Discovering Norway with the Fujifilm GFX
In February of this year, I had the distinct pleasure of visiting and exploring beautiful Lofoten Norway on a scouting trip with Discovery Photo Tours. We are planning to run a photography tour there in 2018 and had to get our boots on the ground to find the best spots to shoot, eat, sleep, and have a ton of fun so that we can make sure that our guests have even more fun next year when they join us there!
Norway is STUNNING to behold and a pure joy to photograph and it is even more exciting when you’re given the chance to test out the talk of the town when it comes to new camera systems…
Say hello to the incredible Fujifilm GFX 50S!
The brand new Fujifilm GFX 50S Camera
I had no idea that just two days before departing for Norway, that my friends at Fujifilm would hand me a case with a pre-production model of the coveted GFX 50S. It sure made the trip more enjoyable for me since I always love trying out new gear but this was the coolest camera I had ever been given by Fujifilm and I was hoping that it was going to be as good as the hype. Well, the hype we have all been hearing about was well placed and the images I got from my time in Norway were some of the best, sharpest, high-quality files I’ve shot in my life. If you want to get down to the nitty-gritty of it all, check out my GFX review that I recently posted here on my blog.
Well above the Arctic circle, Lofoten is a true winter wonderland and yet is not nearly as cold as one would imagine being so far up north. With a bit of luck, we had ample snowfall during our trip and that allowed us to get some incredible images of mountains, seashores, and villages. I’m posting a few images here but you can see eevn more of my GFX Norway photos in the GFX review.
It wasn’t until I got home that I saw just how crisp these images are. yes, there are other 50 megapixel cameras out there but you’ll either be sacrificing a lot of quality, dynamic range and get much more noise with a 50 mp DSLR. If you’re comparing this camera to the other medium format cameras, don’t… your wallet will thank you. Just compare the pricing of the Fujifilm GFX with a comparable Hasselblad or Phase One and you’ll see what I’m talking about. The good thing is that you’re not sacrificing quality for a much lower price point. This is a revolutionary camera.
“Especially in technology, we need revolutionary change, not incremental change.”
~Larry Page
As you’ll see in the review, I only took one lens with me, the GF 32-64mm f/4 R LM WR and it fit the bill quite nicely. I’m now eager to get my hands on the 23mm, which is equivalent to an 18mm on a full frame DSLR. There will be six lenses total this year for the GFX, four of which are already available.
In the end, Norway and the incredible new GFX made for a great partnership and I’m looking forward to the next time I can get my hands on a GFX to take to some other incredible destination.
My thanks again to Fujifilm for lending me the camera!
oh, we have scenes like that right here in South jersey! (ha ha) seriously, beautiful shots. I feel like the absense of any people in them adds to the magical quality.
Thanks Kevin! The absence of people is usually a good thing ;-P
I’ve been dying to test out the GFX – great work, Ken
Thanks so much! And please… no dying!!
Wow, great work, Ken
Thank you
Much appreciated!!
first of all i would like to appreciate you because your site is amazing,the that amaze me is graphics used in
and on second photographs are so good and neatly taken…keep your work up and keep posting article like this.
Thank you for the kind words!
Super*****
wow! what a nice pictures that you have taken and i have heard from many that Norway is such a magical place where we forget our all problems and step into a amazing life.
thanks for sharing.
It’s pretty much just like you say :-)
These photos do look amazing and if it wasn’t for your pics with the humble X-T1 I would have assumed it was the camera that created this 3D like micro contrast look. Apart from ‘print big ability’ and clean photos at high ISO I am not convinced this camera is the landscapers dream machine. Would be great to see the same photo taken with an X-T2 and same post processing. Also would be good to see an OOC jpeg. I think your post processing skills are probably the best I have ever seen which makes it really difficult to judge the camera from the pics on this page.
This is so great! the photos that you are posting are very neat and detailed all around the picture. I can say it “Awesome”. keep working and swear you are truly good, you can inspire everyone. Thanks for sharing this!
Amazing pictures Ken! Love your style!
These images are so powerful! Love each and every one of them! Congrats!
Regards