Gallery: seeing Norway in black and white
Black and white is abstract; colour is not. Looking at a black and white photograph, you are already looking at a strange world.
Joel Sternfeld, US photographer
Welcome then to the ‘strange’ world of northern Norway, where June feels more like January in London and where the photographic rewards are great if you’re happy to brave the chilly fingers needed to press the shutter!
Last week I shared some black and white images of the Norwegian landscape for Leanne’s Monochrome Madness challenge. This week’s selection is a potpourii of other shots ranging from architecture to sculpture to candid street shots. My feature photo is of a sculpture in Tromsø entitled ‘Waiting for his sea captain’. I think it fits well with Cee’s CBWC theme this week of ‘Lost or Left Behind’.
I’ll link to Leanne again too if she posts later this week but I think she’s taking a week off.
As always, all these photos were shot originally in colour and edited with Silver Efex Pro. Where I’ve previously posted the colour version I’ve included a link.
Street musician in Trondheim (you can see the colour version here)
Arctic Circle crossing ceremony on the MS Nordlys, with a crew member acting as the Norse god of the north, Njord
Sculpture in Bodø (again, there’s a colour version here)
Another sculpture by the waterfront in Tromsø, very near the dog in my feature shot
The Arctic Hunter statue in the centre of Tromsø, with snow on the mountains behind
Spring flowers in the cathedral grounds, Tromsø (I think a type of tulip)
A quiet corner of Tromsø
House near the Arctic Cathedral, Tromsø
The Arctic Cathedral in Tromsø (there’s a colour version here)
The side wall of the Arctic Cathedral; this one wasn’t included in my earlier post
Captain of the Hermes II, an lovely old boat which we took for a ride around Tromsø Island
A stream near Grøtfjord on Kvaløya Island
And to finish, I’ve given this display of old kitchen utensils in the Full Steam museum, Tromsø, a sepia treatment
I visited northern Norway in late May / early June 2023
38 Comments
Marie
A lovely selection Sarah …. We were in Tromso one February – oh maybe 10 yrs ago – and I’ve about 3 or 4 photos – don’t know what happened!!! So lovely to see these. XXXMarie
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Marie. I was first there some years ago, also in a February, and have relatively few photos – maybe because it was only light for a few hours a day!
SoyBend
Interesting quote about black and white being abstract. I think of it as more “artistic” in a way because you have to consider the composition more carefully. Like Ansel Adams and Alfred Hitchcock did, to name a couple. I loved the dog statue! The street musician looked good in B & W and color. As you know, it can be hard to decide processing.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Siobhan 🙂 I think in a way you’re saying the same thing – the balance of shapes etc. is more significant in B&W images, whether you consider that an abstract concept or simply good composition! And yes, it can often be hard to decide between the two, although sometimes one is clearly better than the other!
restlessjo
I think you must have to have character to live somewhere like this, Sarah, or be born there, of course. I was intrigued by the ‘creature’ sculptures with the upturned hands, which brought me here. I must have missed this post.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Jo. I think you’re right about character, or rather, I think you must have to have a feel for such places. Our guide on the city walk was originally from British Colombia and said she was used to the cold and damp. She’d come to Tromsø to study for six months and somehow, as she put it, ‘got stuck’. She clearly loved the city!
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wetanddustyroads
I think B&W photos are very appropriate for Norway! The stream looks cold but beautiful and I like your last photo of the kitchen – it has a lovely vintage feel to it.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you, I felt that too 🙂 The stream would be very cold, it was flowing from mountains with quite large areas of snow still lying!
Rose
In black and white, one can almost feel the chill of the cool northern air.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Rose, I was hoping it would have that effect 😀 Although to be honest even in colour it all looks pretty chilly as you’ll see in future posts no doubt!
Anonymous
These all look great in black and white. I like the one at the end done in sepia, works very well. I don’t think I could have taken focused photos with such cold fingers
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you for the nice feedback 🙂 I have autofocus so as long as the camera could handle the cold (and it could – it was never below freezing) I didn’t have any problems focusing. But fiddling with other settings was occasionally harder because I was cold!
Cee Neuner
These are all marvelous photos. Thanks for sharing them 😀
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Cee, so glad you liked them!
Mike and Kellye Hefner
All outstanding, Sarah. The arctic hunter statue should always be in black in white. He just looks so intent on what he’s doing, and it looks like he’s giving every ounce of his effort.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Kellye 😊 It’s quite an impressive statue but was unfortunately surrounded by road works in the main square when we were there so a zoomed-in shot like this was the best option!
Mike and Kellye Hefner
I would’ve never known had you not told me. It is a gorgeous shot.
Amy
Great B&W series, Sarah! Love your portaits especially. It does look cool there, and in June.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Amy 😀 It wasn’t so much cool as properly cold – around five degrees C max daytime temperature most days!
Anne Sandler
Great black and whites Sarah, especially the portraits.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Anne, glad you liked them 🙂
Sue
Great set of images, Sarah! I love B&W, where you get to see form and texture in a way that you don’t with colour versions. The street musician amused me, he looks more than a tad quizzical!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Sue 😊 I think the street musician had just spotted me taking the photo and perhaps wasn’t sure whether he approved!
Sue
Teehee! Here’s my rather amused version (not in B&W) https://suejudd.com/2021/02/17/just-one-person-from-around-the-world-portugal/
Sarah Wilkie
Ah yes, I liked him at the time you posted 🙂 I used to enjoy that challenge!
Sue
Yes, it was fun 😊
Monkey's Tale
They look beautiful in black and white, the sculpture near the waterfront with the heads and hands(?) is my favourite. Maggie
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Maggie 😀 That sculpture was really a row of sculptures, and rather strange ones at that! I’ll have a few more shots of it in a future post when I show you all more of Tromsø
philosophy through photography
Lovely black and white effect.
It’s got its own charm.
Love the statues.
Thank you Sarah for Sharing.
Norway is a lovely country.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you, I’m really glad you liked these and appreciate your comments on the use of B&W 😀
philosophy through photography
You are welcome, my friend.
thehungrytravellers.blog
Great stuff, Sarah. In these shots, and this location, my interpretation is that the monochrome enhances the feeling of “cold”. I can almost feel the chill as I scroll through these days…probably the perfect environment for you to indulge in your penchant for B&W. It really works, in other words!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Phil 😊 Yes, (fairly obviously!) I agree – this climate and environment seems to suit monochrome well. Perhaps Yvonne disagrees because she actually experienced how cold it was, being on this trip with me!
Yvonne Dumsday
As you are aware, I am a Philistine so, in the cold of those northern climes, where the cloud cover hardly ever lifted (as you have already proved with pictures previously posted) so the scenery can be monochrome – my preference is to see a little colour to uplift the surrounding greyness.
Sarah Wilkie
That’s a fair comment Yvonne, and certainly while you’re there it’s nice to see a bit of colour, I agree. But for me B&W photography is more about the aesthetics of the image and if the subject matter is in any case fairly monochrome why not treat it that way and emphasise form and texture over colour? But each to his/her own, as Margaret proves below 😀
margaret21
Black and white works so well here. You met some engaging characters, both actual humans and man-(woman?)made!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Margaret, glad you liked the B&W treatment 😊 The Hermes captain was great, he let me (and several others, in turn) steer the boat!