søndag 30. desember 2007

Car


Car
Originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen
Driving the blue

make it go away

Radio loud

Darkness safe

lørdag 29. desember 2007

On the Savage road

Pat Savage has a preview of his latest film ready to watch: A Bikers Lifestyle... The Savage Roads "Arctic Viking Roads". You may see the video here.

Intervjuet med Pat finner du litt lenger ned på siden. Innlegget med tittelen "Kval, blues og raketter på Discovery-TV" ble laget da Pat kom av Andfjordferga sent i sommer.

De delene av filmen som er fra Andøya og Andenes ligger tre fjerdedeler ut i filmen. Hele filmen er på 23 minutter og viser turen på Harley ned fra Kirkenes, innom Macks ølbryggeri i Tromsø og videre ned til Harleytreffet i Ballangen.

Savage ser ut til å ha forelsket seg i Andøy, eller andværingene har forelsket seg i ham. Nå har han spilt flere ganger her ute, både på Teria og Havnehuset. I følge turnelista spiller han på Havnehuset igjen i slutten av januar.

mandag 24. desember 2007

Healthy breakfast

A breakfast should always be healthy

- to the soul

I have

black coffee
olives
cigars

in bed

tonight is Christmas Eve

søndag 23. desember 2007

Dead sea eagle

Dead sea eagle
Dead sea eagle,
originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen.
Dead sea eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) on the shore. One, maybe two, bleeding wound. I think it might be a gunshot wound. It's a pitty such a nice bird. Think will deliver it to the sheriff over to Christmas, so they can have it examined.

It's mate flew above me several times while I were photographing. It ducked, as to see what I was doing.

lørdag 22. desember 2007

At the Salvation Army

Community singing
Community singing,
originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen.
I were at the Salvation Army this evening. They have been delivering boxes with food to people. 20 families in my municipality and 10 in the neighbor city.

One like to believe that know one in Norway need this kind of help. Usually the government give you support. Well enough to survive. Food, rent, clothes. The basic needs will be covered. It's not a life in luxury, but you'll survive.

The soldiers told me that help is most needed in families with a drug problem. Some drunkards also need help, but they were not so demanding as the drug addicts. Some unemployed immigrants also needed support, and a very few new-poor families.

This is Norway. This is how we are.

Liberty

LIberty
LIberty,
originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen.
The liberty of having a really hot, red neck pre-christmas party. looks like some one at the air base gonna be really drunk tonight.

Our church

churc
churc,
originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen.
Our church. My church? I was baptized there, but never confirmed. This strange rite de passage. This strange ritual to make you step in to the adult world. Well I've never grown up.

søndag 16. desember 2007

Letter of resignation

I quite my job today. Wrote a letter of resignation to my employer this Sunday evening.

It's time to start living again.

I'm gonna work as an independent photographer. It shall not be easy. But neither will it be boring.

lørdag 15. desember 2007

Christmas tree

tree
tree,
originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen.
In progress.

8 days
a week.

Never
enough time.

This is it.

9 days til Christmas Eve.

torsdag 13. desember 2007

Guiding star

star
star,
originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen.
My guiding star. My polar star.My north star. For other's it's just a Christmas star. For me it is hope. Like a treasure hidden up north. Now I have moved up north again. Still it represents hope to me.

fredag 2. november 2007

Ord møter pensel


"Ord møter pensel" er et møte med og mellom Siv`s malerier og Marianne`s ord.

Utstillere i november er billedkunstner Siv Johansen fra Hadsel og frilansjournalist og poet Marianne Lovise Strand fra Sortland. Den dyktige unge musikeren Peer Nic. Gundersen fra Sortland spiller og synger på åpningen, og opplesning av dikt skal det også bli.

Dette bildet ble mitt.

lørdag 13. oktober 2007

Mahlas art

Mahla - Maren Bremnes stilte ut fotografier i fyret på Andenes.

Dette bildet ble mitt.

lørdag 22. september 2007

Me and Linn

Meg og Linn
Meg og Linn,
originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen.
Of all my photos, this might be the one I like the most.

