My Mamiya and few 4x5 film holders. I took a day this week to shoot with my old film cameras. This shows the biggest problem with film compared to digital. Only today (sunday) I managed to get the film into the shop to be processed. I'll get it back earliest on Tuesday and then have to scan and edit the photos. This can also be a good thing, as the whole process is slower, it forces me to think about the photography in a very different way. I can't just shoot, shoot, shoot and pick the best one. I also can't see the pictures during the shoot, so I can't make adjustments based on the results. I have to know how I'm exposing the film. I believe that in the long run this will make me better photographer, especially with camera technique. I believe it will be easier and faster for me to pick the right technique for the shots I'm working on.

Muir Beach, California I shot this with Mamiya C220 while recovering from jet lag from out trip to Singapore. It was a cold day but there still was few people there enjoying the beach. The rugged coastline of northern California is mesmerizing with rough rock walls hugging small sandy beaches. I like walking on the beached looking for what people or the sea has left on the sand. The water is always too cold for me to swim, but I still like sitting on the sand on a warm day.

Trails This week I was struggling to find time and energy to shoot anything. My wife was coming back from a trip and i went to pick her up from the airport and I decided to take few shots there while waiting. These are planes taking off, shot with a very long exposure time. I have been toying with this idea before and I believe I'm going to go and make more of these. It was quite clear night with low hanging clouds and the light from Oakland and San Francisco painted the sky orange. I'll have to find a better location so that I would have less background light and can fit more planes into the same shot.

1/25/2012, Logistic Slaughter, Thee Parkside, San Francisco This week I had some more shots to choose from and decided to go with Kaurismäki-esque mood from a very unpopular metal show. There were two bands, Logistic Slaughter and Mobile Deathcamp, performing at Thee Parkside and in total there was nine people in the audience, out of which at least two were on quest list. This meant that there were 1:1 ratio between performers and paid audience. Musicians life can be cruel and lonely but the love for what the guys and girls are doing makes it worth it - hopefully.

2/1 U-haul It was another slow week for photography. I got to go to Exodus show in Oakland but due mixud with my photo pass I didn't get to shoot properly. This shot is taken on a evening walk with my wife. Looking at it now I feel like something is bound to happen in that corner. Someday.

2/6 Audience I shoot a lot of shows and this is what the bands see (best case scenario). These are the people that pay the salary of the artists. The most devoded fans who own every album, go to every show they can. For me music is first of all a performance. There's nothing better than seeing your favorite musicians play your favorite music in front of your eyes. That's where the magic is for me. With todays technology you can make pretty decent recordings at home, but there's a big difference between listening to a recording and experiencing the same performed live.

Suicide Silence, 2/18/2012, The Warfield, San Francisco

2/25 SOMA, San Francisco SOMA area of San Francisco has some of the most beautiful murals and graffiti I have witnessed. I like to document this form of art because of it's transient nature. One day a beautiful work of art is there and the next it can be gone.

Korn, The Warfield, San Francisco, 3/4/2012 James "Munky" Shaffer from Korn. This was the only gig I shot the whole week and it was technically very hard. Korn uses very small spotlights and a lot of strobing lights from behind. It was hard to catch a moment when the musicians were light and the back light didn't overpower the shot. One technique I us in this king of situations is to try to hide the background light behind the musicians. This created nice halo's around them and allows me to capture the faces with the little light that is available.

3/11/2012, Actress headshot, Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco I was taking pictures for my lovely wife, Jacintha Charles, at Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. I was looking for a location where I could get a natural warm glow and this place has big yellow/beige pillars that reflect afternoon sun very nicely. I did a quick touch-up on the photo and it should be to be used. Let's see what the customer says.

3/12/2012, Welcome to San Francisco This is an idea that I blatantly stole from our designer Keenan. Click on the image to see it on lightbox. Few words about the process; 1) Set your Camera Awesome to automatically process the pictures. There's plenty of effects to choose from 2) Shoot a set of photos with Slow Burst mode. It's good to prop the phone against something steady or use some nifty tripod-like apparatus for your phone 3) Import the set of images into Photoshop as layers 4) Align layers if you don't want the resulting gif to be shaky 5) Create frame animation using Timeline tool that is found under "Window" (CS6). Make the animation loop forever. 6) Crop the image to desired size 7) Save for Web & Devices and select GIF as filetype.

