Teemu Hellman: “Marko, let me introduce you my friend Petri Kovalainen, professional ski photographer”.
Marko Pyhajarvi: “Hey, nice to meet you man! I’ve heard about you”.
Petri Kovalainen: “Nice to meet you too. I’ve seen your photos. Nice work, dude”.
Marko Pyhajarvi: “I’ve seen your photos, and they make my photos feel shame”.

Back in the early 2000 I had a chance to meet Petri Kovalainen, one of the most active ski photographers in Finland. We discussed nothing but ski photographing as both of us are enthusiastic about the topic. Only one of us is a pro though, which is not difficult to figure out. (hint: not me)

Petri Kovalainen – Highnose of Lauterbrunnen

After a long break I contacted Petri to talk about skiing and photographing once again. Ladies and gents, let me introduce to you: Petri Kovalainen – photographer, skier and a family man.

It all started with an old film Agfa..

“The very first time I touched a camera was back in 1970s when I was five years old. My grandma gave me an old Agfa with which I played for some time. Next time I came across photographing was in 1990s when my friends asked me to shoot pictures of their band. I also photographed skateboarding, which has helped me to find good angles.”

Petri Kovalainen is now 35 years old and does photographing for living. He lives in Finland with his wife Henni and two kids Kaius (4) and Mattias (1). Petri has photographed for over 10 years now and his work requires quite bit of traveling. What a dream job this man got.

Young Petri Kovalainen meets the mountains

Just like most of us, also Petri Kovalainen tried various jobs before starting his career as a professional photographer. In his twenties Petri found himself working as a bartender in the Pyha ski resort. He was a chef, but most often sold beer to drunken skiers. There was one reason for working in a ski resort – Petri wanted to learn to ski. He had started telemark skiing just a few months ago and wanted to progress, but selling beer didn’t help much. Something had to be done.

Paul Siljama – Courmayer

“I heard about La Grave from my friend Samu Ampuja who is the guy behind PowderFlower snowboards and skis. He told me about a small village in France that the masses hadn’t yet found. We arrived to La Grave in 1997, and during the first day we came across two other Finns, freeskiers Antti Kurola and Arto Majava. There we all (10+ people) lived in a 20 cubic meter apartment and enjoyed our lives. It was my first season in La Grave when I got really interested in ski photographing. First I shot some frames of the village, mountains and such with pretty average tools. Next season I came back with better equipment. “

Becoming a ski photographer was not in the plans

“It was not my intention to become a photographer, but maybe it was my destiny. My motives with photographing are not related to publishing pictures, but in order to make my living selling pictures is obligatory. The first time my pictures were published was back in 2000 in an article about Samu Ampuja in a Finnish snowboard magazine Slammer. Since those days I have been photographing with great passion. I have always had goals and I have worked hard to reach my goals. It is needed in order to progress as a photographer.”

The Body – a band

Petri Kovalainen became a full time professional photographer after shooting pictures for Red Bull, Nokia and Nike. He knows that by only photographing skiing most photographers cannot make living, although there are few exceptions, such as Tero Repo. Because of this Petri spends most of his time photographing various marketing campaigns, theater, bands and products.

It’s all about feelings

“Feelings. It’s all about providing various feelings to people. Either positive or negative, but feelings. I love it. It is the reason why I keep on looking at the world behind my camera. If my picture makes people talk, either in positive or negative manner, I feel I have succeeded. I enjoy getting into difficult situations and places, and the fun is to succeed in those situations.”

Ode Siivonen – Chamonix

Petri Kovalainen has no idols in photographing. He got some help from Finnish ski/surf photographer Timo Järvinen back in the day, but after that Petri has survived on his own.

“The world is full of great photographers. What is important is that people have recognized styles in photographing.”

Yet another day at the office..

Petri Kovalainen works with pro skiers and riders. He has shot pictures of Jarkko Henttonen, Ode Siivonen, Ane Enderud, Tyson Bolduc, Fred Syversen, Espen Fadnes, Paul Siljama, Skipe Oivo, and many others. During a typical “day at the office” Petri carries a Canon Mark 2 with three objectives (50 mm, 17-35 mm and 100-400 mm), and sometimes also an Elinchrome Ranger flash.

Ode Siivonen and Jani Johanssen – Tamok

“I think the best part of this work is just see everything working fine and get positive feelings after photographing sessions. My rule of thumb is that whenever I work in the mountains, it must feel good. Both photographer and rider must feel good instead of “working hard”. When co-operation works well and pictures are good, it makes both parties happy. One of my best moments is from Pica Glacier in Alaska in 2001. Early in the morning we hiked to one couloir with Jussi Räsänen, and during the first morning rays Jussi draw beautiful lines on my film.

Nowadays I don’t shoot pictures on film anymore, but couple of times I have tried it in order to record some special action. I have also tried larger format, such as Hasselblad 6×6 just to get some kicks.”

Back to the mountains, once again

Ski season has already started in Scandinavia, and for Petri Kovalainen it means preparing for the upcoming photographing trips. Petri’s plans are still a bit open, but in the end of this week he will shoot pictures in Lyngen, Norway together with K2 factory team riders Skipe Oivo and Jani Johanssen.

Tyson Bolduc – portrait

“I really would like to ski more, but as a family man I know my boundaries. I must accept most of the offers first, and then spend time with shooting pictures of skiers. Anyhow, I am looking forward to the ski season 2009/2010, because last season I spent two months in Chamonix, Tamok and Lyngen. Pretty good from a family man, eh? I felt like ‘back to my roots, perkele!’ (Finnish curse word).”

Petri Kovalainen – Professional Photographer

-    Has done photographing for 10+ years
-    Was one of the co-founders of the Finnish ski magazine “Loska”
-    Won Nissan Summer Outdoor Games 2009
-    Has joined New Generation exhibition
-    Contact Petri by sending email to petri@petrikovalainen.com

Check out Petri’s website at PetriKovalainen.Com.

Photo gallery by Petri Kovalainen

Onie Bolduc – Tamok

Jussi Korhonen – Tampere

DJ Rico Tubss

Fred Syversen – Chamonix

Ane Enderud – Tamok

Ane Enderud – Portrait

Remember to check Petri’s website at PetriKovalainen.Com!