Friday Photo #578 – Eye Of Uttakleiv

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Photo: Sea foam conceals the famous ‘Eye of Uttakleiv’ at Uttakleiv beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 28, 2023. 15:32

With these Friday photo posts I generally like to highlight locations in their best conditions. But the best conditions often don’t exist – especially so in winter! Today’s image is the famous ‘Eye of Uttakleiv’ or ‘Dragon’s Eye’ in less than ideal conditions. So bad, that if you were walking here for the first time and looking for the Eye, you might actually think you were in the wrong location altogether.

This is the right location and the Eye is in the middle of the image, it is just hidden by a layer of sea foam whipped up by the waves and wind. If shooting the Eye was on your list of images for Lofoten, then a day like this would be a waste of time and you’d be better off visiting locations with work better in stormier conditions. Although, other than the Eye, Uttakleiv beach is one of my favorite locations for stormy weather, so it is still a location worth visiting in such conditions.

Camera Info:
Nikon z7 II
Nikon 14-30mm f/4
18mm
ISO 31
f 11
0.5 Second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #577 – Unstad Beach

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Photo: Waves flow over Unstad beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 26, 2023. 14:22

I am not sure how many times I have stood on Unstad beach over the last decade, probably a lot! And though I’m a little more picky with light and conditions these days, it is always a favorite location for me to take my winter photography groups. The beach seems to always have a nice variety of potential images, no matter what conditions are present.

One of my favorite interpretations of the beach is the outflowing water over the the rocks which form the border zone between the sandy beach and the boulder beach. With constant change from the shifting sands, tide, waves, and weather, the location usually has something new to offer while keeping a similar motif.

On this day, with passing snow showers in the distance, the flowing water over the rocks offered a nice foreground contrast to help show the storminess of the day.

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon z7 II
Nikon 14-30mm f/4
16mm
ISO 64
f 10
1.3 Seconds
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #576 – Lofoten Winter Driving

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Photo: Night driving through winter snow storm, Lofoten Islands, Norway. March 15, 2023. 23:48

The January sun is riser higher and higher above the southern horizon with each passing day and as Lofoten is beginning to emerge from its long wither sleep, the Islands’ roads and rorbuer cabins will soon be filling with photographers and tourists looking to experience the winter landscape. For many of you, it might be your first time ever driving in winter conditions, and so this is my (somewhat) annual winter driving post.

The picture itself is pretty self explanatory, and likely a view you will experience multiple times if spending a week on Lofoten. And the picture actually has better visibility than the reality of being in a moving vehicle in heavy snow and pitch black roads – only your headlights and the dim snow poles keeping you traveling in the right direction. It can be hypnotising as the snow flakes fall though the headlights. And the concentration required becomes exhausting as the drive gets longer.

Take your time, plan ahead, and use caution. And if the night looks like this, just maybe stay in your cabin and relax – you can’t see the northern lights in the middle of a blizzard anyhow…

For more detailed information and winter road and driving conditions on Lofoten and in Norway, here is my article:

Winter Driving

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon z7 II
Nikon 20mm f/1.8
20mm
ISO 2000
f 1.8
1/25 Second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #575 – Southern Sun

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Photo: Midday sun low on the southern horizon over Nappstraumen, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. November 29, 2023. 12:26

The last sun and first sun of each winter follow the same cycle – with the sun’s lowest point on the winter solstice. Equal time before or after the solstice and the sun will follow the same path through the sky. So the sun in this picture from late November last year will be in the same location as today, nearly two months later. The only difference being that the days in November are getting shorter, while in January they are growing.

The weather itself is not too much different between November and January. And the past couple years it seems November has quite cold, dry, and stable weather, making it quite a nice winter month actually. And in turn, the last couple Januaries have been stormy and wet – with January 2023 being particularly terrible!

It is too early to say what this winter will bring. Hopefully it is cold and calm, with a nice dusting of fresh snow every few days. But one this is certain: the days are getting longer. That is the only real predicable element of the seasons on Lofoten. Anything else is just luck and chance.

