My Northern Norway tour is over. 12 days, 8 mountains, 7 summits, 5600 vertical meters with skins, 63 gb of captured images, 3 Northern light evenings, 1 missed volcanic eruption on Etna, 5 flat light days, 2 semi-powder days and 1 party night. It has been good days up North. I have met many good, nice and interesting people, enjoyed magic views and captured some good images. But, it is good heading back to Göteborg. Well, it's just for one day - Engelberg next!
Oscar Hübinette loosing it. I would say it is at least 20 degrees Celsius too cold.
Oscar again, this time in the start of a photo turn on Kvittind. Hans Kristian and myself ready with the cameras.
Tormod Granheim and myself on the summit of Kvittind (one of the Kvittinds, apparently there are many).
Hans Kristian, Tormod, Oscar and Karine Falck-Pedersen in the never ending sun waiting game.
Karine crossing some water after a loooong day on the mountain.
Myself, Tormod and Oscar grabbing an dessert on the porch.
The magic Northern light. I just can't get enough of it!
- Number of missed volcanic eruptions: 4
- Number of days on the mountain: 45
- Number of travelled hours: 165
- Number of meter with skins under my skis: 11000
- Number of visited ski destinations: 12
Finally some sun, just for a few minutes, but still good to see that thing! This is my 7th day in Norway and today was the first time I saw the sun. Oscar Hübinette, Tormod Granheim, Karine Falck-Pedersen and myself are in Lofoten shooting a part of Bergan's next year winter catalogue. Way too warm here, plus six today.
Karine, Tormod and Oscar in next year's clothings.One hour later we spotted the sun.
Lofoten might be the most magic place in the world, even in rain... Forecast looking better for Thursday and Friday!
- Number of missed volcanic eruptions: 4
- Number of days on the mountain: 41
- Number of travelled hours: 151
- Number of meter with skins under my skis: 8900
- Number of visited ski destinations: 12
A short story about capturing touring in Northern lights.
The image was actually captured in reverse motion. Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 3553s, f/4,5, ISO 200
Mission
To capture an image including some kind of ski related activity combined with the Northern light, all without any type of double exposures.
Team
Fredrik Schenholm and Andreas Fransson.
Location
Björkliden, Sweden
Camera gear
Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon 16-35 2.8II, Canon 580EX, Remote trigger control, Tripod.
Execution
An image like this is impossible to capture without a tripod. So it all started with mounting the camera to the tripod and connecting the remote trigger control. I placed Andreas on the right side of the image (at the location above) and asked him to turn his head towards the camera. His head lamp made it possible for me to set the focus. After final composition I told Andreas to turn off the head lamp and get into a good looking "ski touring position". I opened the shutter and from now on Andreas wasn't allowed to move (maybe not so pleasant in -20 Celsius, but I figured Andreas would make it). After 310 seconds it was time for Andreas to slowly turn on the head lamp. As this was done I fired two flashes (hand held, flashes facing Andreas) on Andreas, one on the upper body and one on the legs. Than it was time for Andreas to walk backwards, out of the image. When I was sure he was no longer in the image, I closed the shutter and looked at the result. And that is what you see above.
Why tripod?
Due to the long exposure time a tripod was mandatory. As long as the shutter was open, the camera had to be completely still, and this was only possible with a tripod (or having the camera placed in the snow, or on a rock, or on a chair etc etc).
Why a remote trigger control?
I needed the shutter to be open longer than 30 seconds, and that was only possible with a remote trigger control.
Why a long shutter time?
Due to the weak Northern light I needed as much of its light as possible, and that was fixed with a long shutter time.
Why a head lamp?
For two reasons. Without light it would not have been possible to set focus. The camera needed contrasts to set focus, and in darkness the headlamp was perfect for that. The second reason was to achieve a "motion"-effect in the image. As long as the shutter was open, all exciting light was "painted" on the camera's image sensor. So when Andreas went backwards out of the image, his head lamp was portrayed in the image.
