Friday Photo #529 – Photography Season

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Photo: Photographers line the Hamnøy bridge at dawn, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 19, 2023. 07:31

If I had any doubt that travel was still slow in the post-Covid era, it is now over. Lofoten is currently as busy, if not more, than ever for the winter photography season. Some days it seems as if every single pull out along the E10 is filled with multiple photo groups, even including random places that I’ve rarely ever seen people at before. It is crowded out here these days!

For those of you who might of read my article about Norway’s new-ish driving regulations for commercial guiding, I have thus far seen no sign of enforcement during the last month, and the roads of Lofoten are as full as ever of rental vans and international workshop groups. Currently, there are only three licensed tour operators among the dozes of others here on Lofoten. Though a bus driver that crashed a bus full of Italian grannies off the road last weekend seems to have gotten fined, this is a rare event.

Beyond workshop and tour groups, there are a lot of individual travelers as well. I’ve written previously, but if I was an individual photographer, I would avoid February on Lofoten these days, unfortunately. While one might get lucky at times, you will more often than not have to deal with crowds at every location in which you wish to shoot. Though perhaps this is normal for many locations around the world these days, and maybe I’m one of the rare ones that remembers Lofoten winters pre-2015. The Corona years were a nice memory of the old days on Lofoten, but now that is over for sure!

I’m not quite sure why February is peak season on Lofoten. January is more atmospheric for the feeling of the arctic winter, with still enough daylight for productive photography days. While March is typically has calmer and more reliable winter conditions overall, though this has been changing somewhat in recent year, as winter overall on Lofoten has become less reliable – even Senja and Tromsø are now receiving extended periods of mid-winter rain these days.

So, this weeks photo is an average morning on the Hamnøy bridge this February. Some days are busier and some less. But it seems there is always at least one person standing on the bridge 24 hours a day, sun or sideways rain, waiting for that perfect moment…

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 24-120mm f/4
91mm
ISO 100
f 5
1/60 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #528 – Light or Conditions

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Photo: Olstind mountain peak rises into misty winter light over Reine harbor, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 29, 2023. 12:11

It is the middle of February and the winter photography season on Lofoten is well under way as individuals and tour groups chase the best arctic light across the islands. I myself will barely sleep for the next month as I show my own groups around Lofoten and Senja. February is high season for photography on Lofoten – where as I’ve written numerous time before, there is hardly a tripod to be seen in summer. Which I personally find strange, as summer is beautiful on Lofoten!

Much of my time this winter will be spent surrounded by the iconic views of Moskenesøy and west Lofoten, helping my clients get the best possible conditions at the classic photo locations and exploring new locations as the clouds and light shift across the islands; Looking for perfect light and perfect conditions. And, when lucky, both at the same time!

Though it winter, this can sometimes be a rare phenomenon – dramatic light and perfect weather conditions for a location. Take the two images here, taken just two days apart on my first workshop of the year in January. The image above is a classic shot from the Reinehalsen viewpoint with Olstind perfectly reflecting in the harbor. But the light is boring and flat. The second image, taken the day before, was a brief moment of dramatic light as the sun emerged from the clouds between snow showers. But it was windy and the waters of the bay unsettled. Without the reflection, I always think this scene fills a little empty and unbalanced – too much blank water filling the scene.

Ideally, I would have liked the light of the 2nd image with the reflection of the first. But, that can sometimes be a rare thing on Lofoten. So you try bother versions and see which one you like best. In this case I prefer the first image – relatively boring light, but better overall conditions for the scene.

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

Camera Info image 1:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 24-120mm f/4
41mm
ISO 100
f 8
1/30 second
WB Daylight

Camera Info image 2:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 24-120mm f/4
38mm
ISO 64
f 9
1/40 second
WB Daylight

Photo: Olstind mountain peak rises into sunlit passing snow showers over Reine harbor, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 28, 2023. 11:42

Friday Photo #527 – Winter Storm

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Photo: Crashing waves at Myrland beach during winter storm, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 8, 2023. 12:56

I powerful storm swept over Lofoten on Wednesday causing damage and road closures across the islands. Included in the damage was a smashed rear window on my van – not sure if caused by wind alone or if something hit it. Either way, it was a shock to walk outside Thursday morning, happing that my road had now opened after several days of closure, only to see my van filled with glass and snow. It then took most of the morning and afternoon to come up with a temporary solution until it can get properly fixed in two weeks.

