Friday Photo #468 – December Hiking

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Photo: Hiker on the snowy ridge towards Vikjordtinden under a dark December sky, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. December 28, 2020. 12:50

Hiking days start early in December. And even then, there still might not be enough time to get to where you were planning to go. On the case of this dark and windy December day, the objective was Vikjordtinden on the southern side of Vestvågøy. We never made it.

Every day in December we wake up before sunrise here in Lofoten. If it is just a working day on the computer, then the time doesn’t matter too much. If I’m actually planning to go outside and do something, then this needs to be as a reasonable hour in the morning as the hours of visible light are preciously short – there is no time to waste!

Heavy clouds make December’s world even darker, so even just before 10:00 we were walking through the icy forest in near darkness. Luckily, there was no snow on the lower elevations and the boggy areas were mostly frozen, making for fairly easy hiking. But soon we left what little there was of a trail and headed cross country up a steep mountain ridge. The hiking here was somewhat slow and the warm-ish thin layer of snow that we eventually climbed into the heavy, wet, and slippery. And just deep enough to fill in the dozens of holes between rocks and the bushes.

The wind was blowing strong from the south, though not terribly cold. Continuing along the ridge, the snow deepened just enough to make route finding difficult as we climbed over rocky steps, careful not to slip. This took time. It was just before 13:00 by the time we reached the first high point along the ridge, before a long descent then another long climb to the summit. Not much light left on this dark December day.

And so I took a few photos before we turned around and began the slow descent. Returning to my van by headlamp.

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

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Sigma 14mm f/1.8
14mm
ISO 400
f 5.6
1/13 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #467 – Unstad Surf

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Photo: Arctic surfing on Monday’s 4+ meter swell at Unstad beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. December 13, 2021. 12:21

A nice and clean looking 4-5 meter west swell was forecast to hit Lofoten on Monday so I decided to head out to Unstad to checkout the action. I don’t shoot surfing too often, but when the waves are big here, there’s usually some good stuff to watch. There was only one problem this week…

It is the middle of December and Lofoten is in the period of the Polar Night – Mørketid – when the sun does not rise above the horizon. And although the sky was clear to the north, there was a heavy layer of clouds over the southern side of the islands, blocking much of what reflected light might have made it over the mountains to Unstad. So it was dark. ISO 4000 dark at noon!

I generally try to shoot surfing at 1/1000 second, and ideally closer to 1/2000 second. But in the middle of December, 200km north of the artic circle, that is not really possible. So 1/640 was the best I could manage without turning the waves into sand dunes from all the grain of a higher ISO.

Eventually, I switched to video, which was more manageable due to the lower shutter speed required. I’m still very much a beginner when it comes to video stuff, so it was at least some good practice under difficult light…

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 200-500 f/5.6
500mm
ISO 4000
f 5.6
1/640 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #466 – Last Sun

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Photo: The last visible sun peaking over the southern horizon before the beginning of the polar night, Stamsund, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. December 8, 2021. 11:56

The polar night has officially begun on Lofoten this week – the time of year where the sun no longer rises over the horizon. We won’t see the sun again until January 5th at the earliest. And I say earliest, because the return of the sun is as weather dependant as its departure. The latest ‘first sun’ for me has been January 18th.

Lofoten has experienced an early winter cold spell over the last two weeks. A big improvement to last years endless rain – though that will be back after the weekend, unfortunately. With the cold often comes clearer skies and horizon. However, I have actually been enjoying a semi-tropical sun down in Madeira for the last two weeks, so as I flew home to Lofoten on Wednesday, I figured I had already seen my last sun of the year.

But as a friend was driving me to Stamsund to pickup my van, I could seen the horizon glowing bright. Soon enough, a glimmer of sunlight poked above the horizon. I quickly cleared the snow from my van and headed to a spot on the road towards Steine. I didn’t have time for any sort of spectacular photo, and the mountains were glowing quite nicely. But it was simply enough to get an image of the sun (partially) above the horizon on my return to Lofoten. December 8th, this is now the latest I have seen the sun in the year.