Deicide, 3/20/2012, Regency Ballroom, San Francisco

Carnifex 3/29/2012, Oakland Metro Operahouse

Spencer Sotelo of Periphery, 4/2/2012, Slim's, San Francisco On week 14 of my W52 project I had the pleasure of shooting 2 great gigs in San Francisco. This shot is from Protest The Hero tour where Periphery was a warm up band. I personally think that Periphery was better band that night. I shoot with two lenses in most concerts. For smaller venues and wider shots I use Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II that is an awesome lens. This shot is taken with my other favorite Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L EF IS II which allows me to get closer and pick up facial expressions of the performers. Since it is a IS lens I can use slightly slower shutter without having to worry about blurring the shot. Naturally that won't help if the subject is moving. I try to find the time when the performers are not moving for these kind of shots. For singers it's usually the parts when they reach for the highest pitch, sing without music or extend the notes.

Mark Osegueda of Death Angel, 4/11/2012, DNA Lounge, San Francisco Death angel is one of the bands that I have been following since 80's. I remember playing, rewinding and playing a VHS tape of handful of HC and thrash bands endlessly in my VCR. The video by Death Angel was Voracious Souls which still is a great song for me. Back then I never imagined seeing the band and even less being able to shoot them. Now that the guys are more active again I have had the good fortune of shooting them few times around San Francisco. It's always a great experience! The rest of the Death Angel shots can be found here

Mastodon, 4/27/2012, Fox Theater, Oakland

Fredrik Thordendal of Meshuggah, 5/6/2012, The Fillmore, San Francisco Another awesome show at The Fillmore in San Francisco. I got to shoot Meshuggah and even managed to get few shots of Fredrik, who is notoriously hard to shoot. He doesn't like to stand in the spotlight but rather deliver his insane rhythms from the shadows. More shots of Meshuggah can be seen here

All Purpose Sauce Week 18/52. I love going to asian grocery stores, as you never know what you bump into. This one made me say: "If you have a purpose, I have the sauce!"

They missed Louis! Week 19/52. This was a quiet week with photogrtaphy for me. The only time I took a camera out was one night for a walk with my Wife. This window display caught my eye and as a bonus I have a friend who's trying to get to London alympics in Archery so this is in a way for Aki also.

Transamerica, San Francisco, 5/24/2012 Week 20/52. A good friend, JP, was visiting us this week. I took half a day to go walking in the sunny San Francisco and take some pictures. The Transamerica Building is one of the most recognizeable and most photographed buildings in SF. This is my attempt to make something fresher of it.

Ford I have always had a soft spot for old cars. My father runs a small garage back in Finland and I literally grew up being surrounded with cars. At best/worst our three person family had 8 cars that were in frequent use. My first car (that I could legally drive on roads) was Ford Capri 1600 GT from 1972. The car had been in my family as long as I can remember and when I turned 18 and got my license my father gave the car to me. It was really a dream come true for me, but unfortunately we sold the car few years later and the new owner destroyed it. This is a hood ornament for Ford truck that is parked around my neighborhood.

Founders My friends and old colleagues launched their service publicly on June 6th in Founders Den in San Francisco. Better Doctor is a service that helps you find a good doctor that accepts your health insurance and is close to you.

Yosemite national park is one of my favorite places in California. The size of the mountains that rise up from the valley can't be described and very few photos make them any justice. A good friend of mine, VIlle, was visiting us and we took a fast day trip to Yosemite. Well worth the drive always.

Gorguts, 6/22/2012, Regency Ballroom, San Francisco

Two tickets please! Victoria Theatre is in San Francisco's Mission District, and presents locally-produced original plays, live concerts, film festivals, musicals, performances by international performing companies and other kinds of events. Being a film maker myself I appreciate the passion it takes to run a small independent theater. You don't get blockbuster films that will keep you afloat, but you rely purely on small films and you'll have to make each selection count.