Winter Moon - Friday Photo #525

Friday Photo #525 – Winter Full Moon

Photo: Winter full moon over Ristind, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 5, 2023. 11:58

After the storms of the new year passed the weather of early January calmed just in time for the return of the sun, which I first saw on January 4th this year. At the same time was also a bright full moon filling the sky over Lofoten. And while I was happy to see the sun, I found it more interesting to shoot the moon.

Part of this is due to the fact that January sun is ‘south’ of Lofoten, barely rising over the water of Vestfjorden. So there’s not really too much you can do while shooting the sun, as its in an awkward location. The full moon offers much more variety in early winter, and being opposite the sun, if often in a more photogenic location during the midday twilight.

I wrote last month in Friday Photo #518, how I tried to shoot the full moon over Kirkefjord from Reinebringen, but didn’t quite succeed on the only day with suitable weather for that attempt. Conditions in January were no longer suitable for hiking Reinebringen, so I didn’t put in the effort for anything special. Though I knew the moon would shine over the mountains on the northern side of Vestvågøy during the day, so I kept an eye out for this.

I shot the moon here over two days. This first day produced slightly nicer light as the southern horizon was clear, allowing for a hint of alpenglow to shine over the mountains, Ristind in this image. Compositionally, with the multiple jagged peaks of Himmeltindene and Ristind, I found it easier for a long telephoto image, than a medium wide shot showing more of the landscape, as it was hard to light up all the mountains with the moon also in a location which felt balanced.

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6
350mm
ISO 100
f 5.6
1/80 second
WB Daylight

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