Travelling
Photography
Are the photos what matter the most?
Or does experience weigh more?
Put on your headset
Sit back and relax
Here it begins,
The Great Arctic Adventure.
Brian travelled around the word
From the east to the west.
The Colourbee Arctic Photography Team
went to the Norwegian fjords
for two weeks.
After the trip in Norway,
The team also dropped in on Iceland.
Norway and Iceland
are both very strange places to me.
I live in Melbourne which is on a huge diagonal from Norway and Iceland.
Being far away geographically from them
makes me basically know nothing about those two countries.
I am completely clueless about
the local cultures and customs.
The only thing that pops up in my mind
is the Song
And the covers of the travel magazines.
After a painful long-distance flight of more than 20 hours
The plane finally landed in Tromso, Norway.
We started our photography journey
In the city that is best for observing aurora in Europe.
Finally I got off the plane.
I have spent more than 20 hours on the plane
and I think something has gone wrong.
I am the only one that is wearing a t-shirt in the airport.
It is 2 degrees outside.
For the very beginning of this trip
I think the best way to experience the fjord
is to go through the traditional Viking way
To experience life in the northern fjords.
This is Rembrandt.
It used to be a fishing boat in the last century
And now it's turned into a powered sailboat.
I am gonna spend a week on this boat.
Rembrandt got reinvented
in 1994 and 2011.
The advanced electronic navigation equipments are installed
to specifically explore
In Svalbard, Greenland in northern Norway and Iceland.
Finally I got on board
Wow.
This is gonna be where we live.
Hi, How's it going?
No. 2
This is our room.
As you can see, this room is quite small.
it seems that luggage can only be put in the bathroom.
Here is a bunk bed on the slope.
Emm... Outside is not too bad to be honest
It's quite good
Visibility is very good ... It's not raining or snowing.
and
It's one degree above zero
So it ’s not cold and not too much wind.
So,
Not too bad compared to the yesterday afternoon and evening.
This is a three-mast and six-sail passenger schooner.
The ship itself is very amazing.
The conquest of the ocean has always been the romance of men.
When I was young, I got tons of fun from Uncharted Waters.
Being free to explore is fantastic.
You need to figure out ways to upgrade your ship in the game
So that you can explore farther.
Having the opportunity to get a ride on this medieval sailing ship
in the North Atlantic
somehow completed my dream in the past.
Different from the cruise ship,
where hundreds of people just chilled and slept,
We will put up sails by our own hands
when the weather permits it.
Now we are about to release the second sail rope
Probably here.
Now we are sailing in the open sea and letting the wind fill the sails.
The sails expanded and the sailboat just started tilting.
The best part of taking a sailboat is that
The scenery outside the porthole is new when you wake up.
We went through the fjord
all the way from the north to the southwest.
The fjord in northern Norway ( around 68°N ）
Happens to be in the area where the aurora occurs.
Aurora appears very frequently
As long as it is a sunny day and you can see the stars
You can basically see the aurora.
But the weather always played with us all the way.
Sometimes the weather was fine during the day and even at dusk,
But when it got dark, it started getting cloudy.
Someone just spoke on the radio,
Saying there is an aurora outside now.
Do not hesitate
and put on your clothes.
I only have the headlight.
Let's find a dark place on the top of the mountain.
The clouds are getting thicker now
So tonight...
we failed to watch the aurora
again.
Anyway, let's head back and get some sleep.
I was this close to giving up
I had one foot already on the boat.
But then I looked back
and I caught a bit of aurora.
Then I headed up and found a hole in the sky.
It is an extremely bright aurora.
The hole became bigger and bigger.
Then the sky cleared.
As solar wind approaches the Earth, it meets the Earth's magnetic field
In the ionosphere, the ions of the solar wind collide with atoms of oxygen and nitrogen from the Earth's atmosphere.
The energy released during these collisions causes a colourful glowing halo around the poles—
an aurora.
This is how we can see the earth ’s magnetic field
And why human beings exist.
After we successfully captured the auroras in the northern fjord,
the trip became smoother.
We kept going on and sought the beauty of the Arctic.
Do you know how I tell the difference between Arctic and Antarctic？
If Antarctica is filled with the magnificent and wild beauty
The Arctic will be gentle and mild.
The Antarctic is captured
by the thousands of penguins,
while it is hard to encounter
a polar bear in the Arctic.
For sure we can not see
polar bears in the fjords of Norway.
They only exist further away in Greenland and Svalbard in the north.
However, you may run into their close friends.
Next we will head to
the most beautiful fishing village in the world - Lofoten.
This is also the place that photographers all over the world rush to.
The impression that Lofoten Islands left on me
is fish.
We eat fish
take photos of fishing villages
and live in a fish house.
Why are Norwegians so dependent on fish?
The cold climate creates a unique landform in the fjord
and brings in a large amount of fish.
As the Chinese saying goes, "Those living on a mountain depend on the mountain for a living,
those living near the water likewise depend on the water".
Before the oil was discovered,
Norway's main income sources were their fisheries and forestry.
The coastal fishing village has become the most unique landscape view in Norway.
But, the smell...
Fishes are everywhere
during our trip.
The unique fish burgers
and delicious raw salmon
Left a deep impression on me.
They don't smell fishy.
Only the umami of fish.
Yum yum!
This is the structure that they used to use to dry fish.
They all turned into solid dried fish.
Lofoten is very windy in winter.
And the temperature is always around zero.
