Tommi AittalaPhotographer & Videographer
DE
Editorial

Press photography for Helsingin Sanomat, Finland's largest daily newspaper. Based in Berlin, I covered politics, culture and daily life in Germany for Finnish readers, working closely with correspondent Hanna Mahlamäki, now Head of the Politics Desk.

The work spans the Kabul evacuation at Ramstein Air Base, the arrival of Ukrainian refugees in Berlin, Palestine demonstrations, Arab clan criminality, Victory Day commemorations, and portraits of politicians, artists and activists.

This portfolio is best experienced on a desktop or tablet. Hover an image for its caption.

Linus Lewandowski, Warsaw, 2020
Homokomando training session under Świętokrzyski Bridge, Warsaw, 2020
Police stand in paint splatter outside Liebig34, Berlin, 2020
Police special forces on the rooftop of Liebig34 during the eviction operation, Berlin, 2020
Economist Aaron Benanav at his home in Berlin, 2021
Aaron Benanav, Berlin, 2021
US Air Force spokesperson addresses media at Ramstein Air Base during the Afghanistan evacuation operation, 2021
Media photographers document a US soldier entertaining Afghan evacuee children at Ramstein Air Base, 2021
An Afghan girl looks out from a bus window on arrival at Ramstein Air Base, 2021
US military police patrol the tarmac at Ramstein Air Base during the Afghanistan evacuation operation, 2021
Armed US soldiers on the tarmac at Ramstein Air Base, 2021
Afghan evacuees in the tent camp at Ramstein Air Base, 2021
Afghan sisters at Ramstein Air Base, 2021
A US soldier plays football with Afghan evacuee children at Ramstein Air Base, 2021
SPD supporter at an Olaf Scholz campaign rally, Berlin, 2021
Olaf Scholz on the campaign trail, Berlin, 2021
Cristian Accordo, founder of Tom Hemps, at his CBD store in Berlin, 2021
Trimming home-grown cannabis buds in a Berlin apartment, 2021
Lisa, a daily cannabis user who asked to be identified only by her first name, at a café in Berlin, 2021
Composer and pianist Iiro Rantala in the orchestra pit during rehearsals for Zaubermelodika at Komische Oper Berlin, 2021
Librettist Minna Lindgren during rehearsals for Zaubermelodika at Komische Oper Berlin, 2021
Minna Lindgren and Iiro Rantala in the auditorium of Komische Oper Berlin, 2021
Guntram Weber, born into the Nazi Lebensborn programme, at a cemetery in Berlin, 2021
Guntram Weber on his weekly walk through a Berlin cemetery, 2021
Helsingin Sanomat, Ulkomaat section front page, 4 September 2021
Jiri Kupiainen, Finnish entrepreneur, photographed outside a sauna in Prenzlauer Berg for a Helsingin Sanomat profile on startup culture, Berlin, 2022
Islam scholar Ralph Ghadban at his home in Berlin, 2022
Ralph Ghadban, who spent years under police protection following death threats, at his home in Berlin, 2022
Mohamed Chahrour, whose surname alone has cost him work and drawn repeated police attention, Tempelhof, Berlin, 2022
Mohamed Chahrour in Tempelhof, Berlin, 2022
Mohamed Chahrour at a shisha bar in Tempelhof, Berlin, 2022
Petryšyn sisters in front of a Ukrainian flag, Berlin, 2022
A mother and child wait with a handwritten sign for Ukrainian refugees arriving at Berlin Hauptbahnhof, March 2022
The welcome tent for Ukrainian refugees outside Berlin Hauptbahnhof, viewed from inside the station, March 2022
Ukrainian refugees, including the Petryšyn sisters, at an anti-war demonstration near the Siegessäule, Berlin, March 2022
The Petryšyn sisters at an art sale raising funds for the Ukrainian army, Berlin, 2022
Tatjana Müller, who described Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a war against Nazis, sings during Victory Day commemorations at Treptower Park, Berlin, May 2022
A woman raises her hand at the Soviet War Memorial at Treptower Park during Victory Day commemorations, Berlin, May 2022. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the annual gathering has since been banned by Berlin authorities.
Aleksandra, a former Sputnik journalist who left Russian state media after Navalny's arrest, photographed anonymously in Berlin, 2022
Aleksandra, a former Sputnik journalist, at a café in Berlin, 2022
The private apartment and art salon of Timo Miettinen at Marburger Strasse 3, a neo-Renaissance building with a complex Jewish history, Charlottenburg, Berlin, 2023
Timo Miettinen, Finnish art collector and businessman, at Salon Dahlmann in Charlottenburg, Berlin, 2023
The architect behind the restoration of Marburger Strasse 3 in the salon, Charlottenburg, Berlin, 2023
The restored grand salon at Marburger Strasse 3, featuring original 19th century details, Charlottenburg, Berlin, 2023
Timo Miettinen at Salon Dahlmann, Charlottenburg, Berlin, 2023
Jiri Kupiainen, Finnish entrepreneur, outside a sauna in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, 2022
Benjamin Fink, who glued himself to airport runways and threw mashed potato at a Monet painting to protest government inaction on climate change, Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin, 2022
Benjamin Fink, climate activist and member of Letzte Generation, at the Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin, 2022
Mila Moisio, founder of Tauko magazine, photographed for Sanoma/UPM, Berlin, 2023
Mila Moisio at her studio in Berlin, photographed for Sanoma/UPM, 2023
Asylum seekers wait in the courtyard of the Eisenhüttenstadt reception centre, eastern Germany, 2021. Many had crossed the Belarus-Poland border after weeks of violence and deprivation.
An Iraqi asylum seeker at Eisenhüttenstadt reception centre uses Google Translate to explain why he fled Iraq, Germany, 2021
Mikko Koskinen, co-founder of Kyrö Distillery, passes an order to a Wolt courier from the company's Berlin store, 2021
Austrian military analyst Gustav Gressel, European Council on Foreign Relations, Berlin, 2022
Demonstrators at a pro-Palestine march in Berlin, May 2021, one of dozens held across Europe on the 73rd anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba
Palestinian flags draped over a monument at Hermannplatz during a pro-Palestine demonstration, Neukölln, Berlin, May 2021