Lofoten Islands Sailing

Photo: Moskenesøy coast, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  August 31, 2014.  11:24

It was somewhat Ironic, that the first time I find myself on a sailboat off the coast of Lofoten, the weather is so calm that there is no wind for sailing!  I’ve never had so many consecutive calm, sunny days on the Islands as I did when I was aboard the sailboat from late August to early September.

The weather did eventually catch up with us the day after this image, but for a view from the north side of Moskenesøy, I never believed the sea could be so still.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
35mm
ISO 160
f 10
1/500second
WB Daylight

Sailing Lofoten Islands, NorwaySailing Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Sailboat anchorage at Buvågen bay, Helle, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  August 31, 2014.  19:18

Sailing to Helle, at the ‘end’ of Lofoten was the highlight of my summer sailing trip with Vertical Shot Expeditions.  Helle has been a place I’ve long wanted to visit, yet never had the means to do so myself.

This was the last day of good weather on the trip, so I made the most of it and wandered around the hillsides taking as many pictures of the boat as I could. Even continuing on into the night when a late summer display of the northern lights filled the sky overhead.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
15mm
ISO 160
f 14
1/100 second
WB Daylight

Moskenesoy Mountain Lanscape, Lofoten Islands

Photo: Twilight mountainpanoramic, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  September 14, 2014.  19:56

After the light began to fade from the summit of Markan, it was time to descend the narrow ridge back down to camp at Fageråskaret pass.  More than content with the evening, I packed up my gear and prepared for the steep descent in the fading autumn twilight.

Yet, I didn’t make it more than a few meters from the summit before I came across this scene.  I contemplated walking on; the light wasn’t as good as it had been over the previous hours.  But then I though to myself, if this was the only light I had this day, would I take a photo.  Of course.

So I pulled freshly packed gear back out of the bag and re-setup my tripod for one last image of the day…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 85mm f/2.8 tilt-shift
85mm
ISO 100
f 8
1/4 second
WB Daylight
2 images – left, right

Reine, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Empty cod drying racks, Reine, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  September 3, 2014.  20:19

Some days of stormy weather finally caught up with us during the second week of our sailing trip around Lofoten in the late summer.  Over a particularly grim couple days we moored to boat in Reine.

Most of the time I just hung around on board, the desire to keep dry stronger than the desire to explore Reine by foot, a place I’ve been to numerous times anyhow.  But on the second evening, it seemed as if the rain might hold off for a bit, so I went out with the group for a bit of a wander.

The cod drying racks of Lofoten, wether full of fish in winter, or empty the rest of the year, are always something I find interesting.  This particular set of racks I had never come across before, and was immediately drawn to their shape.

With the fast moving clouds and the fading light, I knew I wanted a long exposure to soften the detail of the sky and bring out the shape of the racks on the barren rocks.  This is one of the ‘dark’ moments of Lofoten that I like to capture.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 100
f 11
30 seconds
WB Daylight
6 stop ND filter
2 images – top, bottom