Me and Linn where inseparables. At least until the army ordered her father to serve in another part of the country.

We were always on the run. There were things to discover, dismantle or repair. We were four year's old, and the world was one big adventure.

mandag 17. september 2007

Retro room

Retro room
Retro room,
originally uploaded
by Martin Kristiansen.
Or should I say Red Room? Not possessed though...

the red lampe's a bit scary. I'll admit that.

Not my furniture, luckily. It followed the house. Many things have not been removed or redecorated since the house were built in the early seventy's. The dining room is definitively genuine.

torsdag 13. september 2007

Me and the world champion (at work)

megogole
megogole,
originally uploaded
by Martin Kristiansen.
Biathlon world champion to the right. Local heavy weight beer champion to the left.

Ole Einar Bjørndalen on sponsor tour at Sortland. Playing with the kids. Competing with laser rifles. The pictures can be seen in this album.

Of course I had to get a photography with me and the champion . He has won five Olympic Gold medals (more than anyone in biathlon), and nine World Championship gold medals. In addition, he has a record 74 individual Biathlon World Cup victories. Ole Einar became the first biathlete ever to win a FIS Cross Country World Cup race, in Gällivare, Sweden in 2006.

lørdag 8. september 2007

Lubitel

Lubitel Rotet frem min gamle Lubitel. 14 år siden den ble brukt sist. Fant frem noen ruller like gammel 120-film. Efke, for det meste. Svart-hvit. Noen ruller Velvia slides. Har kjøpt fremkaller Kodak D-76 en gammel klassiker, men kanskje den blir for hard for Ekfe-filmen? Får se neste helg. Da blir det fremkalling. Burde vel egentlig kjøre på med Velvia og fange høstfarger, men det er så greit med sh-film og ta fremkallinga selv.

søndag 19. august 2007

Sunday

Walked the moors in the afternoon. Only light rain. haven't been there in many years. Smelled delicious of autumn leaves. Returned at dusk.

That was one week with blogging. Wondered whether I managed. I it was hard ;-) It will probably be some time for my next blog post.

lørdag 18. august 2007

På daukvalkikking på Bleiksstranda

Når kvalbåtene er fullbestilt og været setter en stopper for aktiviteten er det jaggu bra det ligger et kvalkadaver lett tilgjengelig.


Marjan og Darja fra Slovenia virker ikke helt overbevist. Helst skulle de vært ute med kvalbåtene og sett levende kval. Dårlig vær ene dagen og fullbestilte båter den neste satte en stopper for det.

– Kanskje vi kan prøve på Stø? foreslår Marjan, men virker ikke helt overbevist. Det var nå her de ville være med. Jeg treffer det slovenske paret innerst inne på Bleiksstranda.

Kvalstanken
– Har dere sett en død kval her? spør jeg dem. Høvelig nysgjerrige henger de seg på i letinga etter kvalkadaveret. Etterhvert går det opp for meg at vi er i feil ende av stranda. På veien treffer jeg en syklende Bleiksværing. Han kjente kvalstanken i helga og peker raskt ut kadaveret.

Midt i bukta nedenfor kirkegården ligger det. Ei rød trosse og noen tonn med illeluktende spekk. Kvalen ser altså ut til å ha hatt landkjenning tidligere. Nå er det nok håpløst å slepe den noe sted. Kanskje den kan tjene som reservedelskval for dem som har bruk for det? eller som alternativ safari for værfaste turister?

– Er det en spermasettkval? Hva døde den av? Hvorfor ligger den her? spør Darja Stefanisin — uten å få svar.

– Vi hadde lyst til å dra på kvalsafari i dag, men det var avlyst på grunn av været. I morgen er det fullbestilt og i overmorgen må vi dra hjem igjen, sier hun tydelig skuffet.

– Vi skal i alle fall få med oss lundefuglsafarien, mener Marjan Artnak. Han er hobbyfotograf og ivrig medlem i fotoklubben hjemme i Kochevje.

– Jeg har sett så mange havørn her. Det er veldig morsomt å fotografere her. Hjemme er ørna veldig sky og det er nesten umulig å komme på fotohold. Her har jeg fått mange gode bilder.

