Photos by Ossi Saarinen and article by Ey@el

Original en français

With two thirds of its territory covered with forests (metsät in Finnish), as the land of Santa, Finland is best known for its dark and cold landscapes and early twilights. The winter solstice (shortest day of the year) is celebrated there as Yuletide, an old pagan festival honouring the “rebirth” of the Sun, on the 25th of December, after its transient disappearance under the horizon (see Related articles).

In Western religions, mythologies and literature, forests are places [...] where perceptions become confused, uncovering some hidden aspects of time and consciousness. In a forest, what is inanimate may suddenly become animate, gods turn into beasts, outlaws stand for justice, Rosalind shows up as a boy, the knight of impeccable virtue is degraded to the status of a primitive, straight lines make circles, and the familiar is replaced by fantasy.

~ Robert Pogue Harrison, Forests: The Shadow of Civilization (1992) (retranslated back from French as I could not find the original quote — Ed.)

Ossi Saarinen is a young Finnish photographer who, like most of his fellow countrymen, is fascinated by the magic of Finland's vast forests, and especially its wildlife which became his favourite subject and field of expertise. “My typical photographing day starts before the sunrise when the animals are most active” he explains. “I grab my camera and zoom-lens, put them in my backpack and head out to the forests near my home. Most of the time is walking around searching for the animals or laying down and waiting. When the day gets brighter I go back home to rest and prepare for the evening.”

Oh deer, Ossi's stunning photos are so awesome, they look like the stuff from fairy tales as you can see on his Instagram account,  I've had the hardest time creating this sample gallery (not to mention Eklablog's servers crashing every time I uploaded a picture). I have a soft spot for foxes and squirrels so cute and expressive. How about you?

Have a Merry Christmas everyone and watch out for caribous!

Ey@el