• Julius Koivistoinen is a young Finnish student passioned about photography. He's mostly self taught but has already been working as a photographer for a couple of magazines published not only in Finland but worldwide, and his photos have reached to become the cover shots of those magazines for plenty of times. In addition to commercial work, he loves to work on personal projects and with smaller clients. Currently he's available for assignments near Helsinki and Lahti.
    Be sure to visit his portfolio and Flickr page!

    www.Julious.fi: Maybe the biggest update yet

    • October 14, 2010 8:21 pm

    This is the last post on this domain – Please continue reading on Julious.fi

    First off, be sure you read the whole article, because it contains a glance on the evolution of Julious.fi website and its ancestors. All the way to the year 2003!

    The evolution of my personal websites!

    A month ago I wrote about updating this blog to the point there was coming smoke out of my ears. As a perfectionist, I anyhow couldn’t settle with just a pretty writing platform – I lusted for even more things to do.

    Now I’m finishing a two months’ work of redesigning, testing and adding new content on my portfolios and photo galleries. The functionality of them both is now revised also so that they’d be up to date with the newest trends of web-designing. Big and hi-quality images (HUGE! in the portfolios, actually), minimalistic overlay and easy navigation – those are the classic elements one can rely on.

    Julious.fi website on iPhone

    Of course, the page has to work on a mobile phone too, thus it has no Adobe Flash candies of any sort (Candies ain’t good for your health!). So pretty effects like scrolling descriptions and automatically resizing photos were achieved by using MooTools and jQuery.

    ***

    And now as promised, I’ll show you my former homepages backing all the way to my second version called “MY GREAT HOMEPAGE!!!!!111 V.2.00″ … eh.

    I know, the first two versions are quite childish. But how many of you had done a website from scratch at the age of 12 anyway? ;)

    Jump into the designs!

    140 km, 1 gear, 0 brakes and 4 h 43 min

    • September 5, 2010 9:42 pm

    The title says it all.

    Today I participated in Tour de Helsinki which was a 140,1 kilometres long bike race. First time riding such a long distance at once, and especially with a fixie, so I’m quite happy of my result.

    That’s me in the left hand side. Photo by Mikko Rantahakala. More of his TDH2010 photos here.

    140,1 kilometres in 4 hours, 42 minutes and 42 secons. With one gear and no brakes. I positioned 816th out of 1683 riders completing the race.

    Today is 0 days left!!!

    • July 14, 2010 2:05 am

    Hi, folks! Just a quick update on the current happenings.

    First of all … my one-year-long service is finally over (has been for 5 days already, actually) and my friends and I are so glad we made it! I’ve been lucky to have so many new exciting experiences which I may carry with me for the rest of my time.

    Before we were set free though we got to publish our own edition of the annual yearbook. It was great how much did I get to contribute to our publishment alas the portraits of us and other imagery were mostly on my responsibility. I even did some layout and logo designing so there was plenty of stuff to work on. :)
    The book came out amazing and I can’t wait showing tearsheets of it to all of you too!

    Which is even more extraordinary, is our interrail trip through Europe’s biggest cities… Here’s how our plan looks like:

    Wish us luck!

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    Today is 57 days left

    • May 13, 2010 12:58 pm

    Yay! Our one year service is soon over I’ll be starting my education on photography in Lahti. Just can’t wait.

    Here’s an old video I came by in the internets and think everyone should watch through… With a thought!

    Today is 137 days left

    • February 22, 2010 11:24 am

    Greetings from Lapland!

    We at the Finnish paratroopers have an annual two and a half weeks long Winter Camp training in the North Finland which is one of the most exciting moments of our service… And definitely one of the hardest too.

    One day for example we skiid 27 hours in a row and our orienteerers estimated we advanced 55-60 kilometres during that time. It’s no miracle after a week-long military exercise my feet reminded more of two junks of cheese than a pair of feet, I’m telling you. :)

    Well, now the experience is behind us and I gotta say it was everything we wished – and feared for. At times we got to enjoy perfect sunny days but sometimes the nature tried us with freezing cold weather also. I can recall a few nights when we were out training and there was -30°C… One night we saw beautiful northern auroras too.

    Still, never again!

    *****

    Have been studying the bike messenger and fixed gear bike culture quite a lot lately and I have to say it’s swallowing me into itself. Doing what you want the way you want, dedicating fully to it and being aware of everything around you are themes that always rise up when I read books, articles and interviews on the subject. And I have to agree – going fast on two wheels brings a liberating lightening to one’s mind. I just can’t wait for Spring to arrive!

    Anyone who’s even a little familiar with the biking cultures I mentioned know that they’re nowadays very related with style, which brings me to my newest purchase worth mentioning: a messenger bag by Chrome. The model is called the Metropolis and I just love the simplicity and functionality of the whole thing.

    The bag itself is HUGE but surprisingly slim even when fully packed up because it’s like glued to your back. This makes it possible to dump everything I want into it and still be able to move fluently in a crowd and whatnot. Try the same with a Lowepro bag for example and you’ll lose your sanity – I did!

    I have to note that due to the winter still hitting us in our faces I haven’t been using the bag on a bike yet (doh!). But it already made an impact on me which has to be a good thing as I’ve heard it just then gets to its full potential.

    It’s true a messenger bag like the Metropolis isn’t the best carrying option if you’re on foot only as it really might stress one’s shoulder. When I went for a portrait photo shoot for an evening with the gear seen above it already felt little uncomfy at times because the bag didn’t rest on my back like when on a bike. And this is from a fellow who’s been regularly carrying backpacks weighting 30-40 kilograms for days.

    Overall I’m highly satisfied with the Chrome’s courier bag as it sets me free from having to carry one or more separate bags because I couldn’t get everything (the gear seen above for example) to fit into just one! My thumbs are up.

