Exploring ramshackle cottage—left vacant after a fire killed its elderly owner—sparked Fagerström’s decadelong quest to document his wild new neighbors. The project culminated in The House in the Woods, a book published in Finnish, German, and English.

Once upon a time… There were some charming cottages in Finland. The people moved away. And the animals moved in

Fagerström spent several evenings waiting to capture his dog staring down a bank vole. Photograph by Kai Fagerström

This Red Squirrel was one of Fagerstrom’s neighbors. Photograph by Kai Fagerström

On a summer night a family of badgers file into the kitchen from a tunnel they dug under the fireplace. It took four years before Fagerström finally caught the skittish, nocturnal weasels. For this shot he set his camera on a windowsill, then stood outside on a ladder for hours before pressing the shutter via remote control. Photograph by Kai Fagerström

Typically, Fagerström envisions an image, then plans the photo shoot. He’ll set his camera at the perfect angle, throw out peanuts as bait, and wait for wildlife to wander into the picture frame, such as the squirrel poking around a door. “Sometimes you get lucky, but often it takes all night,” says the photographer, who has to adjust his settings for natural light since he doesn’t even own a flash. Every so often a shot is pure happenstance. Photograph by Kai Fagerström

A pygmy owl flew in through a smashed window, surprising Fagerström: “He looked at me and sort of stamped his foot, as if to say, Go away, this is my place!” Photograph by Kai Fagerström

The House in the Woods Photograph by Kai Fagerström

A fox pup peeks out from a cat door in a dilapidated shed Photograph by Kai Fagerström