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Jouko Lehtola, who died in 2010, was known particularly for his photographs of Finnish youth culture. In Finlandia, the mephasis certainly is upon young people, but the book is about Finnish society in general, or least the more disaffected parts of it. (...) Few photographers attain the intensity of Diane Arbus when making portraits, but Lehtola did. And he did so because he was always engaged. He felt for his subjects, whether outsiders, people with problems or natural nonconformists. He himself was a nonconformist, a real 'in yer face' photographer and unapologetic about it. Whether photographing people, places or interiors, this attitude was apparent. Finlandia burns with a passion that almost amounts to rage.

— Text from Martin Parr and Gerry Badger, The Photobook: A History, Volume III p123