Campbell Norsgaard was born in the Hadeland region, north of Oslo. Before the outbreak of World War II, he was involved in the trade of Norwegian furs, buying and selling them to international clients. A passionate amateur photographer from a young age, Norsgaard traveled to the United States in 1937 and carried his camera with him.

Before a planned trip to Sweden, he captured several photographs of German military activities, intending to deliver them to the Allies. However, German authorities made his departure difficult. When he was finally allowed to leave, he chose to escape permanently, determined to contribute to the war effort.

Norsgaard’s journey to the United States was anything but ordinary. Traveling from Stockholm, he made his way through Riga, then Moscow, before boarding the Trans-Siberian Railway to Vladivostok. From there, he sailed to Japan and eventually arrived in San Francisco. Along the way, he traveled with renowned Norwegian author Sigrid Undset, who later referred to him in her book Return to the Future as the “handsome blond Norwegian fur trader,” though she never mentioned her travel companions by name.

Once in the United States, Norsgaard served as the official photographer for the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNAF) and its training facilities in Canada, a role he held from the early days of World War II until its conclusion. His work documents Norwegian servicemen, aircraft, the Royal Family, and various training sites, capturing both official and candid moments. His extensive collection includes thousands of photographs and over a dozen films, providing a visual record of the war efforts of Norwegians and Norwegian Americans, as well as the involvement of the Norwegian Royal Family.