Friday Photo #89 – Kjerkfjord Sunset

Photo: Setting sun behind Kjerkfjord from the summit of Reinebringen, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  July 25, 2010.  11:13

For my first hike up Reinebringen I decided to to the most obvious thing one getting to the top; spend the night on the summit.  Well, It can hardly be considered night in late July, but the sun still sets for a couple hours at this point in the year.

Having spent the previous two nights at Bunes beach, at night on Reinebringen wasn’t really in the plan.  But as my friend Søren and I walked off the ferry back in Reine, looking at the clear blue sky and mountains all around, the choice was made for us.

Unfortunately I hadn’t decided to gather any more water while at Bunes, so I had to buy an overprice 0.5 liter bottle from the StatOil station in Reine.  By the time I reached the summit or Reinebringen this had turned into 0.2 litters, with about 18 hours remaining on the mountain.

It perhaps the most absolutely perfect day of the whole summer.  Blue sky, warm temperatures and no wind.  I setup my tent on the summit, not to protect me from the weather, but as the only place to escape from the sun.  The hours passed by and hikers came and went.  Finally as evening began to arrive, we found ourselves alone on the summit.

As evening passed the sun grew low on the horizon.  Sometimes concealed behind peaks before shining for a few more moments, the descent into the sea was underway.  A cloudless sky stood overhead as we sat up there alone, waiting for the end of a Lofoten summer day to slowly arrive.

We camped out in the open, no fear of rain this night.  Several times I tried to go to sleep, only to crawl out of my sleeping bag to take a few more photos; finally giving up on getting properly dressed and just standing there, bare footed and in my underwear.  A night I will always remember.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 85mm f/2.8 tilt-shift
85mm
ISO 200
f 16
1/60 second
WB Daylight
3 images – left, center, right