Erika Larsen may have discovered the solution to that enduring question: How do you fund a long-term photojournalism endeavor?

It’s an unconventional embed: Ms. Larsen worked as a housekeeper.

Her in-depth project on Scandinavia’s Sami reindeer herders was published in the November issue of National Geographic magazine. She spent three years making photos, and the results — some of which had been unpublished until now — are stunning.

“I wanted to live with this original hunter-gatherer, nomadic society in the modern world,” she said. “I didn’t want to just go and do a photo project; I really wanted to live with them. I wanted to learn what they do.”

There are an estimated 70,000 Sami, most in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The work of the herders is known as “boazovazzi,” which means “reindeer walker” — although they now work on all-terrain vehicles, a modern spin on a traditional lifestyle.

Erika Larsen

Ms. Larsen had originally e-mailed three Sami women in 2007 seeking more information. Only one of them spoke English, and she invited Ms. Larsen to stay with her family for a couple of weeks that summer. “From the minute I got there, I realized I wasn’t really taking pictures,” Ms. Larsen said. “I was just helping her cook and clean.”

When Ms. Larsen was invited back to see the reindeer, she accepted the offer and traveled to Norway, where she met the family who became the subject of her project. Again, she started scrubbing. “I cleaned the bathroom,” she said, “and I cleaned the kitchen and then, next thing I know, that family said, ‘Oh, why don’t you come back?’ ”

On her return visit, Ms. Larsen learned how to sew. She helped out with the reindeer, and learned how to cook them. “I wouldn’t say they needed me,” she said of the family, “but they allowed me to learn by being a working part of the family.”

That was when she really started creating images. Ms. Larsen was awarded a Fulbright in 2008, and a number of smaller grants, to continue working on the project. The next year, she applied for a Sami language immersion course.

“I think the Sami language is really, really integral to understanding who they are,” she said. “It’s such a descriptive language.”

Erika Larsen

The language — which is now endangered — has subtleties, mostly weather-related. “Cold” is not just cold; there are different types of cold. English, she said, falls short.

“To really start to understand what my images had been teaching me, I needed to really learn the language,” she said. “Once I started to learn the language it made editing my images easier.”

As a photographer, Ms. Larsen has always been interested in the way people interact with their environments. “I was looking for culture that really could interpret nature’s language,” she said, “and I definitely found that with the Sami.”

Erika Larsen

Erika Larsen is speaking in New York on Jan. 24 as part of the Half King Photography Series. Her work will be exhibited there until March 13.

