During my winter stay in Lofoten, I became acquainted with some whaling families on the island of Skrova, Norway's whaling center. I returned to live on Skrova in the summers of '86 and '87, with support from the American-Scandinavian Foundation and the Norwegian Consulate. Twice I went to sea on the whale hunt -- the only woman in recent memory to do so.

Often I asked myself, "What's a nice vegetarian environmentalist like me doing on a whaleboat like this?" It was the toughest assignment I could have chosen. But it looked as if whaling was about to end. I felt compelled to record for posterity this important part of Norwegian history and culture.

All together, I spent nine months living in Lofoten, photographing the fishermen and whale hunters, their families and community, and the stark transcendant beauty of the Lofoten Islands. I also recorded over 30 hours of interviews.

My photography and writing from this project were published in 1990 as the book Kval! Die Walfänger der Lofoten (Whale! The Whale Hunters of Lofoten). See below for details and links.

My photographs were also published in Geo (Germany), The World & I (USA), Photo District News (USA), Norway Times (USA), and Lofotposten (Norway)., and they were exhibited at Scandinavia House in New York City.

Kval! Die Walfänger der Lofoten (Whale! The Whale Hunters of Lofoten, U. Bär Verlag, Zurich 1990). Photos & text by Marilyn Stern