Rondane Nasjonalpark In July pt. I

   

 

Ula River towards Smiubelgen Peak (2018 m/ 6621 ft.) in Rondane Nasjonalpark, Norway. July 2010. 

I spent 30 intense, yet so relaxing, hours in Rondane National Park, Norway, in the end of July, awake every single moment. This is the kind of trips I love to do in the summer as it never gets pitch dark as in the winter time. Not carrying a tent, sleeping bag or have to visit a lodge in central Rondane to catch some sleep, makes me light weight, able to hike far and climb easy…and last, but not least, experience the landscape in a way that very few people do. To do strenous hikes and climbs without sleep for two days is not something I force myself into. It`s something I love to do and I find it much more rewarding than it may sound. What I look forward to when at home, what I dream about at night and many of the awesome things I`ve seen could never been witnessed otherwise.

Upon my visit to Rondvassbu Lodge in the center of the national park at around 8 in the evening, I photographed the nearby area and talked to the manager of the lodge before I started my climb to Vinjeronden Peak (2044 m./6706 ft.). With a few stops on the way I stood on the peak at 2 in the morning and the darkness already started to fade slowly. The view of the landscape beneath is amazing at those hours and I had a free view of the snow-capped peaks of Jotunheimen National Park in the far horizon as well.

 

 

Mountains of Jotunheimen Nasjonalpark at sunrise. July 2010.

 

 

Top of a beacon illuminated by the suns` first rays on Vinjeronden.

As the sun slowly kissed the horizon the landscape, viewed from above, took on many shapes and colors and yours truly entered a world of earthly magic and a meditative state of mind. There is nothing that excels the raw power and intricate beauty of nature and your own mind is the key to all the wishes in the world. If you have a dream, make yourself believe you can bring it to life, study and practice systematically, work hard with patience and you will be able to do whatever you want to do. Every time I go to the mountains, I do it differently or visit new locations and try to push myself further out of my own comfort zone. As I do this often, the next trip is always better than the latter and new experiences are gained.

 

 

Night view from Vinjeronden at 2 in the morning. From the edge there is a straight fall right down into Storbotn Valley, a cirque (concave valley formed by glacier erosion), and in the far distance lies the sun still asleep behind Høgronden Mountain (2118 m./6949 ft.). Can you imagine a silence so deep that you hear own own heartbeats? Can you imagine the feeling of watching giants sleep? Loneliness only arises in company of strangers, enlightenment arises in moments of solitary reflection. This photograph is a manual blend of two exposures of the same subject, one for the sky and one for the earth (shadows), due to the light level difference.

In buddhism, fear is described as a human emotion, not a reality. When you can let go of clinging to material objects, desire or human relationships, freedom can be realized. Of course, there is also a type of positive fear; careful steps to avoid danger for example or driving safely to avoid hurting yourself or others. Envy, evil thoughts and sadness all derives from desire. Desire to have, to get rid of or to become. Mountains have no fear, ocean waves does not cling and the moon is not sad when the sun goes down. Intricate biological, geological and scientific processes are a part of life on earth and the world we live in. Basically, nature is not dependent on humans. But, we are dependent nature, every one of us. Nature is Zen and we have a lot to learn from nature just by observing it. Don`t be afraid to set out to do something, you have everything to gain. If you should meet uncomfortable hindrances on your path, still you can gain something from it.

 

 

Eastern ridge of Storronden Mountain (2138 m./7014 ft.) at dawn.

My original plan was to climb Rondslottet Mountain (2178 m./7146 ft.), but due to a minor, but significant knee injury I got during my ascent to Vinjeronden I aborted the Rondslottet trip and will do that next time. The first day the blue sky invited the sun to have a barbecue on my face while on the second day a very nice cloud cover rolled in from the south which was a nice surprise. I love the intense yet soft light when the sky is partly clouded and it creates fantastic light to work with when shooting during mid-day. Light, shadows, lines and forms all come together like in a slow-motion film, different every time and it`s just to wait for the perfect moment. In many cases, partly cloudy weather has resulted in much better photographs than those shot typically early morning or late afternoon. Though the first day was mostly spent hiking, the second day I photographed at several different locations under good light and I really look forward to come back to climb Rondslottet.

 

 

Rondvatnet Lake towards Rondslottet Mountain (2178 m./7146 ft.).

All above photographs are now available as Fine Art Prints at my website! Copyright logo will not show in the prints. Matting and framing is customizable. By clicking the images above you are taken to the identical photograph on my website for purchase or to look at them larger.

To see the whole print gallery from Rondane Nasjonalpark, click here.

More photographs from this trip will be shared later on. Please, visit again soon!

 

 

Yours truly on Vinjeronden before sunrise, waiting for the light. It was darker than shown here as it was still half an hour before sunrise. The snow-capped peaks in the background is a part of Jotunheimen National Park.

All photographs shot with Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 5D with Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM and Canon EF 70-300mm f-4-5.6 IS USM lenses with additional Lee and Singh-Ray graduated neutral density filters and polarizers when needed.

Seung Kye

 

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