Earlier this week, photographer Kristoffer Lorentzen was at work at Romssa Arena in Tromsø. The assignment was to make a video summarizing the 2023 season for TIL, and the photographer needed some overview pictures of the arena. Then came the idea to take some still pictures of the arena from the air as well. And this was the result: Now his photo series has been liked by more than 1.4 million people on the Instagram account 433. The account shares sports material to its 70 million international followers since Wednesday. – Not so common – It’s crazy, to be honest, Lorentzen answers questions about what he thinks about the fact that so many people around the world have seen his pictures. He believes that many people experience Tromsø’s surroundings as exotic. – There is something about the Arctic. The green path on top of all the white, which is not so common around the world, says the photographer, and adds: – And then I was lucky with the light and the sky and how it looked right then. Photographer Kristoffer Lorentzen took the pictures of Romssa Arena while he was at work to make a video for TIL. Photo: Private – Huge response Photographer Lorentzen believes it is time for people outside Norway’s borders to also see how we are up here in the north. – There is something magical about this, and it is really cool to be able to share it with so many people. – Have you received any response to the pictures? – Yes, there has been an enormous amount of response, both on Instagram, Facebook and X. It’s really fun, when I was really just filming a few quick clips for a video. Photo: Kristoffer Lorentzen – Fantastic pictures The pictures were first shared by Lorentzen himself on Instagram Stories. From there, they were picked up and shared further by several larger accounts – including 433. Leader of the Forza Tromsø supporters’ club, Morten Killingberg, tells news that he hopes the images can lead to more tourists at football matches next season. – First of all, it is very cool that so many people have seen and liked the pictures. They are fantastically good, says Killingberg. Morten Killingberg, leader of the supporters’ club Forza Tromsø. Photo: Gunnar Grindstein / news – And all of us who live in Tromsø and love the city and the club know that it is very nice here. That the whole world gets to see it is just nice. He hopes the photos can open people’s eyes to TIL, and how exotic it is with a top football club this far north. – It’s a great way to promote the club. Greater credibility – I think this will have a positive effect for the region and tourism here, says tourism researcher at UiT Kristen Albert Ellingsen to news. He explains that social media works well for marketing tourism destinations, because the senders there are usually you and me. – It is clear that what I say, which has no commercial interests, has much greater credibility than if Visit Tromsø says the same. Tourism researcher Kristen Albert Ellingsen. Photo: The University of Finnmark Ellingsen highlights the BBC series from 2008, where Joanna Lumley hunted for the northern lights, as the start of northern lights tourism in northern Norway. – The program drew attention to the uniqueness of northern Norwegian nature and culture. It was the start of the winter tourism that we see now, if we are to extract one single factor. Ellingsen says that our journey often starts on social and digital media. – We search based on some preferences, for example in northern Norwegian nature or northern lights. When we look for this type of image, as we see here, it will more easily trigger a trip to Northern Norway than other types of influence.
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The Tromsø photographer’s photos go viral – news Troms and Finnmark