– Så så vi elg på Bleik i går kveld. Det ble det fine bilder av, legger han til.

Lyric Saturday (annother day)

I'm off to a poetry reading. Covering it for the paper. No expectations - good at least. The gay is a Christian and school teacher. He will also blow the flute - recorder. I hate that instrument. It's the Norwegian school instrument. You have to play it from 3th grade. The sound of 24 children blowing like madmen in this torture instrument are unbearable.

My kind of poetry are more like voluptuous, inductile, nerve itching, dirty words filled with angst and anguish. Found in poets as Charles Bukowski, Jens Bjørneboe, Jakob Sande or the the old Norse Edda-poems. Not to mention Jon Fosse. Which is not a poet, but theater dramatist. I read his novels as lyrics descriptions of life itself. Lou Reed and the Velvet Undergrounds, which I listen to right now, do also touch this nerve - as in Venus in Furs.

Well. They were done when I came. Then I have the weekend off :)

Lost friday (another day)

Girls with Hawk-mothLost because I fall asleep before 2100. Grabbed three beers with the editor after work. Thought about going out and have some more beers after dinner, but my little rest on the sofa were the end of that day.

Even though the day started out good. Woke up to an email identifying Wednesdays monster:

Lars Ove Hansen at the Norwegian National Center for Insect Diversity recognized our monster as a Hawk-moth. Then it turned from monster to sweet big, little butterfly.

Facts in Norwegian:
Vindelsvermer

Facts in English:
Hawk-moth

fredag 17. august 2007

Amnesic thursday (another day)

What did I do this day? I were at work - weren't I?

Aha! Drowe along the cost, down to Risøyhamn and interviewed the CEO of the electrical power company. That take most of the day. Then?

Is that all I did? What about my spare time?

Aha! Had none. Used a good amount of time to search through the removal load for my tax card. No tax card, no money. No money makes Martin a grumpy man.

Then I headed to cover a political meeting for the paper. Arbeiderpartiet (Labour Party) were to take a stand for or against building of the planned windmill electrical power plant, Andmyran vindpark. They voted no, with some disagreement.

Then my day were done. Home at 2130 hours. Either I finished a book, or I just went to bed?

Did I finish the "En ettermidag om høsten" (an afternoon in the autumn)? Anyway, she did not find her lost housebound in New York. It was a kind of open ending, or something I missed.

onsdag 15. august 2007

Buggy wednesday (another day)

A nice day got even better when two girls and a mother come with this buggy rascal. Not one of our common bugs! Maybe it comes from Sahara. The scientist at Alomar have recently found sand from Sahara flying over our little island. Wind and dry weather made this possible. They also said that the sand would come down if it rained. Well it rained, and this creature showed up! I liked to speculate on this.

Finished off Renbergs Videogutten (the VCR boy) yesterday. Liked it a lot. Two teenage boys waiting for something to happen. They so desperately want something to happen. Then a new boy show up at school. Now things are happening. The VCR boy have the biggest uncensored collection of violence videos they have ever seen - and he hire out his little sister.

The film setting machine broke down again. Luckily we know how to fix it, but it's a bit annoying. And of course this happens just before the paper goes into print - when time is a matter.

Soon finishing Mirjam Kristensens "En ettermiddag om høsten" (An afternoon in the autumn). It's annoying. Now I have to use money on another book. On the other hand, I'm feeling the urge for a dive, after several evenings reading.

tirsdag 14. august 2007

Whaling tuesday (another day)

A little bit of this, and little bit of that. Then a man grab my arm and tell me he think I should go to Bleik, to photograph the dead whale and write about it.

I search the beach. A Slovenian couple hook up. We find the thing that once was a whale. It's some tons with blubber broken down on the beach. Hopeless to tow away. A red hawser in the tail, tell us that it has already been towed from another island.

Most of the gas is gone out of it. It smelled bad this weekend. It's not bad right now. But it's high tide and land breeze. It will probably not smell like roses on a calm summer day when the heat comes.

mandag 13. august 2007

Lazy monday (another day)

Not much happening.

Interview the priest at the air force base.

