Friday, September 12, 2025
THE POWER OF NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY IN KUUSAMO: MEMORIES OF AN ARTISTIC DIRECTOR 1996–
Lassi Rautiainen is a veteran nature photographer with a long and respected career. He has published numerous nature photography books and has been a frequent guest at major photography events. Having photographed bears since the 1970s, he was also the first to launch commercial wildlife safaris in Finland in 1988. Born out of a deep love for nature and photography, the Kuusamo Nature Photo Festival was established—with Lassi Rautiainen as its first artistic director.
“In 1989, I organized the summer meeting of the Finnish Nature Photographers’ Association in Kajaani and invited speakers from Sweden and Norway. Inspired by that experience, I began looking for a town interested in hosting an international nature photography festival. Kajaani and Kuhmo declined. In 1995, I invited Hannu Hautala to a meeting with Kuusamo’s municipal manager. Erkki Juntunen, the municipal manager, was enthusiastic about bringing the event to Kuusamo. When the Kuusamo Hall was completed in 1996, I transferred my company staff from Kajaani to help organize the event there. For the first three years, the festival was a grassroots effort, largely driven by people from Kajaani. Tuula Alanen, Seija Väisänen, Eero Lindvall, and Hannu Hautala all contributed in Kuusamo.
Later, a formal committee was established with a chairperson appointed by the city council, along with Kuusamo’s cultural director, other city employees, and nature photographers. I served as the artistic director from 1996 to 2010 and again from 2016 to 2018. In this presentation, I will share my memories from those early years.”
Explore Lassi Rautiainen’s website