Some of the highest windspeeds recorded Wednesday were 47.3 m/s at Svolvær airport, 39.2 m/s on Skrova, and 37.5 at Leknes airport. Just for reference, hurricane speed winds are anything over 33 m/s. So it was a windy day on Lofoten! But beyond the wind, the warm southern air also brought torrential rain, with one location on Austvågøy measuring 229.6mm of rain in 24 hours.

For Lofoten and safety, this is considered ‘stay at home’ weather. Ferries, flights, and buses were canceled. And the E10 was closed by rock slides and landslides in several location, isolating parts of Lofoten. Also in such windy conditions, lots of pieces of buildings can be blowing around, making it dangerous for both driving and walking. On my drive to Stamsund this morning to fix my window, I could see a lot of debris near the road which had blown from somewhere.

Even if you can’t speak Norwegian, it can be a good idea to checkout the local newspapers (Lofotposten or Lofot-Tidende) and their facebook groups if you see in your weather forecast that a big storm is approaching. These storms are generally forecast and observed for several days before they hit Lofoten, so the local papers will send out warnings and announcements when necessary. Any road closures with be shown on the traffic information map on Statens Vegvesen’s website.

But, as wild as the storm was in reality, without any visual reference, many the ocean for Lofoten, the storms don’t actually look that stormy in photos. I was on the wrong side of the islands to photograph the biggest of the waves, and I would only consider the waves in the above photo as medium: visually somewhat stormy yes, but not too powerful or high. This image is a complete failure to represent to ferocity of the day.

Additionally, when Lofoten receives such weather, the sky is often just grey. Boring flat grey. And in this case, filled with rain. Had I not included a moderately stormy looking beach in the foreground and just photographed some mountains instead, it would look like it was just taken on a boring rainy day.

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 24-120mm f/4
60mm
ISO 1000
f 5.0
1/400 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #526 – Eye Of Uttakleiv Storm

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Photo: Winter waves wash over the rocky coastline concealing the Eye of Uttakleiv, Uttakleiv, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 24, 2022. 15:32

I had originally planned another image of the full moon for this weeks post. But as the evening light faded I could see waves crashing over the small rocky islands off the coast from my house – the rocks I use as a gauge to see how stormy the sea is. And so with Lofoten well into winter, I thought I might talk about weather and timing for certain locations in Lofoten. And specifically for today, the famed ‘Eye of Uttakleiv.’

Where is the Eye in the above image? Well, that is specifically the problem I want to talk about with timing and weather. In the case of the above image, the Eye in concealed beneath the waves and tide of a stormy winter’s day. While I like the image itself well enough, had my intent been to photography the Eye on this day, I would have been out of luck. It was simply too stormy and the waves were crashing too high, even at low tide.

In general, I think the stormier the better for seascapes, particularly at Uttakleiv. But if one was hoping for a photo like the image below, a stormy day often won’t work. Or, I should be even more detailed and say that that a storm from a southern direction, bringing a southern swell and waves, will likely work for the Eye. With the above image, the storm and swell was out of the north, which crashes directly into the bay at Uttakleiv.

If you have have a few days on Lofoten and the ability to select locations for ideal conditions, it can be useful to use and app/website like windy.com to check the swell size and direct as it hits Lofoten. If you want stormy coastal conditions, head to parts of the islands where the swell is impacting directly. If you want calmer coastal conditions, head to the opposite side of the islands. Although, since you can’t move the Eye of Uttakleiv to another location, if it’s on your photo list, you’ll want to keep an eye out for a calmer swell on that part of Lofoten.

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 14-30mm f/4
17mm
ISO 31
f 13
10 seconds
WB Daylight

Photo: Calm winter conditions at Eye of Uttakleiv, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.