I Took My Leica to Photograph Cars in the Arctic. These Are My Pro Tips

I recently journeyed to Sweden in order to research, write and produce a feature for CNET on why electric cars are great for winter driving. It was a big story, requiring me to travel around multiple parts of Sweden and venture north into the frozen Arctic Circle. As both a journalist and a professional photographer, it was my job to not just tell the story, but to capture it on camera. That meant traveling with just the right equipment and knowing precisely how to use it to get the shots I’d need. 

From the camera gear I took with me to the difficulties of shooting on location and the thought process behind my shots, here’s how I captured my story on camera.

The camera gear I used

As I would be traveling around Sweden, hopping on and off trains, planes and taxis, I knew I needed to keep my setup lightweight. I didn’t want to be burdened with a heavy backpack full of camera bodies and a myriad of lenses and accessories. Instead, I took just one camera: my new Leica Q3 43. 

I bought this camera for myself late last year. It combines a high-resolution, full-frame image sensor with a fixed focal length of 43mm. I love this focal length as it provides a great balance between a wide-angle view and a zoomed-in look. I often shoot on 35mm or 50mm prime lenses, so a 43mm lens that’s permanently affixed to the camera is a great sweet spot for me. The result is that I had just one camera and lens to carry, keeping my pack load down and eliminating any distracting questions in my head about which focal length to use. Instead, it encouraged me to work harder to find the best compositions. 

I brought a spare battery, along with a power bank to top up the camera over USB-C if I needed to (which I didn’t). The only addition to my setup was a PolarPro 135 Gold Mist filter. This provides a gentle golden haze over the images that softens the sometimes harsh details of high-resolution shots and provides a slightly film-like aesthetic that I absolutely love, and I kept this filter on the camera almost the entire time. 

To help protect my camera, I used a leather Oberwerth half case, which also helped provide extra grip — helped too by a PolarPro thumb grip on the back. So that it was always ready to shoot, I often carried the camera around my neck using a Bowman Leather camera strap. Needless to say for a $7,000 camera, I had my own photographic insurance for it in case anything happened to it. 

When not in use, I carried the camera, accessories and other bits and bobs in my Wandrd Prvke backpack, which provides a secure storage section for my camera gear along with an expandable roll top for my jacket, hat, gloves or anything else I need to take with me. 

Video equipment

I also needed to shoot video on this trip, both for the CNET video that would run alongside my article, as well as capturing content for my personal photography YouTube channel. To help keep the weight down, I decided to buy a DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Creator Combo. This tiny, gimbal-stabilized camera captures great-looking, smooth footage and was the perfect partner for my busy schedule.

I used it for capturing B-roll inside Volvo’s headquarters in Gothenburg, for filming cars as they slid around on a frozen lake and for capturing my photographic walking tours of Stockholm on one of my days off (seen embedded above). Sure, maybe the footage wasn’t as cinematic as I’d normally try to achieve from my usual Canon R5, but it looked more than good enough and it was far easier to carry around with me than a full-sized mirrorless camera and lenses. 

Arctic photography

The first destination on my trip was Volvo’s HQ, where I was shown various areas used for the testing of its electric vehicles. Places like this aren’t always easy to shoot. The main issue is that Volvo, understandably, isn’t keen on showing off all of its engineering secrets, so many areas I visited were off-limits for photography. Other spots where photos could be taken were maybe not that illustrative for my story, so it was important to work with Volvo — as I do with any company — to find compromises that both sides are happy with. 

That wasn’t a problem, and I’m especially pleased with some of my imagery taken inside the company’s battery testing area, which was a key part of my written piece. As a journalist and photographer, my aim is always to rely on my own images when I’m visiting an area like this. It adds to the authenticity of the story, showing CNET’s readers that I have actually been somewhere and seen something firsthand. This wouldn’t be the case if I simply used images provided by the company.

