Ona Island Cannery Ona  Cannery

What started out as a gloomy morning in early August last summer, ended up being a day of some awesome photo opportunities on the Island of Ona off the western coast of Norway. Traveling throughout southern and western Norway last summer was an encouragement to me since my wife and I had not visited my first-cousins and other relatives in Norway for over 6 years. While traveling by car, spectacular scenery just appears all around you. As a photographer, having an affinity for lighthouses especially, has inspired me to travel to out of the way places to see and photograph them. None more remote for me than the Island of Ona. While the image in this post is not of a lighthouse, it is an old cannery building on this island where a lighthouse exists. (You will see photos of the Ona lighthouse in another blog post coming soon.) This small remote island of about 40 people now was once a thriving fishing community. There is still a fishing industry on this island but very much reduced.

After traveling west for about 1 1/2 hours by ferry from Aukra on the mainland, and stopping at several other islands, we came to the Island of Ona. I had seen this little building on the south side of the island from a distance while approaching the ferry landing. Determined to hike to this spot from the lighthouse, I saw nothing but vast seaweed beds and this little building. It was once part of this thriving fishing community but long since abandoned. Just beyond the distant land jetty is the Atlantic Ocean.