Knud Knud Knudsen (1832-1915)

One of Norway’s most important photographers, he was born in Odda, Hardanger went on to established one of the first photography businesses in the city of Bergen in 1864. He would often return to his hometown, Tokheim, to capture scenes of everyday life on farms and the fjord. Despite the idyllic landscape, Knudsen’s work vividly shows why the ever-present threat of rockslides and avalanches, lack of arable land, lack of economic opportunity, and brutal nature of life on the fjord led to some of the highest rates of emigration per capita in Norway.