Bruce Barnbaum Norway Workshop 2017. Láhko National Park. ©Bjørn Joachimsen.
Bruce Barnbaum Norway Workshop – Láhko National Park
Bruce Barnbaum has been invited by Norwegian photographer Bjørn Joachimsen to present this workshop for photographers who want to experience a very unique and wonderful landscape. Bruce welcomes those who work with traditional film (as he does) and those who work digitally (as he does). The only requirement is that you must love photography, and you must enjoy doing it.
Láhko National Park, Norway. August 30 – September 3, 2017
The Arctic Circle divides Norway in half at it’s narrowest point, with the Atlantic Ocean to the west and Sweden to the east. Láhko National Park is located right there, with its spectacular marble and limestone formations (karst formations), surrounded by mountain peaks and glaciers. It is here that we will have a five-day workshop with daily outings to this unusual and spectacular landscape in the center of a country that is beautiful wherever you look.
Bruce has taught numerous workshops in Norway, but this will be his first in the Láhko region. So he will be experiencing the landscape for the first time as most—maybe all—of the students will be. His sense of adventure and exploration, excitement and enthusiasm will rub off on you, but you won’t need his inspiration to ignite yours; the area is sure to engage you from the moment you step into it.
In addition to photographing this remarkable region, we will review all students’ work during our indoor sessions. You will begin to understand more about your work and your goals than you ever thought about before. These sessions will prove to be the most educational part of the workshop. We will also have the opportunity to view Bruce’s work, learn about his thinking, his approach, his materials, and his goals, while plying him with questions about how he accomplishes it. You will see some of his purely traditional black and white images, and some of his digitally produced color imagery. If you’re familiar with Bruce’s most renowned books, “The Art of Photography” and “The Essence of Photography” you already know how and why he has chosen traditional for one and digital for the other. The workshop is a perfect time to delve into his choices…and yours. And it’s a perfect opportunity to refine and expand your photographic vistas.
Practical information
Dates: August 30 (6 am.) – September 3, 2017 2 pm.
Location: Láhko National Park, Norway. Classroom tuition will be held at Ørnes Hotel Ørnes. Map:
Láhko National Park is located close to the Svartisen Glacier and just above the Arctic Circle. Nearest town is Bodø.
Workshop Cost: $1425. A non-refundable deposit of $150 guarantees your spot. Full payment is due 6 weeks before the start of the workshop.
Additional Costs
- Accommodations at nearby Ørnes hotel: Single room: 900 Norwegian Kroner/night = roughly $107/night.
- Food: Approximately $60/day (plus alcoholic beverages).
- Air travel from your home to Bodø, Norway, then rental car or bus to Láhko National Park, south of Bodø.
These costs mest be covered by the participants themselves.
Recommended flights from Oslo
Oslo-Gardermoen – Bodø, August 30, 2017: 1.20 pm. – (Bodø 2.50 p.m.)
Bodø – Oslo-Gardermoen September, 2017: 5.20 pm. (Oslo 6.50. p.m)
I takes 1 hours 40 minutes to go by car from Bodø Airport to Ørnes Hotel.
Car rental in Bodø is an option, but I will also try to find a minibus transportation option. Roads are fairly good. There are no ferrys. The trip includes the famous Saltstraumen.
There is also a passenger boat from Bodø with departure every day at 4. pm.
Tuition language: English.
Maximum number of spots: 16.
More information?
Don´t hesitate to contact me at bjorn.joachimsen@mac.com
The workshop is sponsored by Lotus View Camera, Austria.
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Read about Bruce Barnbaum below the image.
©Bjørn Joachimsen.
Bruce Barnbaum.
About Bruce Barnbaum
Bruce Barnbaum of Granite Falls, WA entered photography as a hobbyist in the 1960s. After 40 years, it is still his hobby; it has also been his life’s work since 1970. He has taught workshops since 1972.
Bruce’s educational background includes Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in mathematics from UCLA in 1965 and 1967. After working for several years as a mathematical analyst and computer programmer for missile guidance systems, he abruptly left the field and turned to photography in late 1970.
The Essence of Photography: Seeing and Creativity won the German Photo book award for best educational book in November of 2015.
His classic book in four movements, Visual Symphony, was published in 1986 by Alfred van der Marck Editions. A second edition was published in 1988, along with a German Language version of the book, published by Edition Braus. The book is now sold out and out of print.
The Art of Photography, An Approach to Personal Expression, published in 2010 by Rocky Nook and Photographic Arts has now been reprinted five times, and has been translated into five foreign languages, making it the recognized standard for photographic insight and instruction.
Tone Poems – Book 1, which combines photography with music in a uniquely insightful collaboration with Pianist Judith Cohen, was published in 2002 by Photographic Arts Editions.
Tone Poems – Book 2, the extraordinary second book of the planned four-part collaborative series, was published in 2005.
Bruce is a frequent contributor to several photography magazines: his feature article, The Master Printing Class, appears in each issue of Photo Techniques, and he has been published regularly in LensWork, with articles, interviews, his “1998 Portfolio,” his photogravures of 5 images from his studies of the Cathedrals of England, and his «Slit Canyon» portfolio. Through his workshops, articles, lectures, textbook, and his innovative photography / music collaboration Bruce is a well respected photographer, educator, and pioneer.
Check out his article: New Thoughts on Digital Photography on this website.
Bruce is also recognized as one of the finest darkroom printers on this planet, both through his exceptional b&w work, and also through his color imagery. His work is represented by more than ten galleries throughout the United States and Canada, and is in the collections of museums and private collectors worldwide.