Why wasn't Andreas allowed to move for 310 seconds?
This was the magic trick. Let's say I would have captured the image in the "right order", with that meaning Andreas walking into the image, from left to right. That would have resulted in "ghosting" of Andreas with a visible mountain horizon through his body. But as we captured the image in backwards order, with Andreas standing still for 310s, we avoided the ghosting because he was in the way for the mountain horizon.
Here is some ghosting from 2009. The shutter time of this image is 610 seconds, and I put Rikard in position after 530 seconds of open shutter. See what happens with the mountain horizon?
Why two fired flashes?
Simply because I needed enough light on Andreas.
So, sometimes you need to capture images in the reverse order.
I have been in Northern Norway for the past three days now. Been doing two nice ski tours in pooring rain/heavy snowfall depending on the altitude. The poor weather seems to continue for a long time.
- Number of missed volcanic eruptions: 4
- Number of days on the mountain: 38
- Number of travelled hours: 135
- Number of meter with skins under my skis: 6900
- Number of visited ski destinations: 9
Went to Stockholm yesterday, just for the day. Had a meeting with my publisher regarding Anders Wingqvist's and my Adventure Photography book. Jonas and Fredrik had a few things to point out on the first draft... It was flashback time to my thesis in geology. Lots of hand writing on the print out... But, they pointed out some really good things! So, it is time to finish this thing off now.
Anyone been through this before...
Leaving for Tromsö in a few hours. 5 days Hurtigruten from Tromsö to Bodö, after that 6 days in Lofoten. But the weather is looking soooo bad. Lots of precipitation (could be good) but the temperature is going to be way too high, up to +5C (bad). This is a bit of an issue when it comes to Lofoten. The mountains aren't that high. Well, the forecast has been wrong before!
I just had a morningmare. Again. Like always in the mornings I check Etna's tremor chart, and what do I see. Yes, levels sky rocket high. And I know what that means. I switch website and look at the webcams. Nooooooooooooo!!!! I magic ash column rising kilometers up in the air. It is so beautiful, but at the same time so annoying!!!
This volcano is taking way too much of my time. I could have been there, I had time, but I wasn't there. I can't accept it (yepp, have to, I know). I made a decision three days ago to sit home and follow it on the web. As soon as I would see any changes I would head down there. But the problem was that all the changes this time took place last evening and last night, while I was sleeping.
Image from www.ct.ingv.it
This was a perfect eruptions, with a big E. Why?
- It took place during the night and the morning. Lava would have been so visable.
- The weather was perfect.
- The wind was blowing in the right direction.
- The snow conditions are the best in 16 years.
I can't can't can't can't believe I wasn't there for this one.
Instead I was at home baking buns. The pro-part was the taste (they tasted really good) but the con-part was a missed eruption. I tell you, the buns weren't that good.
The last week I have had a few articles, images and intervjus in the media. A Spitsbergen article in Outside, a cover of Dagens Industri, an Iceland article in Opdag Verden, Myself on the cover of an insert in Aftonbladet and an intervju in the Fotosidan magazine.
Heading up to Tromsö on Wednesday, going to do the Hurtigruten from Tromsö - Bodö with a lot of skiing on the schedule. For sure no eruptions, but good enough...
Public and commercial expeditions comes with commitments. We have seen it so many times before, and we will see it so many times in the future. Once again it is stormy around a Swedish adventurer. This time it is about Johan Ernst Nilsson and his "Pole2Pole"-expedition.
I love expeditions. I am impressed by expeditions. Not seldom are people trying to break new grounds, like climbing 8000 meter peaks in winter, or aiming of setting people on Mars. This is important, to show us humans what is actually possible. It pushes forward the limits.
