INSTAGRAM TAKEOVER

FLORAL POEMS - INFLUENTIAL SOCIAL MEDIA STORYTELLING

MUSTILA GARDEN

I think there is never too much beauty and luckily I have a chance to create and share it.  Yes I'm talking about flowers and I think there is a lot more to it than just beauty. Why we love flowers and plants? What do flowers, plants, garden and nature mean to us? They have many symbolic meanings (though less familiar nowadays) but I am more interested about what they give to us. 

MAGNOLIA "VANHA ROUVA" FROM MUSTILA 

I love to photograph flowers and work with them. It's not the easiest job in the world but not the hardest either. It's not the most important work in the world but I think you can make it important by how you use your talent with them. In a nutshell they bring joy and comfort and that's why I think they are very important. 

This spring I made Instagram takeover at Mustila Garden Instagram account. As a creative and artist I wanted to make best of it of course. In my case I believe in atmosphere and emotions. The pic have to somehow make an impact.

So let me tell you shortly about Mustila Garden. It is a fine Finnish garden shop next to beautiful Arboretum Mustila. Arboretum was founded 1902 and it is especially famous for its rhododendrons and azaleas. In Mustila they have had the knowhow for over 100 years. Mustila Garden grow for example different kind of Magnolias and plenty of different kind of treasures for your garden. They work for better and more beautiful garden so I think they grow food for our souls.

CORAL CHARM PEONY

We all have our own history and memories. Flowers are often present when something important happens - in different kind of celebrations. A lot of our memories connected to garden and flowers are from grandma's place or childhood home's garden or maybe a place where you made a trip you never forget. Maybe you stole a piece of pink flower from your favorite place and you keep it between your diary pages. Flowers have inspired many artists and creatives - there is no question about it - they nourish our souls. Not only by how they look but also how they have magical scent too.

CORAL CHARM PEONY CHANGES COLOR WHEN IT GETS OLDER

They say gardening is a secret of a longer life and it might be only a belief but there are reasons to believe it too. True or false - garden makes people happier and relief stress. Gardening is truly slow living and you have to wait a whole year to try again and I think the way we live our lives nowadays we might need a pause and that is what nature or garden offers us. A moment of connection with the world we are part of and where we are coming from. We are not made of iron or plastic.

GRANDMOM'S ATTIC

My final pic in Mustila Garden Instagram takeover was this pic of grandpa's and grandmom's attic. It's a picture of something important to me. I created it at my workspace and it's totally product of my imagination. But it's very connected to my childhood memories. I'm rooted strongly to a farm house, my mom's childhood home. 

I lively remember how I loved to spent my summer days following my grandpa and my uncle working with cows. Every morning I tried to wake up early to get to see how they were milking the cows and I was always a bit late. There are all things together in my mind: scents of cows and fresh cutted hay, small potato field and the feeling of warm soil under my bare feet, strawberry cake, wild summer flowers and midsummer roses with scent of cardamon baked roll and the funny sound of cuckoo clock that I still have at my workspace even though it doesn't work anymore. This attic is a symbol of all that. A secret place, full of old things and memories. This is what I think we all need - a safe haven. For me it was this picture for you it can be something else like a corner of your balcony with plants and flowers or your garden where you can jump off the running horse and pause your life for awhile. Because we all need it.

Storytelling can be powerful and affective but often it have to be a right story in the right place and that is the challenge. 

xoxo

Kreetta

STEDSANS IN THE WOODS

LUXURIOUS DINNER AND OVERNIGHT STAY IN THE SWEDISH FOREST

It's been a really long time from my last blog post (too many new things going on) I've missed blogging but I wanted to come back with super interesting story and now I have it! (actually two)

First one is about our visit to Stedsans in the Woods in July. Charming project by Mette Helbæk and Flemming Hansen. They came from Denmark and started this huge project in Swedish forest. They sold their house and closed their restaurants in Copenhagen. Who has that kind of courage? And they managed to get the rest of the money with Kickstarter. I can already say it's worth it and love to support it.

We had our ten year anniversary and we decided to celebrate it by coming to Stedsans and have a beautiful dinner in the forest and stay overnight in one of their big cosy tents and I mean they were cosy. A huge soft double bed with beautiful linen.

This course was our starter. A medicinal plant salad with mushrooms and berries from the forest.

When we arrived we were shown our tent and all the important things concerning our stay on a hand drawn printed map. Restaurant, toilets, shower, boat house, floating sauna, garden and pigs with chickens ;)

The dinner was delicious even though I have quite strict diet. There were things I could not eat but I was well taken care of.