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon z8
Nikon 14-30mm f/4
15mm
ISO 100
f 13
1/30 Second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #574 – Return Of The Sun

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Photo: The sun is back! Low January sun partially over horizon over the Vestfjord, Ballstad, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. 12:30

After a month below the horizon the sun is now (partially) shining again over Lofoten But… When we will first see the sun again is entirely up to the weather. As you can see here with a lucky perfectly clear horizon on January 5th, thus sun is only halfway over the sea and any small layer of clouds would have blocked it out for hour it was visible.

Last year was the earliest I’ve ever seen my ‘first sunlight’ of the year, which was actually the day before this on January 4th while in Reine – with is also near the southern most latitude of Lofoten, so the sun is visible a little earlier there. But two days in a row of first sunlight is pretty special and rare. Usually it takes a week or so, and my longest ever wait was January 18th.

It was a cold east wind blowing on this day and a sun only halfway across the horizon isn’t defiantly not providing any warmth! Though perhaps you could say the warmth of color in the sky was enjoyed by the eyes. The days will still be short for the next weeks and it is this time of year that you can still feel like you are far north in the arctic, while still enjoying a couple hours of sunlight each day. By February, the days will begin to feel ‘normal’ with the sun higher in the sky, and then already by March I’ll have to set my morning alarm clock to a painfully early time to take my groups out for sunrise.

But I enjoy this time of year of the return of the sun much better than I do the countdown of the sun’s departure in November and early December. I is nicer to know more light is on the way with each passing day, than the opposite – that the polar night is coming.

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon z7 II
Nikon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6
250mm
ISO 100
f 7.1
1/320 Second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #573 – Winter Vikjordtinden

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Photo: Vikjordtinden mountain peak rises into the cold twilight of the arctic polar night, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. December 28, 2020. 13:19

Even starting by headlamp in the morning darkness is often not enough to reach some summits during the polar night. Even more slow with slow progress though deep snow and rocky hillsides. Add in a layer of heavy clouds, and this is what it looks like by early afternoon. Our goal of the day was the mountain in this picture, Vikfjordtind, but it was obvious we would not summit until well after dark. So we turned around.

An icy cold east wind also helped in the decision to turn around and the sky became more ominous looking with time. Even from this middle high point, it was still several cold hours back to the van, navigating the last sections of frozen bog by headlamp.

With a heavy backpack full of camera gear, I also find it a little hard to keep motivated in weather when I’m not likely to get many photos. And while it’s nice to reach the summit, my many goal is always just to take an interesting photo, wherever on the mountain that might be. I actually figured this photo of the mountain would likely be more interesting than a photo from the mountain. Though I haven’t been back since this only attempt on Vikjordtind, perhaps I’ll choose sometime in summer or autumn for another try.

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
36mm
ISO 100
f 10
1.3 Second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #572 – Winter Solstice

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Photo: Christmas twilight over snow covered landscape, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. December 25, 2022

Today is the Winter Solstice – the shortest day of the year. But as Lofoten is in the middle of the polar night, and there is no daylight, it is simply the darkest ‘day’ of the year, with the sun reaching a maximum elevation of -0.87˚ below the horizon. And while there are many months of snow and winter ahead in the north, the sun will now rise higher in the sky for the next 6 months. I’m already looking forwards to the long summer days.

How dark the polar night is on Lofoten depends on a multitude of factors. The two most import for any given day are weather – cloud cover, and snow. A clear sky with fresh snow will be much brighter than heavy clouds and no snow. It sounds pretty obvious as I write it, of course it’s darker when cloudy. But when the brightest it gets is twilight, then a heavy layer of clouds can make quite a difference in the few hours of light which exist.

Location on the islands is also important. This image, taken on Christmas afternoon on a nice clear day is about as light as it gets on the Yttersia – the northern side of Lofoten during this time of year. Whereas if I were on the southern side of Lofoten, looking south across the Vestfjord, there would have been a nice colourful glow in the sky.

There are a few locations across Lofoten that have the best of both; fully open to the north for the midnight sun and south for colourful winter twilight. Having to choose though, I prefer the north and the midnight sun. It’s not like I’m going to spend a lot of time sitting in my backyard in the middle of winter anyhow, so I can survive a few months without direct sunlight. Or even better, head down to Spain!

