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Posts from the ‘Photography’ Category

Mar 10

IMG_3327 Feature
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Epilogue

The night before we left Boston to spend a year on Rødøy, we got cold feet. Sitting among 6 giant duffle bags, we asked ourselves, “Why are we doing this?”

We had a good life and had no need to escape anything. Instead of staying on that path, I resigned from my job and we set off to live on a small island north of the Arctic Circle for a year, with nothing planned beyond the year. It was crazy.

That night, we proceeded to work out all the necessary steps to reverse course. Despite the last minute doubts, we stuck to the plan. And it turned out to be the best thing our family has ever done.

6 months after we came back from our year off, the children are happy and well adjusted socially and intellectually. Kristin is teaching part-time at a private school in nearby Cambridge, and she loves her job. The app I started writing, Voice Dream Reader, has acquired a passionate customer-base around the globe, reaching top 10 grossing educations apps at one point or another in 48 countries. That doesn’t make us rich, but we live comfortably while my work gives me profound satisfaction: I feel closely connected to my customers and I’m making a small but positive difference in their lives.

I’ve changed. I think. It’s difficult to tell because I’m hardly a neutral observer of myself. When I talked to companies about jobs after I came back, I smiled and nodded but my heart just wasn’t in it. Meanwhile, I kept going back to work on my app even when sales had not taken off, stubbornly tolerating being unemployed far longer than the old me would have. Perhaps, the knowledge that we could live happily with less gave me strength. At the same time, I’m a lot less stressed about things, and I sometimes find the level of stress around me incomprehensible. I’d like to think that I became a better person.

But even if we did not end up at a better place after the year, we would still do it again without hesitation. Because we had an amazing year that is a treasure of experience and memory. For that we’re deeply grateful to Rødøy and everyone there. For the rest of our lives, in good times and bad, this year will be a reference point for what life could be.

Here are the photographic highlights from our year living on Rødøy, and below are some representative blog posts:

Island Scenery

Fishing

Miscellaneous

Jul 10

Sea Urchin
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The Last Hurrah

During these last two weeks, we were totally focused on getting the most out of our remaining time here. Thanks to our dear friends visiting us from America, we perhaps pushed ourselves further than we would’ve on our own, to experience, and to remember. When the sun is shining and the breeze gentle, I’m hard pressed to think of any other place I’d rather be. Here’s documentation.
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Jun 17

Clusters of Islands and Beaches Next to Rødøy
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Beach Camping under the Midnight Sun

We just came back from a weekend camping on a nearby island, all feverish from the sun, wind and the buzz of having picture perfect beaches all to ourselves for two days. Read more

May 12

Feature
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A Portrait of Spring in Macro

Spring is arriving slowly and torturously, even though daylight is back in abundance. Now the sky never gets black. There’s been flurries nearly everyday last week — this is the arctic circle after all. Today, I took the children hiking all day, and I also decided to try out my new macro photo equipment, Read more

Feb 15

IMG_8868-1 Feature
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Northern Lights Ruined Our Valentine’s Day

Last night, Kristin and I opened up a nice bottle Rioja and sat in front of a blazing fireplace. Candles were lit all over. We were having a lovely Valentine Day evening when my cell phone rang. It was Pawel, our neighbor. He said, “You have to look! I’ve never seen it this big.” Earlier in the evening, we saw good — not great — northern lights, but I called Pawel anyway because I knew his wife really wanted to see it. Since then, his eyes had been peeled looking out the window until the sky exploded. Read more

Feb 8

IMG_8773
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Shockingly, We Have Snow

Finally, we have snow. I know, I know. It’s highly unusual for being above the arctic circle. It wasn’t as dramatic as snow in Rome, the Black Sea frozen, ice storm at Lake Geneva, but it was something. A nice blanket of powder followed by a day of sunshine. Read more

Jan 25

IMG_8087 Feature
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Nacreous Clouds

When we were in Oslo between Christmas and New Years, we saw some very strange looking clouds. We were in Frognerparken, a well-known park with hundreds of statues by the same sculptor, Gustav Vigeland. The sun had already set, but these clouds, rather than turning red or dark gray, were a brilliant white. Read more

Jan 22

Northern Lights Feature
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Northern Lights

People come from all over the world to see the Northern Lights in Norway. The pictures in the tourist brochures look really good. My advise is, don’t. Come and see the fjords, the midnight sun, the mountains, the cod, but not the Northern Lights, because chances are you’ll be disappointed. Read more

Jan 7

The Sun Returns Feature
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The Sun Returns

Today, the sun returned for about 5 minutes after nearly a month of absence. It emerged between two mountains on mainland, basking everything with golden glow. Read more

Dec 18

Feature IMG_7673
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The Sun’s Striptease

December 22, which is 4 days from now, is Winter Solstice. For those of us living north of the equator, it’ll be the shortest day of the year. For those of us living along the Arctic Circle, the sun will not rise above the horizon. On December 22, sunrise here will be at 11:37 am, and sunset will be at 12:25 pm, making a “day” of 48 minutes. In Boston on the same day, there’ll be 9 hours between sunrise and sunset.

So you ask, I thought sun doesn’t come up north of the Arctic Circle? Read more

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