Friday Photo #97 – Autumn Hiking

Photo: A hiker travels through the autumn mountain landscape, Vikjorden, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Sept 29, 2012.  12:21

I’m not sure its possible for me to choose a favorite season on Lofoten, but it could possibly be autumn.  The crowds of summer have left, the days begin to grow cool and short, the northern lights once again fill the night sky, and the land fills with color while storms return with increasing frequency.

The last couple years the islands have been fortunate to enjoy rather mild autumn weather, often better than summer! I’m somewhat less adventurous, as I never quite trust the weather, but I find it a nice time to head out and explore some new areas for some short hikes; just to see what I can find, and maybe return to in the summer’s better weather for camping.

On this particular day I had been photographing around some small roadside lakes when I saw a local pull up and head into the mountains along a faint trail.  Curiosity got the best of me and I decided to follow him into the golden landscape; not like I had anywhere else to go, and it wasn’t likely to rain anytime soon.

Soon the trail passed a small lake and I veered off the trail and climbed a small hill to get a bit of an overview just as the man was hiking through the scene.  I continued up the trail to another small lake and made note of a few mountain routes to return to in the future.  Places which are rarely photographed yet no less spectacular than the iconic locations on Lofoten.  It is these little discoveries that assure me that I will never get bored with Lofoten, I just have to go a little farther from the road…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
34mm
ISO 100
f 7.1
1/400 second
WB Daylight