Block of ice on frozen Haukland beach in winter, Vestvagøy, Lofoten islands, Norway

Friday Photo #52 – Haukland Beach Winter

Block of ice on frozen Haukland beach in winter, Vestvagøy, Lofoten islands, Norway

Photo: January dawn on Haukland beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  January 6, 2010.  09:49

Some time ago I posted a photo from this morning at Haukland beach, but as I’m now less than one month away from returning to the islands, it’s time for more winter images to inspire me.  Even now, looking back four years later, it still remains one of my most memorable days on the islands and is partly what saw me start this website in the first place and begin to look at Lofoten with a different set of eyes.

After having spent a stormy night at Utakleiv attempting the sleep in the cramped back seat of my all-too-small rental car, Haukland beach was the first scene I came across for the day.  I was not in a rush to get anywhere in particular, but I was in a rush to get as much variety out of the 4 hour day as possible.  I was also still cold from the night, only having a 0˚ sleeping bag with me, as the temperature dropped to -10˚ or so, and the car had yet to properly warm me up in the short drive from Utakleiv.  With already cold feet, I crunched my way across the snow covered sand and down towards the beach.

When I caught sight of this small chunk of ice on the frozen beach, I knew I had found something special.  While Lofoten is cold, there is not often ice on the beaches such as this.  But thanks to the cold temperatures and the small creek that runs into the sea at Haukland, a frozen piece of creek ice must have washed back onto the beach at high tide, and then a light layer of snow fell overnight to complete the scene.  I have attempted to find a scene like this in my last several winter visits, but have never been so lucky again.

The only thing that distracts me is the otter tracks across the middle of the image, I guess he was up before me.  But overall, this is still one of my favorite images from the islands.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 24mm f/3.5
24mm
ISO 200
f 16
8 seconds
WB Daylight
2 images – top/bottom

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Well, I’ve reached image number 52, a whole year of weekly Lofoten Images.  Good thing I still have about 900 images left in my archive to keep things going.  But at the moment, I’m not too sure if I’m going to continue posting weekly photos.  I initially started when there wasn’t all that much content here on the site, so I was just hoping to fill things in a bit.  And in all honesty, I haven’t received much feedback for my efforts during the last year, so I’m kind of questioning whether it’s worth my time to continue.

So now your chance to chime in.  If you find the information or stories useful on this Friday Photo series, maybe make a comment letting me know.  If it’s just been a waste of time, you can let me know that as well. 🙂

Happy 2014!  For those of us heading north in the next months, lets hope the mountains are full of snow and the skies full of Auroras.  And if you see some guy in a ugly blue jacket wandering around, come say hello. (I also accept invitations to hot tea and use of an oven to cook a frozen pizza for dinner in.)

 

 

10 replies
  1. Carly C. says:

    Hi Cody,
    My husband and I traveled to Lofoten this past October and fell in love with the islands. Your site has a great deal of information on it, so thank you for posting about your trips and tips for traveling there. We love your weekly blog posts, they’ve been insightful for planning future Lofoten trips due to the information and the beautiful pictures. We can’t wait to see more when you head back there in a month! Thanks for posting on here and instagram!

    Reply
  2. Ryan says:

    Cody, what I appreciate about your weekly postings is the camera info you post along with the shots. Good to know what filters, F stop and exposure time along with the white balance you used in pp. If you do stop with the weekly postings maybe you can update every shot you have taken with this info, especially the Northern Lights images you’ve captured? Anyway, great sight bro.

    Ryan

    Reply
  3. jim says:

    Hi Cody.
    I think your information is valuable and people appreciate the wonderful photography. Have you had many sales yet of your prints?

    Another thing that would be valuable would be article on “how to travel around Lofoten on a budget”, with some rough costings of what one would spend money on while there, and some tips like that.

    Jim

    Reply
    • Cody says:

      Hey Jim,

      Thanks for the ‘budget’ suggestion. I think that it is often my normal state of mind while on the islands, but perhaps I should write up a ‘poor mans guide to Lofoten’ to explain a few of the details. Though it all depends on how much suffering one is willing to put up with… 😉 But one can get by for $10-20 a day (average) if you bring a tent, hitchhike, and are prepared to walk in the rain.

      Not many print sales, but I don’t do much to promote them, so it’s to be expected. Also hard to judge a print from a computer screen vs. seeing it in person.

      Reply
  4. James Jones Photography says:

    I’m going on a 4 night trip to Lofoten Islands in late Feb and your site is part of what inspired me to book the trip, after years of saying ‘one day…’ or ‘next year…’ your posts and images made me think I need to start getting out the house more and starting doing the things I want to do. Thanks man.

    Reply
  5. Jim says:

    Cody,

    Do carry an ultra portable laptop with you when hiking in Lofoten?

    How do you charge your camera batteries and or laptop while hiking? – I see some people carry a solar panel on the outside of their pack.

    Have you camped there in Winter or stay in the car, or both?

    Jim

    Reply
    • Cody says:

      Hey Jim,

      I sometimes carry a laptop (currently 11″ Macbook air), but I try and avoid doing so if possible – likely because I will be combining with a longer hiking trip in Sweden, where I really don’t want the dead weight of a laptop with me.

      I carry enough batteries for more or less a week with my shooting style. In winter, I do have to go to a hostel for the sole purpose of charging batteries. In summer I’m usually not in the mountains for more than 3-4 nights straight, so not a problem with power.

      Not sure if a solar charger, at least the lightweight ones, would do much good in winter.

      I have had a couple tent nights in winter, but tend to sleep in a car 90% of the time.

      Reply

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