You can probably imagine that it would be difficult to bring a large camera on a reindeer hunt.
That’s why I don’t bring my big cameras. I have one that fits in my pocket – my iPhone.
Here’s the list of things I usually bring on long hunts with my friend Kitdlaq Jørgensen, during the cold month of September:
- A 3-5-liter backpack with a built-in water reservoir
- Enough food for half a day
- Rifle and ammunition
- Extra socks
- Gloves
- Skinning knife
- Carrying straps
- Personal hygiene items
We try to bring as little as possible. It can get too heavy on our long hunting trips through the mountains. And once we’ve shot a few reindeer, we have to carry them all the way back. That’s why I can say with certainty that there’s no room for a big camera on a reindeer hunt.
Modern smartphones have become so good that they come with multiple lenses and can shoot in RAW format. I’m really satisfied with the photos they produce.
We usually wake up very early, while it’s still dark. But we can start to sense the sunrise on the horizon. The stars in the sky are still visible enough that I can hold my phone steady on a slightly rocking boat for 10 seconds to capture a usable image. As it gets brighter and the stars start to fade one by one, I also take some landscape shots with my iPhone’s primary 48 MP camera, which gathers enough light to produce clean images. And just below, you can see photos taken with that very camera.
We usually stop once in a while when we reach a hill with a long view, to scout for reindeer. And if I spot a beautiful scene, I usually pull my iPhone from my pocket and start snapping away. That’s exactly where the iPhone really shines – it’s always ready in your pocket. It’s also so efficient that right after taking a photo, I can import it into my Lightroom app, apply my universal preset to give it a quick character, export it, and upload it to my Facebook or Instagram story – if we have signal. The whole process takes about two minutes. That way, people back home can see the photo I just took.
There are moments when I’d like to get a bit closer to a subject. Luckily, my iPhone has a moderate zoom lens I can use to photograph distant landscapes and lone reindeer calves. Even though I’d like to get closer, I have to accept the limitations of my iPhone.
Taking pictures isn’t the main focus when I go reindeer hunting. But I still want to document our experiences so I can look back at them later with a smile – together with the people I went with, and with others. For me, it’s always essential to capture the best images I possibly can.