A friend comes by. I lend him Schopenhauer's The world as will and representation. Hope he can handle it. It is nothing for delicate young men. In certain countries the book was not published. It was said to destroy the youth and all hope for the future.

Finally online. I update this blog. Tried out Windows Live Wire. Both ok and bad.

Having pasta carbonara.

Will continue with Tore Renbergs Videogutten(The VCR boy).

søndag 12. august 2007

Working Sunday (another day)

Put on the coffee maker at 10am. Bring the coffee back into bed. Just started on Mirjam Kristensens "En ettermiddag om høsten" (An afternoon in th autumn. A young couple goes to New York for vacation. She loses him at the Metropolitian museam of art. Can't find him. She's lost in the city. Wery claustrofobic. Open another book Tore Renbergs "Farmor har kabel-tv" (Grandma got cabel-tv). Read a couple of pages. So far, it seems to be a novel about growing up in the 80's. Not overly happy about it. I'm not into the 80's retro. I grew up in the 80's. It was not fun. Ugly clothes and bad music. Don't miss it much.

Have breakfast and drive down to the church. Must photograph a reunion. 50 years since they left school. Recognise some of the people. A couple of my old teachers amongst them. How old they look.

Have two hours to kill before next assignment. Drive to my parents place and pick up some of my stuff. Mostly books and old records I have stored there.

It's 3pm. I stand at a soccer field by the sea. Local team Høken (the hawk) meets Svolvær. Bleik doesn't show it's best side. It's cloudy and rain in the air. They loose 4-7. Not to bad. It could have been a lot worse. Svolvær is at the top of the league. Bleik is not.

The cellular is dead. My operator Netcom having problems. Call my sister on another phone. Asks her if she and her boyfriend will have dinner with me.

She brings me some incense I've asked her to order. Cinnamon, camphor and eucalyptus. We light up the cinnamon stick. It smells delicious.

I make wolffish and salmon in curry, with vegetabels and rice. Their usually picky on the fish, but I know this will match their taste. After dinner we sit down in the living room. Having ice cream and coffee. They have been in a wedding this weekend, and have a lot to share.

At 10pm I'm alone again. Writing this. Listening to Björk. Debut then Gling-Gló. A marvellous record.

Now I will probably do the dish, and have an evening meal. Bread with chesse. don't need it, but then again. There' a lot of things one don't need. Now I will probably try to update this blogg, just to discover that the network is still down. A bit annoyed by that I will go to bed. Don't they understand that I live my life in the matrix? I haven't been online since early afternoon saturday. I will read the before mentioned books. Then tuck in around midnight.

torsdag 9. august 2007

WARNING EXPLICIT CONTENT

WARNING: Picture contains some nudity. It shows a beautiful, innocent young juggler, not an exotic dancer.Warning the text beneath is of a explicit nature. You should not read below this point if you are a minor. You should also not read below this point if you are faint of heart, or feel molested by a total disregard for Christian morals and values, or do not tolerate anomalous actions or alternative ways of living. The following story has graphic scenes. They are scenes of a strong sexual nature. There are no depiction of rape, incest, child, abuse, bestiality, homo-sexuality, graphic suicide or self mutilation. Neither any depiction of student-teacher or adult-minor ship. Still we will issue a warning: Mature Audience Only. This story is specifically designed to be read by a mature audience and therefore may be unsuitable for persons under 17. This story contains one or more of the following: intense non-graphic violence, explicit non-graphic sexual activity, or crude indecent language. This story contains references and explicit language. It could be said to promote deviant sexual behavior. This story has a picture containing nudity. Do not look at it if you are shocked by pictures of an explicit nature or are under age to view such media. Adult Viewers Only: Text and pictures herein is adult subject matter and you must be of legal adult age to view or order from areas of this web site. Visiting here affirms that you are of legal age and may lawfully view this site.

