Photo: Winter hiking towards Ryten at Dawn, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 31, 2015.  10:15

Though the forecast showed calm winds, I could tell the clouds were moving across the mountain peaks a bit faster than I wanted.  Even so, I tried to be optimistic about things and packed up my camping gear for the night.  The goal: A night camping near the summit of Ryten.

A short while into the hike and after the first little climb I rounded a corner and saw the magnificent light of the sun shining across the snow through a hole in the clouds.  Luckily, the light lasted longer than I expected and I was able to capture a few different compositions.  I think this image captures the mood of the day quite well.

Later, upon reaching the top Ryten, the wind was so strong that I could barely stand up or talk. The plans for camping were obviously off, so we headed back to the car. I wish I would have carried a lighter backpack all day, but good exercise I guess!

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
24mm
ISO 250
f 8
1/160 second
WB Daylight

Photo: Winter Sunrise over Reine, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  January 18, 2015. 12:16

Whoever advised against shooting landscape photos at high-noon had obviously never been near the arctic winter, where in the first weeks of the year, midday will provide some of the most spectacular light there is to photograph anywhere.

This image is from another one of my days guiding for Muench Photography Workshops Lofoten tour.  We had already photographed Olstind on a couple different occasions and locations, but as we were on our way to StatOil for some much needed nourishment after a morning along the coast, this light was too good not to stop.

So we popped out of the vans and spread out across the viewing platform above Reine.  I keep telling myself I have enough images of this view after nearly 20 trips to Lofoten, but then I get light light this and have to take just one more.  Perhaps it’s time I start a website dedicated only to Reine and Olstind.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
44mm
ISO 40
f 13
10 seconds
WB Daylight

Photo: Winter sunrise at Bunes beach, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 25, 2015. 07:48

Bunes beach has mostly been good to me over the last few years, and this year was no exception.  Although there is often a bit of payment required, in this case, one rainy night and one super windy night, if you are to be rewarded with some good light.

While access to Bunes is relatively strait forward, even in winter, camping is pretty much required if one wants to shoot the beach at either sunrise or sunset. After a rainy evening and night, the sky finally cleared sometime in the early morning hours.  Of course I knew this had been forecasted, otherwise I would not have been there, but one never really knows on Lofoten.

With low winter sun, the mountains first receive a highlight of pink as the sun rises on the eastern horizon.  The beach was nearly entirely covered in a layer of ice as the temperatures dropped after as the sky cleared, making the journey from camp to the waves a slightly dangerous trip – I almost decided to put on crampons at one point, to walk across a beach!

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt/shift
24mm
ISO 31
f 13
1 second
WB Daylight

Photo: Nearing the summit of Ryten in winter, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  January 31, 2015.  12:33

Having made multiple summer – autumn trips up Ryten over the years, I finally thought it was time to visit the peak in winter.  While mid January had some fantastically calm days which made my job easy as I was guiding a photo tour for Muench Workshops, the month ended with wind.  Lots of wind.

As I pulled the car into the parking area I checked the forecast.  Hmm, not too bad.  But then I turned my head towards the clouds racing across the peaks.  Hmm, not too good.  But I decided to be optimistic and plan for a night camping on the mountain.

Midway up the route, it became evident that it wouldn’t be a fun night in the tent – if it survived!  Climbing up the final long ascent on the route the winds increased even more with almost every step.  Finally, reaching the summit ridge, walking straight became a difficult task and the straps from my camera back whipped me in the face.  I didn’t even bother going to the overlook to Kvalvika beach, as these were not conditions for photography.  And so I headed back to the car…

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 200
f 9
1/200 second
WB Daylight