Update 20.2.2010: The article is now visible on my portfolio (link)
Just a week ago I arrived back from Sweden, Härnösand. There I was working for Softaaja magazine (or Airsoft Soldier as known internationally) on the photo reportage of the biggest airsoft event I have ever attended in.
This event, a four-day-long scenario game called Berget 7, was a very interesting one to cover. I was playing the role of an in-game photographer meaning that I was all the time – day and night – keeping close to others on my side (Separatist Reform Party i.e. SRP, while the other parties were NATO, Milo’s Tigers, Yuri Orlov’s Mercenaries and Civilians) who were mostly Finns too.
And not only did I have to capture some interesting photographs, my mission was to create an in-depth story of the whole trip so that everyone reading the reportage could get the image of being there. Thus staying focused on stories developing around me and writing captions for my photos on the fly were key elements to me.
The game itself was a great success. Our SRP forces outsmarted the others right from the beginning and we got a firm grip on the leading position. In the end SRP and its new allies crushed NATO and escaped to safety.
As I came back home with the huge pile of photos I was thinking to myself: “What a great experience!”, and then: “How in the World can all these photos be packed into a single article?!”
The thing is, I recall being told beforehand that the reportage had six pages reserved from the final magazine issue. Then we at the editorial negotiated afterwards on 10 to 12 pages, and finally, my photo story got overwhelming 14 pages! Seems like I did quite an impression on the people above me. 
The photo reportage will be published in the 5th issue of Softaaja and probably in the 5th issue of Airsoft Soldier also so stay tuned and go get them when you can!
