Arctic Salmon Center

Even though I've lived in 8 countries and on 4 continents and was always planning to try my hands at photography, I never had a camera of my own. It wasn't until I moved above the Arctic Circle in Norway at the beginning of 2023 that I decided that this can't go on like this. I can't just borrow other people's cameras or take photos with a potato phone any more. I've invested in my first camera, and I'm very happy that I made the jump.

It was on one of the very first days (nights) using my new camera when I was visiting the Arctic Salmon Center in Hamarøy that I started to experiment with long exposure photos of the fish pens where they keep more than a million salmon. I instantly fell in love with the otherworldly look of those brightly shining UFOs that are the top of the fish pens in Vestfjorden. In the coming months I spent more than a hundred hours here alone, in the middle of the night, learning, experimenting and waiting for the Northern Lights (and freezing to my bones). I usually left home around 10 pm and stayed out until I had the strength or until all my batteries ran low - which doesn't take too long in the Arctic winter :). I hiked the forest in deep snow with a tripod on my shoulder, climbed hills and abandoned piers and tried many angles until I found my favourite ones. I spent many nights in this challenging but magnificent winter wonderland, and I only stopped going out to the Salmon Center when there was no darkness any more.

I hope you'll share in my fascination for this unlikely and unexpected subject. As a first photo project, I'm very happy with the results. - Robert