Things got more dramatic as I joined Volvo up in the frozen north of Sweden. My trip took me first up to the Arctic Circle to the city of Kiruna, where I not only saw inside Volvo’s Arctic testing facility, but was also given the opportunity to ride a snowmobile at night across frozen lakes and through snow-bound forests

It was amazing, especially when we stopped and got a brief glimpse of the Northern Lights overhead. I set my camera up on my Peak Design Travel Tripod, framed my image using the snowmobiles as foreground interest and used a three-second shutter speed and ISO of 800 to capture enough light. I’m pleased with the image I was able to get. 

Frantic photos on a frozen lake

We then traveled a little more south to the city of Lulea, where we were handed the keys to Volvo’s all-electric EX90 and given a route that would take us across the countryside and to an ice track that Volvo had cleared on a frozen lake. I shared the driving with another journalist on this leg of the trip, giving me an opportunity to shoot out of the car window, capturing some details around the area that I felt would add some extra color and scene-setting to my story. 

On the lake, things were less sedate. I started off doing some of my own driving, going hell-for-leather around the course in the hopes of sending the car sideways around the corners — and frequently spinning off the track into snow drifts. Great fun. I’d attached my DJI Osmo on a small clamp inside the car to film my efforts from multiple angles, but then it was time for me to do something a bit more dangerous. 

I needed to capture images and footage of the cars driving and that required a more complicated setup. First, I needed one of Volvo’s test drivers to drive the car that would be the subject. I would then be in a car in front, sitting in the trunk with the tailgate open, allowing me to freely photograph the car as it drove close behind us. When I do this on public roads I wear a high-vis vest and I’m firmly attached inside the car using a safety harness. We didn’t have this on the closed track so I just had to sit in the back and try not to slide out as we took each corner. 

At one point I nearly did, but I kept my foot pressed hard against the side to support me, which helped. Was it safe? No, not really, and it’s absolutely not something I’d have done on public roads, if nothing else because it would have been illegal. But it was the only way I was able to get the shots I required of the cars in action. The freezing conditions and high speeds on the track meant that snow and ice billowed around me, covering me — and the camera — in snow. Thankfully, my Leica Q3 43 is weather sealed so I wasn’t worried about any water damage. You can see me sitting with the remnants of snow on me at the top of this article.

I used a slower shutter speed on my camera — usually around 1/80 of a second — which slightly blurred the motion of the car’s wheels and the ground as it sped past while hopefully keeping the car in sharp focus. I used burst mode to increase the chances of getting sharp, usable images, but even then I only got about 10 that I was happy with out of the couple of hundred that I shot. But that’s fine, I only needed a few to illustrate my story. I did another run, this time with my Osmo to capture video. I did some out of the back and some out of side windows filming both the subject car behind and some footage of the car we were driving in order to give our talented video editors more varied footage to work with. 

After our last lap, the day came to an end, as did my time in Sweden.

Editing and advice

I shot many of images on this trip using Leica’s built-in Chrome color profile. I adore the colors and tones it provides, especially when paired with the PolarPro Gold Mist filter. But I shot my images in both JPEG and raw, allowing me to also apply my own edits to the raw files if I wanted to. For some shots — like the ones of the cars in motion on the track — I used my own edits, while for others I simply used the JPEG with the Chrome profile built in. 

I shot many images for my own use on my travels, and the majority of my favorite shots are using the built-in colors from the Leica look. Don’t be afraid to use these profiles as they can offer you a great creative boost when you’re out taking your images. Fujifilm’s cameras (like the excellent X100VI) are famed for having a variety of stunning film-like color profiles built in, so look toward those if you’re keen on using in-camera colors. 

Overall, I’m really pleased with the variety of images I shot both for CNET and for myself. It really helped that I kept my equipment load to a minimum as it allowed me to be nimble and react quickly to moments when I saw them. If you’re keen on taking your own travel and documentary photos like this, make sure to check out my full guide to professional travel photography. 

Editors’ note: Travel costs related to parts of this story were covered by the manufacturer, which is common in the auto industry. The judgments and opinions of CNET’s staff are our own.