I have always been very interested in nature. I think it's in my blood!

Competition Winners Portfolio

Janne Heimonen

About

I am 28 years old Finnish nature photographer. My family consist wife, two sons and two dogs, and we live in the central Finland. I have always been very interested in nature. I think it's in my blood!

Website: www.janneheimonen.net/

Interview

In 2005, I bought my first DSLR camera and nature was the natural subject for me to photograph. In 2006 my hobby became more serious and I began to spend more time outdoors with my camera.

And it was worth it! I got many great experiences and photos during that year. In autumn 2006, I won the birds category in Finnish nature photographers' association's annual nature photography competition. And after that I also won second price in birds category in international IFWP 2007 competition. In 2009 I got lucky again, and I managed to win the highly commended price in Veolia Environment Wildlife photographer of the Year competition's behaviour of the mammals category. There were also some minor photo competition winnings in 2009.

I like to photograph everything in Finnish nature, but there are some species like owls, grouses, birds of prays and dragonflies which fascinates me more than others. I wish I manage to spend more time with these in near future... I also like very much about the old True forests... it is unspeakably great feeling when you sit down and just listen and watching the beauty of that kind of forest. Sadly that kind of like forests are quite rare in nowadays...

Best Picture

JUMP!

It was a cold January afternoon in 2006. Temperature had fallen down to -27 celcius and the mist was rising from the stream. I was laying on the ice and watching the dipper dive for food from the stream in front of me, in the last sunbeams of sunset. Suddenly the dipper flew up from the water and my finger pressed the shutter release. I knew that if even one picture from the series succeeded, it would be the best picture from that day. The dipper is a quite extraordinary bird species in Finland. When most migratory birds leave to southern warmth in the autumn... the dipper comes to Finland's "warmth". It lives along streams that don't freeze in the winter. Surely one of the Wild Wonders of Finland's winter!

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