People Of The Sápmi - Northern Norway

ATTENTION: P l e a s e n o t e t h e l i n k t o s i m i l a r m a t e r i a l f u r t h e r d o w n ! In 1882 the Danish researcher and teacher Sophus Tromholt travelled to Northern Norway in order to investigate and photograph the phenomenon of Polar Lights. In between his work he took a keen interest in taking pictures of the native inhabitants of the Sápmi area, formerly known as Lapland. The result is now a remarkable collection housed by the University of Bergen, Norway. In more recent days, Per Ivar Somby - a Norwegian of Tromsø (and of Sami origin) - creates colored versions of Tromholt’s photographs, employing a skilful and disciplined technique. These color versions cannot replace or push aside Tromholt’s original black and white photographs. Yet, it is stunning how a little color energizes these pictures to jump at us across a gap of nearly 140 years. In the Kautokeino area, where most of these pictures were taken, the color images enjoy tremendous p