If you are under the age of independent thinking, please visit http://www.disney.com

Forpult vanskelig å skrive en sånn helsikes tekst - Ops! Der var det vist gjort?
Tro hva som skjer med dette innlegget nå? Vil det få flere treff enn de andre innleggene? Eller google-annonsene, endres de? Kanskje det hjelper på legg inn et par bilder, med en advarsel i koden for bildebeskrivelsen? Får lete litt på disken og se om jeg finner et bilde av en dame i knekort skjørt ;-) sånn da var det gjort. For ordens skyld. Ikke klikk på lenka over.

onsdag 8. august 2007

Ballantine's and a nudie dip

Nothing that a bottle of whisky and a nudie dip can't cure. - I need this one. Countergirl at the liquor store smile at me. I hand her the Ballantine's. - 299, thank you. Have a nice evening.

Car parked. Shoes tossed away. Trousers over the sofa. Shirt goes the same way.

- Nothing that Ballantines can't cure. Crack says the cap. Sissle says the good stuff. Sprinkled over the ice.

Sweat dripple down. Through my beard. On my tummy. Stops at the elastic. Panties wet with sweat. I cherish the sun. Naked at my veranda. A Tuesday afternoon.

- Nothing that a nudie dip can't cure. Half way through the bottle. Wrap a towel around the tray. Pack down two glass. My cellular goes the same way.

I nod at the barbecue party, on top of their garage veranda. Next to the beach. This is what they see:

To sandals. Blue cooling bag. Glass of whisky. Pantied man.

Staring down in the light blue sea. I will have a heart attack. Heart will stop beating, reaching the Atlantic.

Snapping for air. Cold water dripping through my hair. Were doing fine. Old buddy. Not in too good a shape. Still standing for a cold dip.

Swim towards the rocks. Making sure I will not drown. The cold won't take me. Turn around and head for an islet.

Warm kelp. Hot stones. I watch the garage party. They watch me. There's some activity in their neighbors house. I see someone at the window. Window goes up and down. Up and down in the red house. House wife gone mad. Cleaning out the heat.

Reaching for ice. I beat the tray against the rocks. Fill my glass with ice. Sprinkle more Ballantine's over it. Heavy glass. Nice glass. Bought it for survival times - like this.

A friend comes by. - There was an ambulance up at the red house. A woman fainted. They took her away.

- Maybe she saw something she couldn't handle, I reply.

Bollocksing our way through the bottle. Gnat bites. Sun colling down. We head back to his place. There will be some cognac on he table. I know.

Wake up fine at 7am. Can't find my panties. But then again. I'm probably not the first to wake up after a round of scotch, not knowing where the panties are.

At work. Same old stuff. Writing. Talking. Talking. Writing. Then it hits me with full force. I cling to the keyboard. Knowing that I some day will meet my creator. Not only some day - but this very moment.

I need something else to think of. Grab my camera bag. Drive down the main street. Out of the city center. A quarter later my mind is set on other things.

søndag 5. august 2007

Kval, blues og raketter på Discovery-TV

Pat Savage, the blues musician making tv-show Savage roadsVinden spiller en seig sensommerblues, med flatt regn og sedvanlig lavt skydekke, når ferga runder molohodet.
Borameternåla går ned i knestående og sommeroptimismen har snudd til e-moll, i det syklene brummer over landgangen.


– That´s life as a Harley rider. You never know what hit´s you, sier Pat Savage og kikker inn i skodda. Canadieren har gitt jernet på Andenes før. Nå er han på vei fra Nordkapp til Harley-treffet i Ballangen. Så bærer det en tur ned til Lillehammer, før han om to uker er tilbake for å traktere blueshungrige andværinger. Gutten har vært på veien med gitaren i 25 år, så avstandene bekymrer ham neppe.

Unnfanget på HD
Canadieren har ikke bare en forkjærlighet for blues. Interessen for Harley-sykler er nok mer en normalt utviklet. I følge Pats egen mytologi er han unnfanget på en ’56 Pan Head Harley Davidson. Nå er han med et filmteam på Andenes for å feste kval og raketter på videoteipen.

– Vi håper å få ei omvisning på rakettskytefeltet, selv om vi ikke gjør oss noen forhåpninger om å få festet ei oppskytning til teipen, sier han og kikker inn i tåkehimmelen. – Klippene fra Andøy skal vises på TV-showet mitt, «A Bikers Lifestyle ... The Savage Roads», forteller canadieren. I showet cruiser han rundt med musikervenner på motorsykkeltreff i New Zealand, Norge, Storbritannia og Japan.

Kenneth «Kula» Johansen kjører sammen med Pat. Kula spiller i bandet Blue Hawgs. De skal varme opp publikumet i Ballangen.

– Fotografen er ivrig og er både høyt og lavt for å få gode kjøreklipp. Jeg tror dette blir en ålreit film, sier Kula.

– Vi har kjørt i alt fra strålende sol og 20 grader på Nordkapp, til regn og skodde her på Andenes. Det er helt topp kjørevær dette. Vi vil vise Nord-Norge på godt og vondt. Dette er eksotisk for dem, forteller Kenneth Kula. Før han legger til. – Vi traff på rein. Den kom rett og slett out på veien og hilste på oss. Han kan ikke forstå annet enn at tv-visninga vil få en fantastisk reklameverdi for Nord-Norge.

lørdag 4. august 2007

Rocket launch

Rocket launch
Rocket launch
Nice column
of smoke,
over the chimney,
behind the roof.
Nice column of moke, over the chimney, behind the roof.

Ground quakening. Windows shivering. Some kind of thunder shaking my ears.

- What the dot dot dot is this? There are no such thing as earthquake around here.

Then I remeber the rocket launch. Run to the veranda door. A thick column of smoke stands over the ocean. I hear the rocket engine burning out. The second engine takes over with a blast, far, far away. If it was clear sky I would have seen the first engine fall burning throug the sky.

Made a bloody noise. I leapt a good inch or two.

This happende at 0050am. There will be one to follow this one, so I sit down. Waiting. Exactly 30 min. later the second rocket is prepeard. I grab my camera phone while running to the door. Hopeless. The fog is so thick now, the smoke barely shows.

NASA are here now. Everyone believed the launch would come some days later. There are som heavy, misty clouds hanging over our little island now. But it is no wind, so maybe that made them take a chance on the launch?

rocketrange.no

mandag 30. juli 2007

It's that time of year!

A couple of hours on the moors saturday night brought me this sweeties. Cloudberry and blueberry. Sunday I spent some time on the hillside in Stavedalen, and I did find some nice blueberries. They now live in my freezer :)

Who know what monday will bring?

lørdag 28. juli 2007

Grattis!

Ja, ja. Det er vel en fin dag uansett - slik det sies, at alle dager er fine dager.

fredag 27. juli 2007

Villa og Volvo

Villa og volvo
Så ble det villa og volvo på meg óg. Nå mangler bare voffen og fast arbeid. Førstnevnte skal visst luftes sammen med barnevogn, så den kommer neppe i hus. Sistnevnte er jeg allergisk mot, så det er for tidlig å skrive nekrologen.

søndag 8. juli 2007

Snorkelling at Kinnvoll


Multimedia message
Originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen
To hot to stay on
shore with 6,5 to
13 mm of black super
insulating neopreon.
There's a story behind this, but right now there are some shore crabs shimmering on the stove. Some catch to take care of.

Masse bubbelurer, for det meste strandsnegler. Tok med mange grønne kråkeboller. Var også noen røde, men små boller der. Brukte en uendelighet på å renske dem. Fullstendig fritt for fisk, hvis du ser vekk fra verdens minste flyndre - og lillebroren. Kom også over en fjesing eller noe som lignet.

Helt utrolig langgrunt. Hele nederste delen av bukta flødde igjen. Måtte vade tilbake fra holmen jeg tok ut fra.

Sikten var god, og mye mer enn ti meter, men kom aldri så langt ut at det ble dypere enn det. Svømte helt ut til det ytterste skjæret. Flere undervannsskjær underveis.

Lenger sør, mot elva var det mer uklart. Mye glassmaneter. Ellers var det strandkrabbe i søkk og kav. Mye eremittkreps av typen stor.

Svømte rett på ei havørn. Så ung ut. Mye grått, brunt og spraglete i fjærdrakten. Var litt liten. Virket litt puslete. Kom helt inn på den før den så meg. Tror ikke den helt forstod hva jeg var. Den gjorde et par spede forsøk på å fly. Enten var den ikke redd meg, eller så var den for avkreftet til å klare det.


