In this world of stereotypes and preconceived notions, it’s good to have people (and places) tell you who they are.

On three recent trips to Denmark, I went with a different mindset. In the past, when I photographed a place and its people, I tried to find “my” photographs –– the photographs that were uniquely me and that echoed the style I had developed. But on these trips (and possibly forevermore) I wanted to deeply feel the place and let the mood, the feeling and what was inherently Danish, drive my photographs.

A good example is the first photograph. It was taken after many days studying the quality of the light both outdoors (on the northern tip of Denmark) and indoors (studying the paintings of a collective of painters who settled there in the late 1870s). I also became keenly aware of how the landscapes and seascapes were reflected in the windows and doors of the buildings. And I was mesmerized by the variety of smokestacks towering over the seaside fish smokehouses (røgerier).

All this light and all these images played a part in how I interacted with and photographed the people I encountered too. I found them to be bright, reflective and standing tall. And I smile thinking how my Danish friend, caught in his own stereotypes, cautioned me that the people there would not be very open to being photographed by me. What a gift it is to have a camera and an open mind and heart to see what’s truly there.