There are few places on Earth that test a photographer’s endurance, gear, and patience quite like the Lofoten Islands in Norway. Between unpredictable weather, long drives along winding coastal roads, and the rush to chase fleeting pockets of golden light, it’s tough to capture, but truly a photographers paradise
For my recent road trip through the Lofoten archipelago, I brought along two pieces of kit I’d been itching to put through their paces: the new Lexar® Professional GOLD CFexpress™ 4.0 Type A card, and the Lexar® Professional 1066x microSDXC™ UHS-I Card SILVER Series, which I paired with my all new DJI Mavic 4 drone.
I shoot with a Sony A1 and a bunch of different focal lengths, but for this trip the 28-75mm was the workhorse in my camera bag. The Mavic 4 was also put through its paces over the course of the week too. I opted for dual slot Lexar 1TB cards so that I could shoot and back up, as a lot of the images I was shooting were for commercial use. This is always a great strategy to have peace of mind over the files in case of losing a card somewhere, and you always have the backup images handy!
I like to shoot without thinking too much about capacity—just keep moving, stay in the rhythm. This felt amazing with the huge capacity of the cards and it’s the first time I’ve come away from a trip without having to switch out cards a single time, all the while shooting 50MP RAWs all day long!
Pro-tip: I do recommend keeping a backup online after each day of shooting just in case of lost baggage, etc.
B/A of Hamnoy
I shot this one in bright sun, which is something I don’t often do these days. I prefer those moody skies. That being said the light was perfect and something I couldn’t miss out on when seeing this place up close.
I shot handheld, with a 17-28mm here, as the 24 wasn’t quite wide enough at this spot. ISO 125, f/6.3, ensuring sharpness throughout the frame.
What you’ll notice in the edit here is how I really accentuated those deep blues, whilst not distracting from the cabins themselves. Dialing back the luminance of the blues allows the rest of the image to shine. I added some graduated filters top and bottom to darken the edges giving it a natural leading line, with the rule of thirds being observed throughout. If you’d like to give this style of editing a go yourself, I’ve included a link to the preset and raw file here for you to download and use freely.
Kvalvika was a highlight. Cold, a bit of wind, soft light breaking through late in the afternoon. I shot a handful of portraits there—simple, back to basics, nothing rushed.
I took out my 35mm 1.4 and shot Hanna as she walked back and forth in the last moments of light. I told her not to pose, just to be natural and it gave it a sort of relaxed, melancholy vibe rather than a forced shoot.
I often shoot portraits in AV as I don’t want to worry about ISO or shutter speed when I’m trying to compose a moving subject in variable lighting.
For the edit, I used one of my filmic presets. This gives it a subtle blue tint to the highlights, retains that soft feel from the lens whilst adding a touch of natural film like grain. You can find the preset I used here
All in all, a 5 day trip to Lofoten was a blast–secure in the knowledge my images were safe on the Lexar Golds. These badass cards will be a staple for my camera bag for years to come!
About
Luke is a London based photographer and storyteller, specializing in travel and lifestyle photography with signature cinematic tones. He spends the majority of his time creating photographic and video content for leading brands across the globe with selected recent clients including: Adobe, American Express, Discovery Channel, Europcar, Fjallraven, Lexar, Samsonite, Talisker, The North Face, Trespass and Visit Greenland.
Learn more about Luke’s photography
