August, 2013 | 68 North

Friday Photo #34 – Munkebu Hut in Autumn

August 30, 2013/0 Comments/in Autumn, Friday Photo, Moskenesøya/by Cody

Photo: Munkebu hut and Hermannsdalstind in Autumn, Moskenesøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Oct 7, 2012. 13:27

My last full day on the islands for 2012. After a rather stormy last few days, the weather cleared up and I decided to make one last journey into the hills. I had originally planned on getting an early start to the day and maybe making an attempt on Hermannsdalstind, but that didn’t happen; perhaps because I stayed up too late the previous night looking for Northern Lights.

By this time in the year, end of the first week of October, nearly all the trees across the islands had lost their leaves. While this left much of the islands somewhat barren looking as they awaited the arrival of the first snows, the low, ground foliage still had some nice color to be seen.

I had actually planned at staying a night or two in the Munkebu hut in August or September, but someone decided to infect the place with bed bugs (eeeekkk!), so it was closed the majority of the 2012 Summer season (as far as I have read, it has been re-opened for 2013, but that’s probably a bit late news for you if you’re reading this now). But as I’d never been up here before, I decided just to start hiking and see where I ended up for the day.

While I think this area is quite a beautiful part of the islands, and one of the the most isolated parts of Moskenesøya, one of the landscape photographers greatest nemeses is present, power lines! grrr! There would be some beautiful, untouched views from up here, yet a row of power lines always seem to find their way into the best composition. And I’m not even sure what they’re doing way out here, and the poor guys that had to put them in in the first place, but they’re there.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70f/2.8
29mm
ISO 200
f 8
1/200 sec
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #33 – Olstind in Clouds

August 23, 2013/0 Comments/in Friday Photo, Moskenesøya, Winter/by Cody

Photo: Olstind hidden in Winter Clouds, Moskenesøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Feb 17, 2013. 17:11

Olstind, probably the most iconic peak of the Lofoten Islands, when you can see it. Taken at the same time an location as last weeks Friday Photo, another gloomy image during the fading light of a short February winter day.

For some reason I don’t imagine I’ll ever have enough images of Osltind. While often times I pass the mountain by if it’s a scene and lighting conditions I’ve previously photographed, when something new is to be found I’ll usually make the effort to hop out of the car, or walk, and see what I can come up with.

I think the calmness of the evening drew me out here on this particular day. I’ve seen the mountain hidden in clouds enough times before, but for some reason, there was something a bit more interesting this time. The sky was heavy, as indeed, rain started falling only a few minutes after this image. But at the moment, the islands were calm. The waters of the fjord sat flat and silent, hardly making a sound on the barnacle covered rocks I was standing on. And so yet another photo of Olstind was taken.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 100
f 8
8 seconds
WB Daylight
2 Images – Top/Bottom

Hiking and Camping Gear for Lofoten

August 20, 2013/0 Comments/in Useful Info/by Cody

Photo: Reinebringen Autumn views, Lofoten Islands, Norway. September 2011

If you’re interested in what hiking, camping gear and clothing I’ll be carrying with me during my Lofoten travels in August and September (plus a week or so in Sarek national park, Sweden), I’ve done a pretty extensive writeup over on my main website:

Cody Duncan – 2013 Gear List

Friday Photo #32 – Empty Rorbu

August 16, 2013/1 Comment/in Friday Photo, Moskenesøya, Winter/by Cody

Photo: Abandoned Rorbu, Vestvalen, Moskenesøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Feb 17, 2013. 17:12

Like last weeks Friday Photo, this is a location I’m so familiar with that I’ve never thought of taking a photo of it before. I’ve stood in front of this building a dozen times or more, with my camera pointed at Olstind – one of my favorite locations to shoot Olstind from as you can get away from all the power lines – yet I’ve never turned around and given much though to the building itself. Perhaps I just needed the right conditions.

I find something haunting about this image. It is dark and subtle, far from the typical ‘hero’ type Lofoten photos I and others normally take. It feels lonely and forlorn, yet with a glimmer of something. A future.

