As a pleasant surprise I received an honorable mention for my image of Karlebotn chapel at the Minimalist Photography Awards 2020. I did hope that my image would do well, but it is of course great to hear that it got some recognition.
It is part of a new series about churches in northern Norway, mainly Finnmark and Troms. This series is not quite finished yet, but I will hopefully soon post the first few of this series.
I do especially like these small churches which you find in many smaller places throughout this region. They are often small, sometimes in need of repair and usually overlooked as they are not the typical sightseeing spots. But they often have a peculiar charm and with the right lighting can make stunning images.
Over the last year I have photographed places off season in Sør-Varanger. The often calm and sometimes eerie atmospheres make for interesting images. Instead of stunning landscapes, which we are often used to from this part of the world, I concentrated on banal scenes which you usually would walk past without noticing.
These images are only the beginning in this series, over time there will certainly follow more.
ISO 160 // 6.5 s // f/11 // 23mm
ISO 160 // f/11 // 14mm // 120 s
ISO 160 // f/6.4 // 14mm // 60s
ISO 160 // f/3.2 // 23mm // 120s
ISO 400 // f/8 // 80mm // 1/210 s
ISO 160 // f/2.8 // 23mm // 1/500 s
ISO 160 // f/8 // 23mm // 1/50 s
ISO 160 // f/2 // 23mm // 1/640 s
Kong Oscar II Chapel / Fujifilm X-T3 ISO 400 1/850s f/5.6 80mm
Due to the 150th anniversary our local camera club organized a trip to Kong Oscar II Chapel. This chapel is situated close to the norwegian-russian border and a popular tourist destination due to the special location. Just a few hundred meters from the chapel the norwegian-russian border runs through the Jacob’s River. From the location of the chapel you can see Russia on the other side of the valley.
The road to the chapel / Fujifilm X-T3 ISO 400 1/250s f/5.6 23mm
The road to Grense Jakobselv, where the chapel lies (middle right, behind the power lines), is only opened in summer. These days no one lives there permanently, the houses are mainly used in summer.
The inventory is modest and simple. I can imagine it must be a cozy atmosphere in winter, although it usually is only opened for christmas due to the closed road. At christmas people are brought there by tracked vehicles due to the snow.
The view towards the Barents sea / Fujifilm X-T3 ISO 160 1/15s f/8 23mm
Although the church is rather small, it really stands out in this landscape. The remote destination has a special atmosphere, as if you have arrived at the end of the world.
A cross not far from the norwegian-russian border / Fujifilm X-T1 ISO 400 1/125s f/2.8 14mm (Infrared)
I am not sure whether this cross has a direct connection to the church. According to a friend there are similar crosses at the southern, western and eastern tip of Norway, which form a cross if you draw lines between them on a map. Unfortunatetely I wasn’t able to find more information about this.
The above and the following images are made with my infrared camera. Therefore it might look like a winter landscape at first glance. Turned to black and white, the infrared images display foliage as a bright white, which leads to interesting contrasts.
A panorama in infrared / Fujifilm X-T1 ISO 400 1/180a f/2.8 80mm (four images stitched together)
The chapel with the barents sea in the background / Fujifilm X-T1 ISO 200 1/30s f/4 14mm Infrared
The cemetary /Fujifilm X-T1 ISO 200 1/30s f/4 14mm Infrared
The road to the chapel / Fujifilim X-T1 ISO 800 1/125s f/4 14mm Infrared
After upgrading to the Fujifilm X-T3, my old X-T1 wasn’t used any longer and started to collect dust. I also stumbled upon infrared photography by Simon Marsden, and was immediately fascinated by it. Since I also did more and more black and white work, I decided to convert the X-T1 to infrared.
There are several options when converting a camera to infrared. If you’re interested, Don Komarechka covers the basics in this video well. I did a conversion with a 830nm filter (“Deep BW”), which basically makes it a black and white camera. It gives you high contrast black and white images, which is just what I wanted.
The pier at a local small harbour // Fujifilm X-T1 ISO 200 23 mm f/4.0 1/250
I received the converted camera and went to a small local harbour for some test shots. I noticed the slight disadvantage with the Deep BW filter: Less light reaches the sensor, and therefore you need longer shutter speeds. The shots in this post were done handheld in the middle of an overcast day. As you can see it went fine doing these images handhold, but with less light or smaller apertures a tripod might be necessary.
Fujifilm X-T1 ISO 400 23mm f/4.0 1/250 sec
Although it’s already May, we recently got fresh snow and it still looks like winter. Therefore you’re not going to see these typical infrared images with bright, glowing foliage right now, although that might change during the summer.
Fujifilm X-T1 ISO 400 23 mm f/2.8 1/250 sec
Without having BW images from a normal camera as comparison it might not be obvious that these images were made with an infrared camera. But so far I do like the BW look. There have only be done basic adjustments in Lightroom.
It’s too early to conclude how well the converted camera works as I only have used it for two days. But the first impression is positive. I actually like the fact you have to take images in BW, as you are not distracted by colour and need to work on your composition. The following weeks will show in what direction this will lead me and I’ll post some more images.
…and in case you wonder, focusing worked just fine here / Fujifilm X-T1 ISO 400 23 mm f/2.8 1/250 sec
A first for this blog, with some video I took during the trip. Did not manage to film everything as planned, but it will hopefully give you an impression of the landscape.
It was cloudy and not a particular bright day, but I decided that it wast just the right light to make a trip to Bugøynes and Karlebotn. Bugøynes is a small fishing village. It’s know for king crabs which are being exported to many countries. My visit had nothing with king crabs to do, but the local church I wanted to photograph for a series I am doing.
