Scandinavian shooting

[frederick_muller]

<p>Hi guys. I will be touring the Scandinavian countries this summer. Will be visiting Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Stockholm, Lillehammer, Bergen, Oslo, and a bunch of places in between. Do you have any thoughts or recommendations on things to see or do?</p>

<p>Am planning on taking a fairly streamlined pack. RD-1s, M2, 12mm Heliar, 28mm Ultron, Canon 35mm f2, 50mm Lux Asph. Maybe an SLR with a 105mm. Are there any special situations that might require something different? Can you imagine a need for something longer than 105mm?</p>

[soeren_engelbrecht1]

<p>Well, since I live in Copenhagen, I might as well be the first one to respond :-)<br /><br />To be honest, your question is a very difficult one, since I do not know your preferred style of shooting. In Copenhagen, for instance, we have lots of old buildings, but some people might want to use a 12 mm to get the atmosphere of narrow streets, while others might prefer to use a 200 mm to pick out details.<br /><br />What I *can* tell you is that the cities/areas that you describe are extremely different - From million-population cities to smaller cities set in between stunning mountains. So my best bet would be for you to simply take whatever you would usually bring on a holiday. And not more than you can carry comfortably around, of course :-). I would stick to two bodies, max.<br /><br />Myself, I am definitely a "wide angle guy", so I never bring anything longer than 105 (equiv) unless I go to places with monkeys. When I travel light, it's an M3, 50/1.5 Summarit, and 28/3.5 Voigtlaender.<br /><br />Now that was a lot of talk for not much content, wasn't it ?? :-)<br /><br />So here is some brief advice on Copenhagen:<br /><br />There are two shops left to visit in Copenhagen: Photografica (<a href="http://www.photografica.com">www.photografica.com</a>) will make you drool by the bucket. They have absolutely everything in Leica in stock - all the way to STEMAR Stereo lenses and 250 Reporter and all the new stuff - and other serious brands. Very expensive, though, if you are used to prices in the US or Japan. The other one is Foto/C (<a href="http://www.foto-c.dk">www.foto-c.dk</a>), but they are not as great as they used to be. Both shops are in central Copenhagen.<br /><br />The National Art Gallery (<a href="http://www.smk.dk">www.smk.dk</a>) is very nice in an old building, also close to central Copenhagen and has free entrance. And be warned: If you go to see the Little Mermaid statue, you will find that is has been temporarily moved to Shanghai (!!)<br /><br />Unfortunately, I think that you will hev to be more specific about your interests, if I should be more helpful :-(<br /><br />But have a great trip in any case !!<br /><br />Soeren</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

[Lou_Meluso]

<p>In Copenhagen, Tivoli Gardens is a nice walkabout, don't miss Kronborg Castle, the site of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Christianborg was very cool. Street scenes are good in most parts of town and bicycles are everywhere. I visited the Imacon/ Hasselblad factory there for a week and had a great visit. Getting around by train was pretty straightforward.</p><div></div>

[frederick_muller]

<p>Thank you Soren and Louis, that is good advice! Soren, I know my question was a fairly broad one, but you've confirmed my own thinking. I myself don't usually take along longer lenses unless I expect to use them for landscapes. I was curious as to whether there would have been cases where they would be definitely useful and you've answered that. </p>

<p>Sounds like if I forget to bring a piece of gear I'll be able to shop for it in Copenhagen!</p>

[helge_sverre_klevberg]

<p>Hi Frederick, I cannot give you any advice regarding the gear you bring with. With my Bessa I can only chose between 28 and 40 mm lenses. But I know the Norwegian fjord scapes can be great through a telephoto lens.<strong> </strong><br>

<strong>Lillehammer:</strong> There is a large open air museum in a beautiful park. 200 real old buildings collected from SE Norway.<br>

<strong>

http-::www.maihaugen.no

 

</strong>

If you are marine interested you can have a trip with <em>Skiblander</em>, the world's oldest paddle steamer, more than 150 years old.

 

http-::www.skiblander.no

 

<strong>General Norway:</strong>

 

Look for ideas here:

 

http-::www.visitnorway.com

</p>

[helge_sverre_klevberg]

<p>Hi Frederick, I cannot give you any advice regarding the gear you bring with. With my Bessa I can only chose between 28 and 40 mm lenses. But I know the Norwegian fjord scapes can be great through a telephoto lens.<strong> </strong><br>

<strong>Lillehammer:</strong> There is a large open air museum in a beautiful park. 200 real old buildings collected from SE Norway.<br>

<strong>

http-::www.maihaugen.no

 

</strong>

If you are marine interested you can have a trip with <em>Skiblander</em>, the world's oldest paddle steamer, more than 150 years old.

