A group of Finnish photographers were recently in Malta to attend a photographic course organised by The Finnish Professional Photographers’ Association. The theme of the course was working with available light, light flashes and small battery-operated tungsten lights.

The lecturers for this course were renowned Finnish photographers Matti J Kaleva and Mats Sandström. Kaleva is a long-term president of the association and a pioneer in photographic education in Finland, while Sandström, who is the association’s current president, works actively in the fields of both portrait and advertising photography.

Nineteen people participated in the course, most of them professional photographers but there were also a couple of non-professional photographers. The Mediterranean light conditions in Malta were an ideal setting for this type of course.

Because Malta is not really a common destination for Finns, who usually visit Spain and Greece, this visit also served to promote the country as a tourist destination.

During the course, the participants not only had time to get to know the Maltese Islands but also to meet several Maltese photographers, particularly Kevin Casha.

Mr Casha gave a special presentation to the Finnish photographers about the photographic conditions for the Maltese photographer as well as the potential of the Maltese Islands. He also helped with the general logistics, and organised a one-day photographic field trip around Malta for Finnish and Maltese photographers.

The course was well-received by the Finnish participants, for many of whom it was a working holi-day that also gave them an opportunity to update their skills before the start of the summer season in Finland: because of the weather, summer is the main season for on-location portrait photography.

Finnish Professional Photographers’ Association general secretary Anna Kaleva-Tsagklas said that she was very satisfied with the event and looked forward to more cooperation between Finnish and Maltese photographers.