Friday Photo #582 – Svolvær Reflection

Photo: Winter reflections in Svolvær harbor, Lofoten Islands, Norway. March 29, 2023. 19:31

Svolvær is the closest town that Lofoten has to being a modern-ish looking city, with waterfront restaurants, hotels, pubs, boat trips, etc. While Lofoten may not seem to big from an outside perspective, Svolvær is a 150km round trip for me, and so I don’t go too often unless I have a number of requirements which can only be done there. But when I’m in town, I’m always sure to have my camera with me and maybe wait around for a little photography as well.

I forget why I was in town on this particular winter day in late March. But it was a nice calm day and as blue hour approached I wandered around the sleepy harbor area to take a few images.

Camera Info:
Nikon z7 II
Nikon 14-30mm f/4
22mm
ISO 400
f 5
0.3 Second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #576 – Lofoten Winter Driving

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 #222 – Matmora Winter

Matmora Winter - Friday Photo #222

Photo: Winter on Matmora, Austvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. March 19, 2017. 10:33

Friday took me east to Solvær, first for a presentation by Tormod Granheim on climbing on 4000m peaks in the Alps, and then, on Saturday, an avalanche course up on Vesterålen. After the course ended in mid afternoon, we caught the ferry back to Lofoten with more adventures in mind: Matmora.

The sun was setting as we left the parking lot and headed up through the deep snow. Eventually, after some hours we cleared the trees and arrived on the flat northern ridge with leads to Matmora. In the darkness we setup camp and waited for what the morning would bring.

I was hoping for some nice pink light, but dawn broke flat and grey. Tired, I didn’t crawl out of my sleeping bag until after 8:00. Soon, we were under way through the deep snow to Delpheia and then up the ever steepening and narrowing ridge.

The weather continued to mostly deteriorate, and whatever clear moments became shorter and shorter before the passing slow flurries and sinking clouds. Had the weather been better, I might have had more motivation to reach the summit. But on this day, it was just step by step, continuing on and on. It wasn’t until the summit cairn appeared like a ghost in the fog that I was confident that we would reach the summit, and even then, I though, ‘what’s the point, I can’t see anything…’

This image is on the descent from Delpheia just before the route begins to climb again. The summit is visible in the distance, hidden in the clouds and still a couple hours away.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 160
f 8
1/500 seconds
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #142 – Henningsvaer mountain view

View over Henningsvær from summit of Festvågtind, Austvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: View over Henningsvær from the summit of Festvågtind, Austvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 11, 2015. 18:53

This image is a result of the necessity for flexibility in your plans when traveling to Lofoten – winter or summer. My goal for the day had originally been for Matmora, but as had been the trend for most of my days on Lofoten thus far, the summit remained hidden in a layer of clouds. Luckily, Festvågtind (see hiking guide HERE), near Henningsvær was clouds free – or at least when I decided to start hiking.

I initially arrived at the summit at the same time as a passing snow storm. But unlike the higher surrounding mountains, the clouds would quickly pass revealing what looked like a fantastic summer day if you were to ignore the near freezing temperatures on the summit.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 125
f 10
1/250 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #141 – June Snow

Summer snow flurries approach over sea, Austvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Approaching snow flurry over Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 11, 2015. 20:01

This is the view from the summit of Festvågtind (hiking guide HERE)  on turbulent summer evening. Over the hours I spent on the summit there was a constant transition between sun and snow. Wave after wave of clouds and snow flurries were approaching over the sea from the west, creating an interesting dance of light and shadow.

I have my Fuji xt-1 set up shooting time lapse sequences of the quickly changing conditions. But it was one of those days in which I had a half dozen cameras, as there was interesting light and clouds in almost every direction.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 70-200mm f/4
145mm
ISO 200
f 8
1/640 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #140 – Summer Snow Flurry

Female hiker is summer snow flurry near summit of Festvågtind, Austvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Summer snow flurries on Festvågtind, Austvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 11, 2015. 18:27

In early summer it’s important to be prepared for sometimes winter-like conditions if heading out into the mountains. In the typical changeable nature of the weather on Lofoten, we had started the hike under a nice sunny blue sky. By the time we reached the summit, we had to sit on the leeward side of the large summit boulders to wait out the first of many snow flurries passing the mountains.

