When asked about the challenges he faces while photographing animals in their natural habitats, Saarinen responded: “The biggest challenge for me nowadays is finding the animals. As I’m focusing more on rarely seen species, it requires a lot of time and patience to get any footage of them. My passion for nature and the animals is so big that I never feel bored of trying and I don’t feel disappointed even when I don’t find anything. I know that the more effort I have for some goal, the better it feels when I finally succeed.”
The photographer continued: “Another challenge is often the conditions. I go out in any possible weather. The temperature may drop to -30 degrees Celsius, and to be able to spend hours or days in nature, I must be well prepared. Any weather can be survived with the right gear, but even well prepared, it still often gets cold, wet and uncomfortable.”
The Finnish photographer also shared more about a significant experience he had while photographing wildlife: “My most memorable moment in nature happened last spring when I was sitting in the forest, waiting for a lynx to appear in a nearby field. Suddenly the lynx was standing right behind me, the distance being at closest only 6 meters. The lynx didn’t seem to be scared of me at all. It was something that I didn’t think would ever happen.”
Finally, we asked Ossi to share the message he hopes his photography conveys to people about the natural world: “Through my work, I want to inspire people to spend more time in nature and to observe and learn about it. And when people learn about nature, I believe they will also respect it more and want to protect it. I want people to realize that if we want to enjoy nature in the future as well, we have to stop destroying it.”
