Today, we are very excited to welcome the Finnish Museum of Photography, also known as Suomen Valokuvataiteen Museo, to The Commons! The Finnish Museum of Photography is the national special museum for photography. It was founded on the initiative of a number of photography organizations and began its work in 1969 with the mission to promote and foster Finnish photographic art and culture.

Maintained by the Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Photography, it is located in Helsinki, the Finnish capital, where it houses both photographic art and photographic culture in its collections that include about 3.7 million pictures. Among them are works of photographic art, photojournalism, fashion shots, press photos and portraits, by both professionals and amateurs.

The collections are characterised by the co-existence and interplay of the different types of photography: prints, negatives, slides, old techniques, digital images. On top of this, the Finnish Museum of Photography also has a collection of photography-related objects such as cameras and darkroom equipment.

Among the content already uploaded to the Finnish Museum of Photography’s photostream, you will find a selection of sets showcasing historical photos of Finnish Agriculture, Autochromes (an additive color "mosaic screen plate" process invented in the early 20th century), as well as photos documenting the life of composer Jean Sibelius taken by Benno Alexander Levas.

We hope you enjoy the photos, and invite you to contribute your knowledge through comments and tags making it accessible to millions of people around the world..

Photos from the Finnish Museum of Photography.