Interview with real people, knowing true stories and learning from a fellow creative, this is UCreative Spotlight.
Hello UCreatives! For the past months, the Spotlight became a haven for amazing illustrators. For this month, we tried to explore more creative fields and we landed on professional photography. So without so much chatter, lets end the year by welcoming an amazing photographer and artist from the cold and dreamy corners of Finland - Mikko Lagerstedt.
Q: Hi Mikko! First of all, welcome to UCreative! How are you and how’s Finland?
Thank you very much. It's all cool and cold here in Finland. The winter has arrived at last.
Ghost Bridge
A photograph from his "Winter" series.
Q: Describe to us your style in photography.
Atmospheric photography from Finland.
Children Story
Lonely Days
Q: Tell us a short background how did you discover your love in photography.
I was driving to relative's cabin on a summer evening. It had been raining whole day and just as the sun was setting, the clouds started to disappear. I stopped when I saw the fog in a field and the sunshine came through the forest behind it. It was a magical sight, and then I realized that those moments are something I want to start capturing.
A photograph from his "Winter" series.
A photograph from his "Winter" series.
Q: Can you share us your creative process? From where do you start?
I go out to take pictures when ever I feel inspired by something. Nature, movies or anything really. I come home and it might take few days before I transfer the images to my computer. I then go through them and check if I see something I like.
Strange Ways
Q: What are your tools? Can you share us a bit information about your photography equipment and workplace?
I just updated my photography equipment to Nikon D800. But I don't have single image out with the new gear, so here are my favorites from my old equipment: Nikon D7000, Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 and Nikon 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 VR. For post processing, I have a PC and Macbook Pro. The software I'm using are Lightroom 4.2 and Photoshop CS6.
Quiet Moment
Q: Any major influences like other artists that inspired you to enter the world of professional photography?
No, not really. I was never too interested in photography before I started it. Since then I have enjoyed many different photographers work like: Brooke Shaden, Lee Jeffries, Martin Stranka, etc..
Stranger II
Q: Aside from other artists, what are your creative inspirations? Is there anything you usually do to stay inspired?
Nature, movies, music and paintings. I don't often think I should stay inspired all the time, because all of us need some time to feel uninspired.
Morning Flight
Q: Which among of your projects you consider most memorable?
I feel that one of my latest projects: "Edge" has been most memorable, because it caught most interest in the web. But for me the first project called "Alone" is one of my favorite, since it really showed my favorite photos of a long period of time.
Endless Night from his "Edge" series.
Morning Light from his "Alone" series.
Q: How do you spend your free time?
I spend time with my wife, go out with friends and relatives. Oh and sometimes I play Fifa 13 on my Xbox ;)
Move On
Q: If you are not a photographer today, what would have been your career and why?
I have done some graphic designing in the past, so maybe that would be something I would do. I currently do some accounting work also.
The Mill
Q: How do you deal with creative block?
Since my photography is mainly for myself, I don't mind if there is a creative block at times. Of course if this was my main income, it would be different story.
Moody Water
Q: Any exhibit/gallery/store where we can see your amazing photographs and you would want our readers to check out soon?
No exhibitions at the moment, but I will be sure to post them on my Facebook page and Twitter account.
Night
Q: A piece of advice to aspiring photographers out there?
For an advice, I can share how I started photography. I went out and took many different kinds of images and after searching through them I marked the ones I liked and finally found the style that I think suited me. Some people are good at taking portraits, some good in landscape photography, it all depends on your interests and vision.
Mist and Noctilucent Clouds
Q: Where can we see more of your works around the web?
Check out more of my works at my website, Flickr, Blogger and Behance.
Tree of Life
Q: Thank you Mikko for spending some time with us. Anyone you would like to be thankful for?
Thank you for the interview and thanks to all the people in various social media networks for their continuous support.
Dark Road
So there you have it guys! Mikko's talent in digital photography is truly one of its kind. His works don't only capture a magical moment but also the exact mood present on the day the scene was taken.
Got inspired? Who else do you want us to feature on our next Spotlight? Share us your thoughts about our featured creative or might as well suggest an artist by commenting below. Stay awesome UCreatives!
Comment
Comment by Kerby Rosanes on December 18, 2012 at 12:59pm Photography at its best! :)
Comment by Geno Solido on December 6, 2012 at 10:17am solid!
© 2013 Created by Team Ucreative.
For general site feedback, any issues, problems, concerns, or suggestions, or if you simply want to say hello, feel free to drop us an email...
contact usWe at the UCreative Network love design and art in general. In fact, we spend our days collecting design ideas and inspiration that we might as well be breathing it. The network has been designed in the hope to bring more artists and... read more
terms of service | privacy policy
UCreative gathers information when a user registers on Site, subscribes to the UCreative Newsletter, responds to a survey, or fills out a form. A user may be asked to enter personal information not limited to name and email address. Any information collected may be used to personalize user experience, to improve the website, or to administer a contest, promotion, survey, or other feature. Information may also be used to send emails to user regarding information, responses to inquiries and requests, and to send company updates, announcements, and promotional offers from Digital Room, Inc.
In compliance with the California Online Privacy Protection Act, this privacy policy may be easily accessed from the UCreative homepage. Users of the Site may make any changes or updates to their information at any time by logging into their accounts and accessing their Profile Pages.
UCreative requires registration and/or a password for access. Information obtained from registered users may also be used for UCreative marketing purposes, and cookies may be used in those and other areas, as is described in this Policy. Information obtained in these areas may also be used in accordance with agreements governing access to and use of the specific areas.
