Fosters Bond. 2000.

Arno Rafael Minkkinen (b. 1945) is considered one of the most renowned and influential Finnish photographers worldwide. His works can be found in the Museum of Modern Art in New York and he has won several awards in Italy, France, the United States and Finland. Minkkinen has been living and working in the U.S. Since 1951.

Arno Rafael Minkkinen is best known of his black-and-white photos in which he combines landscapes and nude human body. The nude human figure – often Minkkinen himself – becomes an integral part of the landscape. Allthough Minkkinen has lived in States most of his life, plays Finnish landscape and nature an important part in his works. His photographs have a captivating and almost supernatural atmosphere. Minkkinen is famous for categorially sticking to his rule not to use any kind of manipulation or external help in the photographing process.

What really attracts me in Minkkinen's photographs is the simplicity and calmness. The elements in his photos – the bare human body and the stillness of the landscape – are simple but the combined result is very dramatic. A glimpse of that power of expression is something I trying to capture in photography myself.

More about Arno Rafael Minkkinen and his works on his website www.arno-rafael-minkkinen.com