If I had to pick the thing I love about Norway most, it’s the outdoor culture.  Our kids stay engaged outdoors year round, and us too by extension.  This outdoor-loving population has done everyone in my family a giant favor, especially during the long, dark winter months.

In my last series, I focused on the sidewalk experience, particularly within urban and suburban areas.  I was captivated by architecture and its relationship to us as pedestrians.  In this series, I zoomed out a bit, painting the essence of the landscape from the same geographic area.  The difference in composition is striking.

The change in scale perhaps represents a shift in my own myopia to a broader grasp of culture as shaped by landscape.  Equally, the landscape makes its mark on culture.  It makes its mark on us.

In Norway, we have “allemannsretten,” which translates directly as “every man’s right.”  It is right of anyone to roam freely on uncultivated land, including private property without permission.  You may simply cross over private land, but you may also stay and camp, so long as you respect your surroundings.

The American principle of private property is so deeply engrained that I probably will never feel at complete liberty to roam, but I love where some measure of this freedom has taken us.  The forest opening to a vista of the fjord.  Around a bend, discovering a quiet ski jump in the woods.  A surprise purple sky emerging from the darkness of early winter.  Who knows in what landscapes the next year will find us?