A cookie is a series of data characters that, when programmed into a web site, is placed by the web server into the browser’s application folder on your computer. Once placed onto your machine, the cookie will allow the web site to “recognize” you as a unique individual. UCreative uses Cookies to personalize information for certain segments of its customer base; and in some instances, to allow UCreative the opportunity to associate individual customers with their information profiles. For example, through the use of cookies, UCreative can “remember” your user ID when you login to UCreative on your computer. UCreative also uses cookies to compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so we may offer better user experience in the future. Should you choose to do so, cookies can be removed from your hard drive and certain web browsers can be set so that cookies are not used or saved. Please check with your browser provider for more information on removing cookies.
Our policy is to not give, sell or otherwise distribute the information collected through this site to third parties outside of Digital Room Inc. and its subsidiaries (unless required by law); provided, however, in some cases we may use suppliers to assist us in collecting, using or otherwise processing for our benefit the information obtained through this site.
This online privacy policy applies only to information collected through our website and not to information collected offline.
At the discretion of UCreative, third party products, services, or links may be shared on the website. These third parties have privacy policies that are separate and independent of UCreative. UCreative therefore does not assume any responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these sites.
UCreative allows customers the option to opt-out of any marketing communications upon request. Once your information is received, you may be sent marketing communications that contain valuable offers, promotions and other content. Those who no longer wish to receive such communications may opt-out by following the directions contained in the communication. Marketing communications from UCreative will tell you how to stop receiving them.
UCreative (“Site”)is owned and operated by Digital Room, Inc., a California corporation. Use of Site constitutes your agreement to follow and be bound by these Terms of Service. UCreative reserves the right to update or modify these Terms of Service at any time without prior notice. Use of the Site following any such change constitutes your agreement to follow and be bound by the Terms of Service as changed.
Membership to the Site is through sign-up only. Upon sign up, you guarantee that you are of sufficient legal age to create binding legal obligations for any liability you may incur as a result of your use of this Site. You agree to promptly update your membership information (if applicable) in order to keep it current, complete and accurate. You further consent to receiving emails from web properties owned and operated by Digital Room, Inc. for promotional campaigns, contests, and other company announcements. Membership to the Site may be terminated or suspended at any time, without notice and reason.
Upon use of the Site, user consents to conduct oneself in a manner that is not hateful or discriminatory, misleading, deceptive or fraudulent, or threatening, abusive, violent, or invasive of other members’ privacy. Users further consent to not impersonate another person or entity, misrepresent, or provide false information to be able to participate in the Site in any manner.
A member shall consent not to collect, disclose, use, or manipulate data, including personal information about other users without their approval, for any unlawful or as may be deemed inappropriate purpose. Members agree not to use any manual or automated means, including but not limited to robots and scripts to interfere or attempt to disrupt with the proper operations and functionality of the network or to download and obtain any data from the network.
Users agree not to upload any content that may be deemed offensive, indecent, or improper material; any material that could give rise to any civil or criminal liability under applicable law; any material that may infringe on right of privacy, publicity, copyrights, or any other intellectual property rights without the permission of the owner of these rights. All content and messages are deemed to be that of the owner and not UCreative. You accept full legal liability for the content being submitted.
As a member of the Site, you grant UCreative and all other web properties of Digital Room, Inc. a non-exclusive, worldwide, fully paid-up, royalty-free right and license to use, store, access, cache, and display any content you’ve shared on the Site, with attribution. UCreative shall reserve the right to remove any material from the site for any reason without explanation.
To the extent this Site contains links to outside services and resources, any concerns regarding such services or resources should be directed to the particular outside service or resource provider. UCreative does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information or content included on the Web sites of these outside services and resources. The outside services and resources are in no way related to UCreative, and are neither its employees nor agents.
Privacy You confirm that you have read, understood and agree to the UCreative Privacy Policy, the terms of which are incorporated herein, and agree that the terms of such policy are reasonable and satisfactory to you. You consent to the use of your personal information by Digital Room Inc., its third-party providers, and/or distributors in accordance with the terms of and for the purposes set forth in the UCreative Privacy Policy.
Limitation of Liability Federal, State, and Local laws and regulations apply. To the fullest extent permitted by law, in no event shall UCreative and Digital Room Inc. ? including its respective officers, directors, employees, representatives, or affiliates (collectively, the “Covered Parties”) be liable for any injury, death, loss, claim, damage, act of god, accident, delay, or any special, exemplary, punitive, incidental or consequential damages of any kind, whether based in contract, tort, or otherwise, which arise out of or are in any way connected with any use of this site or with any delay or inability to use this site, or for any information, software, products, or services obtained through this site. No guarantees are made that content and/or files will not be copied, altered, or saved off the Internet.
Indemnification You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless UCreative, Digital Room Inc. and its affiliates from and against any and all claims, damages, costs and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, arising from or related to your use of the Site. You also certify that you own rights to or have a license to use the content(s) being submitted or posted in the network.
Governing Law This Site shall be subject to and governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to such state’s conflicts of laws principles. Any legal issues or disputes arising from or related to the Contest shall preside in the State of California, United States of America. The state and federal courts of California shall be the exclusive forum and venue for resolving disputes.

Design Float
Digg
Delicious
Design Bump
Design Related
The Web Blend
DZone
You need to be a member of UCreative to add comments!
Join UCreative