 

http-::www.skiblander.no

 

<strong>General Norway:</strong>

 

Look for ideas here:

 

http-::www.visitnorway.com

</p>

[helge_sverre_klevberg]

<p>Hi Frederick, I cannot give you any advice regarding the gear you bring with. With my Bessa I can only chose between 28 and 40 mm lenses. But I know the Norwegian fjord scapes can be great through a telephoto lens.<strong> </strong><br>

<strong>Lillehammer:</strong> There is a large open air museum in a beautiful park. 200 real old buildings collected from SE Norway.<br>

<strong>

http-::www.maihaugen.no

 

</strong>

If you are marine interested you can have a trip with <em>Skiblander</em>, the world's oldest paddle steamer, more than 150 years old.

 

http-::www.skiblander.no

 

<strong>General Norway:</strong>

 

Look for ideas here:

 

http-::www.visitnorway.com

</p>

[helge_sverre_klevberg]

<p>Sorry Frederick, seems like my computer has run riot. Also incorrect spelling; the steamer's name is <em><strong>Skibladner</strong></em>.</p>

[frederick_muller]

<p>No problem, Helge ... they seem to have been re-engineering the photo.net interface and multiple like postings have become far more likely for some reason. Thanks for the tips! I think I will browse the web for Fjord shots to see what might be possible. Thanks again!</p>

[ingemar_lampa1]

<p>First of all, what I say here may offend residents of certain places you intend to visit. Sorry if it does.</p>

<p>I was born in northern Sweden and visit my country and region regularly, even if I don't live there permanently anymore. In my view, what is missing from your itinerary is a visit up north. The (midsummer) light up there is very special and would give you plenty of opportunities for stunning scenery pictures. For this reason: Oslo...hmmm, well, not that interesting. And extremely expensive to dwell in. Unless really obliged, just give it a miss. Copenhagen is nice, as mentioned earlier. Well worth a few days. Bergen...home of all north sea oil industry operations..'nuff said. Gothenburg, sure. A visit to the Hasselblad Center in the Art Museum is a must. Around Gothenburg you have a very nice archipelago with "pictoresque" places. Marstrand is one of them. You do need a rental vehicle. Stockholm and its archipelago is top-class. The Moderna Museeet (Modern Museum) is world-class, as is of course the Wasa museum which houses the worlds oldest battleship. A prime example of failed Swedish engineering...ooops!</p>

<p>But, I would certainly book a trip to northern Norway, Tromsö or Bodö (easiest reachable by flights from Oslo). The fjords and coast land up there has no match in the world, except perhaps the fjordlands in New Zealand. And that comes from a Swede! If you have time (and budget!) one of the nicest things to do is to get aboard "Hurtigruten" which used to be a cargo/passenger service for practicalitys sake, until people realised that "hey, tourists are willing to pay for a cruise and aren't necessarily going anywhere particular...". Highly recommended. You can get on and off at various places and don't have to do the whole coast if you don't want to. More info here: <a href="http://hurtigruten.com/norway/?gclid=CID0nIHi1aICFYcDHAodaBuzxw">http://hurtigruten.com/norway/?gclid=CID0nIHi1aICFYcDHAodaBuzxw</a></p>

<p>Another good website is <a href="http://www.visitnorway.com/">http://www.visitnorway.com/</a></p>

<p>Northern Sweden is similar to say Canada. Quite flat and covered with immense forests and big rivers leading to the sea. There can be some opportunity for wildlife photograpy, especially birds, but also big mammals (elk, bear, lynx and even wolves) but you would have to get quite lucky for that or visit a sanctuary. Then there is the fishing of course if you are in to that...catching a salmon on your own rod is both an experience and quite possible to do. Fishing license, equipment hire and a guide is much much cheaper in Sweden than in Norway or Finland. My Hong Kong girlfriend was over the moon when she caught her first salmon after less than 10 minutes of fishing on her first visit up there. But OK, that was beginners luck!</p>

<p>What isn't beginners luck and easier than fishing yourself, is to buy freshly smoked salmon from any roadside shop in northern Norway, some bread, something to drink and to sit overlooking a fjord, perhaps with a several hundred foot waterfall nearby - and enjoy life!</p>

<p>Have a real nice trip. I am going there a bit later, Aug-Sept.</p>

[frederick_muller]

<p>Ingemar, thank you for your wonderful advice! I truly appreciate the depth and detail you have provided and will definIitely try to take in the sights and activities you have recommended. I'm adding to my gear, as it sounds like I need to expect a rich experience! </p>

[simon_crofts]

<p>The archipelagoes around Stockholm are amazing. The thing is to find a way into them ie. find a smallish boat.</p>

<p>One thing you can do is take the ferry from Stockholm to Mariehamn in the Finnish Aland islands. It just takes a few hours so you can do it as a (long) day trip there and back, or stay overnight. In Mariehamn, try getting a boat to take you into the Aland archipelago. One very interesting one is to go to a tiny island, basically a glorified rock, with a foghorn station on it called Kobba Klintar. It's close to Mariehamn and there's a small boat that goes there and back every day and stops in its tiny harbour:-</p>

<p><img src="http://www.croftsphoto.com/JUL1784.jpg" alt="" /></p>