Why am I impressed by expeditions? First of all, It is committing and time-consuming. This means changing life for a certain time, and we have all thought the thought. Some people don't want to, some people don't dare, but some people just do it. They have a dream and they commit to it. This in itself is impressive. Money is another issue. Either you work for a long time to afford it (if you have a good job you work less) or you start a cooperation with partners. The later means you have to be business orientated, a quality pretty important of today's adventurer. Last but certainly not least is the execution part. After years of preparation and training it is time to fulfill the dream, or goal. This probably means hard work and at time stepping out of the comfort zone. Of course impressing!
I just got the latest issue of Outside magazine. And there is a pretty investigated article about Johan Ernst Nilsson's Pole2Pole-adventure. I entered the P2P-webisite and read:
"The expedition starts with skis on the North Pole on the exact date of Peary’s discovery, April 6, and will then reach Greenland two months later. From Greenland Johan and his team will then continue 1000 km with dogsled over Greenland where they will sail across the Arctic Ocean into Canada. From Canada the journey continues with bike across North America and South America through jungles, deserts and mountains into Patagonia.
After six month on the bike Johan and his team will travel to the coldest place on Earth; Antarctica. Johan and his team will then ski and kite for two months across the continent until they reach the other side of the planet; the South Pole. The odyssey will take approximately one year to accomplish and will be done Climate Neutral.
The team will use skis, kites, doglsed, solarpower, bikes and a sailboat to be able to travel between the two poles. Any distance that can´t be done without engine will be climate compensated. Between the poles Johan and the Pole2Pole team will visit charity organizations to cover the important work the organizations do for our world.
The Pole2Pole Expedition is the one journey left undone… Follow the adventure!"
Ok, not a bad adventure ha? Of course he impresses me with the committing part. It is certainly a time consuming adventure. His partners are Audi, Postkodslotteriet, Ramlösa and many more. Well, don't have to say anything about his business skills. Impressive!
So what about the execution part? There is no doubt that he is giving it all. Hiking, biking and sailing for more than a year. When I read this text I assume he will start at the North pole and end up at the South pole, doing it all in one consecutive push, just using his own force and the force of nature. And I think I am not the only one thinking his plan is to do this without the assistance of helicopters and airplanes. "The Pole2Pole Expedition is the one journey left undone"... Not a bad statemant.
For you that didn't read Outside, utsidan.se or Aftonbladet, Johan has been using some motorized vehicles. When he came to South America he realized he was a bit late in the schedule, so he flew from South America to Antarctica and walked to the South Pole (yes, impressive), and then went back to South America to finish the part he didn't have time to bike (that is where he is now). There are also a lot of questions how he travelled around Greenland and Canada.
So what is the problem? Nothing for some, and a lot for others. As for me, I am just a bit disappointed how it turned out. I ask myself a few questions:
Is this the adventure that Johan explained in the text above? My answer is No. He did write though " The team will use skis, kites, doglsed, solarpower, bikes and a sailboat to be able to travel between the two poles. Any distance that can´t be done without engine will be climate compensated". So, he is free according to the description about the project to use motorized vehicles. But for me, when you call it "The Pole2Pole Expedition is the one journey left undone" you should not use motorized vehicles. A thread on Utsidan.se says something like this "This is like getting tired half way up the mountain, call a rescue helicopter for pick up, and two weeks later get flown up there again to continue the climbing". Would that be ok?
After read the facebook post of Johan Staël von Holstein, are we just jealous of Johan? He thinks we are all jealous of Johan because he is successful (short summary of a long post...). This is of course not about jealousy. For me this is about doing what you say you should do. This is about credibility. Once again, Johan never said anything about doing it in one push, or not using motorized vehicles. It is just my interpretation. Do I read just what I want to read? Or is this good PR-work?
