Category

Essays

When I finally find the time to gather a related series of images together and add some accompanying text, they get posted here as a Photo Essay. Hopefully, a casual viewer will find something worthwhile to ponder and observe.

Mendoza

Time out in Mendoza

First of all, the bus journey from Santiago to Mendoza takes you through some impressive landscapes so try and get a seat upstairs near the front so you can take it all in; it’s well worth the effort of booking and reserving a day or two in advance (unlike yours truly, the last minute specialist). I’d arranged my accommodation, also at the last minute, through AirBnB and was lucky that Carolina, the host, and her parents, Camila and Enrique (whose apartment shares the same […]

Continue Reading
Santiago

Aiming high in Santiago

My first visit to Santiago was when I was fifteen years old, on a family ski trip to the resorts of La Parva and then Portillo. Good skiing, great après-ski, amazing views, incredibly strong sun at that altitude that I remember burnt my exposed neck worse than I’ve ever been burnt before (imagine an oozing turtle-neck skin!), it was a good time to be an irresponsible teen. My visit this time was a little less exclusive, arriving bleary eyed on the […]

Continue Reading

Puerto Varas and the Burn-out

The Boat and the Border From Bariloche, I hopped on a boat and crossed the border into Chile, heading for Puerto Varas. Having read a few reviews before undertaking this leg of the journey, I would like to point out that the boat rides themselves, with the necessary bus intermissions to join up the lakes, are not that particularly impressive or luxurious – they do the job, nothing special. It is what nature throws up in front of you that takes the […]

Continue Reading
Argentina

Bariloche, a slice of paradise

After the spectacular scenery of Patagonia, I took a bus back from El Chaltén to the airport at El Calafate and flew up to Bariloche, or San Carlos de Bariloche, to give it its full title. This was going to be my last flight for a while, until I reached Peru in fact, but I had decided when back in Helsinki that it would take too much of my time to bus that far down into Patagonia and then back […]

Continue Reading
El Calafate

El Calafate in Patagonia

There is one major reason why so many people come to El Calafate and that is to see the Pepito Moreno glacier, a truly spectacular natural wonder. I arrived at my accommodation, the South B&B, and was met at the front desk by the owners Javier and Andrea. The rapport between the two of them is a typical brother and sister relationship, they never agree on anything and take great pleasure in approaching any situation from opposing points of view. We were all laughing like crazy within […]

Continue Reading
Buenos Aires

Wandering Lost in Buenos Aires

I enjoy wandering round cities with very vague plans, setting out early in the mornings, my camera in hand, and seeing how far my aching feet will take me. Even though I was born in Buenos Aires, I had no take on what the city had to offer. I had given myself three days here, just to have a little bit of time to re-orientate myself before heading down south to El Calafate. One thing I had learnt on my way in from the airport chatting […]

Continue Reading
Lightbulb moment for FHaB

The lightbulb moment for FHaB

The idea for From HEL & Back (FHaB) came to me when I was working on the award-winning Transitions1020 project for Nokia, a two week shoot travelling around New Zealand’s south island. The shot above was one of many taken with the Nokia Lumia 1020, one of the last mobile devices made by Finland’s Nokia before Microsoft took over. Two days earlier, I’d been shooting fashion for a client in a studio back in Helsinki (HEL, which helps explain the choice […]

Continue Reading