2017 has been an eventful year and I've had the pleasure to meet a bunch of new people, make new friends, make new business partners, explore amazing landscapes, teach aspiring photographers and most importantly learn a lot about both business and myself.

My website CaptureLandscapes has got a lot of attention and I've been able to reach tens of thousands of aspiring photographers through my tutorials, eBooks and interviews with inspirational photographers. It's a humbling experience to be able to share my experience with such an amazing group of people.

Anyways, here's a recap of 2017:

There was no doubt that 2017 would be a year filled with adventures. Already in the first week I had gotten on a plane and found myself exploring the picturesque Lofoten in Northern Norway during the return of the sun.

While I didn't see too much of the sun, I got to spend several nights under the Aurora Borealis and the white landscape was a treat to the eyes.

Even though February wasn't as adventures as some of the other months as I spent most it in an office, it was a month where I learned a lot.

I still was able to travel in the local area when the conditions where nice and I also spent some time testing my new DJI Mavic.

In the beginning of March we got a bunch of snow which ment it was perfect conditions for snowshoeing. I particularely enjoyed snowshoeing in the winter storms and hiked to local areas I had never visited in winter before.

April will be the only month of the year where I don't include an additional set of images. While it was a month where a lot of interesting things happened, it was also a month where I wasn't able to spend much time behind the camera; no big travels, no good local conditions but a lot of processing and article writing.

I did manage to grab a few self-portraits while out testing my Vallerret Photography gloves, though!

May was an exciting month for me. I built a bed in my car, packed it, and drove from Norway to Northern Spain, my new base for the next several months.

Rather than driving directly, I planned a few extra days in order to stop by and photograph several areas on the way. Once I was in Spain, I continued further down the coast to explore more of what this region has to offer.

I've spent much time in Northern Spain before but the next several months I had the opportunity to get to know it even better.

June was a great month where I really got to spend time exploring what Northern Spain has to offer. Besides exploring the coast, I also began spending more time in the nearby Picos de Europa mountain range, and a lot of time hiking in preperation for August's big trip.

July was a month I had been looking forward to for a long time... It was the month where I would (hopefully) be standing at the top of Mt. Rainier; and I did.

The beginning of the month started out with more exploration of Spain and heavy preparation for the Mt. Rainier trip that would take place at the end of the month.

My father and I had talked about this trip for a long time. For him, it had been a dream ever since we lived in Seattle, USA when I was a kid. So, to finally be able to do it, and spend over a week exploring the Pacific Northwest by myself afterwards was amazing.

It was also great to meet old friends that I hadn't seen in more than 15 years!

The end of July and beginning of August was the start of a couple busy months with a lot of travel.

I started August in Seattle, USA and spent time hiking around Mt. Rainier in search for wildflowers (which was a special experience since I stood on the summits only a few days before). I then continued to the Olympic National Park where I, unfortunately, got to spend half a day at a hospital after a minor incident.

From the US I flew back to Norway and barely spent a night there before leaving to Greenland (Read my trip report here) guiding a small workshop. Spending time in this remote and unique location was incredible and we all had a great time.

Northern Lights Norway — September

Chasing the Aurora in Northern Norway and Iceland

Photographing Northern Lights is something I really love and September 2017 was a month where the weather Gods smiled. During the Lofoten Autumn Tour I guided for LofotenTours, we had some of the most intense Northern Lights displays I've ever photographed - what a pleasure to share the moment with excited clients who had never seen them before.

Directly after ending my Lofoten Tour, my next workshop kicked off - this time in Iceland. Unfortunately, we didn't have great conditions during this trip but that doesn't mean we didn't have a great time and walked away with some beautiful images. We also got a great Northern Lights show during the final night so we all left with a big smile.

October

Exploring the Italian Dolomites

After 3 months of almost constant travel and workshops, I decided to head out on one last big adventure of the year. Together with my friend and fellow photographer Marco Grassi, I headed into the majestic mountains of the Dolomites.

This was by far one of the highlights of 2017 and it's a region I'm already planning to re-visit in 2018. Despite a car breakdown, troubles with rental cars, late checkin fees and a lack of clouds, we walked away with good images and good memories.

November

From the Italian Mountains to the Spanish Mountains

With only a little more than a month to go before I returned back to Norway, I spent November focusing on re-visiting and further exploring the North of Spain. With the temperatures dropping and autumn colors still decent, the magical Picos de Europa was my main focus.

It was also a month where I got to spend time processing images from my previous travels and create more content for CaptureLandscapes.

Mioño-Storm-Sunset.jpg — December

Wrapping up and preparing for a new chapter

December was a rather uneventful month photography wise. While I did go on several trips around the local area in Northern Spain, the most of the month was spent preparing for the move back to Norway, wrapping up the business year and preparing for 2018.

Mila and I spent Christmas driving the 2600km back to Norway where we had a delayed celebration with family. Luckily, we had some great snow in Norway so I got to end the year just as it started; with snowshoes!

Thank you all so much for being a part of 2017. I'm looking forward to continue sharing my images, articles and other exciting things in the coming year.