The reason we have not posted for almost a month is not because we are taking it easy at home. No – we have been super-busy photographing. Driving 7000 kilometers in the past month in our mobile car, photographing birds, foxes and endless landscape. In May and early June we focused on bird photography, but switched over to landscape in July.
At the moment we are at home. Copying photos and videos. We also needed a break from life on the travel. We have not been home for 22 days. The long bright days and bright nights take a toll. The nights where we have managed to sleep for 7-8 hours are not many.
Editing videos has to wait
The plan was to make a video once in a while about what we are doing. Reality has shown us that the mindset needed for creating videos interferes with the mindset needed for photography.
We have taken tons of videos on our GoPro´s, the Nikon D850 and the D4s. Editing each video on the road in a laptop takes few hours and when there are endless temptations to photograph, it´s difficult to find time to edit videos. If there is time, we go to sleep.
We try not to forget that our income is mostly based on photos, not video.
The video material is there. We have had many adventures for the past two months and it´s going to be fun using what we have. Editing has to wait for winter.
So… this is our excuse for not making the videos.
Where are the colorful sunsets and sunrises?
The weather in Iceland has been wet this summer. According to reports, it´s the greyest and wettest summer since 1914. We avoid the rain by checking the weather forecast and try to stay where the weather is better. We don´t complain. Bad weather is photogenic and we have had only few days of rain so far.
The gray weather means that colors in sunsets and sunrises are minimal compared to the norm.
Back to the basic locations
Using our two Nikon D850 bodies has been great. I dont´like sounding like a pixel-peeper, but megapixels do matter, no matter what self-proclaimed experts say. We take photos for two main purposes. 1. Using them in our own projects and books. 2. Companies need them for various projects.
The need for super-large photos has become more evident for the past few years. It is getting more common that companies need super-large photos for walls, signs and exhibitions. The files from the D4s are fantastic and they can be used for almost anything. The files from the D850 are three times bigger.
This means the photos from D850 are more future-proof and can be used for super large prints. Our view is that we are in a way future-proofing our business.
This is one of the reasons we decided to go back to the basic locations in Iceland and re-take many of the most popular destinations. The busy tourist locations.
We need large files and the short version is that the Nikon D850 is one fantastic camera for that. Taking 4K video at all locations is also a part of our workflow.
This is what we have been focusing on for the past few weeks. Going back to the locations we sell most of our photos from.
Going to to busy tourist-locations like Kirkjufell, Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss and Jokulsarlon is not our first choice. We prefer photographing alone in less-busy locations. The fact is that those are the key locations for the tourist industry and we are not only into photography for fun – this is how we make a living.
Fortunately we have also found new and less busy locations. Finding new locations to photograph or getting new angles is rewarding. Iceland is a endless source of photography material.
Being out there photographing every day is fantastic. We will be back on the road very soon.
