Light in the Snow

My recent trip to the Lofoten Islands in northern Norway not only more than fulfilled my continuing search for remote landscapes (see previous blog), but also left me with a heightened sense of the isolation and inherent challenges of life, north of the Arctic Circle.

Light in the Snow, Lofoten, North Norway

Accordingly, as well as striving to capture the stark beauty of Lofoten’s remarkable landscapes, I also tried to make some images that reflected my response to the intense cold, the sense of loneliness that pervades the area during the dark winter months, and my salute to those who live amongst such harsh beauty.

I made this image at around 2 pm on the edge of a snow-covered beach. The afternoon light was already starting to slip into evening - it would be dark by three. Once again, snow had blown in from the north-east, blocking out the view and rapidly transforming the landscape into a near featureless expanse of white. However, I felt that the conditions also presented a perfect opportunity to capture the isolation and remoteness that pervades this part of Norway in winter.

I decided that the light in the little yellow cabin was vital in showing that someone was at home as the early darkness crept over the land that afternoon. And I wanted you, the viewer, to ask questions about what it is like to live here - an austere existence, far from the comforts and amenities that most of us take so much for granted.

This sense of life on the edge was reinforced by one local who told me that the previous winter, driving home, he had got stuck in an avalanche which blocked the main road he was on and covered his car. He waited nine hours before a show clearance crew arrived and dug him out. He was just 600 yards from his house but decided it was too dangerous to try and return home on foot. To live in Lofoten is to accept the challenges that nature can throw at it residents.

I hope this image not only conveys the sense of remoteness and isolation that must be accepted in this beautiful corner of the world, but also encourages you to consider what it takes to live a life that implies austerity and self-sufficiency far beyond what most of us would accept in our mostly comfortable lives.