The church in Bugøynes / Fujifilm X-T3 56mm f/8.0 1/60 sec
Situated at the sea, it has a rough climate. A walk through the village is worth it, especially for a photographer.
House with a view / Fujifilm X-T3 ISO 400 56mm f/4.0 1/400sec
Cabin near Bugøynes / Fujifilm X-T3 ISO 400 56mm f/6.4 1/280sec
I did only a short stop in Bugøynes, as my goal was to make an image of the little chapel in Karlebotn. There are quite a few of these small chapels and churches in Finnmark. The sometimes unusual architecture and the location make for interesting image oppportunities.
As with many buildings, the chapel was build in the 50s after WW2. Due to the war you do not see many buildings from earlier periods in northern Norway.
Chapel in Karlebotn / Fujifilm X-T3 ISO 160 56mm f/8.0 1/15sec
The grey sky and slight fog created amazing light to photograph. A blue sky would have changed the setting completely.
The plan was to do a snowshoe hike afterwards, but the days are still short in the north and so I did not manage more than a short walk on my way home. But winter is far from over, so there will be more trips coming the following weeks.
View from Brannsletta, a nature reserve / Fujifilim X-T3 ISO 160 23mm f/11 60sec
Brannsletta / Fujifilm X-T3 ISO 160 23mm f/11, 3sec
Recent days have been the coldest here this winter. This is no surprise, as the second half of January often is the coldest period in the arctic. The sun has returned, but it takes time before this has an effect on the temperature.
Due to the cold (-28°C today) I decided to try something which I have seen before, but never done myself. Maybe you have heard of the effect when you throw boiling water up in the air in extreme cold. It turns instantly to snow. To do this requires no special skills besides having boiling water. The next step is to photograph this, which requires some equipment and good timing.
The setup in my garden was like this: My camera on a tripod, a flash mounted on a softbox with a wireless trigger and my girl friend pressing the shutter button at the right moment.
Fufjilm X-T3 ISO 400 23mm f/1.4 1/2000 sec.
You can of course do this without the flash, but in this case it was simply not enough light.
So how do you do this? As long as it is cold enough and you have access to boiling water nearby, I recommend the following:
Mount your camera on a tripod. While the shutter speed is so short that you could do this handheld, it just makes it a bit easier if the camera is pointed to the right place beforehand
Ask a friend to help you. You could use a remote trigger, but coordinating the trigger while at the same time handling the water will complicate things
If there is not enough light, use a flash. It also helps separate your subject from the background. I choose the power of the flash manually, as it gives me more control over the outcome.
Short shutter speed: In this case it was 1/2000 sec to freeze the action. In combination with a flash you need a flash that supports HSS - High-Speed sync.
Aperture: I chose f/ 1.4 to capture more light. You don’t need such a large aperture, should you have not enough light you can try a higer ISO value.
ISO: As low as possible to achieve a fast enough shutter speed.
And most important: Have fun experimenting!
In January the sun comes back to arctic Norway, but it’s also the coldest time of the year. With temperatures down to -30°C at the coast of Finnmark, it gets even colder once you travel away from the coast.
This year it hasn’t been that cold so far, but last sunday temperatures went down to -25°C, while around -20°C near the sea. Too cold to be outside you may think, but in this beautiful winter landscape and with the special arctic light I really recommend to get outside. Hot chocolote tastes even better when having been in the cold for some time.
Nothing beats warm clothing in -20°C // Fujifilm X-T3 ISO 160 80mm f/2.8 1/110sec
So what’s so special about the light in the far north? Apart from northern lights, you have beautiful lighting the whole winter. Imagine the blue hour, just that this is ‘normal’ daylight. When it’s not cloudy you often get a mixture of blue and pink skies
Arctic skies // Fujifilm X-T3 ISO 160 80mm f/5.6 1/45 sec
There’s one advantage with really cold temperatures - the frost smoke above water creates a unique atmosphere combined with the light. Wouldn’t it be so cold I would be on the water kayaking. But in this case I prefer my snow shoes on land.
Reinøya - “Reindeer Island” // Fujifilm X-T3 ISO 160 80mm f/8.0 1/6 sec
Even though it’s quite cold outside you get warm while snowshoeing. Moving through the snow can be exhausting, but in this weather I don’t mind as the exercise also keeps me from freezing. We even took a break after some time when it was time for some chocolate - and an image of course!
A break with a view // Fujifilm X-T3 ISO 400 80mm f/4.0 1/15 sec
Sure, I would prefer a picnic when it’s warmer. But the experience was worth it, and our huskies enjoy being outside in the snow.
As you may have noticed, all images are taken with an 80mm lens - Fuji’s macro lens. I normally use wide angle for landscapes - but recently I found out that I quite like the look of a telephoto lens for landscape (…and in -20°C with cold fingers you think twice before switching lenses).
See you on the next adventure!
A meteor over the iron mine in Bjørnevatn
While I have done quite some northern lights photography, I have never tried to photograph any meteors. When I recently read about the Geminid meteor shower, I had to take a try at this.
I wanted to do this before, but either had no time or bad luck with the weather. The conditions were not perfect this time either, but at least we had about one hour of good visibility towards the stars.
I set up my tripod and took long exposures of the night sky of about 25 seconds. Since you cannot predict precisely where the meteors will show, I simply took many images and hoped to “catch” a meteor. The image above is actually the only one where I managed to do this, you can see the meteor in the center right. I saw many more meteors this night, but it wasn’t that easy to get on camera.
Considering it was the first time, I think it’s a good result! I will definitely try this again.
The factory in Nikel
Read MoreLast year I met the adventurer David Cornthwaite in Kirkenes, Norway, where he started on a 1000 mile journey along the norwegian coast. I accompanied him for the first couple of kilometres and started my drone to capture som aerial footage.