    *****

    Hopefully you’re now thinking: “To what photo shoot he might had went?”, because I just thought of revealing it.

    Me and Wilhelm Blomberg use to take photos of t-shirts for Threadless.com for fun and free tees… But mainly for fun. Sooo, here are some photos, please eyeball them. Thanks!

    Today is 312 days left

    • August 31, 2009 3:44 pm

    My website has been dead quiet for the past six weeks because I’ve been serving in the army of our lovely little country. Unfortunately there won’t be any updates on my portfolio for a while either simply because I don’t have time for that.

    Here’s a little snack for you all though. I hope it will keep you satisfied for a while… Maybe even lightens up a little what I’m currently going through. :)

    I’m in the center of the following image. Photo by Jorma Koivistoinen.

    I was a first timer

    • June 13, 2009 8:49 am

    In addition to airsoft guns I’ve been handling real deals for quite a while at work already but just now I got the chance to test out shooting with one.

    During this week we were at a shooting range in Helsinki with Jarkko Koskinen from Rekyyli. The firearm I was practicing with was a 9mm pistol CZ-999. The model is used by the Serbian army.

    Besides shooting from a standing position from the distances of 5, 10 and 15 meters, my accuracy was put on a test from a distance as great as 25 meters (27 yards) too. Those shots I fired the gun supported as seen in the video below. I shot five to six bullets at a time and I’m prertty proud of my best result: the pattern of six shots could be fitted in my fist.

    Here’s some images from the shooting range photographed by Jarkko. The lights were set by me though.

    Note: The following image is staged. The gun seen in the photograph was safely unloaded before taking the photo. Pointing towards someone with even an unarmed gun is strictly forbidden.

    Strobist info: Bare 430EX strobe unit attached to the wall on my right side and another one far back in the shooting range lighting up the target. The strobes were triggered wirelessly using a ST-E2 transmitter.

    Luckily Jarkko was carrying a video camera with him too. Here’s a short clip from the shooting range. The title is: “Julius uses his head”… :)

    In other news…

    I figured out that the photos of me and my bike I uploaded two weeks ago were so very lousy for not showing the beautiful bicycle in its full potential. So here’s an another try!

    Kona Paddy Wagon and me shot with Canon EOS 5D and EF 135mm f/2L

    Kona Paddy Wagon Julius Koivistoinen

    Olen ylioppinut

    • June 2, 2009 3:12 pm

    Viikonloppuna liityin viimeinkin valkolakkisten ylioppilaiden joukkoon oikein rymisten!

    Lukiossamme pidimme Joonaksen kanssa puheet opiskelijoidemme puolesta. Omaa puhettani tykkään luonnehtia loppukevennykseksi. :)

    Kuvat puhukoon puolestaan. Kuvannut Jorma Koivistoinen.

    Me giving a speech to my minions.

    Lisäksi…

    Nelipäiväiset pääsykokeet Lahden muotoiluinstituutissa ovat tältä erää ohi!

    Meidät valokuvauslinjalle hakeneet laitettiin suurimmaksi osin piirtämään ja tai maalaamaan, mutta myös valokuvaamista kertakäyttökameralla ja filmijärkkärillä päästiin kokeilemaan. Tehtäviä oli yhteensä 10 kappaletta, jotka mittasivat kykyämme hahmottaa kokonaisuuksia, sommittelua, kuvallista oivaltavuutta ynnä muuta. Työajat vaihtelivat viidestä minuutista seitsemään tuntiin asti.

    350 hakijasta noin 50 otettiin pääsykokeisiin. Näistä taas karsittiin haastateltavaksi 30 henkeä, joista arviolta 10 saa opiskelupaikan. Itse selvisin haastatteluihin asti ja sekin tuntui menevän ihan hyvin. Ei mitään vaikeaa.

    Nyt ei muuta kuin odottelemaan heinäkuussa saapuvia vastauksia.

    Entäs teidän kokemuksenne?

    Päivitys 8.7.2009: Sain tietää, että pääsin sisään!

    Summer is here at last

    • May 26, 2009 8:43 pm

    Now go and enjoy it, man!

    Oh, and the bike in the background is Kona’s Paddy Wagon. I just love the single gear system for it’s simplicity and low need for maintentance. It’s a no-brainer for me!

    It has a fixed rear hub too, but to me that may be a bit too hardcore for now… I will definitely give it a go later though.

    Welcoming a new member in camera bag

    • April 17, 2009 4:26 am

    I just fell in love with street photography again. I’ve been photographing the streets of Helsinki and went on a trip to Saint Petersburg where I documented the local people with my camera a lot too.

    Or it might just be the camera particularly which is creating such a thrill in me.

    For a long time I’ve been drooling after the Canon’s EOS 5D especially due to it’s full frame sencor and the advantages brought with it and the camera’s slim body also. So I finally took the plunge and got that camera body of my dreams!

    A comparison between images taken on Canon EOS 350D and on Canon EOS 5D
    (Thank you Marja for being such a lovely model as always!)

    Some of you might be thinking why didn’t I invest on the new 5D mark II instead, but I just don’t need all the features it has, so it would have been waste of money to me. I’ve been using the old 5D at work for a long time already so I knew what was the perfect choice for me.

    One more thing before I let you to jump on the photos taken in St. Petersburg. I want to address my love towards the Canon EOS 5D + 50 mm prime lens combo by showing the following three images of one photograph. The images don’t just come out outstandingly sharp, but the focal length is just right on a full frame sencor. It is not too tight nor too wide, just perfect!

    Canon EOS 5D, 50mm f/1.8: 1/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200
    The first image is the photo uncropped, the last one is a 100% crop.

    Ok, here they are (click the photo below). Please enjoy the gallery and maybe even leave a comment considering them here. Thanks!