Moving almost parallel to the horizon, the light didn’t last long before the sun sunk below the sea again, for its final time in 2021.

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 24-200mm f/4-6.3
145mm
ISO 100
f 8
1/160 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #465 – Unstad Twilight

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Photo: Noon twilight over Unstad, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. December 4, 2020. 12:15

This is the last weekend of the year with (possible) sunlight on Lofoten as next week is the beginning of the polar night – the period of time when the sun no longer rises above the horizon. That is not to say that it is ‘night’ the entire time, but the nights are long after the twilight of the day begins to fade around 14:00.

Without direct sunlight, however, there is no proper blue sky ‘daylight.’ And while the southern horizon can glow brightly on clear days – as the sun is never too far away, for the northern side of Lofoten, the world is just a soft pastel glow.

For northern locations like Unstad, the village will already have been in the shadow of mountains for several weeks before the polar night officially begins. So for day to day life in the village, there is no real change from late November vs. early December. Or, perhaps only on a clear day where the sun might be shining on some of the surrounding mountains. The last visible sun at my house is October 20th, and it doesn’t return until February 19th. So unless I’m away from home, it can be long periods without sunlight for me. Almost makes me want to have a house on the southern side of Lofoten for the winters, or perhaps Spain!

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

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Nikon 70-200mm f/4
130mm
ISO 400
f 5.6
1/50 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #458 – Uttakleiv Storm

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Photo: Waves flow over rocky shoreline at Uttakleiv beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. October 13, 2021. 08:15

The autumn weather cycles of wind and rain seem to be in full effect over the last weeks with mostly turbulent weather sweeping across the islands. But this is a good thing, or, at least when you don’t have to be outside too much! I’ve just finished my 3rd and final photo workshop of the autumn, and each group had quite a variety of weather to keep them busy: wind, rain, rainbows, northern lights, fiery sunsets and sunrises, and everything in-between. Weather wise, autumn is defiantly the most dynamic time of year on Lofoten.

I had been at Uttakleiv earlier in the week at both low and high tides – a medium to low tide is generally required for the ‘eye of Uttakleiv’ to be visible, while high tide is typically more dynamic for the rest of the beach itself. With a nearly new moon at the time and with a large swell out of the north, but tides were quite extreme. At low tide, it was nearly impossible to head out onto the slippery, algae covered rocks, while at high tide, the waves were breaking very high up the shoreline, not allowing safe passage down to the lower rocks that usually work well as a foreground.

On my third visit the sea was a bit calmer while the sky itself remained stormy and turbulent, as a cold and icy wind blew out of the north. At first there had been bright clouds and a bit of blue sky in what is the background of this image. But it wasn’t long until the next wave of rain, which actually turned out to be stinging hai, was beginning to approach from the distance and darkening the landscape.

This time, the waves weren’t so large, so I could get into a better position on the beach, without too much worry of being swept out to sea. Although I did eventually end up with wet feet, despite the fact I was in rubber boots.

The large rock in the center of the image is always a compositional difficulty when shooting at Uttakleiv. In this case, I felt that just keeping it in the center of the image worked best, especially as the background mountains were softening up slightly as the hail passed in front of them. The water flows were difficult to find a nice balance, and I wish there was a little more action happening in the large black area on the right side of the frame, which feels a bit empty and distracting to me. But overall, I think Uttakleiv works best on stormy days like this…

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 14-30 f/4
14mm
ISO 31
f 11
.6 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #456 – Unstad Wave

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Photo: Sea spay from crashing wave at Unstad beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. September 15, 2021. 15:37

This weekend it is the annual Lofoten Masters surf competition at Unstad beach on Vestvågøy – Northern Norway’s most famous surf beach. I don’t have time to attend myself and shoot any images, unfortunately. Or rather, I should say fortunately, since I will be guiding my first Lofoten photo workshop since the Corona lockdowns began in March 2020 – And I’m actually just barely home from my first tour since then, on Senja with Amazing Views Tours, where all work ended for me a year and a half ago. So it is good to be back out guiding again!

