Calves are born into the snow, and the dust is so fine you can see insect tracks. It takes hours to reach a grocery store. Here, both people and plants are few and far apart, gathering the needs for their sustenance.

I am a photographer and artist based in Rovaniemi, Finland. Since 2011, I have been documenting the lives of two sisters growing up on a remote, family-owned cattle ranch in Nevada. As they grew up, the sisters were inseparable, their days filled with homeschooling, ranch chores, riding, roping, and playing mostly by themselves. On weekends, they competed in junior rodeos. Now, as young women, they are on the verge of their independent life paths.

Romance and harshness are branded to the visual image of a cowboy. The prevailing idea still evokes a lonesome twenty-something man moving from camp to camp, but my cowboys are two young women growing up in this traditionally masculine world—a world where the perspectives of women and children are often overlooked in popular narratives. I aim to illuminate the nuanced lives of these sisters as they navigate their formative years. Faced with drought, rising land prices, and shifts in the cattle industry, their story reflects the broader challenges of sustaining rural lifestyles.

Through this project, I explore the emotional complexity of life on the ranch, where resilience and vulnerability coexist. Themes of longing, separation, and connection emerge not only in the sisters’ relationship but also in my own personal history. This work allows me to process my relationship with place, identity, and belonging.