Mikko Savolainen knows nature. The 26-year-old landscaper from Leverett says he values “quality over quantity’’ in the bio of his carefully curated Instagram account (@mikkosage), and his one-post-per-week average attests to that standard. Featuring expansive shots and multiple exposures of scattered galaxies, thickly fogged mountains, and milky rivers, Savolenian’s gallery resembles a National Geographic exhibit curated by a steady hand.
Q. How did you get started with photography?
A. My aunt is a photographer, and mom was a photographer. I never picked up a camera when I was younger, but a few years ago I decided on a whim to get a camera, and I went exploring around Western Mass., to capture what I saw. I really love Quabbin Reservoir, so I try to get out there when I can. It’s a pretty awesome place.
Q. What catches your eye?
A. I like sort of simple compositions. I think that I’m still trying to find my specific style. I do some portrait photos, but the inspiration comes more from street photography and National Geographic. I try to find interesting things to shoot that somebody else might not see as a photo, things that people would look past or walk by.
Q. How do you interact with the Instagram community?
A. I love Instagram, especially as I live in Western Mass. It’s a very rural area, so there’s not a huge community of photographers around me, but Instagram allows me to connect with people around the world. Sometimes I meet up with people and try to keep the community strong.
Q. What does “quantity over quality’’ mean to you?
A. I just feel like there are a lot of people and artists and companies that churn out as much as they can all the time. And a lot of the time, they sacrifice quality, so I try to make sure everything I put out I genuinely like and am genuinely happy with. Photography is super saturated, but I would like to think my work stands out. If there’s a page full of a hundred photographs, I want your eye to be drawn to mine.
Interview was edited and condensed. Carly Sitrin can be reached at carly.sitrin@globe. com. Follow her on Twitter @carlysitrin
