hiking and photography in norway

Hiking in Norway

It was time to leave the concrete jungle of Berlin and go hiking again. I really missed the opportunity of a good mountain walk. Because where I grew up and live, there is a saying: “we see who is going to visit us 3 days before they arrive.” Everything is so flat, a mountain is called something with 50m of height difference. So having the opportunity to hike a bit is really a great joy. First of course it takes some good shoes. I have been hiking up mountains with sneakers, but afterwards I was ready for letting them go. Second thing is food. You never really know what’s gonna happen when you are up the mountain. And of course the third thing is a good camera gear. Well, when you want to make the most of it, you learn how to see the light and adjust your timetable to it. The best light for landscape photography is probably in the morning and in the evening, before sunset and even a bit after. But then you will already need a tripod to stabilize the camera. I love those panorama shots from the top of the mountain, and of course the small things that you see on the way. But be aware, hiking in a group and taking photos is sometimes a bit annoying. Therefore I prefer to go alone or with somebody who is pacing enough to let me take my time for adjusting before a shot. I have heard many rants of people who have been traveling with photographers and are surprised how much time it really takes for them to take their pictures. So it’s nice to hike alone or in a small group of people who are used to your “special needs”. 😉 But there are a few things I don’t really understand. For example why some people still throw away their cigarette disposal in the mountains, not knowing that these are picked up by the birds for building their nests, but highly toxic and need more than seven years to decompose. Well, this is a question of consciousness, but for those enjoying nature it should be clear, that I take my non bio-degradable garbage with me, in order to leave the place as I found it. Well, and the last bit of experience, getting up the mountain isn’t even the hard part. Getting down again is! Watch your steps and enjoy.