• 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!

    The one wheeled trend is hitting the streets

    • August 30, 2010 12:04 pm

    I bet everyone has been aware of the increasing number of single speed bicycles everywhere. But while visiting different cities around Europe I noticed that there were new, even more creative ways to commute around the big metropolises.

    Some of them are even landing to the shores of our Northern country.

    A unicyclist in Basel, Switzerland

    Unicycles

    One may think it’s just one of those extreme sports which belong to circus. But when you actually think about it, a unicycle is almost as small as a pogo stick, it gets you around faster than walking and is a great way to improve your balance.

    It’s definitely a great way to get more socialized plus fixed gear enthusiasts love you for it too!


    A unicycle spotted in a metro in Helsinki!

    Even my good ol’ pa decided to give it a try and has started practicing the unicycle. Here’s me packing his unicycle into my courier bag:

    Kick scooters and roller skates

    These are the devices I loved to ride in my childhood – but then they just disappeared! Luckily they’re now making a comeback a little by little.

    The funny thing is though that not just the kids are riding them to school as back then but again, working citizens use them as transportation from home to the market or to work…

    Older woman took a stop with her kick scooter in Hamburg


    And of course

    Single speed bikes with Bianchi bodies in a flea market in Berlin

    As I mentioned already the single speed cycles and fixed gear bikes have taken over the streets once and for all. I’ll be writing about it more in depth later though, as the phenomenon is worth an article of its own. :)

    Fixie riders in Paris

    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!

    On assignment: Berget 7

    • July 9, 2009 5:11 pm

    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.

    Me and a fellow Finn in Berget 7 airsoft game held in Sweden. Photo: Ari Lindberg

    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!

    Working on a cover

    • June 16, 2009 2:47 pm

    Few weeks ago I was photographing the collerctor’s cover photo for a Finnish airsoft magazine Softaaja. Our models Stefan (on left) and Janne were dressed up as post-apocalyptic scavangers inspired by the Mad Max movies and the Fallout game series. Stefan likes to describe himself as a cat hunter and Janne is a sand warrior.

    Post-nuclear war themed photo shoot from Julius Koivistoinen on Vimeo.

    Keeping the light simple was a good idea this time as the models were interesting enough in my opinion. One big light source comes with a very natural look while it’s still very pleasing to the eye also.

    Even though we shot these in the afternoon it still was quite bright outside. That is why I chose to use a silver reflective umbrella as it’s the most efficient light modificator when used with my small 430EX strobe units. In addition I like the little rougher light coming out of the reflective umbrella compared to a shoot-through brolly as the light doesn’t scatter as much. I had two strobes instead of just one pointing in one umbrella so that I could turn their power a bit down to gain a faster recycling time.

    The photo is taken with a Canon EOS 5D camera and a EF 17-40mm f/4L lens which is a combo I love. The strobes were triggered wirelessly using a ST-E2 transmitter.

    Here’s three details from the image seen above:

    The equipment those guys are wearing is epic. Self-made armor based on a hockey harness, real ammunition boxes and the outsoles of shoes, leather clothing, vintage sunglasses from the 50′s, laser protective goggles,  self-made shoulder guard with chainmail and a steel plate protecting the heart (I made that, actually!), self-made pistol holster and the list goes on.

    Underneath are two examples on the images that were used as reference while building up those layouts. Just to give you a clue what I’m talking about.

    Screenshots from the early episodes of Fallout game series

    Photo from the movie Max Max 2: Road Warrior starring Mel Gibson

    The following photos are random snapshots from the same photo shoot. Just a neat little bonus to all of you hungry for backstage imagery. :)

    Final results

    Valokuvauksen ennakkotehtäväni

    • May 3, 2009 1:19 am

    Briefly in english:

    High school is almost over for me so it’s time to head to college as in Finland it’s not so easy to make a breaking entry to photography industry without further education as Chase Jarvis and Joey Lawrence did for example. In this post you may see my preliminary assignments for further education. The themes were the following: 1) The people of today, 2) A real story (My one is about recession btw), 3) A small study on nature/environment and 4) My best work so far.

    Päivitys 8.7.2009: Sain tietää, että pääsin sisään!

