Midsummer in Norway

It's that time of year, again. Middle of summer, and the sun kind of never really sets. Well, it disappears under the horizon, but most unwillingly and just barely. A little bit further north of here the sun will be shining all day, and all night long... 24/7 like. It's a little bit annoying, but very nice as well. Dark all winter, and good daylight all summer no matter what time it is. 
The birds like that as well, as the breeding season can be stretched a lot. Seabirds up north have some busy days just now, as all them new kids are being born and raised. 

Time Passes Slowly for these women sitting in the aisle inside of this shopping center in Middlesbrough as they obviously did get some kind of treatment done to their nails as other people were hasting by. I did not study the happening too closely, but did use the opportunity to snap a few with the old M3 rangefinder. Long exposure times... or at least longish. 

I am out there on my tiny little island of Ona just now. Went out here on thursday evening, just me and my wife, and planned to stay over the weekend. It was summer solstice this last thursday, and we thought they might have made a few preparations for a party or something out here for the big day. And they had, but they also had decided to have the party on Saturday instead, just to get some more people to join, I guess. And a lot of people there was for sure. 
A big tradition up here on the north western part of the country is to make a huge fire for this special day, or night. Some places do have a more spectacular fire than others, but there's always a good fire down by the sea around more or less every small village around here. 
In my home town we have been known to have the biggest and most famous fires of them all, and this year the builders wanted to break the world record. You see there was a bunch of people further south in Norway building a big bonfire a few years ago, but they used a crane and did all sorts of cheating stuff just to get a world record. Nothing like the traditional way to build a thing like this, which should be done by lifting stuff up to the top using only manpower. 
So, the boys and girls from my home town decided that this year they would break the record again, and still they would not use cranes and that sort of stuff. 47,40 meters up in the air they ended... and of course a new world record. The highest bonfire built by man, and as usual it's a spectacular sight to see. As I was out here on the island of Ona I did not see it burning down this year, but I still had a great time out here watching our local bonfire burning. It was great, but very different to the one back home. You can see a time lapse video of the big thing burning down over here, if you like. But it's also very impressive to see how they actually build the thing, the young lads and girls from my home town. I have not been able to check the two links, but I hope there's something there to watch.
As you might understand, it's nothing we take lightly on, making a nice and spectacular bonfire back home where I come from. 

A sunset from the Shetland area a bit earlier this spring. Nothing great, I know, but there's still the old light in here... and a few clouds and a stripe of light down there around the horizon. I like sceneries like this one. 

Well, the weekend is over and as we started to pack all the things and stuff to bring home from Ona my wife suggested that I just stayed here for the week. She will be back on thursday evening anyway, and as I did not have anything special to do this week I was very easily manipulated to think that it was a real good idea. So here I am, out on the island more or less all alone with a few of the locals and a couple of cameras. And some film. I hope to use them well, as the stock in my drawer back home has really started to shrink lately. 
I did order some more a few days ago, but maybe I should have waited another day or so... as we all know the British Pound went a bit down the other day. 
Well, I do not intend to make this blog into a political thing in any way but also feel that I have to mention it in some kind of way. Whatever happens over there, I truly wish it will be for the better to all of you living there. That's my only wish, to be totally honest. The same thing goes for this as it did for the last voting where Scotland wanted to get out. I don't have the right to vote, and therefore I can and will not say too much about it. 

At some beach somewhere in old England, as we like to see it. I guess the beaches and the people will still be the same the next time I decide to go over there for some kind of holiday. I know a girl moving over there a few years ago. She's got her own family somewhere around Manchester these days, but did not express herself in the most positive of ways when the result of the referendum was broadcasted. It seems she's a bit anxious she might get kicked out for some reason at some point in the future. 

I'm not a football junkie or anything like that, but like to try follow a few of the matches in the big events such as the european championship going on just now. There's a few great things going on there, and the performance of the underdogs is very much fun to take part in. North Ireland, Wales, and not to forget Iceland. Iceland, this tiny place way out west in the Atlantic Ocean. Iceland, the land of a few people scattered around, art, music, volcanos, ash clouds and now football. I love to watch them play, and tomorrow they are up against England. Must say I'm a bit diverted about how I would like the outcome of that match to be, but let's just say that any way it ends, there's some good in it. 

As I told you I got a couple of cameras out here to get into some good use during the week to come. The german thing capable of producing square 6x6 negatives, and a german rangefinder of black color. I think I only got a couple of more films left for the Leica, but luckily I brought a few of 120 format. I really hope to be able to snap a few good frames during the next week. 
Also, I hope to have internet connection good enough to post a few entries in the blog. Time will be no issue, at least :)