Perhaps on most occasions I would not have even been here as the last traces of light faded from a February day while a gentle rain began to fall just as I put my camera in my backpack and wandered back to the car. I was merely killing a bit of time before being graciously invited by another photographer I had met for a cup of tea in his Rorbu just down the road – an invitation not to be passed up while sleeping in a car in winter. And so, I ended up with what is probably one of my favorite images of the trip.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 100
f 8
8 seconds
WB Daylight
2 Images – Top/Bottom

Lofoten Time

August 13, 2013/0 Comments/in Travel/by Cody

Photo: Utakleiv Beach Driftwood Campfire, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Aug 2012
When I got back to California at the end of June I wondered when I’d be able to get back to Lofoten, thinking February 2014 would probably be the earliest when I meet Australian photographer Rod Thomas to co-lead a photo tour with him (Feb 7 – 16 if you’re interested). But as the weeks passed I didn’t manage to find as much work as I was hoping to. And so instead of watching my bank account slowly shrink as the year carried on, I figured I might as well blow it all and head back to the north. One of the benefits of being more-or-less homeless is that I can make irrational decisions such as this.

As usual, it is a long journey to Lofoten from California: Santa Barbara – San Francisco – Frankfurt – Oslo – Bodø – ferry to Moskenes. Leaving Tuesday morning, I don’t reach the islands until the early hours of Thursday morning. I sometimes don’t mind a bit of gloomy weather upon my arrival, as it lets me not feel too guilty about falling asleep at noon on the first day or two.

I haven’t quite decided what my first order of business will be, but will most likely depend on the forecast for the next few days. If there’s any halfway decent weather, Bunes or Horseid beaches will probably be my first stop. Unfortunately the ferry doesn’t leave Reine until 10:00, so it will be a long 6 hours of waiting. If the weather is really fantastic, and I get bored waiting for the ferry, I’ll likely head towards Munkebu hut and then make a go at Hermannsdalstind.

Alternatively, if conditions are poor for the next few days, I’ll catch the early bus to the Stamsund hostel, say hi to Roar, and then fall asleep.

I know I keep writing about some sort of ebook or guide or some such thing. The problem is, is that I wont write about anything that I haven’t hiked myself. But when I hike, want to wait for the best conditions possible, I am a photographer after all, but this often means that I only have 1-2 productive days per week, sometimes less – I am followed by bad weather.

With these next 3 weeks on the islands, i should be able to hike the last few sections of trail and get to the tops of a few more mountains which will hopefully let me put something pretty cool together – a sort of ‘7 day best of’ tour of western Lofoten without the need for a rental car and only a couple bus trips. Walking wise, based on my rough calculations, the total distance will be around 80km. Then of course it will probably take me 3 years to write the thing…

I’ll do my best to respond to emails and questions while I’m away, but it might take a bit longer than usual to get back to you, so if there’s some urgent planning question, I might not be able to get back to you in time, unfortunately.

I probably wont be posting too much here during my travels, but if you want to keep up to date with where I happen to be at and see more behinds the scenes snapshots while I’m on the islands, I suggest you follow me on Instagram or Twitter.

Instagram – DuncanImages
Twitter – DuncanImages

And of course, if any of you happen to be around the islands, look for me in my bright blue jacket and come say hello. And I will probably also be one of the only Americans around, so if you talk to one, it might be me…

Friday Photo #31 – Winter Farm

August 9, 2013/0 Comments/in Friday Photo, Vestvågøya, Winter/by Cody

Photo: Winter farm, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Feb 16, 2013. 14:21

It had now been several days of heavy, mountain concealing clouds covering the islands. Exactly the opposite of what I want, but often what is there. At least it was still cold, and the snow remained, so there is that to be thankful for. But it was one of those days where the needle on the gas tank drops lower and lower, yet the camera rarely makes it out of the bag.

I’ve driven by this lake and farm a hundred times or more, and never taken a photo, likely since I was headed towards something better. But for some reason on this particular day, a day of otherwise almost nothing photographically, the emptiness of this scene caught my eye. There is almost nothing but white and gray, save for a single farmstead. Somehow I can almost feel the cold and the bleakness of the Lofoten winter in this image. I’ll probably drive by a hundred more times and never take another photo.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
70mm
ISO 200
f 11
1/100 sec
WB Daylight
2 Images – Top/Bottom

Lofoten Travel Plans – August and September

August 6, 2013/0 Comments/in Travel/by Cody

Photo: Rainbow Chasing on Ryten, Moskenesoya, Lofoten Islands, Norway. August 2012

Norway – Lofoten Islands

Next week I’m making the long journey back to Lofoten. I leave California on Tuesday morning and reach the islands Thursday morning. Hopefully I find some time for a bit of sleep, but like normal, that will probably have to wait for the 3 hour ferry crossing at 01:00 am Thursday.