Even as one band of snow passed, the next would already be lined up on the horizon, approaching from Stamsund to the west. But as quickly as the snow would arrive, it would leave again and the sun would be shining brightly.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 70-200mm f/4
135mm
ISO 200
f 5.6
1/160 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #112 – Sailing at Helvete

Lofoten Islands Northern Lights

Photo: Northern light fill the sky over Lofoten, Henningsvær, Austvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  September 24, 2014.  23:40

Another Image from my last night of northern lights in September 2014.

What started out as a nice display of auroras, finished with the sky completely full of light!  Even here, at 14mm, my entire frame was filled with light.  And even then, I was still left to look up ever further, with auroras filling nearly every part of the sky.  Probably one of my most memorable nights ever, and a good end to over a month on Lofoten.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 1250
f 3.2
15 seconds
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #111 – Autumn Northern Lights

Northern Lights Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Autumn northern lights over the coast of Henningsvær, Austvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  September 24, 2014.  21:13

My last view of northern lights in what had been an absolutely fantastic month of September 2014;   probably the best month I’ve ever had aurora watching on Lofoten.

I had camped at this spot on a few previous nights, yet the lights had been elusive.  So when they finally showed up for me at this spot, I was more than happy.  Especially so, in that they were early enough in the night to still have some glow on the horizon, which helps the images in autumn when there is no snow on the mountains.

The aurora lasted late into the night, allowing me to also record a nice time lapse sequence to use for a future project…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 1600
f 3.5
15 seconds
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #99 – September Northern Lights

Lofoten Islands Northern Lights

Photo: Northern lights fill sky over Gimsøystraumen, Austvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Sept 24, 2014.  21:31

September 2014 had already been a spectacular month for auroras on Lofoten, probably my best month ever.  So as October, and my planned departure from the islands, approached, I was content, but still always hoping for maybe just one more…

With a forecast of some pretty heavy storms to hit the islands in the following days, we took advantage of what would likely be the last night of clear weather for the trip and camped out on the coast near Henningsvær.  And as luck would have it, just after dark, a faint glow began to appear in the western sky, before finally erupting in almost 180˚ of aurora which lasted for hours.  A good farewell to a month in the north.

Photographing the northern lights in the autumn is a different experience than winter.  There is no need to polar expedition style down jackets, as at least on Lofoten, the temperatures often remain quite mild – though it did dip down to freezing on a couple nights.  But what I don’t like as much is the lack of snow.  If there is no moonlight, then all you will have are black mountain silhouettes in the foreground unless you can find a nice piece of water for a reflection and some separation.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
17mm
ISO 1600
f 3.2
8 seconds
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #91 – Kroktinden View

Rugged mountain landscape viewed from summit of Kroktind (707m), Austvagoy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: The wild mountain peaks of Lofoten from the summit of Kroktinden, Austvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Sept 27, 2013.  15:40

Day 4, mountain 4.  After having dropped my camera in a lake in Sweden a few weeks earlier, by the time I received a new one I only had a week left on Lofoten.  Luckily the autumn of 2013 was a calm and mild one for the most part and once I had a new camera, it was up to the mountains for four consecutive days before the weather finally deteriorated.

The 707 meter high Kroktind is a somewhat obscure peak in the Sydalen area of Austvågøy.  But with legs getting a bit sore, my Swiss hiking partner Monika and I both figured this would be an interesting hike for the day.

By the time we reached the summit a layer of white cloud was beginning to conceal the sun.  But being late September, it was t-shirt weather on the summit, as we sat and watched sea eagle circling around on nearby thermals.  I nearly every direction mountains rose into the distance.  And there were even some reflections of glaciers, somewhere far off on the Norwegian mainland.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
70mm
ISO 100
f 14
1/250 second
WB Daylight