Friday Photo #44 – Bunes Beach Rainbow

Photo: Rainbow at sunrise emerges from mountains at Bunes beach, Moskenesøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  August 17, 2013.  04:29

Perhaps one of the best sunrises I have ever photographed on Lofoten, I nearly slept through this one. My second morning on the islands, I was still suffering the effects of jet lag and staying up till midnight the previous night – the short summer nights don’t leave time for much sleep. So when my alarm went off at 3:30am and I drearily peaked my head out from the tent the sky looked somewhat boring, I laid back down.  I know I am on the islands to take photos, but there are times in tiredness where for a fleeting moment, I wouldn’t mind if it were raining.  Then I come to my senses.  Sleep when I die!

A little more time passed before my next alarm sounded and I figured I might as well get out of the tent and see what the morning would provide. By now a small bit of color was beginning to appear in the sky so I hurried out to the beach. The sunrise towards the east was quite nice with some pink glowing clouds filling the sky, but as I passed around a corner on the coast, this came into sight.

The world seemed to be at a standstill, and even the wind was calm.  For 20 minutes, the rainbow slowly drifted out from behind the cliff until the clouds finally faded.  It was one of those lucking moments where a combination of elements all come together at once.

I returned to my tent for a couple hours more sleep before having to pack up camp and hike back to the ferry.  As I was leaving the beach the sky was now a flat grey and a gentle rain began to fall.  A rain that some hours later would see me arrive soaking wet at Horseid beach and forced to hide in my tent for the next 18 hours…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 50
f 16
3 seconds
WB Daylight
2 images – top, bottom