Workshop by Helge Skodvin @ Umarell, Oslo – Norway 21-23 of august 2026
It was with great pleasure that I received confirmation of a place at a workshop with Helge Skodvin one weekend at the end of August. It started with an open lecture on Friday afternoon, where Skodvin took us into two of his book projects: the by now legendary “240 Landscape” and its follow-up, “Observations of new Norwegian fauna in the years 2014–2022”. Both books were published by Journal, a publishing house under the steady leadership of, yes, I would almost say a legend, Gösta Flemming. In my world, at least, he is something of a photobook legend. So credit is also due to Skodvin for having such a great publisher behind his publications.
Naturally, images were shown, and Skodvin told us about how he had worked on these projects. He made it clear that in thematic photographic projects like these, it is about collecting images, one stone at a time, so to speak. And eventually, you have enough photographs for a book. Yes, it really can be that simple!
The lecture was open to anyone interested, and the relatively small space belonging to Terje Abusdal and his two co-owners, Umarell as they call it, was filled to the brim. Chairs had to be carried in from every corner of the building to accommodate everyone.
From Saturday morning onwards, the space was reserved exclusively for the workshop participants. There were 12 photographers who had set aside the weekend to listen to Helge and his advice, tips, and tricks. But Helge Skodvin was also interested in our work, so much of Sunday was spent with each participant presenting a little of what they were working on, followed by a group discussion around what had been shown.
I would especially like to praise Skodvin for being completely honest in his image critiques. It was not just smooth compliments; there was good, constructive feedback that, by virtue of the way it was delivered, came across as genuine thoughts. It is easy to simply flatter everyone, but that was not the case this time.
We went out into the city on Saturday afternoon, where we probably ended up walking a little too much in a line and moving around as a group. Helge first, and the rest of us following. We watched him work and tried our hand at it ourselves. But eventually, the rain arrived and put a damper on the fun. Still, it was great to see how Skodvin worked and how he used his surroundings to his advantage, in keeping with his photographic style.
Well, there is not really much more to say. I am including a few photographs that show both the boss himself and the group as a whole.
At the same time, I would like to thank everyone involved for a lovely weekend with wonderful people!
PS! The group portrait picture is taken by Helge Skodvin and the “Guy in yellow/orange” is taken by me but the idea of motif was by Helge Skodvin.