Norway Landscape Photos

Norway Landscape Photos: Perspectives of Drobak and the Oslo Fjord, Norway

Landscape photography is so appealing because it allows us to capture amazing scenery and the memories of wonderful places we have been lucky enough to visit.

The following photos were taken in and around Drobak, Norway and this wintry picture of the Oslo Fjord at Drobak sets the scene!

Ice on the Oslo Fjord at Drobak Norway

For many, creating ‘amazing pictures’ is the primary goal of landscape photography and given the wonders that nature presents us this is no surprise.For others it’s sufficient to just ‘take some snaps’ to remind them where they went.  Both approaches are fine – after all it’s what you want out of your photos not what other people do that matters.However, I like to mix my landscape photos in with other photos to provide some wider perspectives and insights into places that hold special affection for me – perhaps to show some of the local culture, the history, what makes the place stand out for me, or just to add some context that might make my photos more interesting to others.

I hope you like my approach and if you do perhaps these photos will give you some ideas for what you could do next time you are visiting somewhere out of the ordinary in whichever country your are in.

Oscarsborg seen from hills outside Drobak

Drobak is situated at the narrowest point of the Oslo fjord; it grew into a small town from about the middle of the 18th century, supported by the timber industry and shipping. Traditionally, Drøbak was the winter harbour of Norway’s capital, Oslo, since in severe winters the fjord will freeze from outside Drøbak all the way up to Oslo. A notable event in Drøbak’s history is the sinking of the WWII German cruiser Blücher in the Drøbak narrows, on the early morning of 9 April 1940; the cruiser was transporting German soldiers and bureaucrats for the planned swift occupation of Oslo, but the sinking by the Oscarsborg fortress delayed this, allowing the evacuation of the Norwegian Royal Family, the Parliament & Cabinet, and for the Nation’s gold reserves to be denied the occupiers.

There is much to see in the area – a ferry from Drobak takes you to the nearby island of Oscarsborg which you can see in the middle distance of another wintry photo above – taken from the hills on the outskirts of Drobak at Christmas (2010).

Oscarsborg flowers

But don’t be fooled, the Norwegian climate and the location and history of Drøbak make it a town of contrasts as the photos on this page hope to demonstrate.  Hard to believe that the same island (Oscarsborg) can be a riot of colour in May.

In summertime, cruise ships visit Oslo almost every day and Drøbak has become a popular sea-side tourist spot with numerous restaurants, art galleries and mild summers.

A sunny day in April in Drobak

Cruise-ship on the Oslo Fjord

The town has a Christmas shop called ‘Julehuset’ and letters from children to Santa Claus often end up in Drøbak from all over Europe.  The ‘Father Christmas’ road traffic sign is unique and suggests a lovely sense of civic (?) humour that is hard to beat.

Letters to Santa Claus, Drobak

Look out for Santa Claus

Norwegian garden curiosity

Continuing my walking around Drobak, I came across this curious and delightful garden curiosity – ‘house / troll’ ? (not sure how to describe it) which grabbed my attention and gave me an initial insight perhaps into some interesting aspects of Norwegian culture which I think I need to investigate further (more to follow).

On May 17th (Norway’s National Day), Drobak features a sizeable and exciting parade which passes through the town and it’s easy to see examples of the National Costume as this photo demonstrates (thank you to my family and friends for allowing me to publish their photos):

Norwegian_traditional_costume

Norwegian costume examples

Oslo-Fjord-Norway_taken-with-Panasonic-SD900-video-camera

Here’s another photo taken just a little later with the sun behind me; not too much glare considering I hadn’t put on my polarising filter.

Photo taken with Nikon D40 with a Nikkor 35mm AF-S F/1.8 Prime Lens

Here’s a photo of the unique Mermaids of Drøbak made by the famous sculptor and artist Reidar Finsrud.  Don’t they look just beautiful !

Nikon D40 with Nikkor 35mm AF-S F/1.8 Prime Lens, at F/2.2 1/1000s -0.7EV at ISO 200

Here’s one of my favourite Norway sunset photos – taken in Drøbak looking over the Oslo Fjord in May 2008.

Photo taken with Nikon D40 with Nikkor AF-S DX VR 18-200mm Zoom lens at 90mm F/8 at 1/1000s

and here’s almost the same view but taken in December 2010:

Photo taken with Nikon D40 with Nikkor AF-S DX VR 18-200mm Zoom at 90mm F/13 at 1/200th second: