Series 02 / 04
Sea ice
Helsinki February 2026 Personal work
When the bay freezes half the city walks out onto it. I go at the edges of the day, when fog or a low sun does the work of a studio.
The sea froze off Helsinki for five weeks in February 2026, the first time in nine winters that it held long enough to walk out to the islands. I went most days at first light and again at dusk, from Lauttasaari, Kaivopuisto and Vartiosaari, with ice claws round my neck and a thermos in the bag.
Fog is the best light the sea gives. It takes the horizon away, so the walkers, the fishers and their dogs stand on nothing at all. On clear days I waited for the sun to drop under the cloud and turn the snow on the ice to brass. It is all on Portra 400, with a roll of Ektar for the cracked plates, shot on a Leica M6 with a 35 and a 50 so that I could keep my gloves on.
Series 02 / 04
Sea ice
Helsinki February 2026 Personal work
When the bay freezes half the city walks out onto it. I go at the edges of the day, when fog or a low sun does the work of a studio.
The sea froze off Helsinki for five weeks in February 2026, the first time in nine winters that it held long enough to walk out to the islands. I went most days at first light and again at dusk, from Lauttasaari, Kaivopuisto and Vartiosaari, with ice claws round my neck and a thermos in the bag.
Fog is the best light the sea gives. It takes the horizon away, so the walkers, the fishers and their dogs stand on nothing at all. On clear days I waited for the sun to drop under the cloud and turn the snow on the ice to brass. It is all on Portra 400, with a roll of Ektar for the cracked plates, shot on a Leica M6 with a 35 and a 50 so that I could keep my gloves on.
- ∞
- 10
- 5
- 3
- 2
02.01
Lauttasaari, 08:50. Fog, no horizon, a pale sun.
02.01
Lauttasaari, 08:50. Fog, no horizon, a pale sun.
02.01
Lauttasaari, 08:50. Fog, no horizon, a pale sun.
02.02
Kaivopuisto, 15:40. An ice fisher in red, the sun low.
02.02
Kaivopuisto, 15:40. An ice fisher in red, the sun low.
02.02
Kaivopuisto, 15:40. An ice fisher in red, the sun low.
02.03
Vartiosaari, 11:15. Cracked ice with air frozen into it.
02.03
Vartiosaari, 11:15. Cracked ice with air frozen into it.
02.03
Vartiosaari, 11:15. Cracked ice with air frozen into it.
02.04
Kallskär, 16:20. Two people and a dog, one lighthouse.
02.04
Kallskär, 16:20. Two people and a dog, one lighthouse.
02.04
Kallskär, 16:20. Two people and a dog, one lighthouse.
02.05
Pihlajasaari, 15:55. Ski tracks cross footprints.
02.05
Pihlajasaari, 15:55. Ski tracks cross footprints.
02.05
Pihlajasaari, 15:55. Ski tracks cross footprints.
02.06
Hietaniemi, 09:30. A swimming hole cut in the ice.
02.06
Hietaniemi, 09:30. A swimming hole cut in the ice.
02.06
Hietaniemi, 09:30. A swimming hole cut in the ice.
02.07
Suomenlinna, 12:40. The icebreaker channel, black water.
02.07
Suomenlinna, 12:40. The icebreaker channel, black water.
02.07
Suomenlinna, 12:40. The icebreaker channel, black water.
02.08
Lauttasaari, 14:30. A ploughed skating track, one skater.
02.08
Lauttasaari, 14:30. A ploughed skating track, one skater.
02.08
Lauttasaari, 14:30. A ploughed skating track, one skater.
02.09
Kruunuvuori, 16:45. The last orange on the pressure ridges.
02.09
Kruunuvuori, 16:45. The last orange on the pressure ridges.
02.09
Kruunuvuori, 16:45. The last orange on the pressure ridges.
02.01
08:50
530
Lauttasaari
Sea ice
sea-ice
Small figures walking on the frozen sea in fog, with a pale sun and no horizon.
Landscape
true
Fog, no horizon, a pale sun.
Lauttasaari, 08:50. Fog, no horizon, a pale sun.
02.06
09:30
570
Hietaniemi
Sea ice
sea-ice
A swimming hole cut in the frozen sea with wooden steps and a handrail, steam rising, a person in a bathrobe walking away in fog.
Landscape
false
A swimming hole cut in the ice.
Hietaniemi, 09:30. A swimming hole cut in the ice.
02.03
11:15
675
Vartiosaari
Sea ice
sea-ice
Close-up of cracked ice plates with frozen air bubbles.
Landscape
true
Cracked ice with air frozen into it.
Vartiosaari, 11:15. Cracked ice with air frozen into it.
02.07
12:40
760
Suomenlinna
Sea ice
sea-ice
A narrow channel of dark open water through white sea ice, broken floes along its edges, a ferry far away.
Portrait
false
The icebreaker channel, black water.
Suomenlinna, 12:40. The icebreaker channel, black water.
02.08
14:30
870
Lauttasaari
Sea ice
sea-ice
A ploughed skating lane curving across the frozen bay, one skater bent forward, a long shadow in low sun.
Landscape
false
A ploughed skating track, one skater.
Lauttasaari, 14:30. A ploughed skating track, one skater.
02.02
15:40
940
Kaivopuisto
Sea ice
sea-ice
An ice fisher in a red jacket on a stool by a hole in the ice, with a low sun.
Landscape
true
An ice fisher in red, the sun low.
Kaivopuisto, 15:40. An ice fisher in red, the sun low.
02.05
15:55
955
Pihlajasaari
Sea ice
sea-ice
Ski tracks and footprints crossing on snow-covered ice in low sun.
Portrait
true
Ski tracks cross footprints.
Pihlajasaari, 15:55. Ski tracks cross footprints.
02.04
16:20
980
Kallskär
Sea ice
sea-ice
Two people and a dog in silhouette on the ice, watching a lighthouse island at sunset.
Landscape
true
Two people and a dog, one lighthouse.
Kallskär, 16:20. Two people and a dog, one lighthouse.
02.09
16:45
1005
Kruunuvuori
Sea ice
sea-ice
Pressure ridges of piled ice slabs catching the last orange light, and across the ice a town with a church spire under snowy hills at sunset.
Landscape
false
The last orange on the pressure ridges.
Kruunuvuori, 16:45. The last orange on the pressure ridges.
Work in this light
Editorial, architecture and campaign commissions, in the hours with the least light. Every frame here is also printed by hand in Kallio; ask for sizes.