April 2015 | Erik Almas Photography

My visual esthetic and that of the classic Norwegian Painters

It’s now 20 years since I left Trondheim, Norway, to study photography in the US.

Going about my craft, making pictures I felt good about, one can think it strange it’s only a few years ago that I discovered the connection between some of my signature imagery and Norwegian mythology and paintings.

Even though my photography have tones and themes resonating with the style described as “national romanticism” I have not consciously set out to recreate or pay homage to these paintings. Nor have I studied these prior. Subconsciously I have just been drawn to their style, or maybe even the very esthetic, landscape, light and mythology all norwegian artists has been living with growing up…

In recognizing this it became very obvious to me how my upbringing and the Norwegian landscape have shaped me as a photographer and how scandinavian my visual sensibilities truly are.

 

TheodorKittelsen-KvitebjørnKongValemon(1912)

 

 

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Fisherman_Small

Norwegian Pintings

Natalia in Water.Final

 

When designer Leila Hafzi approached me to photograph her latest bridal collection with the inspiration rooted in Norwegian mythology and it’s landscape I was truly excited.

We would venture to the west coast of Norway and photograph the myths around the Snow Queen, the Hulder, and one of the more famous Norwegian paintings, Brudeferd i Hardanger (Bridal Procession on the Hardangerfjord).

In discussing this project it was impossible to not get into the subject of recreating our own version of this painting.

As we decided to do so it became the first time I consciously created an image to pay homage to a style that have deeply affected me as a photographer.

Brudeferd i Hardanger

Leila_SandnesGarn_Flo_G9A8047_Wip_11_Final

 

 

Leila Hafzi is an extraordinary designer and working with her on several of her design projects have been extremely rewarding creatively.

I’m in gratitude to her and all the ones involved in this project. Especially the people at the tourist office in Stryn and the people of Flo who dressed up in the traditional norwegian garb Bunad to help recreate our Bridal Procession.

 

Below are the images we created for this collection and a behind the scenes look at how it came together.

 

Leila_SandnesGarn_Breng_I2982_Wip_2 Leila_Collection_G9A7240_Wip_1_a_4 Leila_Collection_Segestad_Exterior_Final Leila_SandnesGarn_Isflak1732_Wip_4_Final_V2 Leila_Sandnes_Garn_Waterfall4822_wip4_Final