Jaakob Lahtinen on how Analogue Photography, Skating, and Life Intertwine

It’s no surprise that analogue photography and skateboarding often find each other, and that’s certainly true for Jaakob Lahtinen. From an early age, he and his friends were dreaming about skating, and over time, that passion grew into a curiosity for visual storytelling. This eventually led him to study photography. Now, a year after graduating, Jaakob documents his everyday life with excitement for what the future holds. Recently, he captured a skate event organized by his friends, and one he's personally involved in, using the LomoKino. Today, he’s here in the magazine to share his experiences and thoughts on the connection between analogue photography, skateboarding and everyday life.

Hi Jaakob, welcome to Lomography Magazine! Can you start by telling us a bit about yourself and your work?

I’m a photographer, visual communicator, documentarian and artist from Lahti, Finland. My work is technically experimental, driven by intuition and approaches life in a curious way. Nothing is more beautiful than humanity. I have a hard time labeling myself and my work. My interests are very versatile. I’m driven by learning new things and experimenting with the process of image making. My interests are communities and subcultures, the diversity of humanity, the randomness of this place we call Earth, and how weird the creatures called humans are impacting it. In a nutshell; I’m trying to make sense of everything through my art and warm values.

I have always enjoyed art and self-expression. My interest in photography started slowly as a teenager. Since then, lens-based art has been a big part of my identity. I graduated from university as a photographer and visual communicator in the summer of 2024. University education and the community really opened my eyes to the possibilities of our field. It also sparked a deep love towards photobooks, arts books and bookbinding itself.

Now after graduating, I’m taking big baby steps towards the real world and responsibilities. Me, my lovely partner and the whole family are expecting twins to be born. In the meantime, I'm starting my own business as a freelance photographer so I can hopefully support my family doing what I love.

What is it like to be a photographer in Finland?

In many ways I feel fortunate to be photographer in and from Finland. We have good possibilities for education. I’m just now starting a business as a photographer and I have had a lot of great support from various operators in the process. Being a photographer is not easy. In many cases it’s a passion. For me as well. Passion creates this endless need for creating and learning.

I feel we have a good base for professionals in the field. I think Finnish photographers have lot to offer internationally when given the chance. I also think that making an impact locally in your own community is the most important thing. The world moves forward and changes fast. Everyday life rarely gives any signs of it but documenting the everyday will reveal it in the future.

We see a lot of skate photographs being uploaded almost daily! Why do you think film and skateboarding go so well together, and can you explain why you often choose analogue over digital?

Many image-makers and lens-based artists have roots in skateboarding. The community of skateboarding has a lot of different kinds of artists. The culture and community feed the creative mind and brings people with different abilities and backgrounds together. And, skateboarding develops perseverance. You work your way to succeeding by failing repeatedly. It makes you appreciate the small accomplishments. I think film photography shares these qualities. The aesthetics of film are also unparalleled. Shooting with analogue slows down the image-making process, encouraging a more careful and considered approach. Capturing fast-moving subjects on film is also a great challenge!

I’m not sure why skateboarding and film photography go so well together. I think film photography in general is such a beautiful format. Skateboarding and film photography are both very creative art forms. The skater interprets space with movement. The photographer interprets the skater in space. It also presents a beautiful way of interpreting architecture. Documenting the community on film gives this timeless feeling.

The reason why I'd pick analogue over digital would be the slow and thoughtful image making process. Working with analogue feels more like a craft. For mastering the craft, you need a lot of practice, experience and knowledge. The only downside is the cost. I love to experiment with different cameras and gear. I try to get as much as possible out of it and test its limits. For those who can't afford high quality gear (Including me and most of the people in this world): You can do a lot with the cheapest cameras.

Can you briefly explain what Pinna Skate is?

Pinna skateboarding is a brand founded by a friend of mine. I have been lucky enough to be a part of it since the beginning. It started from a dream in a school project in eighth grade. Since then it has grown a lot and has had a huge impact locally. Pinna operates in the fields of sports and youth service. Its goal is to enable good and safe possibilities to skate.

Pinna offers hobby opportunities for every age, organizes events and competitions, sells products and merchandise, influences decision making locally and has a team of skilled skateboarders. One of the newest accomplishments is that Pinna opened one of the biggest indoor skateparks in Finland. The park is called 'Vipukulma Skatepark' and its located in Lahti, Finland. The goal is to secure a sustainable funding for the indoor skatepark to exist for the big and beautiful community of skateboarders and friends we have.

How was it using the LomoKino for this project?

I was honored and excited to try the LomoKino. I have made multiple videos and shot film before. I have always dreamed of shooting videos on film. LomoKino was a nice way to combine both and learn something new. The experience itself was super cool. I was insecure about the results because I had never used a LomoKino and I was worried if I had exposed the film incorrectly. Finally when I got the films back from the lab, I was relieved. The films turned out perfect. For a first-timer, shooting with the LomoKino felt easy.

I shot the films in a local skateboarding event hosted by Pinna skateboarding. My plan was to use the material as visuals in the event's aftermovie. The editing process sparked a deep interest in frame-by-frame animation which I will definitely experiment with in the future. The aftermovie turned out well and the LomoKino material used as visuals was the cherry on top. I would love to shoot more LomoKino material in the future. I see a lot of potential in the results I got. I would recommend trying the LomoKino. It is a beautiful and easy on the pocket way to create and capture beautiful moments and try something new.

Do you have any cool projects coming up that you can tell us about?

I have a long-term project we have been planning together with my soulmate: We decided to try to have a child together. Life had other plans, and it blessed us with twins. Me and my partner are both passionate photographers. We both share a deep love and interest in analogue image making and photography books. We feel deeply honored to be given this rare opportunity to be parents to twins. The twins are expected to be born in the beginning of the summer. Our project will be focused on the unique bond twins share from the uterus to infinity. We are dreaming of documenting our journey mainly with analogue. We will create a visual dialogue from our unique viewpoints from this experience.

We are trying to get funding and support for the project. A working grant would allow us as parents to spend more time with our children and focus on the project. Our dream is to make and produce a photography book from our shared journey. Ideally, the book would be self -bound for the most part and we would like to use recycled materials. We feel a deep need to share our journey as a plural family for the world.

Thank you Jaakob for sharing this special story with us!

Curious about this totally different but extremely exciting project? Keep up with Jaakob on Instagram @hippa_heikki. Inspired to try the LomoKino yourself? Start capturing life on film today, one frame at a time!

written by lomocato on 2025-06-13 #culture #people #videos #skate #finland #lomokino #lathi Share Article