Today’s feature is a beautiful photo essay from Siri-Anna Roswall Mattsson. Siri-Anna documented her sister on 35mm film during a summer trip in Norway. Scroll below to view the series and read about how Siri-Anna captured these special moments in time.
Analog cameras and films used: Pentax ME Super (Find at KEH Camera or on eBay) *For 5% off cameras and accessories at KEH Camera use our special discount code SIWF21 | Kodak Portra 400 (Find on Amazon), Kodak Gold 200 (Find on Amazon), Agfa Vista 200 (Find on eBay)
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Dollhouses – Portraits of My Little Sister in Norway
A Traveling Story by Siri-Anna Roswall Mattsson
A huge part of the photographs my dad took of me and my sister during our childhood were pictures of her and me with our (probably badly combed) red curls, dressed in layers of woolen clothes, with scenes from Norway in the background: bottle green pine trees, brutal waterfalls, silvery rocks, my grandma’s patterned carpets, and my uncle’s wooden cottage.
My dad is from Norway, and even though me and my sister have been growing up in Copenhagen, it seems that the Norwegian summer landscape contains childhood memories enough to fill a deep forest lake.
Every summer we load the car with rainboots, bug spray, swimsuits, and cheese sandwiches, and drive seven hours north towards my grandma’s home in Drammen, a suburb to Oslo.
And even though my sister and I have changed a little, if not a lot, every year, the surroundings always seem to echo the same familiar childhood feelings of scraped knees, thunderstorms, and vanilla custard.
This year my little sister, Frida Luna, turned 17, which made it the last summer in Norway as a child for her. We spent the days like we always had: reading books, sailing, picking strawberries, swimming, and taking long walks in the forest and in the streets of Oslo.
But even though Norway contains an overwhelming scenery, with its big mountains and deep valleys, I couldn’t help but notice how we at some points seemed like two girls who had outgrown their summer dresses.
In the late evening, we would binge watch TV shows on Netflix, scroll on Instagram, and text our friends – our rapid moving youth, back in Copenhagen, while our grandma went to bed early in the room next to us. A paradox that felt surreal and natural at the same time, like walking around in a dollhouse we used to play with as girls.
I brought my camera with me, in an attempt to capture our shared memories through my sister. Luckily, Frida Luna has a flourishing essence, that pierces through almost every medium, and I hope that her boldness, combined with the magic of film photography, will be able to convey a piece of our dollhouse, soaked in some kind of warm nostalgia from the sunset of our childhood.
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