Photographing the Samis is something I really would love to do. Stay with them for a long period, and doing it again and again. Get to know our indigenous people. Maybe one day. I hope.
One inspiring photographer that has done this, and still do, is the French photographer Céline Clanet. Since 2005 she has been photographing in the Sami village Máze in Norway.
It was a childhood dream for Clanet to travel to Lapland. And as soon as she managed to go there, in her twenties, she was hooked. For good.
– I was first fascinated by the Arctic land, the white desertic tundra, but got soon very interested in its Sámi inhabitants.
To start up on the Máze project It took her about 2 years of preparations. Then in 2005 she settled in the Máze village for several months.
– In Máze the Sámi culture is the most vivid. It is a very unique place, one of the last villages in Lapland where reindeer and Sámi culture are still very preserved, and it also has a unique History.
In her project she tries to show the relationship of Máze and Sámi people with time, territory, and animals. And she does it because she thinks it is fascinating and unique.
Today travelling to Lapland is a part of her life. In Máze she finds genuine friends.
And as a photographer?? Well, she describes herself as a slow photographer.
All photos Céline Clanet. Check out her website
Frankments 