sunset, the other taken as the sky filled with stars.

The Whole Universe Surrenders was captured on Finland’s coastline. This also is a composite of 2 photos taken in the same spot, one just before sunset and one just after. He blends composites in post production.

Lagerstedt is self-taught. He finds love and beauty in frozen landscapes. We featured his snowy masterpieces in an earlier BN Daily Fix: Impossibly Beautiful But Real Snow Jewels Now.

Lagerstedt has also mastered the art of darkness. We featured his incredible night images in our BN Daily Fix post Beautifully Dark Photos Happening Now.

While he revels in winter, ironically, his first inspiration to become a photographer came when he was driving on a summer’s evening. It had just stopped raining, and the fog was rising in the fields. The beauty stopped him in his tracks and he had to capture it.

Prior to his photography path, Lagerstedt studied design, which shows well in his composition and stylistic treatments.

Since snapping his first photo, just 8 years ago, Lagerstedt has honed his skills. He has traveled all across Finland in search of the the next beautiful inspiration -- never having to go far before he finds one.

Finland is almost seamlessly beautiful, with one magnificent landscape flowing into the next. Northern Finland is relatively free of light pollution, which helps bring contrast and definition to Lagerstedt’s shots.

Finland’s winters are longer, darker, and colder than most other places. In the North, in the dead of winter, the sun doesn’t even rise at all. So Lagerstedt needed to develop a few tricks to make the weather and the rugged place work for him.

Lagerstedt tends to travel to the coast to take photos in the Winter, and travels inland during other seasons.

With winter temperatures as low as - 40°C, the bitter cold can affect camera equipment. He carries extra batteries with him in the inner pockets of his jacket to keep them warm. He also leaves his camera in his camera bag once he returns home and slowly restores it to room temperature.

If you want to learn more about Lagerstedt’s techniques, check out his tutorial blog articles. Lagerstedt also sells custom Lightroom and Camera Raw presets as well custom Photoshop actions to help people along the way.

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