Most years it is in the autumn that the swells pickup again and the heavy seas once again flow into Unstad bay. This day was a little over head high when I stopped by in the afternoon. A few surfers were out, but none of the local pros, so I found a little more interest in just the shape and texture of the waves themselves. Especially since the sun was shining bright and lighting up the sea spray blown up from the offshore wind.

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 200-500 f/5.6
500mm
ISO 250
f 5.6
1/4000 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #444 – Summer Nights

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Photo: Warm summer light over Nappstraumen and Skolmen, Lofoten Islands, Norway. July 6, 2021. 01:53

The return of the sun after a cold finish to June which I wrote about last week brought a fantastic heat wave (by northern Norway standards) across Lofoten over the weekend – even producing the first of our annual ‘Parking Chaos at Haukland Beach’ articles in the local newspapers on Tuesday – when we reached a temperature of 26.5˚C in Leknes. I would not be surprised if this will be the maximum temperature reached this summer.

And somehow, when the summer heat arrives, so do the people. But this week also corresponded with Norway’s opening to most countries in the EU on Monday. And seemingly overnight, Germans, Dutch, Finnish, and other camper vans are filling the roads here on Lofoten. I really don’t know how so many got here so fast, was everyone just waiting over in Sweden for the borders to open for tourism? So this past week it finally seems that the summer tourism season has arrived, after what seemed like a pretty slow and relaxed June. Perhaps also because the Norwegians have waiting for the borders to open, so they can leave Norway.

And while the blue skies of day are perfect for Instagram selfies and the Friluftlivs hikers, I still prefer the nighttime hours for my photography. And it was too hot for hiking anyhow – I spent my days in the water and getting sunburnt in my backyard. So up late as usual, I took a few photos out my window when a cool, this and wispy fog formed over my valley. I actually probably should have been up in the mountains for this night! Ooops…

But the sun is on its journey south again and once it begins to drop below the horizon in mid July, that is when the magical nights of color happen. So plenty more time to be out and about this summer. Just hopefully with slightly cooler temperatures so I don’t have to carry 4 litres of water up the mountains.

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 24-200 f/4-6.3
135mm
ISO 100
f 6.3
1/200 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #430 – Between Seasons

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Photo: Clearing rain showers over Medskolmen at sunset, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. March 31, 2021. 19:31

After last weeks big storms the weather has remained wet and blustery most days, with passing rain showers sweeping across the islands. With clocks changing to summer time over the past weekend, sunset is now after 20:00 and the days are feeling suddenly long – It is strange to eat dinner while it is still light out.

With the sun now moving towards the northern part of the sky, the distant mountains from my house often catch interesting light in the evenings. It’s even cooler when there’s the passing rain or snow showers which come sweeping across the mountains. For this image, I was actually in the middle of a Zoom call, but the light was too good to miss, so I just had to keep shooting photos out the window while trying to pay attention to the conference I was in. Not too difficult. I would have liked to have setup a time-lapse instead, but that wasn’t possible unfortunately, as I left my tripod in my van. Next time maybe…

It has cooled down today with a bit of snow falling, but it is already feeling like it will be an early spring this year – as opposed to last year where there was still deep snow in the middle of May. I’ve even spotted the first budding trees over the last days. The weather can always change dramatically at any moment, but an early and mild spring would be nice this year – I’m waiting for the first day of t-shirt weather!