Had to wade back from the islet. Kind of figured it out before I went out to the islet.


Possibly the whitest boy alive! Anyway, coffee and chocolate biscuits made it worth the effort.


Here, and out a kilometer or a half. Shallow, sandy bottom.


Who could possibly deny that this is a really, really nice place?

onsdag 4. juli 2007

Foggy Notion


Multimedia message
Originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen
After a few days with warm weather, and the first summerday - with 20 degrees celsius, the sea fog came. It stood like a wall out in the sea. Thick and heavy. Flowing slowly towards us.

I' always like this when there's some really good weather in sight. Andenes get covered in fog. Cold, wet and thick. The rest of the villages on the island usually get away.

This time I went up on a near by mountain to get a picture of the fog wall. The fog were to close to get a good photo of Andenes. It was just white on white, from the mountain foot and as far as sight could reach. But I managed to capture Bleik well. The little mountain top popping out of the fog is a birds nesting island, Bleiksøya.

tirsdag 3. juli 2007

The lighthouse


Multimedia message
Originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen
The lighthouse. Photographed with my camera phone. Tried to get my self in to the frame. Me and the lighthouse in the same frame.

Turned out impossible. It's the mirror problem. The magic with left and right. It was just like being four years old again.

mandag 2. juli 2007

Coffee on the beach


Coffee on the beach
Originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen
Coffee on the beach - the Norwegian way. Summer has finally arrived in Northern Norway. The temperature is rising, and today was a perfect day to chill out on the beach. You just remember to dress well.

It was not that bad. Just having a coffee after some hours snorkling in the evening.

Dette så jeg:

Kråkeboller. Grønne og en og annen svart. Massevis av kråkeboller. Ser ikke ut som om noen spiser kråkeboller her - utenom kråka da. Så bare to fisker. En rognkall og verdens minste rødspette. Kun to skikkelige skjell. O-skjell. Fin størrelse, selv om de var noe ensome.

Foruten at det var kråkeboller i overflod, var det også en overflod av snegler. Et paradis for snegleetere! Var også skikkelige kongesnegler her. De hvite med ordentlig skru. Strandkrabbe og eremittkreps var det også plenty med.

Dette var i Børrvågen, bukta mellom Nordmela og Børra. Langgrunt. Store dønninger i havgapet. Nesten som å surfe.

Gikk også på land og tok en tur til fots til ei bukt lengre ut. Her var det vedlig klart og fint vann. Grusbunn, men kun snegler, eremittkreps og strandkrabber.

Hostile  fellow
- I fear nothing, said the common shore crab.

Things I saw. Only looking for edible animals ;-)
  • Drøbakkskråkebollen - Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis - Green edible Norwegian sea urchin
  • Rognkall - Cyclopterus lumpus - Lump sucker
  • Rødspette - Pleuronectes platessa - European plaice
  • O-skjell - Modiolus modiolus - Horse mussel
And I am pretty sure I met this snails:
  • Strandsnegl - Littorina littorea - Common periwinkle
  • Purpursnegl - Nucella lapillus - Dog whelk (purple snail)
  • Kongesnegl - Buccinum undatum - Common whelk
  • Neptunsnegl - Neptunea despecta - Rejected Neptune
But I now have learnt that it is very hard to determine snails. Did you know that they actually use the size and shape of the animals penis to determine the species? Although the books say nothing about determination of a female snail. If penis peering doesn't work out, they use DNA-analysis. So I am fairly pleased with my own determination, made through the goggles while floating in open sea.
  • Strandkrabbe - Carcinus maenas - Common shore crab
And this little fellow, which is probably not edible, but funny too watch:
  • Eremittkreps - Pagurida - Hermit crabs, don't know which. There were so many.
Funny to watch are also the goby, which I presume inflects to gobies. These were amazingly colorful. Hey! That's guppies, I told myself.

Børra
Børra sett fra havet. Børra viewed from the sea.

mandag 25. juni 2007

Birdie Nerd


Photographing Oystercatcher's nest.