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon z7 II
Nikon 24-120mm f/4
28mm
ISO 100
f 8
1/5 Second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #571 – Afternoon Blue Hour

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Photo: December moon shines over Storsandnes beach, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. December 7, 2022. 14:26

A nice bright moon shines over Storsandnes beach at blue hour. It looks like sometime in the evening, but on the Lofoten Islands in December, the is 14:26 is the afternoon. This image is taken one hour after last week’s image (Friday Photo #570), and there is quite a difference. Looking at the images for this article, I actually thought they had been taken on different days, not merely an hour apart.

Now a week into the polar night, if I were to shoot this image on today’s date, December 15, I would need to do so about a half hour earlier, so around 14:00. The polar night will continue to deepen for another week until the winter solstice next Friday, and which point the sun will have reached its lowest point below the (midday) southern horizon. The next time the day will have this equivalent light again is January 6, just as the sun crosses the horizon again. That’s enough numbers and dates for today.

I always like this blue hour light during winter. Even without the moon, on clear and cold days, there is a period where it seems as if the mountains are glowing from within. It is hard to photograph correctly, but if you are on Lofoten, it can seem as if the mountains get brighter as the light fades. I guess this technically just has to due with relative contrast of the white mountains against the deep blue sky, but it feels like a special light when it happens.

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon z8
Nikon 14-30mm f/4
25mm
ISO 100
f 11
1/5 Second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #570 – December Reflection

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Photo: Afternoon December sunset over Stornappstind and the beginning of the polar night, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. December 7, 2022. 13:20

If you were just to arrive on Lofoten today, it would feel dark! But in reality, it has already felt dark for some weeks and it is rare that I will have seen the sun in the last days, as even a small layer of clouds is enough for it to hide behind. Last year was actually the latest I have seen the sun for the year, December 11, while I was on the summit of Reinebringen (Friday Photo #519) – The elevation in mountains add a couple more days.

There still remains some twilight in the hours around midday, especially in parts of Lofoten overlooking the Vestfjorden to the south. And with the right conditions there can be some nice color as well. But by early afternoon, it will be night again.

By the time this photo was taken at 13:20 the sun will already have sunk below the horizon and the last color will begin to fade from the sky. Not usually to light and color you see in the middle of the day, but on Lofoten in winter, midday photography can be quite nice!

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon z7 II
Nikon 24-120mm f/4
59mm
ISO 100
f 7.1
1/13 Second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #569 – November Moon

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Photo: Full moon in twilight November sky over mountains of Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. November 26, 2023. 14:06

After a couple days of stormy weather last week, the sky has once again cleared and Lofoten has fallen into a silent deep freeze again. And thought the days are now preciously short with the beginning of the polar night just around the corner, and bright full moon has been illumining the snow covered landscape.

The moon is full when opposite the sun. In these short days with the sun low on the southern horizon, the full moon is actually remaining above the horizon for the entire day with an orbit similar to the midnight sun would be 6 months ago. Except with the full moon, it is lowest on the horizon at Noon in the northern sky, not midnight like the sun would be. So it it the complete opposite, or the midday moon.

The opposite effect can also happen with the moon, where there are cycles where it never rises above the horizon for extended periods of time.

Luckily, the moon fits perfectly in these twilight days at the moment. I have mostly been shooting with a longer telephoto lens towards distant mountains to have a larger moon in the frame. But as I was finishing up at this location on my way home from Leknes, I decided to shoot a panoramic as well. I still shoot a fair amount of panoramics, but don’t often post them here and they don’t fit the design of the website that well.

But for this scene, rather than a more dramatic larger moon and mountains, this image better represents the mood and feeling of these clear November days of the past week. Here, the moon sits low in the over the distant mountains of Vestvågøy as I was shooting across the Nappstraumen. Truly magical!

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon z8
Nikon 24-120mm f/4
120mm
ISO 200
f 9
1/13 Second
WB Daylight
5 image panoramic