Boats, Boats, Boats

Simple Norwegian Boat Today, Norway has the largest government pension fund in the world. Period. This the result of oil revenue from the discoveries off shore in the 1960's. Norwegians have wisely voted to put away this money for the future in the form of a pension fund.

But it was not always so for typical Norwegians. In fact, at one time Norway was considered among the poorest "developed" nations in the world. Their economy of the past was largely agrarian for their own survival. At the turn of the century, Norway had not much else for transportation than livestock, bicycles, a few motorized cycles and boats. And if you had a sea-worthy vessel, even a simple one, you were considered pretty well off. That was obviously since the majority of the population made their living working on or near the sea. Access to the north and to offshore islands was only by boat. Boats of all sizes made up Norway's past traditions. From rowboats, speedboats, sailboats, ferry boats to larger fishing vessels. Transportation from one side of the fjord to the other was by way of the boat. As a child traveling Norway with my parents I recall ferry boat after ferry boat ride in order to travel along the coastline north from Oslo to my parents home town of Molde. On some trips we would travel inland by way of train instead. These days, the government has invested significantly in transportation infrastructure investing rather in roads and tunnels, not only through granite mountaintops but also under the fjords. Some of the world's longest tunnels are found in Norway. But I digress. . .

This photo of a rowboat in Kristiansund Harbor appealed to me because it not only reflected similar colors to the Norwegian national flag of red, white and blue but also had a hint of a contemporary lime green. It was dusk when I shot this but there was still enough light to capture it without artificial light. The boat is reminiscent of the toil of a typical maritime Norwegian who perhaps relied solely on the fortunes of his boat and the sea for his livelihood.

Photo taken with a Nikon D800, 28-70mm lens at 35mm, set at f/10 (in order to get enough depth of field) and at 1/15th shutter speed with no flash, ISO 250.