Hi-res photos of Finnish Heritage Agency made freely available
Free use of picture collections protects cultural heritage.
The Picture Collections of the Finnish Heritage Agency include many photos from different eras that fit the themes of the Kamera magazine, such as fires and clouds. One of them is the coloured photo by H. A. Turja of a fire in Helsinki in 1964. The information on the photo does not include the location or date, but it may be of the fire in the Jätkäsaari district on 22 June 1964. Do you know something more about the photo, and how does the photo make you feel? And how would you use the photo by Matti Poutvaara from 1951?
The collections of the Finnish Heritage Agency include over 18 million photos, and publishing them with complete information is not possible. What matters is that the collections are available to be found by as many people as possible, which also allows us to complete and revise the information related to the photos. The collections are a part of the National Collection that belongs to everyone in Finland.
As early as 2017, we opened up soft copies of the digitised photos to be used freely, and last December we made an even more significant upgrade when high-resolution versions of over 200,000 images from the collections were opened for free use at museovirasto.finna.fi. Our common goal is also to increase the use of the collections and thus promote the appreciation for cultural heritage. This is best made possible by sharing the digitised image files to be used freely. When opening up the collections, we will naturally continue to respect copyright and other agreements and restrictions on opening and using of the images. There are some restrictions applied to the digitised images, in accordance with the rights and agreements associated with them. For images delivered as a service, we will continue to charge our listed prices.
This takes us back to the photo of the fire captured by H. A. Turja in 1964. In high resolution, it is easier to study the details of this photo and others, which will hopefully give us more information about the photo and also improve its usability. You can send us feedback via the Finna service about this photo and any other photos. Opening up the picture collections extensively for everyone will also allow people to experience and utilise them in their own way. Our goal is to facilitate creativity and work even better than before. Hopefully, you will also find ways to use the photos made available. We wish for and also trust in appropriate and ethically sustainable use.
Text: Ismo Malinen
Kamera 1/2021
Clouds above the Rovaniemi rural commune, 20 June 1951. Photo: Matti Poutvaara / Historical Picture Collection / Finnish Heritage Agency (HK19880108:15123)
A fire in Helsinki 1964. Photo: H. A. Turja / Historical Picture Collection / Finnish Heritage Agency. (HK8018:5.3)