You must remember my beautiful customers from Hämeenlinna. They must have been really satisfied with their images, because they booked me for another shoot. 
This time the whole extended family was going to be in the spot light. Everyone, Janne and his sister with family and their parents. We photographed near Lohja at their parents’s house and it was a fantastic spot, right in the middle of nowhere. Despite many warnings I didn’t get lost. And I don’t use GPS! Just old fashioned map. I found Lohja. Then the smaller town. Then the road. The the mail box with number 79. The only problem appeared when I drove into the yard. There was a lady, smoking, clearly confused with having a photographer driving up to her front door.
“Are you Janne’s mother?” I asked.
“Yes, yes, that’s me,” came the answer.
“Do you know I am going to photograph you today?”
long confused look
Me: “Janne is joining us soon, right?
I could feel her confusion growing. So she called her husband. I asked again if they were Janne’s parents. Yes, yes… without a doubt.
“Janne Mycustomer’s parents?”
And then the light shone and we discovered that no, not Janne’s Mycustomer but Janne’s Somethingelse indeed. Mycustomers live just up the road. They have their mailbox here, but that’s all …
Luckily I had enough time. Mycustomers were waiting for me. We visited a nearby swamp that had a very particular, very subtle smell. It was really dangerous in certain spots and Janne’s father of course had to go right there to pick up some rare plant for Janne’s mother. We were happy when he got back, safe and sound. The we took off the rubber boots and took some images around their garden. At the little pond, at savusauna, in a small apple tree orchard… We had much fun and then Janne and his family arrived and we had more fun and then we got tired and the light was gone and there was excellent pizza and then I had to say good-bye, but got a bag full of fresh lettuce pressed in my hands before I was able to disappear in my car. I didn’t object and made a delicious salad later.
These are just few. A quick sneak peek. The problem with you guys is that there are just too many good ones. I can’t choose!
Cheers to all Jannes and their mothers … I am curious, how many Jannes do you know? And is that the most common Finnish male name? Because it sure does look like it!
It again brought me to the most exceptional place where I meet people worth befriending. This family has booked a shoot with me while back and there was much anticipation and energy flowing both ways during the wait. Wasn’t it for the fact that they live in Hämeenlinna, I am sure we would have been hanging out as friends long time before the session. Given the distance and the (universally known) fact that my family prefers travelling to the south, geting to know each other had to wait till the officially booked date. But boy, did we click!
Nothing more to add.