What about the commitment to media? I think, when you do a big expedition that is funded by partnership money you have a big commitment of being straight and honest. Yes, you should always be honest, I know. But let's say you do it just for yourself, and by yourself. You can stop 20 meters from the summit and later tell yourself that you made the summit. Will you be happy? Probably not. In Johan's case I can't say he has not been honest, but what I do know is that he had a live GPS map on the website in the beginning of the adventure (I followed him). Why is the map gone? What seems to be pretty common, maybe in this case, maybe not, is the withholding of facts. The mentality "if I don't tell, I don't lie" seems to be a popular thing to use at times. I have used it once, but will never again. My dear friend Fredrik Ericsson was very respected for his honesty from his expeditions. I was impressed by him and his reputation. Impressed by something that should come as the most natural thing in the world.
I don't doubt Johan's commitment, and it seems like he is giving it all to complete all distances. This is till an impressive expedition! But with the facts about the travel route, I would say the one journey is till left undone. Hopefully he will talk to Outside when he gets home, so we get his side of the story! Here is Johan's answer to the critic>>
Ps. Btw this guy ran from the North pole to the South pole in a little less than 10 months - Pat Farmer
The project with Andreas Fransson and Bjarne Sahlen was cancelled due to really bad weather, rain, rain, rain, warm, warm, warm. A bit frustrating actually, because now I can't stop thinking about Etna (I have a week "off"). Things are definitely building up in there, but it is just impossible to know when she's going to blow.
Look at this chart. This is before the last eruption on the 4th of March. The tremors are slowly building up but it is still 13 days to next eruption.
And this is what it looks like now. Building up, but my concern here is the low number of 2. This kind of tremor is apparently normal for Etna. But it is a volcano, things can change over a few hours.
So, I have 6 days until my next photo assignment and I just can't make up my mind if I should head down to Italy or not. My gut feeling says no eruption will take place during these days, but YOU NEVER KNOW. And I have the time now. The stress is that I won't have "new" time until the 11th of May. Another good thing with Etna at the moment is the snow condition. It is great, lots of snow and sunny days ahead. Italy makes good pizzas as well, so it is still a good place to hang out in this never ending waiting game.
Here is Frippe at one of Etna's summit craters in 2009. Good memories with a good friend.
- Number of missed volcanic eruptions: 4
- Number of days on the mountain: 36
- Number of travelled hours: 115
- Number of meter with skins under my skis: 5400
- Number of visited ski destinations: 9
In Zell am See at the moment, and the weather is shit. Raining in the village and high up, very high up, it is snowing. Going to Kaprun in a few minutes to check it out. I see from the webcam that the light is pretty flat...
Had a bad day yesterday. Etna erupted, again. Fourth time this winter and I haven't had the chance of going there. Luckily I didn't go (thank you flue) 27th Feb - 2nd of March, because not much was going on those dates. I really miss the volcano-action. It is just so exciting!
This is the magic spike in the tremor chart of Etna. This spike means eruption. The last eruption was taking place during the day, so the lava wasn't so spectacualr. But still, it was an eruption! Image from http://www.ct.ingv.it
My friend Marja Persson started a blog about her recovery (and life in general at the moment) from her ski accident last year. It seems that the recovery isn't going as fast as she wishes. Check out the blog here>>
Next trip is Norway, and I am looking forward to it. I am teaming up with skier Andreas Fransson and photographer Bjarne Sahlén. If weather and snow is good, something spectacular is about to take place.
Time to get the umbrella.
- Number of missed volcanic eruptions: 4
- Number of days on the mountain: 35
- Number of travelled hours: 105
- Number of meter with skins under my skis: 5400
- Number of visited ski destinations: 9
Inga kommentarer
Oscar again, this time in the start of a photo turn on Kvittind. Hans Kristian and myself ready with the cameras.
Tormod Granheim and myself on the summit of Kvittind (one of the Kvittinds, apparently there are many).
Hans Kristian, Tormod, Oscar and Karine Falck-Pedersen in the never ending sun waiting game.
Karine crossing some water after a loooong day on the mountain.
Myself, Tormod and Oscar grabbing an dessert on the porch.
The magic Northern light. I just can't get enough of it!
