The Journey South from Norway by Dave Newton
‘Super high contrast scenes like this are hard to capture and also edit. Don’t always feel you have to retain detail everywhere and go for HDR. Sometimes it doesn’t add to the scene’.
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Dave Newton is an international award-winning professional photographer and filmmaker and represents EIZO as a ColorEdge Ambassador. For 2022 we will be following his journey on the road as he travels the world with his wife Jess, daughter Isla, and of course, his dog Otis in their recently converted truck Bebe!
The Journey South from Norway
As we continued our journey south in Norway, we were blessed with continually changing scenery and glorious views. The only downside was we had a timeline. It goes without saying that travel is better when you don’t have a timeline, and while that’s supposed to be our plan, and we’re lucky enough to have longer than most to potter around, work still beckons from time to time and so our travel down the west coast and the southern section of Norway was limited by a requirement to make a ferry crossing.
'Long lens landscapes - sometimes it’s not all about the wide view when a long lens can tell the story of a location just as well. This fjord-side farm and grassland, bathed in morning light, provided a dash of colour in the otherwise fairly monochromatic scene'.
It’s always a juggling act - if we spent more time in Norway, we’d have less time in Denmark and it would force us into longer days of driving. Since we only really like to drive 2-3hrs maximum at a time, that gives us a range to aim for. We also must consider anything unforeseen. In this case, Isla picked up a bug that made her sick and kept her awake at night. While we didn’t need to go find a doctor, we wanted to remain stationary for a couple of days just to let her recover without being stuck in her car seat and to give us the ability to get to a doctor or hospital more rapidly if needed. While that provides challenges on the road, it’s all part of life and would be no different than living in a house.
With Isla feeling better we continued southwards, aiming for the ferry at Kristiansand to take us over to Hirtshals in Denmark.
'Shooting sunset doesn’t mean packing up as soon as the sun dips below the horizon. The camera can capture so much light and detail even when your eyes are struggling, so delay dinner and stay a little longer'.
Photographically I’d been looking forward to Norway so much and yet as we drew south, I was already thinking about Denmark and what we may see there - mostly thanks to a couple we met on the road who’d told us about another beach we could not just drive along, but also camp on.
I’m drawn to the ocean and despite having camped on snow, up mountains, in snow holes, in forests, and next to rivers, I’ve never slept on a beach… although sleeping in a truck on a beach maybe doesn’t quite count the same!
The drive along the beach was most fantastic - about 10km of uninterrupted sand to potter along before finding somewhere to stop. In all honesty, we could have stayed there for a week or more it was so wonderful, but IBC was calling so Amsterdam was where we had to get to.
'First light over the dunes behind Blokhus beach, standing in the water as the waves come and go'.
For those that haven’t been, IBC is the International Broadcast Convention. It’s full of TV broadcasters and manufacturers making products for broadcast - including EIZO! It’s another area where their ColorEdge technology excels, especially with the ColorEdge PROMINENCE, but also the ColorEdge range like the CG319X I use. Obviously colour is crucially important for film and TV, just as it is for stills work, and people want the best which is why EIZO is so popular.
From IBC, it was a quick hop back to the UK for The Photography and Video Show in Birmingham, the annual gathering for photographers, videographers, and manufacturers at the NEC. I lost count of the number of conversations I had with people about colour and colour management and there was one common theme that emerged - those struggling to get consistent colour in their images were using low-quality monitors with no discernible colour management system. I know it’s an expense that’s not as sexy as a new camera or lens but spending wisely on a high-quality monitor will definitely pay dividends in the long run.
Now begins a week of frantic preparation as I get ready to head off around the world. Twice. So look out for the next blog from me with some interesting wildlife images…
If you have questions, don’t be shy, feel free to reach out to me either through EIZO or through our social media channels:
@globaltraces on Instagram and Facebook, or www.globaltraces.co.uk for a website.
If you want to see more of my work specifically, then @photopositive (Insta and FB) or www.photopositive.co.uk will get you there.
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