Lika was taken to photograph cars in the Arctic. These are my professional advice

I recently traveled to Sweden for research, writing and producing a feature for CNET on Why are electric cars great driving in the winter. It was a big story, which requires me to travel around multiple parts of Sweden and go out north in the frozen Arctic circle. As a journalist and a professional photographerMy job was not only to tell the story, but to take it camera. This means traveling with the right equipment and knowing how to use them specifically to get the shots I need.

One of the camera equipment that I took with me to the difficulty of photography on the site to the process of thinking behind footage, here I picked up my story on the camera.

I used camera equipment

Since I was traveling around Sweden, moving inside and outside the trains and aircraft and jumping inside and outside the taxi, I knew I needed to keep the preparation lightweight. I didn’t want to be burdened with a heavy backpack full of camera bodies and countless lenses and accessories. Instead, I only took one camera: the new Leica Q3 43.

I bought this camera for myself late last year. It combines high -resolution image sensor, full frame with a fixed focus of 43 mm. I love this focal length because it provides a great balance between seeing a wide angle and an enlarged appearance. I often shoot initial lenses 35 mm or 50 mm, so the 43 mm lens is permanently installed on the camera is a great place for me. The result is that I have one camera and only one lens to carry, and keep the slave load down and eliminate any dispersed questions in my head about the focal length of use. Instead, encourage me to work hard to find the best structures.

Bring a backup battery, along with an electric bank to classify the camera on the USB-C if you need (which I did not do). It was the only addition to my preparation Polarpro 135 Gold Mist Filter. This provides nice golden fog on the images that sometimes reduce the harsh details of high -resolution bullets and provide aesthetic -like films that I love completely, and kept this filter on the camera almost all the time.

To help protect my camera, I used leather Obrueth half the caseWhich also helped provide an additional grip – it also helped by the thumb of Polarpro on the back. So that it was always ready to shoot, I often carried the camera around my neck with a Pueman Skin Camera belt. It goes without saying a $ 7,000 camera, and I had his own photographic insurance if anything had occurred.

When you are not in use, I carried the camera, accessories and other bits and pop in my country Wandrd PRVKE backpackWhich provides a safe storage section for my camera equipment along with the expansable roll of a jacket, hat, gloves, or anything else I need to take with me.

Video equipment

You also need to shoot video on this trip, both for the CNET video that will be played alongside my article, in addition to capturing my content YouTube personal photography channel. To help maintain weight, I decided to buy the Creator DJI OSMO POCKET 3 group. This Gimbal’s small camera captures and smoothly and was the perfect partner for my crowded grandparent.

I used it to pick up the B-Loll inside the Volvo headquarters in Gothenburg, to photograph cars while sliding on a frozen lake and to pick up walking tours in Stockholm on one of my vacation days (seen on the above). Certainly, the footage may not have been as I was trying to achieve from the usual Canon R5, but it looked more than good enough and it was much easier to carry it with me from the camera and the lenses of full size.

Arctic imaging

The first destination on my trip was the Volvo headquarters, where it was offered to many areas used to test its electric cars. Such places are not always easy to shoot. The main issue is that Volvo, understood, is not keen to show all its engineering secrets, as it was many areas that I visited outside photography. There were no other sites in which this photo could be taken of my story, so it was important to work with Volvo – as I do with any company – to find compromise that both sides are happy.

This was not a problem, and I am especially pleased with some of the photos taken inside the company’s battery test area, which was a major part of my written article. As a journalist and photographer, my goal is to always rely on my own photo when I visit like this. It adds to the authenticity of the story, and it appears to CNET readers that I was already somewhere and saw something directly. This will not be the case if you simply use the photos provided by the company.

Things became more dramatic as I joined Volvo in the frozen northern Sweden. My trip took me first to the Arctic circle to the city of Kiruna, where I did not see only inside the Actimus Test Pole, but it is also given an opportunity to ride ice at night through the frozen lakes and across the forests heading to the snow

It was great, especially when we stopped and got a brief glimpse of the northern lights. I set my camera on Travel Travel climax, and I frame my photo using ice carts as an introduction presented and I used the speed of three seconds and ISO from 800 to capture adequate light. I am happy with the image I was able to get.

Full pictures on a frozen lake

Then we traveled slightly south to the city of Luria, where the EX90 keys were delivered from Volvo, and we gave a path that would take us across the countryside and on a snow path that was cleansed on a frozen lake. The driving with another journalist shared this trip, giving me an opportunity to shoot from the car window, and capturing some details about the area that I felt would add some additional colors and scenery to my story.

On the lake, things were less anesthesia. I started doing some of my own leadership, and going to hell around the course hoping to send the car side around the corners-often revolve around the path to snow drifts. Great fun. I have attached DJI OSMO on a small clip inside the car to photograph my efforts from multiple angles, but then it is time for me to do something a little more dangerous.

You need to take pictures and cars that drive that require a more complex preparation. First, you need a Volvo test driver to drive the car that will be the topic. After that, I will be in a car in the front, sitting in the trunk with the rear door, allowing me to photograph the car freely because it is close to us. When I do it on public roads, I wear a high -difference jacket and I am tied firmly inside the car using safety harness. We did not have this on the closed track, so I just had to sit at the back and try not to slip when we took every corner.

At almost some point I did, but I kept my feet strongly against the side to support me, which helped. Was it safe? No, it is not really, and it is not something at all that I would have done on public roads, if there was nothing else because it was illegal. But it was the only way to get the shots that I asked for cars while working. The frozen conditions and high speeds on the path mean that snow and ice revolve around me, and cover me – and the camera – in the snow. Fortunately, Lika Q3 43 closed with weather, so I was not worried about any water damage. You can see me sitting with snow residue on the top of this article.

I used a slower shutter speed on the camera – it is usually about 1/80 of a second – which was slightly unclear from the movement of the car and the ground while accelerating it while keeping the car in the sharp focus. I used Burst mode to increase the chances of getting sharp, useful images, but until then I haven’t got about 10 years I was happy with it from the hundred. But that is good, you just needed a few to clarify my story. I played another, this time with OSMO to take video. I did some of the back and some side windows that depict each of the back and some of the car shots that we were driving in order to give our talented video editors more various shots to work with.

After our last bosom, the day ended, as I did my time in Sweden.

Editing and advice

I photographed many photos on this trip using the CHROME cookie integrated in Leica. I adore the colors and colors it provides, especially when it associated with a Mist PolarPro Gold candidate. But I photographed my photos in both JPEG and Raw, which also allows me to apply my own modifications to the initial files if I want it. For some shots – such as those of the motion cars on the path – I used my adjustments, while for others, I used JPEG simply with the built -in chromium profile.

I took many pictures of my own use on my trips, and the majority of my favorite shots use the colors of the LECA appearance. Don’t be afraid to use these personal files because they can offer you a great creative boost when you take your photos. Fujifilm cameras (such as Excellent x100VIIt is famous for the presence of a variety of amazing film -like cookies, so see those if you are keen to use colors inside the camera.

In general, I am really pleased with a variety of pictures I took for CNET and myself. This really helped to keep my equipment to be minimal because it allowed me to be smart and quickly interact with moments when I saw it. If you are keen to take pictures of your travel and documentaries like this, make sure to review My full guide for professional travel photography.

Editors note: Travel costs related to parts of this story have been covered by the manufacturer, which is common in the auto industry. The provisions and opinions of CNET employees are our.