This is my first blog. For me it’s been interesting and inspirational to read my colleague’s blogs, so I thought maybe I should share my experiences as well. After all, being a photographer is kind of a lonely work sometimes.

I’ve been to Burkina Faso a few days now. I’m shooting here the “The Sun Also Rises in Bolomakoté” -series. It’s a project which I’m doing in collaboration with Dr. Pirjo Lindfors. It’s about the sense on community, which is still very strong in this part of the world. It’s something we are losing in our super effective and egoistic western culture.

The heat is overpowering. During the first three days I drank probably 10 liters a day and almost nothing came out from the other end. A few hours of walking with my camera equipment is total workout but little by little my body’s thermostat is adapting.

I don’t normally shoot very wide views but today I’m hunting a shot which contains many moving elements. It’s kind of a classical approach in street photography, trying to find the perfect moment. I got inspired (again) for this theme before my trip when I browsed photo books by Alex Webb. I really admire his work and especially “Istanbul” is a real masterpiece.

I decided the place where I’m gonna shoot yesterday, today I’m just waiting for something to happen. After two hours of waiting and a bunch of very average photos I finally get my moment.
The sandstorm starts out of nowhere and suddenly there is loads of movement around me, people coming and going, children running full of excitement.