Sun. The color of an old wooden door, the softness of wooden boards, emanating from the floor with the heat of a red wall painted in red ocher, the wall charged by the sun, and thousands of looks. Touch wood, brick wall. Crack on a wall. Take a step. Find a new, once-hidden detail, now revealed. Let your eyes and camera show what must be found and what has been left behind.
Rain. All colors have changed, and the surfaces seem to come from another world. Colors are muted, but running water on the window glass creates beautiful reflections, patterns, and reformatted images. Bubbles inside an old glass and an uneven surface make you feel comfortable. Not only are humans not perfectly formed, but the environment's skin also bears its marks. As my skin ages, so do the surfaces.
Wet. Suddenly, you notice all the colors that the wet stone possesses. Colors are there, like tiny rainbows, and water has brought them for you to sense. The damp floor in an old stable has darker tones than the sun-dried wall. The dust has found shelter, nestled against the timbers. Dust doesn't wish to fly with a gust of wind raised by the suddenly opened door. Instead, it behaves differently when wet. Here, horseshoes have sculpted the floor with love and time, making it feel like the surface of a rare planet. Traces of work are all visible, with tool marks on wood, like signatures on white paper.
Cold. It's so silent. Metal has a muted power in cold weather, and touching it sends chills. Rust flakes now have tiny companions: rust-colored ice crystals that sparkle and shimmer. Light has changed, giving the mood a different tone. A story now sounds different.
When I see, touch, and photograph surfaces and textures, it's like touching and noticing the familiar skin of all beings, our shared environmental heritage. Not all materials can hold onto our memories and life stories so well. Already-lived-in places, seasoned buildings, and surfaces have specific qualities, much like your touch is a needle, a texture, and a vinyl record. Observe, notice, touch, and reveal the music of the lived environment and the people who have been here. With my camera, I try to find and catch this music. I let the lens and light be the needle, dancing on the topography of surfaces. The preserved surroundings are our shared memory bank; we can't lose them or a big part of ourselves.
As a photographer, I aim to capture what I can, share it, and remind viewers of this unique treasure. We all have favorite places, buildings, traces, homes, and secret childhood dens. We are sincerely committed to all aspects of the environment. Constructed, preserved, or found surfaces are part of our skin, the skin of environmental heritage. We should save what we can and protect what is already part of our shared story, building a lasting legacy and inviting newcomers to join our story through surfaces, textures, and buildings. All of this helps us remember that others came before us, we are part of a larger story, and there will be more when we're gone.
I started photographing textures of built and preserved environments at Piiru, the Tampere Region Built Heritage Center in Pispala, Finland, during the summer of 2019, when I began my apprenticeship there. I was immediately captivated by the preserved surfaces. The carefully renovated old mansion was—and still is—a treasure of environmental heritage. I will continue my mission to notice and record more and to specialize as a "photographer of traces." To tell the story of our shared skin of environmental heritage.
I appreciate beauty, art, and minute details, and I value the small things around us. As a photographer, I aim to notice, share, and remind us of the tiny yet meaningful traces in our environment and built surroundings. Additionally, one of my specialties is capturing the essence of the fantastic Pispala region, where I live. My Pispala is full of unique buildings, people, and nature. Finally, as a visual artist and graphic designer, I believe that the best media and tools are essential for achieving rich communication between messages, textures, visual elements, and viewers.
As an artist, I aim to create a range of mental images, awakened impressions, and memories through photography, graphic design, and visual art. Photos give birth to tangible prints and images, and these impressions become seeds for visual art, concepts, photographic experiments, and even butoh dance performances.
As a human and a fellow person, I want to remind us of the importance of belonging to this place right now, regardless of what we've already lost or left behind. Our shared heritage can begin now; we are part of it. So, we must notice, appreciate, and touch—with all our senses and gentleness. Osku Leinonen 2020
I create contemplative self-portraits and small landscape images that blend movement, stillness, and time. My work explores the fragile beauty of existence, inviting viewers into a space of reflection and presence.
Wall art has become a must-have for homeowners worldwide; it’s a way of expressing thoughts and feelings that cannot be conveyed with words. Art's expressive nature allows you to paint a picture of your personality. Contemplative photography is an art and photography practice that evokes thoughts and feelings.
Contemplative photography enables you to pause and reflect as you view a particular piece of art. As you read through this article, you will learn its benefits. It is the art of photographing something that can then be used as art in a home or living environment. It has the power to stop you and allow you to reflect.
This is where we begin, as the first benefit of contemplative photography is its ability to effortlessly distract you into a relaxed state. When discussing contemplative photography, you may initially think the image is the most important thing. It’s very much the opposite. The particular embodiment can be of anything; its portrayal gives us a calming sensation. Not only does contemplative photography change your mood, but it can also give us a different perspective when viewing other photography pieces; doing so opens our minds and eyes to a whole new world... Read more about the benefits of Contemplative Photography.
I am very interested in the relationship between photographs and text. I use this dialogue in both my work and my art. Photographs create strong impressions, and these impressions become seeds for performances, experiments, and myths.
Images, picture books, and words intertwine in my practice. Photos give birth to vivid inner images, and these images grow into performances, experiments, or picture books—like modern myths.
In Butoh dance, this transformation of movements, metamorphoses, bodily conformations, and states of consciousness into images that can formulate the passage or dramaturgy of a whole performance is referred to as Butoh-fu.
A Butoh performance and the immortalized photographs suit graphic and textual post-processing. Butoh dance is a highly animated performance art, combining the fluidity of a moving picture with the energy of an energetic stillness, evoking a wealth of mental images, awakened impressions, and memories.
The inner landscape within the performer, photographer, and audience comes to life, and the surface is perceived by and interacts with everyday reality. During a powerful interaction, this kind of experience can produce something mutual and communal between people, coming from an archaic space of memories and experiences. It is from this area that extremely influential and meaningful experiences in human life are born, taking the form of Butoh dance, poetry, myths, fables, art, love, and creative life.
My photos and wall art are on the SmugMug site oskuleinonenphotography.com. High-Resolution photos, Buy and Download options, Paper Prints, Desk Art, Canvases, Edge Prints, Acrylic Gallery, and Wall Art.
Self-Portrait Photography Gallery