Just remove the cod's head and make a slit in the body,
Air dry on a shelf,
And it will neither rot nor get freezer burnt.
They can also be stored for a long time at normal temperature.
You can recover the dried fish by soaking it in water when you want to eat it.
And the taste is almost the same.
Those are gonna be our dinner tonight.
They are as solid as wood after being dried.
Some restaurants even use them as a chandelier for decoration.
This is one of the most famous shooting spots.
It used to be
on the cover of lonely planet.
Everyone would like to take pictures here.
Skilled landscape photographers
and the mobile phone photographers
are all coming here and taking pictures.
I am being curious about what kind of camera everyone is using.
Canon,
Nikon 850,
This is...
D850.
This kid here is using...
Sony a7r4.
Well...
This is mine.
Sony A73.
Now comes to amateurs.
Cell phone,
Cell phone, cell phone... Cell phone ehnthusiastics.
Then Nikon...
Nikon...
You see, Nikon,
D500,
Sony,
Nikon D850,
There is only one Canon.
And the rest are Sonys.
It seems that
Nikon still has a large share of the landscape photography.
Because CPI is very high here in Norway.
If you rent a car,
The price for 10-people car is the same as the price for 50 people.
Almost the same.
So we rented a big bus of 50 people.
One person per row.
I won't recommend a road trip here.
Especially in winter.
Because the road conditions here are very complicated.
The roads are on mountain
And could be very narrow.
They look like single lanes.
But actually they are two-lane.
And the road could be very slippery when it came to snowy days.
So, if you come to Norway in the future
you'd better find a local tour group.
Only the people who have actually been here
could understand the beautiful view of the desert islands of Norway within the Polar Circle.
The scene changes so much within a short distance.
But taking a great photo
still heavily depends on the weather.
We finished our trip in Norway
And then got ready for Iceland.
It ’s an incredible place even just hearing the name.
This is a small island floating on the North Atlantic.
There are volcanoes, glaciers, ice caves,
black-sand beaches and waterfalls.
So that is why it is called the most worthwhile place to go
by outdoor lovers and photographers.
This is the narrow road with flying sands.
Also, they thoughtfully give you a snow scraper.
Using beautiful alone to describe Iceland
is not enough.
Iceland presents a strong contrast that can be seen everywhere.
This is the famous black-sand beach.
The first thing I see here is this -
Sign of danger.
And the sign is everywhere.
Yes. Danger.
Really not kidding.
Although Iceland is one of the safest countries in the world
with good security
But the hidden dangers of nature are everywhere.
The extremely bad weather in Iceland makes the environment
even more dangerous.
None of these famous scenic spots in Iceland are worry-free.
Black-sand beach and its basalt column
are good examples.
There is a possibility that the huge waves could take you away,
even if things looked alright when you were concentrating on photography just a few seconds ago.
You will be counted as lucky
If the clothes and cameras are the only things that get wet.
There is much to be told about safety.
Firstly,
Never underestimate the hidden danger
behind the seemingly gentle weather in Iceland.
An umbrella is utterly useless.
Heavy-duty waterproof and sweat-proof clothes
are necessities.
Second, never drive off-road.
Don't try to drive a low chassis vehicle
into non-driving areas.
How high should the chassis be?
Here are a few examples.
If you are going on a hike in the glacier,
Make sure to hire a dedicated ice field vehicle.
Thirdly, hiking on the glacier
requires specific crampons
and a professional guide.
These will prevent you from falling into ice cracks and falling down.
The danger of this place.
Honestly, I am not a landscape photographer.
I don’t really like the theme of landscape photography,
Although I may shoot some typical landscape photos from time to time.
Instead of going to the same place repeatedly,
waiting for the good lighting environment,
I prefer to be in a normal or unfamiliar environment
and find different perspectives and unique themes.
The weather in Iceland is so unsettled
which perfectly satisfied my taste.
Just FYI,
Even if you are someone
who likes being in these extreme weathers like me,
You still need to be well prepared.
As long as you respect nature
Iceland will definitely not let you down.
The place that the endless road behind me leads to is
One of the most famous attractions in Iceland.
In December last year
Two people got lost here, could not get back to their vehicle
and died.
In a lot of landscape photoshoots
like the one we shot for aurora,
Or in the masterpieces of some weddings or portraits,
You may have seen this attraction.
A plane crash landed on the beach many years ago.
However,
This attraction is about 4km away
from the other end of this road.
It will take you at least an hour and a half to come and go back.
People are saying that this attraction is a must-go.
Others think it is extremely boring.
Wether it's worthy or not,
You can only find out if you visit here personally.
Go. The hardest decision
led me to take the most beloved photos
during the whole trip.
Unfortunately,
time is limited for one episode.
Let me leave some expectancy here.
I will talk about the shooting process of this photo in the next episode.
I will also focus my experiences of using certain cameras and accessories
on the trip to the Arctic.
The Nikon Z6 and Z7.
Also the Insta360 One R.
I will share my opinions on how to shoot the aurora.
You are welcome to leave comments
If you have anything would like to know about the cameras we were using during the trip,
or you want some shooting tips for Norway and Iceland,
I will talk about those in the next episode.
I wanna thank the products from Nikon and Insta360
which gave us the chance to be immersed in the beauty of nature.
Just a quick notice to camera manufacturers,
Please feel welcome to DM colourbee photography
If you wanna join our adventures
and explore the world via photography.
Thanks for watching this episode of Color Bee Photography and Life Magazine.
I am Brian.
See you next time!