Friday Photo #251 – Horseid Aurora

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Horseid Aurora - Friday Photo #251

Photo: Northern Lights over Horseid beach, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. September 8, 2017. 00:27

I already posted a photo from this trip last month for Friday Photo #247, the night after this while down on the beach itself. The first night I headed up high, in hopes over Aurora over Horseid from above. I was somewhat successful.

In my mind I have a continually growing list of images that I would like to take. Normally it’s when I’m standing on some mountain and think to myself, ‘wouldn’t it be cool to be here if such and such happened.’ Some of these ideas I’ve had in my head for years, just waiting for the right opportunity and conditions. And only since moving here full time have I been able to dedicated a little more time to these ideas, as they take much more time and luck that I could commit to on a 2-3 week trip where I would need to focus on more productive endeavours. Northern Lights over Horseid beach has been one of these images.

Good weather forecast, (almost) full moon, and a solar storm were the conditions that drove me up here. But even as I boarded the ferry from Reine, I wasn’t quite sure where I would go: should I play it safe, and go somewhere where I had a higher chance of a good image, and still something quite unique for Lofoten. Or should I take a bigger gamble, where I could perhaps completely miss things all together. I chose to gamble.

The aurora started early, even before the sky was dark. But they were mostly faint. And in what had been forecasted clear skies, a layer of clouds was approaching. Shit! The moon soon rose and illuminated the beach far below me, adding much needed contrast to the otherwise dark scene. The aurora came and went in waves, but nothing too brilliant.

Content I had something decent, at least for a first attempt at this image, I returned to my tent. Clouds now began to fill more and more of the sky. As I was walking in circles while brushing my teeth, the aurora erupted overhead. I quickly went back to shooting, but I could already see that the sky above the beach was mostly filled with clouds, blocking the aurora there. So I made the best of the conditions and started shooting my tent instead (perhaps I’ll post that image soon).

If I had a time machine, I would stayed on the beach the first night, and camped up here the 2nd. But even so, it was a productive two nights, both of which created some unique images! And, even better, I have plenty of time to go back and try again – maybe even for a winter version…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 1250
f 3.2
8 second
WB Daylight
2 images – top, bottom

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2018 Lofoten Photo Tour Schedule

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2018 Midnight Mountains - Lofoten Photography Tour

It has been a busy finish to the autumn, with the best September weather that I can remember, and a pretty good October as well: Seeming endless days of sun and nights of northern lights – the past five nights in a row as I write this on Wednesday. But now the weather has finally turned a bit and snow is falling on the mountains above my house. So I have finally gotten around to publishing my photo tour schedule for 2018.

Group tours for 2018

Exploring Winter: March 10 – 16

Midnight Mountains: June 30 – July 6

Summer Twilight: August 4 – 10

Exploring Autumn: September 29 – October 5

VISIT MY TOURS PAGE FOR MORE INFO

I’m keeping a light schedule for my group tours this year as I have already been booked on a number of individual private tours and guiding for other companies. If you are interested in a private tour, then contact me soon, as my schedule is about as full as I want it to be, so I wont be taking on many more trips for 2018.

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Friday Photo #250 – Aurora Campfire

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Campfire and Northern Lights - Friday Photo #250

Photo: Campfire below northern lights, Storsandnes, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. September 28, 2017. 22:33

Sometimes life is best enjoyed simply by being there. The final evening of my 2017 Exploring Autumn photo tour, this was the 4th night (of 6) where we had northern lights in the sky overhead.

We had already spent sunset this evening in the mountains above Unstad, returning to my van by headlamp. And already on the way down, the aurora had begun dancing in the fading twilight. A quick stop for pizza in Leknes, we hurried to another beach, eating on the way.

Normally, this night alone would have been good and everyone would have been shooting as much as possible. But they had been slightly spoiled by the previous night, which was one of the best aurora shows that I have ever seen!

And so I did what I might do had I been on my own or with a few friends – build a campfire! From time to time, when the lights got strong, we would go wander off and take some photos, only quickly to return to the warmth of the fire. As the hours passed, the photography time lessened and the fire time grew. Until finally we decided to call it a night.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 2000
f 2.8
5 seconds
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #249 – Veggen Coffee

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Veggen Coffee - Friday Photo #249

Photo: Dinner and a coffee on the summit of Veggen, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. September 4, 2017. 20:16

Despite the mild, and almost hot, weather this September, as each day passes, the sun sinks a bit lower in the sky. As much as I love autumn, and am looking forward to ski on my feet again in winter; it is hard to say goodbye to summer. But there is no sense in resisting – all one can do is take as much advantage of the sun as possible. And for my friends that have normal working hours, this means the evenings.

One of the best things about Lofoten is that the mountains are so accessible. An hour or less of hiking is all that is needed to find yourself surrounded by vertical peaks rising from the sea. And so I’ve started to change my flow of life a bit. Why should I always cook dinner at home? Why not throw some food and cooking gear into your backpack and eat dinner at 500 meters while watching the sun fall into the sea. It seems like a completely obvious thing to do – and I’m sure many people do it. But I was either focused on photography and hiking, or photography and camping. It is only somewhat recently that relaxation has begun to play a bigger role in my mountain summits.

And so September saw me on several of these ‘enjoy the sun and relax’ hikes. How long can it continue before the days are too short or the weather too cold? I don’t know. Maybe a few more weeks. Soon there will only be enough light for small little hills. But as long as the sun is shining and the wind is calm, hopefully I’ll be out there somewhere…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
24mm
ISO 200
f 3.5
1/60 seconds
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #248 – Haukland Beach Aurora

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Haukland Aurora - Friday Photo #248

Photo: Haukland aurora, Haukland beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. September 27, 2017. 22:04

Had my tour finished before this night, I already would have been content that my clients had already gotten some decent aurora photos. On this evening, they got the show of a lifetime. Perhaps one of the best nights I have seen in all my time here in the north.

With the mild September weather this year, we decided to have an evening bbq and campfire at Uttakleiv while waiting for darkness. Something a bit special, and what I would do if I was on my own. Uttakleiv is generally a good spot to wait for Aurora. And on most other years, we would likely have had the place to ourselves for the evening. But even with October just around the corner, the islands remain busy this year, and the constant buzzing of drones in the sky has been almost ever-present at every beach and even half the mountains – there were 2 drones flying on Ryten a couple nights previous!

So as night arrived, so did car after car of people. And then, the first aurora appeared in the sky over Himmeltind. Not a good direction for Uttakleiv. I knew the aurora eventually move to a more compositionally pleasing location, but as an increasing amount of headlights began to fill the beach, I made the decision to get out of there and try somewhere else.

that somewhere else is just a couple minutes away. Haukland beach. And though the main parking lot seemed full, it was mostly just campers, many of whom seemed to be sleeping already. Luckily, there was no one at my intended destination on the left side of the beach, where the river had formed a perfect reflection pool.

Shortly after we arrived, the real show began. For some moments, the entire sky was seemingly full of aurora. I often didn’t know which way to look. But I was waiting for the lights to come into the sky over the beach, giving me a reflection I wanted. Eventually they did.

Car after car drove by, continuing to Uttakleiv. While here it was just the five of us, standing in the darkness and occasionally shouting towards the sky. What a night to be in the north!

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
14mm
ISO 2000
f 3.2
5 seconds
WB Daylight

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