“It is exciting to work with live birds because you cannot predict everything. Sometimes, something accidental is exactly what makes the photoshoot a success.”Sanna Kannisto plans the setting and lighting of her photographs as carefully as possible in advance. In a way, she sets up the stage for her models. She has a collection of branches from which she chooses the most suitable for each species. The lab stands holding the branches are also an essential part of the composition. The animals acting as models sometimes behave in an unpredictable manner in these settings, but the surroundings are the result of careful consideration and detailing. A cubicle with glowing white light, deep in a forest or on some distant cliff site, is the photographic studio of Sanna Kannisto. This portable studio is constructed of light-reflecting and translucent, opaque acrylic panels and is easy and quick to assemble. A large number of her work has been photographed in this little field studio and she has found this method to be best suited for her working methods.In Sanna Kannisto’s photographs, the minute details of the animals are etched against the white background with a precision that reflects these scientific imaging traditions. At the same time, however, Kannisto creates her own individual expression, which deviates from natural science. Alongside the scientists’ work, she creates a stage that also connects with artistic traditions: still lifes and staged photographs. We are very pleased to publish two of her works—Great Tit on a Katsura Branch, 2020 and Aegithalos caudatus, 2019.
