Factory Frames
Prior to 1917, the area around Djúpavík hosted farmsteads for hundreds of years. Around 1916 only one family lived there.
The first economic boom for Djúpavík began in 1934. In a period of just one year a vast herring factory was built that was the envy of producers all over Europe. Catches were almost unlimited, bringing a high turnover that led to rapid success. When the herring factory was completed, it was the largest concrete building in Iceland at the time.
The factory floor was filled with modern machinery for processing herring to produce fishmeal and oil. However, times changed. The last big catches in the area of Djúpavík were landed in 1944 and stocks dwindled rapidly. After some unsuccessful attempts to use the factory for other purposes, it was finally closed in 1954.
In 1984 Ásbjörn Þorgilsson, the grandson of a former Djúpavík resident, and his wife Eva Sigurbjörnsdóttir bought the herring factory, intending to repair it and start a fish breeding program. They chose instead to renovate the women's dormitory for use as a hotel to support increasing tourism in the area. Ásbjörn and Eva have taken care to preserve the cultural heritage of the site and the environment. During this time, they also made repairs to prevent further deterioration of the factory and other buildings.
The following images were taken with Pentax 645z and processed with Capture One Pro.
Shot on Pentax 645z.
Processed with Capture One 20.
