Bus stops of the Faroe Islands: A photographic essay by Maxime Quain

Photographer and Umbrella reader Maxime Quain is in love with the ordinary side of life. And there are few things more ordinary than bus stops – even ones in the exotic (to us, anyway) location of the Faroe Islands. 

Located 200 miles north of Scotland – but administered as part of the Kingdom of Denmark – the Faroes have a population of 50,000, easily enough to support a thriving bus network. 

Which is where Max comes in.

“On a recent road trip there,” he says, “I found myself attracted to the petrol stations, the fishing docks, the small ‘nondescript’ towns (to some) and the many sports playgrounds dotted around the country. But none of these caught my eye more than the amazing bus shelters lining the beautiful, winding roads.”

“This is a photographic love letter to the Faroese bus stop... all hail the ordinary!”

So, instead of trudging up and down boring hills with no shops or members’ clubs in sight, Max did what any Umbrella reader would do: he took photos of bus stops. The results have now been published on his blog. 

“This is a photographic love letter to the Faroese bus stop,” says Max, “to the boys and girls going to football training, to the teenage lovers meeting halfway, to the pissed-off dad whose car broke down, to the half-asleep kids on their way to school and all the poor souls stood waiting in the pissing rain. All hail the ordinary!”

We couldn’t agree more. 

See more from Max here