You’ve read all the exciting adventures in Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks (and if you haven’t, you should really check them out right here!), so it’s time for the next chronicle of the year: Norway! As you know, we travel quite a bit, and it recently dawned on us that we’ve managed an international trip every year since the inaugural foray to Japan. Without realizing it, the travel bug bit us, and we’ve been succumbing to its call frequently.
In our latest time of weakness, we were drawn to the beautiful and unforgettable Norway. I hadn’t given the Scandinavian country much thought until I saw pictures of its landscapes and many fjords.
Wow.
I knew I had to experience the beauty for myself. However, the summertime excursion inundated us with far too much daylight, and we were traveling with sightseers, so I didn’t have the time or timing opportunities to take as many golden-hour photos as I did in Bryce.
Fortunately, Norway is stunningly beautiful – enough to overpower even the harshest of light. My trigger finger was not disappointed (and the 2147 images on my hard drive stand witness).
This image captures one such scene. You’ll notice I took this in broad daylight (Norway is dripping in abundance of the stuff this time of year). Yet the colors are rich and the view breathtaking.
The water was incredibly clear. The cloudy spots in the foreground aren’t reflections of clouds; they’re sunlight illuminating the perfectly-visible rocks at the bottom. And the water was remarkably still. Hardly a single ripple disturbs the illusion of this doubled hill. I could flip the image and almost convince you it was right-side up.
This is obviously a panorama. It was stitched from eight vertical images. And I debated whether I liked the final image or a single vertical frame better. In the end, I think I do prefer the panorama, though I processed this slice as well – in monochrome for some variety.
Believe it or not, vistas such as these were plentiful.. and right off the side of the road. It was difficult to keep from stopping every few kilometers to take more pictures. I look forward to sharing more images of this stunning country in the coming weeks.
Be sure to follow my blog for all the latest from our trip to Norway. Aaron and I will also be sharing a lot of the travel-specific aspects of our adventures in Norway on our joint travel blog. Follow that one for details on our torrid stay in Oslo, what life was like in the posh campgrounds that sprinkle the landscape, and things that surprised us about Norwegians. Stay tuned right here for the pretty pictures and photostories of hiking to glaciers, discovering countless waterfalls, driving the scenic passes and fjords, and more!
