How I do I prepare for my photo trips?
How I do I prepare for my photo trips?



I thought I’d write down how I prepare for the photo trips this time. Not what I take or leave behind, but the part where I go to take pictures at all.

Spontaneously, I rarely go to take pictures, but it also happens, especially when some special weather phenomenon is expected (a beautiful sunset, a big snowfall that buries trees under a carpet of snow, sudden fog, etc.).

How do I choose destinations?

I choose destinations in several ways. First of all, I occasionally go to Google Maps, Delfi map and Land Board maps. I often go to these maps so “wander” that maybe something special catches my eye. The Delfi map is a good way to explore the hiking trails as well as the sights. This is my intentional destination search.



Secondly, I follow the creations and activities of different people on the web, Instagram and Facebook. From there, I often get a story as well as ideas on where to go. Although I’ve been to many places before, maybe something has changed over time that I wasn’t aware of.

If the destination to know, what next?

Having found a destination for myself does not mean that you will start driving there immediately. Not at all.

I have an app on my smartphone like Memento Databases. With this app you can create suitable databases for yourself. One of the databases is one where I write down all the ideas I could go to.

For each destination, write down the following information:
– the name of the location
– if necessary, on the location map
– county
– possible time of the hike (either soon or later)
– notes.

At the time of writing, I have 37 entries in this database. The database is sorted by possible time of the trip and then by counties. At the moment I have 6 destinations planned for “short-term hikes”. If none of these hikes happen, it will have the status “later hike”, and if something gets on the agenda, I will raise it to “short-term hike”.



The second database has been compiled for me according to the weather conditions. In other words, the keywords in this database are weather conditions (for example, fresh snow, sunset, fog, etc.). This database is intended to make it possible to see immediately where to go in the event of special weather conditions. In a fast-paced situation, not all destinations may remember. There are places in this database that I have visited before and there is nothing unknown about these destinations. The point is to know what to expect at the destination so as not to let the weather go to waste.

Once the destination decision is made …

In general, I have set for myself in about 2 weeks where to go and what to do. There can always be changes, but in general I also implement these plans. In other words, I know where I am going this week and where I could go next week.

Once the decision is made, I will begin to do intelligence. I look at different weather data to decide the right day for hiking. In my opinion, the most accurate are the Norwegian yr.no and our own Weather Service. Neither can be trusted quite 100%, but on both sides I get a pretty good picture, which can be expected. The accuracy of the weather forecast is very good, ie for tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, there may be quite big changes later, especially with regard to cloud cover.



If the weather forecasts do not allow the kind of weather I would dream of (suitable sunlight, suitable percentage of clouds, fog, etc.), then it does not mean that I will not go on a hike. Then I choose the best of the bad options and I still go. Otherwise, you can wait for the good without it and get nowhere.

Once the weather is clear, I will make all the preparations needed for the hike. This includes buying food to take with me, charging all the necessary batteries, and choosing photographic equipment (I don’t usually take all the photographic equipment with me at once).

When the hiking day arrives, I do the necessary duties in the morning, pack the necessary things, take food with me (if necessary, heat and put it in a food thermos), prepare a drink (in cold weather I make ready tea and put it in thermoses).

And then I set off …

If you went on a trip …

When I go on a trip, I open the Memento database mentioned above and make a choice about the trip made there:
– I will delete it completely
– I will put it on the list of later trips, should I want to go to the place again later.



Miscellaneous