Friday Photo #138 – Haukland Beach

View over Haukland beach from summit of Mannen, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Summer day over Haukland beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 3, 2015. 15:43

It’s always good to start a Lofoten trip with sunshine! Having arrived by ferry in the mornight, picked up my van from Arctic Campers in Ramberg a couple hours later, I next found myself heading up the trail to Mannen (see hiking guide HERE), under a nice blue sky.

The view from Mannen over the crystal blue waters of Haukland beach is one of Lofoten’s most Iconic views. And at 400 meters, with a gentle trail to the summit, I like to think of Mannen as having one of the best views-for-effort ratios on Lofoten.

The view looks south, so it’s better to hike in early morning or late afternoon to avoid the sun glaring off the water.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
24mm
ISO 100
f 10
1/250 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #137 – Uttakleiv midnight sun

View over Uttakleiv from Nonstind mountain peak, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Midnight over Uttakleiv beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 5, 2015. 23:55

My second day on Lofoten and I found myself wandering around the mountains at midnight. My main priority had been to photograph Unstad beach, but as time passed the midnight sun sank into the clouds and the light faded from Unstad.

Not content to descend the ridge I was on, I continued further towards the summit of Nonstind (See hiking guide HERE). The temperature was quite cold – good I brought an extra jacket, and I could see snow flurries approaching from out at sea. But there was a wonderful soft light over Uttakleiv beach – one of lofoten’s most iconic locations, yet rarely seen from this view.

The clouds thickened as time passed and I set up my Fuji xt-1 to shoot a time lapse of the changing lights. I stayed up on the mountain until almost 02:00 before heading back to the car. It was a wonderful night under the 24 hour light of summer on Lofoten.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
70mm
ISO 200
f 10
1/25 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #136 – Stamsund

View over harbor towards Stamsund hostel, Stamsund, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Summer in Stamsund, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  June 12, 2015. 11:00

I talk a lot about the hostel at Stamsund, which is pretty much the main reason I’ve returned to the Islands so many times over the years. But for some reason, I never really take many pictures of the hostel itself – probably because when the weather is good, I’m elsewhere on Lofoten, not sitting around eating popcorn.

During the midnight sun days of June, I become a bit more nocturnal than normal, often not going to bed until 03:00 or 04:00 in the morning. This means I also sleep in a bit. So waking up one morning after a light night in the mountains, the sky was blue and sunny with some nice puffy white clouds. I walked across the bay to get this image of the hostel, shining bright in the summer sun.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
24mm
ISO 100
f 8
1/500 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #135 – Unstad Panoramic

Mountain view over Unstad beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Summer light over Unstad, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 7, 2015. 21:03

Here is a panoramic view of last week’s image. While I really liked the details and shadows of the houses in the closeup, the overall scene was too good not to capture really wide.

I wish I could have gotten to a slightly higher vantage point up the mountain, but time didn’t allow for it. I was lucky enough to find a flat enough rock on the cliff face to set up my tripod and still have enough room to stand. Otherwise it was a rather uncomfortable position of the 50-55˚ grassy slope.

The light and shadows over the village and beach make this one of my favorite scenes from my June trip to Lofoten.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
29mm
ISO 250
f 10
1/400second
WB Daylight
5 image pano

Lofoten Winter Video

Lofoten Winter – Video + Time Lapse

Here’s a short film I just put together with footage and time lapse sequences from the last couple winters – mostly 2015, and a bit of 2014. Video was recorded on Nikon D800 and D810, while all time lapse sequences are from a Fuji XT-1.

If you like what you see, checkout my PHOTO WORKSHOPS page. I’ll be guiding two winter photography workshops on Lofoten in 2016. The first will be from January 21 – 30 and is run by Muench Worshops, I will be a co-guide. The 2nd Photo tour is from February 14 – 21 and will be run by me.

And if you’re heading to Lofoten yourself, there’s always my Seasons on Lofoten – Winter ebook. 🙂