My husband can eat anything ( not envy at all) and his favorite was Peas francaise with horsebeans and lemon thyme. I don't drink alcohol so I had to skip wines but they offered lovely non alcohol drinks like Aronia-apple juice. It was very good with main course Brisket with grilled leek and flowers (flowers! love to eat flowers!) and we enjoyed a lot being there. Their charming style, atmosphere with cosyness and good service. 

Mom and daughter Kodak moment. Picking flowers together for us.

This is Peas française with horsebeans and lemon thyme. Mette styled the dish quite gracefully but in very relaxed way. I felt I had to go and shoot it in the forest and lucky me - forest was just few meters away from our dinner table.

During our six course dinner we had a lovely discussions with a couple sitting next to us Maria and Thomas. We all took few pics of the food ;) they were looking so delicious.

I found Mette's and Flemming's Stedsans in the Woods because I've been following Mette in IG. First I wanted to visit her restaurant in Copenhagen but then I read about her interesting plans. So in spring it was quite clear that I wanted to visit their place in Sweden. Do you ever feel that somehow all the things are connected ? Because same time when I was thinking about Stedsans I got an assignment - to make a speech about trends in food photography. Of course I mentioned Stedsans as one example of the trending things in the world of food.

So I gave a speech in Helsinki in April. Event was called What's cooking Helsinki - food carnival. I spoke to food bloggers about trends in food photography and why storytelling is even more important now than before. I have my own opinions about trending things (actually I don't like the word trend at all, haha. For me trend is equal to consumption which is not a good thing but the word is very easy to understand so I use it) but I decided to ask opinions from talented food and lifestyle bloggers. I wanted to hear their ideas about food photography at the moment. I combined their thoughts with mine and I got surprisingly coherent content. We shared pretty same ideas of going more natural and authentic content - less styled - simple and natural and some of us saw building community very important. We are all creative so we all have a bit different style and opinions in the end of the day but I felt a feeling of collective mind if I may say so.

I want to thank you all lovely ladies who helped me with the trend speech task in April: Aran Goyaga from Cannelle & Vannille, Nina Olsson from Nourish Atelier, Holly Becker from Decor8, Beth Kirby from Local Milk, Adelaster Food Textures, Tami Hardeman from Running with Tweezers, Sif Orrellana and Nicoline Olsen.

Here above you can see a pic from our atmospheric tent. Why I told about Stedsans in the Woods to my audience - food bloggers? I think my main point was that trends are less important. Going back to the roots and sustainable way of living with no waste is one of the directions we are heading to. Simple life with healthy and delicious local food. Using plants and flowers from the nature that is surrounding us but still eating delicious food. Luxury in the forest.

This we found from our breakfast table. Who can say no to this?

Mette made an omelette for everyone in the morning. We sat and drank our coffee and ate as much as we could, haha. After breakfast we decided to test a floating sauna. It was different compared to our own sauna. A lot of light and possibility to go swimming. The lake water was clean and very refreshing. I mean cold. But this summer has been quite cold here in Scandinavia so what can you say. Maybe next summer is warmer. I hope.

The floating sauna was made by an architect and carpenter. It was lovely.

Before leaving we went to see pigs and chickens. We walked by the garden and I was feeling happy and calm and ready for the next destination: Göteborg and botanical garden.

I hope you enjoyed my blog post! Next time I will tell you about my 1:1 flower class with amazing The Blue Carrot.

xoxo

Kreetta

Photography Concept and Styling - PEOPLE

People love stories, don't they? I think it would be great to be a super super great storyteller. I'm a photographer and my work is about telling stories and we all have one. I'm sure you've heard the phrase the truth is stranger than fiction. 

What kind of people the stories are about? How the stories are born?

People want to be remembered and not forgotten. People want that their life story is valuable and worth telling and we all want to hear other people's stories. We can be inspired by people and their stories. We can find stories comforting and supporting or they just make us happy. We can relate to people in stories. We can also be so scared of stories and get too excited and feel uncomfortable. 

People who make stories for their occupation have a huge assigment. Yes, it is a passion and there's never enough time to tell every story. So we have to choose. But if we choose carefully - we can tell story of so many people with only one pic or story. 

I made this photo essay of the word people. What kind of story/stories these photos tell you?

I got this word People from my dear and talented friend Päivi. Her blog is K niin kuin Koti and she is blogging with her two friends there. Thank you Päivi!

This is the last post of the year 2013. This post is also one of my Photography Concept and Styling post series. You can find them all here. I've got so many great words from you. I want to thank you! I always welcome new words - if you have one in your mind. I started this series in March 2013 and the words I've used this year are triangle, process, connections, recollection, the song La Melodie du Bonheur, sunshine, circus, hidden, mundane and people.

I wish you wonderful New Year 2014! Make a wish!

xoxo

Kreetta