    Lukion ollessa nyt loppusuoralla ja lakin ollessa oikeastaan jo taskussa on aika ajatella eteenpäin.

    Omalla kohdallani tämä merkitsi jatkokoulutukseen pyrkimistä, mitä edelsi linjan valinta ja räpeltäminen ennakkotehtävien parissa. Tietysti on olemassa muutamia konkreettisia esimerkkejä valokuvauksenkin saralla toteutuneista amerikkalaisista unelmista, joissa eräät kouluttamattomat valokuvaajat ovat onnistuneet murtautumaan ammattilaistasolle (esim. Chase Jarvis www.chasejarvis.com ja Joey Lawrence www.joeyl.com), mutta itse koen Suomessa tilanteen olevan enemmän ajatuksen vastainen: paperit on oltava tai töitä ei tipu. Siksi ei muuta kuin nokka kohti koulua.

    Lisäksi koulutus varmasti edistäisi kykyäni hahmottaa ammatin asemaa nykyään eli vastaisi kysymyksiin: “Mitä töitä voi tehdä? Miten? Missä? Entä miten töitä voi eksyä tekemään ylipäätänsä?” Parhaimmillaan se jopa myös toimisi mainiona ponnahduslautana maailmalle.

    Hain Lahden muotoiluinstituuttiin valokuvauslinjalle jokseenkin riskeeraten: en pyrkinyt muille koulutusohjelmille tai edes toiseen kouluun. Toisaalta täysin syystäkin, sillä valokuvaamisen janoni ohjaa minua tähtäämään ainoastaan huipulle, mutta ymmärtääkseni Taideteollisessa korkeakoulussa tarjottava koulutus onkin liian teoreettinen minulle. Siksi Lahti – varoituksista huolimatta.

    Tällä kertaa kyseisen linjan ennakkotehtävät koostuivat seuraavasta neljästä tehtävänannosta, joita vastaavat työt tuli palauttaa 9. päivä huhtikuuta mennessä (lähde). Katso omat työni alla.

    1) Aikamme ihmisiä: Ota kolme muotokuvaa, jotka kertovat näkemyksesi tämän ajan ihmisistä.
    2) Tosiasia: Tee viiden valokuvan kuvakertomus sinua koskettavasta yhteiskunnallisesta asiasta.
    3) Pieni tutkielma luonnosta: Ota kolme valokuvaa, joissa tutkit jotakin luontoon ja ympäristöömme liittyvää asiaa.
    4) Parhaat työni: Esittele kymmenen kuvaa, joista vähintään puolet on valokuvia.

    Aikamme ihmisiä



    (Malleina Mari, Jorma, Marja ja Wilhelm)

    Tosiasia

    Kuvasarja koostuu viidestä omakuvasta, jotka esittävät yhtä kokonaista päivää. Arvaatko aiheen kuvien perusteella? Vastaus niiden alla.





    Aiheena on tietysti lama. Menikö oikein?

    Pieni tutkielma luonnosta



    Parhaita töitäni en ala tässä eritellä, koska ne löytyvät suurimmaksi osin portfoliostani. *wink*

    Tältä siis näytti paketti, jonka lähetin matkaan jo aikaa sitten:

    Selvästi yksi eksoottisempikin tapaus – piirustus – onnistui puikkelehtimaan parhaiden töitteni joukkoon. Tässä kyseinen kuva ja yksi toinenkin töherrykseni:


    Saarnaamiseni ei kuitenkaan lopu vielä tähän, vaan nyt haluaisin kuulla teistä, rakas lukijani! Haitko jatkokoulutukseen tänä vuonna? Minne? Entä minkälaisilla ennakkotehtävillä?

    Tarkoitukseni on ylläpitää tässä viestissä listaa kaltaisistani henkilöistä, jotka ovat pyrkineet johonkin korkeamman asteen oppilaitokseen opiskelemaan valokuvausta. Ota siis minuun yhteyttä ja liity joukkoome riemuisaan. Pallo on sinulla!

    1. Lotta Blomberg: Yksinäiset (Aikamme ihmiset)
    2. Juhana Lappalainen: Vaino-Harha
    3. Sonya Mantere: Valokuvauksen ennakkotehtävät