By Denis Piccolo
With Alba Optics
Jussi Oksanen: from professional snowboarder to photographer!
I’ve been known Jussi since, as a kid, I started snowboarding.
I often met him during shooting and contest I took part in my previous photographer’s life. His style, clean and unmistakable, typical of many Finnish riders, has proven to be strong in many important events such as the Olympics, X-Games and US Open. Being a pro rider brings you to travel a lot, but most of them travel without really observing, without perceiving the immense value and endless connections and contaminations that this type of life can give you. But Jussi has always observed and assimilated, and from the beginning, he started documenting the world through his camera. Life is then made of meetings and coincidences, and it happens, while you’re looking at a shooting for Alba Optics, to discover that the photographer is Jussi himself.
Jussi, you have been one of my favorite snowboarders. I remember you having your camera almost always with you.
My mom was a photographer and worked in a dark room developing black and white images, so I grew up around that and I was always interested about the process of photography. I got into photography around 17 when I started traveling for snowboarding and my passion for photography grew organically from there.
It seems that many artists and creatives come from the world of snowboarding, skateboarding and surfing in general.
I guess skateboarding and snowboarding are a creative fields, photography is similar because it is the way you express yourself though the lens instead of a board. Also, as a snowboarder you always have to adapt, make something out of nothing, have a work ethic, the same that you will have to apply in commercial photography.
You are one of the founders of Mizu. Can you tell me how this project was born and how it evolved?
Mizu started from the desire to reduce single-use plastic waste, we wanted to create a cool brand that would inspire younger and like minded people to jump on board with our mission. It’s really cool to see how having a reusable water bottle it’s now the new normal while, when we started Mizu over 10 years ago, it seemed like a strange concept for some people.
What do you miss and what you don’t miss from when you were a snowboarder?
I miss the adventure side, going to explore new places around the world. But on the other hand, I love staying home now with my family and have more normal life. I’ve sort of transformed my passion for snowboarding into cycling and photography. The biggest thing I don’t miss is feeling like I have been on a car crash every day after filming, my body feels so much better now, it took me about 2 years to get my body in good shape after 20 years of abuse.
Let’s talk about photography and about you. What do you do now? How is your life?
I do commercial active/lifestyle photography. I get to work with some amazing brands that appreciate authentic content. I do lot of work with brands such as Specialized, Thule, New Belgium Brewing and of course Alba. I absolutely love what I do, I get to work with people that love what they do and capture their passion, it makes my work easy.
What kind of photography do you like? Is there any contemporary outdoor photographer you are inspired by?
The key is to work with people that love what they do and want to share that, it creates an energy that will show in photography. Of course location and lighting are important, but I think the scene and the people are always the most important factor. There are lots of photographers I look up to, but at the same time I want to focus on my own craft and try to create a feel and a style that belongs to me, instead of trying to mimic too much other artists’ work.
“The key is to work with people that love what they do and want to share that, it creates an energy that will show in photography. Of course location and lighting are important, but I think the scene and the people are always the most important factor.”
We got in touch with you through the guys from Alba Optics, which are real crazy people, you took some beautiful photos for them, can you tell me how the collaboration with them was born and where did the shooting take place?
It came out about very organically, Alba is a really cool brand that wants to show cycling in different way from some other brands and I’ve always appreciated that. With a couple of friends we did an overnight bike camping trip to Joshua Tree. It’s a magical place and cycling is always best way to see a place. We didn’t have much of a plan, we just decided to go with the flow and see what we would have find. Sleeping under the stars in the desert is one of the coolest things you can do.
What does the word outdoor mean to you?
It’s freedom. I’m always at peace when I’m outdoors, even just walking in the forest makes me feel so much better. Also the adventures and memories you have outdoors are amazing, I feel very lucky that I get to work outdoors in awesome places, it’s the best.
What direction is the outdoor world taking? It seems that everything that is competitive is losing interest and we are moving towards a search for exploration.
I think there will always be a competitive side to everything, that’s just who we are as humans. But the outdoors is for sure blowing up, people are looking out for more real experiences and challenges. As a family, our kids always talk about the trip we did to Iceland or all the camping trips we did. Outdoors means adventures and that’s what life is all about!
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