Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2017 15:06:34 GMT
A few years ago, Oslo-based photographer Britt Marie Bye, who also goes by the name Britt M., battled a serious infection that ravaged her immune system. Not wanting to compromise her health, she found herself avoiding crowds of people to seek solace in the wilderness of Sandinavia, above the Arctic Circle.
On one of many of these forest trips, Britt came across a small cottage.
"It was alone and abandoned by society, just like I felt," she explained to weather.com. "I walked inside and found a home, left ages ago, but still ever so present. There were books and clothes, furniture, cookware and linen on the beds."
She was struck by the lonely, abandoned home. She returned, this time with her camera. Then Bye started actively seeking more abandoned homes.
"It became my new focus on these forest adventures, and I was amazed at how many there were. Farms, houses, cabins and cottages, all abandoned many years ago and all telling their own little story," Bye said.
Bye explained that rural areas in Scandinavia are facing depopulation due to the decline of farming. Many young people flock to the cities, leaving behind the rural way of life. Bye says many of the former farms have become vacation homes or are just abandoned. She said the homes give her a nostalgic, melancholic feeling, which is conveyed in her photos above.
"The feeling you get when surrounded by mountains so steep and tall and an ocean so crystal clear and turquoise blue, it makes you feel incredibly small and in awe," she said. "It’s also very appealing to photograph abandonment in those surroundings— the weathered look of the houses are in direct correspondence with the mighty nature surrounding them."
Now, with better health, the photographer still seeks abandoned buildings in the Norway wilderness. But it's not an easy terrain. Near the ocean and mountains, the weather can change from minute to minute. Although she hasn't photographed above the Arctic Circle during winter, she hopes to eventually.
Bye prefers to photograph during moody weather, as opposed to sunny days. Asside from the subject of her photography, she said the weather is the most important factor for her.
"I feel clouds and a more dramatic sky represents the melancholy of these abandoned houses," she mused. "I have often gone out on trips and not taken any photographs, due to the weather being too sunny. If I find houses then, I take note of them, and travel back on a more suitable day, weather-wise. I religiously follow weather updates, it does change quickly in the north."
In addition, Bye said that the spectacular light of northern Norway is one of her favorite things about the region.
"The light up there is beautiful! I never imagined a sunset to have so many variations. From the midnight sun, to the aurora borealis - it’s all about the light," she said.
Bye plans to continue to photograph abandoned homes of northern Norway, as it is her favorite subject to capture.
"They became my refuge during difficult times and I feel the need to keep telling their stories [and] to keep them in our present even though they were left in the past."
For more photos from Britt M., follow her Facebook page and Instagram.
On one of many of these forest trips, Britt came across a small cottage.
"It was alone and abandoned by society, just like I felt," she explained to weather.com. "I walked inside and found a home, left ages ago, but still ever so present. There were books and clothes, furniture, cookware and linen on the beds."
She was struck by the lonely, abandoned home. She returned, this time with her camera. Then Bye started actively seeking more abandoned homes.
"It became my new focus on these forest adventures, and I was amazed at how many there were. Farms, houses, cabins and cottages, all abandoned many years ago and all telling their own little story," Bye said.
Bye explained that rural areas in Scandinavia are facing depopulation due to the decline of farming. Many young people flock to the cities, leaving behind the rural way of life. Bye says many of the former farms have become vacation homes or are just abandoned. She said the homes give her a nostalgic, melancholic feeling, which is conveyed in her photos above.
"The feeling you get when surrounded by mountains so steep and tall and an ocean so crystal clear and turquoise blue, it makes you feel incredibly small and in awe," she said. "It’s also very appealing to photograph abandonment in those surroundings— the weathered look of the houses are in direct correspondence with the mighty nature surrounding them."
Now, with better health, the photographer still seeks abandoned buildings in the Norway wilderness. But it's not an easy terrain. Near the ocean and mountains, the weather can change from minute to minute. Although she hasn't photographed above the Arctic Circle during winter, she hopes to eventually.
Bye prefers to photograph during moody weather, as opposed to sunny days. Asside from the subject of her photography, she said the weather is the most important factor for her.
"I feel clouds and a more dramatic sky represents the melancholy of these abandoned houses," she mused. "I have often gone out on trips and not taken any photographs, due to the weather being too sunny. If I find houses then, I take note of them, and travel back on a more suitable day, weather-wise. I religiously follow weather updates, it does change quickly in the north."
In addition, Bye said that the spectacular light of northern Norway is one of her favorite things about the region.
"The light up there is beautiful! I never imagined a sunset to have so many variations. From the midnight sun, to the aurora borealis - it’s all about the light," she said.
Bye plans to continue to photograph abandoned homes of northern Norway, as it is her favorite subject to capture.
"They became my refuge during difficult times and I feel the need to keep telling their stories [and] to keep them in our present even though they were left in the past."
For more photos from Britt M., follow her Facebook page and Instagram.
