PICTURES OF NORWAY

The Fisherman's House: Between Light and Reflection

Red fisherman's house beside calm reflective Norwegian coastal water

PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT · THE JOURNEY TO AN IMAGE

Sometimes a single house is enough to give a vast landscape its centre. The red wooden building stands beside the water, almost detached from everything around it. Below, the fisherman's house appears again in a reflection that, for a moment, seems just as real.

The longer I stood there, the less important the background became. I wanted to give this one house and its quiet double as much space as possible. Everything unnecessary could disappear from the photographs until only the form, the reflection, and the emptiness between them remained.

The film behind the photography project

In the film, I show how a quiet coastal scene can give rise to different photographs.

The photographic challenges

Light in Transition

Early morning brings soft light, but only for a short while. As the sun rises, harsh contrasts and flat reflections quickly appear. The right window of time determines how calm and restrained the house will look.

The Balance of the Reflection

Long exposures smooth the water, but the reflection should not overpower the house. Too much symmetry makes the image static; too little takes away its calm. The balance between the actual form and its reflection creates the tension.

Images from the project

Five images in which the house tells a different story each time. Light, darkness, and reflection shift the way we see the same form.

Red fisherman's house isolated in a dark coastal landscape
The Fisherman's House #5. The fisherman's house stands alone in the dark landscape, separated from its surroundings by light. It almost seems as though the world around it has withdrawn, leaving only this place behind.
Weathered wooden house reflected in calm dark water
The Fisherman's House #4. The old wood bears the marks of many years, while the house is reflected almost perfectly in the still water. For a moment, everything seems to be in its place: quiet, clear, and timeless.
Lonely fisherman's house mirrored in a still water surface
The Fisherman's House #3. Set apart and almost detached from its surroundings, the fisherman's house rests beside the still water. Only its dark reflection keeps it company, as if this place had long since found its own rhythm.
Small red coastal house between bright sky and its soft reflection
The Fisherman's House #2. Almost weightless, the fisherman's house sits between water and bright sky. Its reflection doubles the familiar form, briefly making it hard to tell where the building ends and its image begins.
Old house by the water with its reflection in the dark foreground
The Fisherman's House #1. The old house sits quietly by the water, as if time had slowed down here. Its reflection reaches into the dark surface, while sky and landscape seem to lose almost all movement.

The Selected Work

One photograph from this series has its own artwork page, with more room for the story behind the image.

View the Finished Work ↗

← All photography projects