Photo: Misty clouds conceal the summit of Ryten from Kvalvika beach, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. July 9, 2016. 18:53

Summer 2018 seems to be on hold for the moment. After a dry and cold winter, it now seems we have arrived at a wet and cold summer, with the thermostat struggling to reach even 10˚C most days in June so far and heavy grey clouds hanging over the mountains. Quite a contrast to June last year, which had weeks of warm sunny weather. But that is the nature of the weather up hear – no predictability at all. Some summers are good, others are bad.

Even in bad weather however, there can be a quite beauty to the landscape here. And if you, and your camera, can handle a bit of rain – though I must admit I try and avoid rain as much as possible, I’m Californian after all… – there is still plenty out there to see and experience. And while I would prefer perfect sunny and warm summers, you need to bad days to make the good ones stand out even more.

So if you’re heading up here soon, don’t forget your jacket!

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

Photo: Cottongrass and evening light, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 12, 2017. 22:58

Cottongrass is a familiar plant in the summer mountains of Lofoten. It´s also a good marker of where not to put a tent!

Wandering around in the hilly landscape of Yttersandheia one June evening, the backlit ´cotton´ with the low evening sun caught my eye. The sky was a bit boring anyhow, and I was having trouble finding a nice composition. So I just decided to lay on the ground and look for something abstract.

Nothing special here, just a nice summer mood…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 70-200mm f/4
200mm
ISO 125
f 5.6
1/500 second
WB Daylight

Photo: Olstind rises above the frozen shoreline, Reine, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 22, 2018. 09:50

It is not often that I take photos in Reine anymore. But occasionally, and usually when I’m guiding a workshop, I’ll come across some nice conditions in which it’s worth pulling out the camera. After several days in the area this january with an annoying south wind keeping the bay reflection-less, conditions finally calmed.

After some decent snow, and then rain which washed much of it away, it was almost completely dry during the 2nd half of January this year. But the dry conditions also brought a freezing cold to Lofoten, and so even without snow, we had ice.

As the tide receded, the frozen sections of the shoreline waters were left to fall and break across the rocks. Without this element as a foreground, I probably wouldn’t have shot this scene – even though the twilight was nice enough itself! But the this layer of ice helps hide what would be, for me, the overly messy rocks and seaweed. I also shot another composition with just Olstind’s reflection in the water, but I like this version better, as it gives a better sense of place to the image.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
29mm
ISO 100
f 10
.5 second
WB Daylight

Photo: Olstind mountain peak reflects in fjord, Sakrisøy, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 14, 2017. 02:11

My fried Olaf dropped my tour group off at Sakrisøy after a midnight trip up Helvetestind – my second time to the summit in two weeks.

A sea fog had been covering all the land to the north but back on the south side, the world was calm. Tired after a long day, we decided one more shot was needed.

I’ve photographed Olstind hundreds of times by now for almost every possible angle. But it is still a peak which I never grow tired of. And so I pulled out my camera and tripod for yet another photo of this iconic mountain.

I like the softness of the light here. It was ‘sunrise’ but it doesn’t really appear so. If the fjord was not perfectly calm, perhaps I wouldn’t have taken the image. But it was so quiet out, just us standing at the edge of the sea – and a few birds making some noise in the distance.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
24mm
ISO 200
f 10
1/80 second
WB Daylight