"A Photo Introduction to Svalbard, Norway "
by Kenneth Carlson, GPSA-Maine
Monday, April 25, 7:15 PM


This presentation is an introduction to the Svalbard archipelago halfway between the coast on Norway and the North Pole. Our speaker spent a week aboard the motor sailing ship Antiqua cruising amongst the glaciers, bays and abandoned settlements going as far as 91degrees north latitude. This presentation will be an introduction to the history, wildlife and geography of the region as it may be of interest to photographers.

Our speaker has been a member of the Greater Lynn Photographic Association since 2011, and has competed in the Masters Class for the last six years, both in prints and projected images with an emphasis on Nature and Scenic categories. He also has quite a bit of experience in sports photography. He began photography some thirty years ago in the film days, and then put the camera away as family matters began to interfere. In 2009, he took up photography again in a much more serious vein and switched entirely to digital.

He has traveled extensively for his photography including trips to Italy, the Canadian Rockies, Churchill, Manitoba, Patagonia, Namibia, Scotland, the Bahamas, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and the Arizona desert. He has also made four trips to Iceland and three to the Falkland Islands, as well as other interesting spots.

His presentations include ‘The Natural History of Loons’ and lectures such as ‘Using Hue, Saturation and Luminosity to Enhance a Three Dimensional Effect on a Two Dimensional Medium.’ He taught a 12 hour classroom and field workshop course at Greater Lynn on ‘Composition and Visual Design’ for four years and in 2018, he led a group workshop for eight photographers teaching them how to develop a portfolio of their choosing for a gallery exhibition.

He has won numerous awards and acceptances in the camera club environment from the Photographic Society of America-PSA, the New England Camera Club Council-NECCC as well as the Greater Lynn Photographic Association and several other organizations. His work has been in the Gallery at Advina Care in Swampscott, Ma, the Newburyport Art Association and the Schooner Gallery in Milbridge, Maine amongst others. In 2018 he was awarded the third level -Gold- designation for Portfolios of Distinction by PSA. He was only one of two to achieve this in the print category at that time and his 2016 Silver portfolio resides in the PSA Permanent Print Collection.

He is a camera club judge and speaker as well as teacher and student of photography. He is currently very active with PSA’s Portfolio of Distinction as an Assessor, resubmission mentor and former Director. His current interest is communication through the visual arts. Having summered in Maine for the last 40 years he now resides permanently in Harrington, Maine with his wife Cotton and dog Chase.