Emil Wikstrom

Emil Wikström carried a camera like others carry a pocketknife, always handy, never flashy. He shot Helsinki’s docks and alleys in the 1890s, catching workers mid-breath rather than staging heroes. One scene shows a woman stepping off a steamboat, her skirt still caught by the wind; you can almost hear the timbers creak behind her. Look up that photograph: it’s called “Arrival at Katajanokka.”