The last day was finally here. To be honest, I welcomed it. As magnificent as the trip had been, I was looking forward to going home. 8 days, almost a thousand kilometers in the car and the bad beds had made an impact. I was very, very tired.
The last days drive was quite uneventful. Partly because I was tired, an partly because the terrain flattened as I drove westwards to Bergen. I had seen landscapes that were so much nicer just a day ago, so I decided to keep on driving instead. The only place I stopped properly was Nærøyfjorden; and even there, I didn't take many pictures.
The way home.
Nærøyfjorden, part of the Sogne fjord system.
Nærøyfjorden, port of Gudvangen.
So, instead of talking about the non-interesting travel home, I'll talk a little about my feelings about the trip instead. As I write this, it's been three months since I got back. Of the 2800+ images I took I still have exactly 1000 left, and I should pare them down even more. So, was it worth the time and the money? Absolutely. Will I go back? Maybe.
As great as Jotunheimen is, I feel that I've seen it now. Don't get me wrong, If someone offered, I'd take a second trip in a heartbeat. Spending a couple of weeks in the Mountains near Geiranger or Jotunheimen proper would be awesome. But I want to see other places as well. Lofoten, for instance. Or the whole North-Western coast of Norway (see e.g. here).
Better than blue skies, I think.
Hafslovatnet. I think.
Reflections in Jolstravatn
So, what was the greatest, nicest, most beautiful thing during the whole trip? The answer is, I don't know. I can't decide. I can give you a non-ordered list of absolutely gorgeous places, though; Fannaråken, Jotunheimen highlands, Geiranger highlands, Utladalen, and some of the Sogne fjord corners such as Nærøyfjorden and Lustrafjorden. I went primarily to see and experience proper mountains, and boy, did I. It was an experience of a lifetime, truly, and I'm already thinking on where to go next.
What about the trip format? Driving from place to place, and visiting multiple places instead of just a few? Well, I'd say that it worked quite well. And even though it rained quite often, I still think I got lucky with the weather (especially on Fannaråken!). It could have been so much worse. I knew it was a risk going so late in the summer, but it was a calculated risk. I don't mind cold, and I do mind tourists, even though I am one. I planned the trip so that I had the best combination of low tourists, sunset colors (see Fannaråken post for that), and still somewhat good weather. I bet the landscapes are different during the summer or winter, but looking back I got a sort of ominous feeling in many shots that I think suits the majestic landscapes well. As many landscape photographers will tell you, blue skies are almost the worst you can have :)
My trusty rented steed in its usual position, waiting for me to do my thing.
Sheep and Sogne fjord.
As for driving around, I think that it was the right thing to do for the first trip. I had no idea of what the terrain would look like, or where the real points of interest were. Covering as much ground as possible posed a real risk if the weather turned crappy the single day I had for a particular shot, but it was a risk I had to take. If I were to go back, and I definitely will at some point, I would pick two or three locations and stay there multiple days instead, exploring the area. I would probably pick Jotunheim (the area around Prestesteinsvatnet) and the area before Geiranger (around Breiddalsvatnet) from the places I visited for that; but there are lots of places that I didn't get to as well. So, now that I've seen everything I know what to concentrate on.
What would I change? That's a tough one.. One thing would be to spend a day at Besseggen, traversing the ridge from end to end. Or at least taking some pics from the highest point. The most important thing though would not have to do with my planning, or gear, or the route; it would be to take more time shooting. And I don't mean taking more photos, I mean taking less. Thinking through the shot, taking time to align things, and so forth. I've realized I've come a long way in how I shoot, but I still have a lot to learn in finding compositions and replacing those 50 shots from a location with one amazing one. Not that taking multiple shots is bad, sometimes you get lucky (the Sognefjord image in the previous post being one; I'm embarrassed at how sloppy I was when I took it. It was a total fluke it turned out as good as it did). Part of it was the format of the trip; driving along roads and leaving the engine running while running out to the side of the road to take the shot doesn't encourage you to take your time. But it is an excuse; I can do better, and I will try to in the future.
On the road back from Geiranger
Very typical view of Sogne fjord. The trick is to find an angle without the road, and still get some foreground.
So, what's next? As I mentioned, I still need to pair down the photos a bit, but I think I'm pretty much done with this trip otherwise. Just have to place an order for some big prints to put in my new office, I think (60x40cm aluminium prints, I'll do a post on that later). What about other trips, then? Definitely. After Norway, I already was on a two week trip to Santa Cruz, California, and I took some great pics there too. So I think I will do a bit of a redesign of this blog, making it a continuous thing instead of just dedicated to the Norway trip. I also have a post planned for gear, and at least two for post-processing. I also have earlier photos, that I might do posts on; some from my cottages in the archipelago, some semi-macro insect shots, and even a week-long photography workshop on Lanzarote from almost two years ago, if I'm brave enough to show my very early work.
So, lots to do, and lots of things to come. I also have a couple of weeks of vacation left to take before summer, and I don't know how to use them. I was eyeing a photo workshop in Iceland, but it is too expensive. Next year, maybe. I might just take the time off to take photos of eagles at our cottage, who knows. But if you made it his far, thank you. I really appreciate it. I'm humbled that people take the time to read the stories of an amateur just doing what he loves.
And lastly, a couple of sneak peeks:
Turku archipelago, taken at our cottage.
Damselfly, I think. Not very good with naming the things I shoot, sorry :)
Sunset in Santa Cruz.
