How Did I Create It?
The weeks are flying by so fast…looking at the calendar, it’s already been almost two months since I returned from my most recent trip up north. I am greatly pleased with the images I was able to create during those two epic weeks way above the arctic circle in a photography paradise; Norway.
After posting images on social media, I have noticed that a few questions continue to come back. People are interested to know how I have created specific images or want to know what pushed me to create such images so I told myself why not create a series of Blog Articles dedicated only to the making of some of my images. Whether it is technical stuff or purely about my artistic vision of some scenes, I will share as much as I can and what was going through my mind when I was there in person.
WINTER FORTRESS
As many of you already know from mentioning in previous articles, I was going to Norway to have an opportunity to photograph proper winter conditions. At the time of booking my flight and reserving my lodging, I was looking at content from local photographers and things were looking promising for the oncoming winter season. Snow seemed to be abundant and cold temperatures were roaming around creating some pretty amazing ice features all along the Norwegian Fjords. The long term weather forecast was also bringing me some confidence that this time was going to be the right time! I went to Norway in January 2023 and the temperatures were way too warm. Snow was definitely on the low side…no ice could be seen anywhere. I was sure I would be able to take care of that unfinished business from my 2023 trip!
Then as the time to embark my plane to Norway approached, the temperature in Norway wasn’t looking very good…the conditions had turned for the worse. The Lofoten were having an abnormal winter heat wave with temperatures way above freezing point. What shall I do? Should I rebook? Should I postpone the whole trip? Of course not…it’s Norway after all and the weather can always surprise us. And then, right before leaving home to go to Norway, they had a big snow storm and many centimeters with white fluffy snow! Was I really saved by the bell? Was my winter trip to Norway finally going to happen? That image was from my very first morning in the Lofoten Islands. I had rented a cute little house right next to Evenes Airport because I knew I wanted to catch one first sunrise at this exact location. Even though I had never been there before, I was sure I would be able to find a great composition. The access to the lake wasn’t going to be too complicated since the road was right next to it.
When we got there, chances for a proper sunrise weren’t too high…the sky was densely covered with clouds but all we needed was one small window south east to allow the sun to peek in and light up the peaks and the clouds. This sounded a little too good to be true to my friends…but my optimism payed off and we had one very short but beautiful sunrise. What better way to start that unforgettable trip above the arctic circle! But little did I know that this would be the last time I could photograph such beautiful and fluffy snow.
THE WATER RITUAL
The next image is probably my favorite one of the whole trip. The Water Ritual was created on my very last morning in Senja. Even though that location is popular among the tourists, I was there all by myself. I could barely believe it…was I really going to have this beautiful location all to myself? My friend was supposed to be there too but since he hunted for auroras all night, he was pretty beat up the next morning and I ended up going on my own.
I did have two questions regarding that image though…
First question was is the water Photoshopped? Of course not! This was done by using a slower shutter speed. When photographing in manual mode, you have full control over the camera settings and you can choose a slower shutter speed for moving subjects such as water or even clouds. Since the curtain will remain open for a longer period of time, moving details will automatically create a trail like effect on the final image. In order to be able to use a slower shutter speed, you may at times need to use a Neutral Density filter which will cut some light and allow you to expose for a longer period of time without over exposing your image and blowing out details from the highlights. The one thing that was done in Photoshop was the blending of multiple waves. That process of improving my images is called Time Blending and I have dedicated two articles to this topic. Feel free to read What Is Time Blending? or Perfect Example of Time Blending to find more about that technique.
And the second question I got was if that image was created with Ai? First of all, there are no bad questions…the answer to that question is a very quick NO! I don’t use Ai to create my images or part of them. All the content you can find on my website is coming from a photographic medium and I captured it all myself. I personally don’t consider Ai created images as photographic content. Photography means creating an image with light…not with a computer device. To me, Ai created images should be considered as Digital creations and not photography. Then again, that’s my personal opinion and of course, not everybody will share those same thoughts.
EMPIRE OF ANGELS
After a very very successful photoshoot at a nearby beach, I told both of my friends that we should try to change locations and possibly catch more of that beautiful light somewhere else. Now this goes against all of my photography principles. If I am getting beautiful light in one location, I’d definitely stay there until the day is over! Especially if sunset is just one hour away! It can be very risky to try to hunt two rabbits at the same time. In most situations, you will end up loosing both. But since we were literally 5 minutes away…why not?
That second location I had in mind is called Molneva Falls, I had been there in 2023 and I was able to get some seriously gorgeous images back then. My two friends had never been there and since I wanted them to also return home with some jawdropping images, they didn’t mind going. As soon as I got out of the car, I went ahead and put on my waders. Waders would definitely open a wide range of creativity to me. I was able to freely roam everywhere and not limit myself to a handful of possible foreground elements. Then I came across that specific scene which to me was very pleasing to my eyes. I truly enjoyed the repetitive yellow grass patches and blue water cascades which were all helping our eyes to travel deeper into that very efficient composition.
And then came the light…the very last moment of colorful hue on the clouds as the sun was going down. After I was done capturing all the required images for my Focus Stacking sequence, I took a break and made sure to enjoy the moment for a couple of minutes! As you are looking at my final image, I am sure you can feel 100% zen. I am sure you can hear the very relaxing sound of water cascading down the hill…I am sure you can feel the cool mountain breeze coming down from the ridge. If I was an angel, I’d love to go to heaven right there! Molneva Falls in Lofoten definitely deserves to be called Empire of Angels!
DID I GET WET?
Is there something wrong about being different? Is there something wrong with wanting to capture an image that is different than what most people have created from that location? To me, the answer to both of these questions is a big fat NO! Let’s face reality: In today’s social media era, it has became very difficult if not almost impossible to visit a location that hasn’t been photographed. That doesn’t mean that we can’t create something unique from those heavily visited touristic places.
I had visited that lovely cute fishing village, Hamnoy for the first time in 2023 and back then, I went with an easier approach. Should I or could I call myself lazy because I photographed it from the usual spot on the bridge? Of course not…icons are iconic for a reason, right? For this second visit to the Lofoten Islands, I promised myself that I wanted to create something different…
On that specific day, rain and sun…and wind were all part of the party. Mother Nature was in one of those moods! She was throwing all she could at us. One minute it would rain and the next, the sun would come out! There were approximately 75 photographers on said bridge, all getting hammered by the precipitation and I told myself right now would be the perfect time to go underneath the bridge to create the image I had in mind. The lower view from underneath the bridge allowed me to look up at the cabins which made them more majestic and prominent in the scene. I was able to frame the foreground with a couple of rocks and I was triggering the shutter as waves would come in. With a shutter speed of 0.3 seconds, I was sure to retain just the ideal amount of detail from the receiving waves as they made their way out of the frame. I was even lucky enough to be able to photograph sea gulls that just happened to be hanging on one of the big rocks below the cabins. They had a lot to tell each other…it was truly fun to listen to them. And the best part of this is that I was sheltered from the wind and the elements underneath the bridge. What a pleasant experience that was. Except that very last moment when I was done photographing and packing up my camera equipment, as I was walking out of there, I slightly bigger wave came in and sprayed my backpack. No damage at all, just pure luck that I got kind of wet as I was leaving.
…IN CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I have tons of funny stories and I have a ton of knowledge to share about each image I create. These four from my latest trip just happened to be a bit more special to me. Did you like reading this article? Would you like to hear more similar let’s call them « Behind The Scenes » type of stories? Or would you like to learn about how I created a specific image? Please feel free to let me know! I’ll be truly happy to share more with you.
