As a sports photographer, I’m often called upon to travel. One of the most beautiful places in the world is certainly Norway. In the last 4 weeks, I’ve been lucky enough to visit this country 3 times, and each time it’s been a unique experience with breathtaking scenery. The west coast is simply magnificent, I don’t have the words to describe the beauty of the landscapes and all the fjords.

The last place I visited was Sandnes, a small town in the southwest of the country. The first good point is that Stavanger airport is very small, so there’s no stress. When you leave the airport, you’re immediately at the rental car counter, and on the day of departure there’s no long wait for the security check. I was already impressed on the plane by the mountainous landscapes, sometimes with long white sheets of eternal snow and long stretches of water crossing the peaks. All I wanted was to be able to take a small private plane or helicopter and tour the region with my camera, taking pictures from the air. Drones are great, but sometimes it’s better to have a big sensor and interchangeable lenses.
I wasn’t lucky enough to be able to do that, but I did have the opportunity to go on a unique hike with two great colleagues. I’m not going to lie to you, I thought I wasn’t going to make it to the end, or even that I was going to die. I’d been told it was a very easy trail and a quiet walk, and to say the least, it wasn’t exactly the case. The first problem was that I had a heavy rucksack with my gear, the second was that thinking it was an easy trail I didn’t have hiking boots and was wearing dress pants, and the third was that I hadn’t trained in a while, all of which made itself felt during the climb. But it was really worth it, it was a dream to be at the top and I don’t regret it at all. The path was very steep, a lot of it rocky, so you had to be very careful, and there were places where you’d better not fall if you didn’t want to leave to meet the angels and dance in paradise. Once at the top, I was breathless, the scenery was simply amazing. First we had a more or less clear sky, then clouds, which gave it a dramatic feel, it was just great. Then rainbows pointed their noses and came to meet us. I think that at that moment the 3 of us were overwhelmed by this spectacle and this timeless moment and we didn’t want to leave anymore. I would have liked to have a tent, I would have liked us to sleep there, to be able to fall asleep lulled by this view and wake up with this spectacle. Imagine starting your day with this kind of image in mind, for sure it is a boost of energy and motivation assured. The moment of the descent arrived, it was difficult and it causes a little moment of sadness. We were filled with emotion, we had stars in our eyes, we were excited by all the landscapes and we had filled up on dopamine (the hormone of happiness) with the effort of climbing, especially me, so the return in reality was difficult. The descent was nevertheless easier, on the other hand it requires constant concentration. The rocky path and the fact that it was very steep could quickly lead to a fall. I also lacked attention for a second and it did not fail I kissed the ground, fortunately nothing serious, more fear than harm. Funny little anecdote, out of 3 people, two of us fell and we fell at the same time, our colleague turned around and found us both on the ground. Back down, I felt good, I was very tired but it was a good tiredness and I wanted to go for a hike again.

There’s a company called radical storage that’s a luggage storage solution that’s looking for an overnight train tester. You can find out a bit more here[1], and I applied so fingers crossed. It would allow me to combine my three passions, writing, photography and travel. So do not hesitate to help me by sharing my article to as many people as possible. Which may allow me to stand out.

People often ask me what I like so much about photography, and well, it’s the possibility of writing stories, creating memories and immortalising moments in life. Meeting people, getting to know them and discovering their stories. Travel to unique places that make you dream.

[1] https://travel.radicalstorage.com/night-train-tester/

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Norway and it’s landscapes.