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

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Nikon 70-200mm f/4
200mm
ISO 100
f 5.6
1/160 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #429 – After The Storm

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Photo: Lost in the storm, broken row boat on the Unstad coast, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. March 25, 2021. 12:14

After a mostly calm winter, two back-to-back storms swept over Lofoten on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the 2nd one brining hurricane force winds to the islands. Wednesday was the first time this winter I saw 30+ meter/second wind gusts on my weather station, and in Stamsund wind was recoded at over 40 m/s (for note: over 33 m/s is hurricane force wind). While intense, luckily the storm seemed to pass by quickly, with the strong winds only lasting 8 hours or so. But that was enough to bring structural damage across the islands.

One of the losses was one of the red boat houses on the left side of the beach at Unstad, which you can see in the left background of the photo. It is strange to think of how many long winters and storms the buildings have witnessed, and then one day, it has been one storm too many. I guess that is one reason there aren’t too many old, or historic buildings around Lofoten, they just don’t last that long in the weather out here.

I had been sitting on the beach at Unstad on Thursday morning, a completely calm day compared to the previous 24 hours. It was actually the first day I have sat outside this year and noticed the warmth from the sun heating up my back as I watched the still slightly stormy waves in front of me. Sitting there, I noticed an unusually large amount of pained red wood broken apart across the rocks at the upper tide line. Usually storms bring in a lot of debris to the beaches, but this wood looked a little too clean to have been out at sea very long. Then, looking to the left, I noticed a few people walking around the boat houses, picking stuff up.

The old row boat here was lying a little ways away, just next to the road. I’m not sure if it had been blown here, or moved up from further down on the rocks. Either way, it is a piece of Lofoten history now lost to the storms.

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

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Sigma 14mm f/1.8
14mm
ISO 100
f 7.1
1/250 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #427 – Winter Fog

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Photo: Soft winter twilight over Himmeltindan, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. March 8, 2021. 17:23

After a windy weekend, Monday arrived with near absolute stillness. Slow, almost ghost like snow showers were gently floating across the islands throughout the day, bringing the mountains in and out of the clouds from time to time.

My original plan had been to go skiing, as the wind was forecast to increase during the week, blowing away the already thin layer of snow western Lofoten has at the moment. But as I arrived at the parking lot, I noticed I managed to forget my ski boots at home! Doh!!!

I also had my cross-county ski gear in my van, so I eventually made my way to Leknes after photographing a bit in the Fredvang area. In the late afternoon I took a quick lap on the Leknes skiløypa, not wanting to miss out on any movement for the day. This turned out to be a good choice anyhow, as it kept me in town later than I otherwise would have been and so I found myself driving home a little before sunset.

In the low areas west of Leknes, I noticed some thin wisps of fog floating over the frozen landscape. Usually this is more common in autumn, but not so much in winter. A little further and I noticed on of the lakes had a thick layer of fog, with barely visible trees on the far shore. I was already content with the photos I had shot for the day, but this was potentially not something to miss, so I turned around and parked nearby the lake.

While this lake had been well frozen back in February, the weather has been mild for the last weeks, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. As I got to the edge, I could see that I was breaking through the ice and into boggy ground underneath. I should note, that I know this area, and that the edge of the lake is not deep. If it was another, deeper lake or with a steeper drop off at the shoreline, I would not have continued.

I could barely see the trees on the far side, looking like ghosts in the thick mist. I tried to get a little closer, but still mostly breaking through the ice and sinking into the boggy terrain with each step. Finally I took one step too far and sank past my knees, completely flooding my boots with water and soaking my pants. Ok, that is far enough, and I went slightly back onto shallower terrain.

Ideally, I would have liked to go out to the middle of the lake so the trees in the foreground would be a bit more visible, but I defiantly was not going to risk that! So I had to be content to remain close to the shore where it wasn’t deep. Even with my lower half soaking wet, I took photos for another 20 minutes or so, as the fog was drifting back on forth on occasion.

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

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Nikon 70-200 f/4
165mm
ISO 100
f 7.1
1/60 second
WB Daylight