Birdie Nerd, originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen.

onsdag 20. juni 2007

Spede spira lyt få gå!

ReindeerEinar Skjæraasen var aldri på Arnøya. Her har naturen tatt over og det finnes ingen meining i mållaust liv.

Dvergbjørk er nå så sin sak. Slangebjørk noe helt annet. Mye mer lumskt og ugjennomtrengelig. Slangebjørka lever store deler av livet under bakken. Du oppdager den først når du ligger der med ansiktet godt plantet i naturen - og spytter lyng og harker mose.

Etter nærmere undersøkelser finner du den flere centimeter under den øvrige vegetasjonen. Sju og en halv meter lenger nede i lia finner du toppen av treet. Grønt og fint, strekker det hele sin alen opp mot skodda og sommeren som aldri kommer.

Her ute på øya har naturen tatt over. Stormåsen, krykja, terna, tjelden og lunden hersker fra flomålet og opp til myrkanten under tinden. Haren mesker seg med det som finnes i blomsterbedene og mygga henger lavt over husene i tålmodig vente på neste måltid.

I dag fortjente jeg middagen. Svett, trøtt og våt etter en dag i skogen, om ikke jungelen. Gamle stier skulle gåes opp igjen, men gjenngrodd som de var dugde kun øks og håndsag som følgesvenn.

Bak meg på bildet ligger et dagsverk med slangebjørk og diverse utvalg av annen bjørk. Mye gjenstår, men nå er det i alle fall mulig å ta seg fler foldige meter opp i skogen. Et par gamle stier er gjenåpnet og mange av de gamle utsiktspunktene kan nåes. Utsikten er det verre med, til gjengjeld er det nå mulig å få med seg ei motorsag et stykke opp i skogen.


Du ska itte trø i graset.
Spede spira lyt få stå.
Mållaust liv har og e mening
du lyt sjå og tenkje på.
På Guds jord og i hass hage
er du sjøl et lite strå.

Einar Skjæraasen

tirsdag 19. juni 2007

Reindeer


Reindeer, originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen.

Reindeer

Reindeer skull

Worm eaten
plundered
by carrion birds

White bones
driven
down
in to the earth

Overgrown
with moss and heather

Sometimes life's just to hard to be a reindeer

tirsdag 12. juni 2007

A moving tour


Swedish arctic circle


Multimedia message, originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen.

By the Swedish arctic circle. At the road from Arvidsjaur to Bodø. Close to the Norwegian border.

Dobbel dose

Multimedia message, originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen.

Dobbel dose, etter ei natt i bil. Den lille kaffebønna i Grong leverte varene.

Natt i Volvo

Multimedia message, originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen.

Klar for ei natt i volvoen. Mygga jaget meg inn.

Me and my friend

Multimedia message, originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen.

Meet a friend on the mountain. Must be a relative of mine ;-)

Arctic spring

Multimedia message, originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen.

Arctic spring ;-)

At the polar cirkel. Polarsirkelsenteret på Saltfjellet.

Arctic circle

Multimedia message, originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen.

Crossing the Arctic Circle. Second time this week.

Ready for the night

Ready for the night, originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen.

In the roadside, at the middle of the light North-Norwegian spring night. Ready for a night in the sleeping bag. Woollen cap and jersey to make sure I don't freeze.

Ferry

Multimedia message, originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen.

On the ferry! Only 3 hours driving left.

Bognes - Lødingen.

Breakfast

Multimedia message, originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen.

Breakfast in Trofors. Rosinboller og melk fra Esso-stasjonen. En benk i skyggen. Online for å redigere bloggen.

Nord-Norge

Multimedia message, originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen.

Northern Norway!
Endelig kan jeg sove.

Map

At night
Multimedia message, originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen.

Reading the map, at 0115 in the light spring night.
På Namsskogan.


1000 kilometers!

Multimedia message, originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen.

Turning 1000 kilometers, the first day.

Voss

Multimedia message, originally uploaded by Martin Kristiansen.

Voss. Coffee break. Feels good leaving Bergen.