One Week Van Life Around Lofoten
It was 10th of August 2020 when I flew to Oulu, rented a camper van, and started one week van life around Lofoten. The Covid-19 pandemic eased just a little for the summer and gave us some space to breathe. In the summer, I felt like I was living in the good old days, like before covid. But the thing is that all the good little things in life feel so much better when life shows also a downside. We need a reminder, small or big, to appreciate the freedom that we think we have.
Through the Kilpisjärvi to the place where mountains came to my sight. I still remember how big the contrast between North of Finland & North of Norway is. How flat Finland is compared to Norway’s mountains. I remember thinking ”if only the Finnish borderline would be 20km to the west”. Now I realize how special mountains feel to me and only because we don’t have them.
On the first morning, I opened the door and saw the view where I parked in the middle of the night. I remember how I ran back inside to search for my camera. Then I ran through the field until I reached the beach. I stared at the low tide and realized, here I am. This is the place where I dreamed of being someday and it brought a tear to my eye. It was dead silent and I felt the wind wiping off the tears. Then I raised my camera.
Some of you know that I’m a ”light traveler”. I like to travel with less gear as possible. Not only because I have to worry about the weight but also how it challenges me to shoot and see differently. A few weeks earlier before the trip, I thought that trip to Norway would be perfect for the Fujifilm X100V camera. Lightweight, small, no lenses to hassle with, and simple to use. I could still enjoy the time over there without a camera between me and the moment. That’s why Fujifilm X100V is so damn good. It gives me space to see, go slower and only capture the moments that come to me. I had Fujifilm X-T3 with few lenses as well but I ended up shooting 90% of my photos with X100V.
When traveling in this kind of scenery with Fujifilm X100V I’ve learned when and where the Fujifilm X-T3 is needed with a longer lens. There’s definitely a reason why to have a 200mm or 400mm lens in your camera bag. I haven’t been practicing that much of landscape photography. When I was standing on top of the mountain I realized how beautiful it would be to capture different shapes and colors, which the human eye cannot notice. A good lesson to go back I think.
I’m not a fan of long drives but 2500km in one week went easily. When driving off from the main roads, something new and interesting appeared in front of me. There is an endless amount of hills to climb up and sceneries to stare at.