Like normal, if the weather is good I’ll most likely head out to Bunes beach. If the weather is crap, I’ll probably head to Stamsund and wait things out for a few days. I have somewhat ambitious plans for this trip, so wish me luck that the weather cooperates!

Originally I planned to be on the islands about two weeks, and then head down to Jotunheimen national park for a few days before continuing on to Germany. But this proved to eat up too much time just getting between locations, so I’ve decided to stay the whole time on Lofeten. So I’ll be on the islands until September 4th.

If any of you are around the islands, look for someone in an bright blue jacket and probably a tripod. Come say hello!

Germany – Festival Mediaval

Like last year, I’m heading down to Selb, Germany for the Festival Medieval. Hopefully I don’t get my wallet stolen this time! I’m bringing a small padlock for my tent. One of my favorite bands of the last 10+ years, the Swedish group Garmarna, is playing their first show in years, so I’m super excited to see them finally. And then of course there’s the food and beer to enjoy after a puritan three weeks in Norway.

Sweden – Sarek National Park

I really had it in mind to maybe head down to the Alps for a week or so and then maybe to Croatia, where I’ve been wanting to go. But logistically, Packing for both Norway and Croatia would have been a bit difficult. So I’ve decided to stick with the cold conditions and head back north to Sweden, the area around Sarek national park to be exact.

I don’t have exact plans at the moment, but it will be a long journey from Berlin any way I go about it and most likely involve a night train and a bus or two. It looks like it will be best to enter from the north at Saltoluokta and hike south over the next week, ending in Kvikkjokk. I’ll probably spend a few days in the area of the beautiful Rapadalen, and with luck, have some decent light and good timing with the Autumn color. And I wouldn’t complain about a light dusting of snow on the surrounding mountain peaks. But it is the Arctic in September, so anything can happen, err, anything having to do with cold and bad weather can happen.

Norway – Lofoten Islands Part 2

Following Sarek, I’ll be heading back to Lofoten for another week to 10 days. If the weather stays like last year, this should mean I’ll be finding myself up a few more mountains. But I’m sure I’ll spend most my time sitting around the warm fire in Stamsund watching the rain fall against the windows.

Friday Photo #30 Flakstadpollen in Winter

August 2, 2013/0 Comments/in Flakstadøya, Friday Photo, Winter/by Cody

Photo: Frozen Sea ice in Inner Flakstadpollen, Flakstadøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Feb 14, 2013. 09:01

As the second half of February arrived this year, the previous weeks of cold, but clear and calm weather came to an abrupt end. Heavy clouds rolled across the islands and the beautiful light of the low winter sun was taken over by a flat, dull gray. At least there was still a decent coat of snow that had yet to be too covered in footprints.

I often arrive to the islands in less than ideal conditions, often missing some brilliant light by a day or two. But I always feel a need to get those first few photos. I have been to the islands enough now to know that I need to be patient, but as days 1, 2, 3 pass by and I’ve hardly touched my camera, I sense a growing frustration within myself to get out and shoot something. Oftentimes this can be a fruitless quest, but every once in a while, something interesting will appear despite all efforts of the light working against me.

This image only existed for a few day. Thanks to a fresh coating of snow that had fallen overnight, ‘cleaning’ up the sea ice, which by itself, was not especially photogenic. Luckily, despite the crowd of photographers on the islands this February, I was the first to come across this scene, finding it still untouched; though most groups only hang around Reine anyways, going for the ‘hero’ shots made popular by several photographers better known than myself. But that is good, as I often find that I have the rest of the islands to myself. Free of footprints in the snow, and to wander as I please. Perhaps I shouldn’t give away too many secrets though…

Without the crack in the ice, this scene would not have worked at all as it would have been too flat and boring. And I think in situations like this, one needs to resist the urge to punch up the contrast to some hyper-realism that didn’t exist. The light was shit, as it often is on Lofoten in winter. But using shape and form, there is still the possibility to find something interesting.

This is a scene where the 24mm tilt-shift lens is really is a valuable lens for Lofoten, often due the the sheer vertical relief of 800-1000m mountains rising directly from the sea. Much winder than 24mm, and there are distracting elements on the edges of the frame. But with a normal 2/3 crop, the tops of the mountains would be lost, unless getting low enough to the snow where the crack would then lose separation and definition. I guess one could always crop from a wider lens, but I don’t really like to do that.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm ISO 100
f 13
1/30 sec
WB Daylight
2 Images – Top/Bottom

Recent Posts