The first trip to shoot pictures for the Rites of Life project took me to Kautokeino in northern Norway, where I was the guest of Karen Utsi, matriarch of a Saami reindeer-herding family. She was born in a ”lavvu”, a traditional Saami tent, and as a child moved with her family when they followed the reindeer in their search for pasture. Nowadays she lives in a permanent home outside of Kautokeino, and, as is common among her age-mates, she dresses in traditional Saami costume when she goes into town to do her shopping or to fill up the tank of her van.

Beside the project work I also shot a story on the Easter celebrations in Kautokeino. It was published in National Geographic Nordic, and this particular images was chosen as the opening picture.