Friday Photo #247 – Aurora Over Horseid

Horseid Aurora - Friday Photo #247

Photo: Northern lights over Horseid beach, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. September 8, 2017. 22:38

Clear sky, full moon, mild temperatures and solar storm. The aurora season this year was off to a good start! But with seemly perfect conditions for something good, I found myself stuck with option paralysis.

I knew I should go west, but where? Someplace safe and easy, where I knew I had a good shot at a decent image. Or should I gamble a bit more, go someplace new, and hope for the best. Walking up the to window to buy my ferry ticket, I said Kirkefjord. One choice less now.

With two nights of good conditions forecast, I chose first to head up a mountain above Horseid, with hopes of photographing the aurora above the beach. Unfortunately, as night arrived, so did clouds. I managed some images of mild aurora over the beach, but by the time things really got going after 01:00, that part of the sky was almost completely cloudy.

As morning arrived, I thought about staying up the mountain for another night. But my empty water bottles and strengthening wind forced me down. And so I headed down to Horseid beach for another night, and another attempt.

Almost completely opposite to the previous night, the aurora started bright and early! Once I saw the first signs of light, I quickly dressed and ran down to the beach as the sky erupted overhead. I barely had time to level my camera and focus, much less worry about keeping my feet dry as I hurried to the shore line.

The aurora danced in every direction, but I was interest in once place in particular: The view back over the pass to Kirkefjord. Almost perfectly symmetrical, it is a favorite composition of mine. Aurora overhead would make it even better.

I shot at the beach for some time, but soon, almost like a switch being turned off, the sky grew quiet. I went to another location – the place I should have actually gone to first, but it was more difficult to find in the dark – and waited. But the sky remained silent. After a while, the cold wind suggested I head back to my tent.

I lay awake for several more hours, staring at the sky. Faint aurora danced around from time to time, but nothing strong enough to lure me from the warmth of my sleeping bag.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
21mm
ISO 1600
f 3.5
4 seconds
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #246 – Tønsåsheia Camp

Tønsåsheia camp - Friday Photo #246

Photo: Autumn camping on the summit of Tønsåsheia, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. September 22, 2016. 18:40

The forecast had been better than reality – A common occurrence on Lofoten. What I thought would be fairly clear skies was filled with a layer of high cloud. I was a bit disappointed upon reaching the summit of Tønsåsheia and finding a place to setup the tent for the night. But as normal on Lofoten, the light changed…

As evening arrived, a soft twilight light fell over the Islands. There is always something special about standing on the edge of Lofoten, with the view across endless mountain peaks fading into the distance. The mountains here might not be that high, but they are as visually stunning as anywhere else in the world. A perfect combination of sea and summit.

I still maintained hopes for northern lights on this night, but alas, the clouds came in too thick. And so it was a night of sleep for me. Maybe next time.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 70-200mm f/4
116mm
ISO 200
f 7.1
1/40 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #245- Midnight Glow

Midnight Glow - Friday Photo #245

Photo: Midnight sun shines between mountain peaks, Helvetestind, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 14, 2017. 00:17

On my second trip to Helvetestind in two weeks, Conditions were totally different on this night. A heavy fog was blowing in from the north. Bunes beach has been completely concealed and was invisible from above.

As we descended at midnight, I could see this glow of light shining between Mereflesstind and Kråkhammartind over Kirkefjord. I light layer of fog was blowing in, glowing in the low light of the midnight sun.

I found a place along the ridge that I though gave a nice separation to the layers of mountains ahead of me. Rather than shooting wide, I switched to my 70-200 so I could focus just on the light coming from behind the mountains.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 70-200mm f/4
120mm
ISO 200
f 9
1/400 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #244 – Olstind Twilight

Olstind - Friday Photo #244

Photo: Olstind mountain peak reflects in fjord, Sakrisøy, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 14, 2017. 02:11

My fried Olaf dropped my tour group off at Sakrisøy after a midnight trip up Helvetestind – my second time to the summit in two weeks.

A sea fog had been covering all the land to the north but back on the south side, the world was calm. Tired after a long day, we decided one more shot was needed.

I’ve photographed Olstind hundreds of times by now for almost every possible angle. But it is still a peak which I never grow tired of. And so I pulled out my camera and tripod for yet another photo of this iconic mountain.

I like the softness of the light here. It was ‘sunrise’ but it doesn’t really appear so. If the fjord was not perfectly calm, perhaps I wouldn’t have taken the image. But it was so quiet out, just us standing at the edge of the sea – and a few birds making some noise in the distance.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
24mm
ISO 200
f 10
1/80 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #243 – Bunes View

Bunes Beach - Friday Photo #243

Photo: View over Bunes beach, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. July 21, 2017. 22:08

Another weekend in the west. The original plan had been a somewhat ambitious climb above Vindstad. But as we made the first moves up the route, it was evident that it was more than we bargained for on this day – something to come back to in early winter when the grass is frozen and we can use ice tools.

Not wanting to head back to camp totally defeated, we headed towards some unknown peak on the opposite side of the ridge. And what a view it turned out to be! I had never even heard the name of this mountain before, nor even given the slightest thought to hiking it, it is not the easiest place to reach though. But wow.

A golden eagle flew from the summit as I made the final approach up the rocky steps.

Heading down, we decided to stay on the ridge. Where this view is from. Always looking forward to the future, I spotted a few places where a tent might be possible. This view with northern lights above!

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
16mm
ISO 125
f 10
1/40 second
WB Daylight