Series 04 / 04
White nights
Southern and central Finland June 2026, for Rantala Arkkitehdit Architecture commission
In June the sun skims the horizon all night. I photographed the buildings between eleven and one, when the walls are the colour of the light.
Rantala Arkkitehdit asked for a monograph of their public buildings in the light they were drawn for. The partners had always talked about the June night when one of their facades turned the colour of apricots, so we planned the whole shoot around that hour: seven buildings on nine nights in June 2026, across southern and central Finland, each one scouted on a walk the evening before.
The sun never sets far enough for a blue hour, but it sinks low enough to rake across a wall from the north, which no daytime shoot can do. I used a 4×5 view camera on the facades and a Pentax 67 inside, on Portra 160, with exposures of a few seconds. Hovi Editions printed the book in 2026; these are the frames the office lets me show.
Series 04 / 04
White nights
Southern and central Finland June 2026, for Rantala Arkkitehdit Architecture commission
In June the sun skims the horizon all night. I photographed the buildings between eleven and one, when the walls are the colour of the light.
Rantala Arkkitehdit asked for a monograph of their public buildings in the light they were drawn for. The partners had always talked about the June night when one of their facades turned the colour of apricots, so we planned the whole shoot around that hour: seven buildings on nine nights in June 2026, across southern and central Finland, each one scouted on a walk the evening before.
The sun never sets far enough for a blue hour, but it sinks low enough to rake across a wall from the north, which no daytime shoot can do. I used a 4×5 view camera on the facades and a Pentax 67 inside, on Portra 160, with exposures of a few seconds. Hovi Editions printed the book in 2026; these are the frames the office lets me show.
- ∞
- 10
- 5
- 3
- 2
04.01
Rantala Library, 23:30. The reading room lit from inside.
04.01
Rantala Library, 23:30. The reading room lit from inside.
04.01
Rantala Library, 23:30. The reading room lit from inside.
04.02
Kaaripiha court, 00:10. A stripe of sun on red brick.
04.02
Kaaripiha court, 00:10. A stripe of sun on red brick.
04.02
Kaaripiha court, 00:10. A stripe of sun on red brick.
04.03
Vesijärvi pavilion, 00:40. The lake and the sky agree.
04.03
Vesijärvi pavilion, 00:40. The lake and the sky agree.
04.03
Vesijärvi pavilion, 00:40. The lake and the sky agree.
04.04
Kilpisaari, 23:55. Coffee on a balcony, sun over the inlet.
04.04
Kilpisaari, 23:55. Coffee on a balcony, sun over the inlet.
04.04
Kilpisaari, 23:55. Coffee on a balcony, sun over the inlet.
04.05
Ilmajoki archive, 00:20. A copper roof edge, one diagonal.
04.05
Ilmajoki archive, 00:20. A copper roof edge, one diagonal.
04.05
Ilmajoki archive, 00:20. A copper roof edge, one diagonal.
04.06
Tapiola pool, 23:15. No swimmers, the water still.
04.06
Tapiola pool, 23:15. No swimmers, the water still.
04.06
Tapiola pool, 23:15. No swimmers, the water still.
04.07
Kirkonmäki water tower, 00:05. The sun just under it.
04.07
Kirkonmäki water tower, 00:05. The sun just under it.
04.07
Kirkonmäki water tower, 00:05. The sun just under it.
04.08
Kaaripiha court, 00:30. Sheets drying in the low sun.
04.08
Kaaripiha court, 00:30. Sheets drying in the low sun.
04.08
Kaaripiha court, 00:30. Sheets drying in the low sun.
04.09
Lakeside concert hall, 00:55. The foyer, chairs stacked.
04.09
Lakeside concert hall, 00:55. The foyer, chairs stacked.
04.09
Lakeside concert hall, 00:55. The foyer, chairs stacked.
04.07
00:05
5
Kirkonmäki water tower
White nights
white-nights
A mushroom-shaped concrete water tower against a pale pink sky, the sun on the horizon behind it, long shadows on the summer grass.
Portrait
false
The sun just under it.
Kirkonmäki water tower, 00:05. The sun just under it.
04.02
00:10
10
Kaaripiha court
White nights
white-nights
A curved red-brick staircase with a stripe of low sun on the wall.
Portrait
true
A stripe of sun on red brick.
Kaaripiha court, 00:10. A stripe of sun on red brick.
04.05
00:20
20
Ilmajoki archive
White nights
white-nights
A green copper roof edge against a white wall with a diagonal shadow.
Landscape
true
A copper roof edge, one diagonal.
Ilmajoki archive, 00:20. A copper roof edge, one diagonal.
04.08
00:30
30
Kaaripiha court
White nights
white-nights
The courtyard of a red-brick housing block, white sheets on washing lines glowing in the low midnight sun.
Landscape
false
Sheets drying in the low sun.
Kaaripiha court, 00:30. Sheets drying in the low sun.
04.03
00:40
40
Vesijärvi pavilion
White nights
white-nights
A wooden pavilion by a mirror-calm lake under a pink midnight sky.
Landscape
true
The lake and the sky agree.
Vesijärvi pavilion, 00:40. The lake and the sky agree.
04.09
00:55
55
Lakeside concert hall
White nights
white-nights
A wooden hall with tall windows and a concrete floor, wooden chairs stacked against the wall, the sun setting over a lake with an island.
Landscape
false
The foyer, chairs stacked.
Lakeside concert hall, 00:55. The foyer, chairs stacked.
04.06
23:15
1395
Tapiola pool
White nights
white-nights
An empty outdoor swimming pool by the sea at sunset, a concrete diving tower reflected in the still water.
Landscape
false
No swimmers, the water still.
Tapiola pool, 23:15. No swimmers, the water still.
04.01
23:30
1410
Rantala Library
White nights
white-nights
A pale stone library facade at 23:30 with low sun and a lit reading room.
Landscape
true
The reading room lit from inside.
Rantala Library, 23:30. The reading room lit from inside.
04.04
23:55
1435
Kilpisaari
White nights
white-nights
A woman with a coffee cup on a concrete balcony, the sun over the fjord.
Landscape
true
Coffee on a balcony, sun over the inlet.
Kilpisaari, 23:55. Coffee on a balcony, sun over the inlet.
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.