Birch Bark

On the photographic equivalent of chocolate cake on a plate

We visited this location at the end of the second day of a workshop in Norway. I had made a series of images with birch bark during my interregnum – the long transition from film to digital capture – so the subject and how to approach it were familiar to me. But this was like being handed chocolate cake to eat on a plate. It was remarkable.

I won’t give away what it actually is – though suffice to say it is a traditional Norwegian feature – because I think the sense of mystery adds something to the image. In a short period of 90 minutes I made at least 6 compositions with my technical camera and at least three that I afterwards considered to be strong.

The main image was my favourite – the curling birch bark is so enigmatic. The alternative image was a little more revealing of what object was being photographed. I made a third image – to form a triptych – just before we finished as I shot on an angle and used swing to hold the focus. The third image really gives the game away. All three images decorate an article I wrote on closed loop photography.

One of the reasons I still go on workshops is to increase the possibility to make this kind of image – not so much the classic hero-based vista that multitudes have already bagged – but these quiet, intriguing and more introspective images.