“Currently, we are exploiting planet earth at an unprecedented rate, saddling ourselves with many self-inflicted problems: human overpopulation, global warming, an increasing ozone hole, deforestation, overfishing of the oceans, overuse of fresh water resources, pollution of the air, land, and waters (lakes, rivers, and oceans), and many others too numerous to detail”
His photography expands upon the dynamics he finds in both nature and the works of man, relating forces to the sweeping forms that dominate his vivid imagery. Visually he emphasizes the best of humanity and nature, sometimes with bold realism, often with degrees of abstraction to heighten the mystery. He understands light to an extent rarely found, and combines this understanding with a mastery of composition, applying them to an extraordinarily wide range of subject matter. His photographs often contain ambiguities concerning either the size of the scene photographed and/or its orientation, forcing the viewer to pause and think, and to become part of the creative process.
“We have enough knowledge to recognize the steps that should be taken to turn from our destructive ways to more intelligent, productive, and sustainable means, but we may not have the wisdom or political will to implement that knowledge.”
Bruce has been an active environmental advocate for more than three decades, both independently and through organizations such as the Sierra Club (where he served on the Board of Directors of the Angeles Chapter from 1976-80, and the California Regional Conservation Committee), Audubon, the Stillaguamish Citizens’ Alliance (which he co-founded in 1991) now renamed the Mountain Loop Conservancy, 1000 Friends of Washington, and the North Cascades Conservation Council (where he has served on the Board of Directors since 1994). As a photographer he has seen the changes in our land and our landscape—almost all of them for the worse—that have taken place in the 35 years he has actively been photographing our planet. He points out that we all live on this one magical globe called «Earth,» and unless we love it, revere it, and protect it, we’ll all perish with it. Currently, we are exploiting planet earth at an unprecedented rate, saddling ourselves with many self-inflicted problems: human overpopulation, global warming, an increasing ozone hole, deforestation, overfishing of the oceans, overuse of fresh water resources, pollution of the air, land, and waters (lakes, rivers, and oceans), and many others too numerous to detail. But humanity is doing little to correct any one of these problems. We have enough knowledge to recognize the steps that should be taken to turn from our destructive ways to more intelligent, productive, and sustainable means, but we may not have the wisdom or political will to implement that knowledge.
Láhko National Park, Norway. ©Bjørn Joachimsen.
About Láhko National Park
Láhko is the karst national park. Karst topography is a geological formation shaped by the dissolution of carbonate rock by water. Calcite marble is the predominant rock type in the national park and leaves its mark on the landscape and the flora. Caves, clints and grikes, dolines, stream sinks (swallow holes), natural bridges and blind valleys are found everywhere. The calcareous bedrock forms a basis for rich plant life and interesting wildlife. The national park has many special ecosystems, including calcareous lakes. The park borders up to the Saltfjellet-Svartisen National Park and the Langvassdalen-Ruffedalen Nature Reserve, and is thus part of one of the largest protected areas in Norway.ENJOY THE SCENERY
Hiking in Láhko is a marvellous experience. Spectacular karst formations, ranging from millimetre-deep rills to large fissures and shafts, are seen everywhere. Rivers vanish beneath the ground only to reappear in a completely different place. Corbel’s canyon, with its water traps, caves and underground rivers, is especially interesting. Outdoor activities Hunting and fishing are popular pastimes and several lakes have good fish stocks. The two most used starting points for trips are the car parks near the Langvatnet and Namnlausvatnet lakes. They offer short, easy walks into the park. Outdoor activities are well prepared for in Láhko. T-marked paths cross the park from Langvatnet to Namnlausvatnet and over to Gråtådalen, a valley in the east. Local hunter and angler associations have several cabins in and around the park, which can be rented. The Norwegian Trekking Association has unlocked cabins just outside the park in Gråtådalen and close to Fellvatnet. There is also an open turf hut in Kvitsteindalen. Those who prefer not to hike along marked paths should visit the northern and eastern parts of Láhko. The area is less accessible in winter because the mountain roads that approach the park are not ploughed. Láhko is, nevertheless, popular for ice fishing and for skiing. The ski season lasts until May in this area.
LANDSCAPE AND GEOLOGY
Virtually all of the Láhko National Park is within an extensive belt of carbonate rocks. The park is a unique, unbroken, alpine limestone plateau. The water dissolves the bedrock, forming a variety of karst features. Some diorite and granite outcrops are found in the northwest, and layers of mica schist and mica gneiss occur everywhere. The central part of the park is a plateau at around 600 m a.s.l., encircled by mountain massifs and alpine peaks. A north-south row of mountains reaches heights of 1000- 1300 m a.s.l. and forms a prominent wall and boundary to the east. Small glaciers originating in the Simlebreen glacier are eye-catchers. Much of the Svartisen ice cap can be seen in the south. Many lakes and rivers The national park has many lakes, notably Fiskvatnet, Svalvatnet and Seglvatnet. The bedrock leaves its mark on the rivers, which often vanish underground for longer or shorter stretches before reappearing. The calcareous lakes have rich bottom vegetation with lime-demanding stoneworts, giving good biotopes and feeding conditions for benthic creatures and fish.
Read more (in English):
View some images from Láhko here:
http://www.joachimsenphotography.com/#/lhko-national-park/
On our way from Ørnes to Láhko National Park we will pass the spectacular Fykan stairs. This is Europe´s best preserved stair construction, with its 1129 steps and 300m height.
The Svartisen Glacier is located a 20 min drive from Fykan.
Would you like a photographic adventure in the north?
I offer tailor made tours, workshops or courses for small groups or individuals on request and share my insights and skills in photography at locations all over Norway.
Contact me for request!