The Finnish Architecture and Design Days 2026 are celebrated on February 2–8. The theme this year is “Together”.
I didn’t have to think for long before remembering the perfect picture for the theme. This image from the Helsinki Cathedral was created over ten years ago, in August 2012 when I was photographing views of Helsinki for my client Mood Works. The photos were used in large acoustic elements, the biggest were 1,28 x 3 m, printed in black and white. One of the shooting locations was the magnificent Helsinki Cathedral. The image above wasn’t selected for the acoustic elements, but I was happy to have captured this passing moment. I have lots of great images in my archives. Feel free to contact me if you need some!
To capture this image, I used a neutral density (ND) filter to achieve long exposures. I used Canon EOS 50D and Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens with 70 mm focal length. The exposure time was 0,5 seconds which was enough to blur the people passing while the embracing couple remained sharper. ND filter reduces the amount of light making its way into the camera, just like sunglasses. That’s how it’s possible to shoot long exposures even in broad daylight!
The Finnish Architecture and Design Days 2026 are organised by Archinfo, Finnish Design Info, Finnish Association of Architects SAFA, Finnish Association of Landscape Architects MARK, Association of Finnish Architects’ Offices ATL, Ornamo Art and Design Finland, Finnish Association of Interior Architects SIO, Building Information Foundation RTS, Alvar Aalto Foundation, Architecture & Design Museum and Espoo Museum of Modern Art EMMA.
If you’re interested, you can read my blog post from last year: 2025 Finnish Architecture and Design Days.