Friday Photo #564 – Haugheia Trees

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Photo: Last golden leaves of autumn on mountain birch trees of Haugheia, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. October 4, 2023. 14:04

By now the the bright colors of autumn are beginning to fade at Lofoten waits for winter to set it. This year the color seemed to be a little later than normal, perhaps due to the warm and dry summer and mild, but wet September. But like everything else associated with Lofoten, there is no predicting anything, you just have to be here and see what you get.

Over the last couple years Haugheia (hiking guide here) has turned into my favorite little hike just to get a bit of exercise if I’m on my way to Leknes. And while I always carry my camera bag, mostly just for the weight, I probably only take photos 25% of the time. And usually when I do shoot photos, I’m going there specifically to do so. Otherwise, I typically go there is stormy conditions that aren’t always photogenic, preferring to safe the photogenic weather for proper mountains.

On this day I took my autumn workshop group up the hill to visit my favorite grove of trees. It was a cold and blustery October day, with several rain/hail/sleet showers passing, which added to the atmosphere as the mountains vanished into the clouds. Much nicer conditions than the last Haugheia photo I posted (Friday Photo #540), taken on a particularly grey day in May.

The autumn winds will now have blown all but the hardiest of leaves from twisted branches and the trees will sit through the winter and spring, waiting for the summer sun to turn them green again. I’m not actually sure which version of the trees I prefer, but it might be the leaf-less winter version, for some individual trees at least.

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

Camera Info:
Nikon z8
Nikon 24-120mm f/4
91mm
ISO 100
f 8
1/125 Second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #563 – Light And Cloud

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Photo: Rays of light shine over the distant mountains of Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. October 4, 2023. 16:25

While every landscape photographer dreams of colourful sunrises and sunsets during their travels, the weather often works against us. Even more so on Lofoten this autumn with a near constant layer of low clouds and rain covering the islands for weeks on end. When the horizon is fully enveloped in the next waves of rain swept in by a cold north wind, it is time to look for other options.

Fortunately, other options exist on Lofoten. The dynamic light of backlit clouds actually requires the stormy and rainy weather which is often present in autumn. With the quickly moving in the variable weather, the trick is attempting to predict where you want the light to fall, and then waiting for the right moment to hopefully arrive – which is still not guaranteed. But on rainy days like this cold and blustery day in early October, there is a high chance of such conditions.

It is important not to wait too late in the day, because as the sun gets lower on the horizon, it is more likely to become fully concealed behind the clouds. You will often have better looking shooting towards a more distant background, as this gives you a better chance of having the backlit rainy clouds pass between you and your intended background. The closer your intended subject, the more exact the passing of the rain and gaps in the clouds must be, making a higher miss rate – although for a potentially more dramatic image should conditions come together perfectly. But on a day like this and out with a group, I knew there was a pretty good chance for some interesting light if we positioned ourselves near Vareid while looking towards the distant mountains of Moskenesøy rising over Fredvang.

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

Camera Info:
Nikon z8
Nikon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6
165mmmm
ISO 100
f 5.6
1/400 Second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #562 – Changing Seasons

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Photo: October snow flurries pass over Veggen and Himmeltindan, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. October 8, 2023. 15:08

As I wrote in last weeks post, the weekend’s north wind brought winter like snow flurries across Lofoten and icy roads across much of northern Norway. The temperature has warmed up slightly since then and heavy rain has fallen this week, but with the sun ever lower in the sky, one can sense that winter is not far away.

On the icy roads of Leknes Monday afternoon I noticed quite a few European motorhomes and camper vans still around the islands, and almost all still with summer tires on. This is getting a little risky so late in the year, and snow is already starting to fill up the mountain passes required to exit Lofoten – unless one plans to take the Hurtigruten all the way down to Bergen. Though the official date for winter tires in Northern Norway is October 15, it is expected that one drives as the conditions demand. If Norwegians crash in wintry conditions with summer tires on, they will lose their driving license on the spot. The police are nicer to foreigners though, who won’t have their license confiscated.

For those on a road trip on Lofoten at this time of year and waiting to see when you need to drive south, the weather of Lofoten itself is deceptive, as the islands are quite mild compared to the mountain areas required to leave Lofoten and reach Europe. I can see on the webcams that it looks like full winter over Bjørnfjell – Riksgränsen pass on the E10 east to Sweden. The E6 south over Saltfjellet is maintaining below freezing temperatures as well. This only leaves the coastal FV 17 road as a possible route south avoiding winter conditions at the moment. Though one will still need to pass over the high mountains on the E6 south of Trondheim, where winter is also fast approaching.

If you plan to stick around the north, I would suggest picking up a pair of winter tires soon – which can be bought from most gas stations around Lofoten. Though be prepared for a bit of a price shock if you’re not used to Norwegian prices!

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

Camera Info:
Nikon z8
Nikon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6
145mm
ISO 100
f 6.3
1/400 Second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #561 – October Snow

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Photo: A dusting of autumn snow covers the summit of Blåtind, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. October 5, 2023. 11:20

A gusty north wind has brought a chill to Lofoten over the last days, and with it, the first mountain snows of the season. And the temperature will continue to drop over the weekend, bringing the snow line down to 200 meters or so – while it is currently at around 400m. Already driving around the last days snow and slush has been falling along the roads as well, with the temperature dropping to 2-3 ˚c at times. If I can manage to find a long enough gap between the snow showers it will be time to put on the winter tires in the next days.

I just finished my only autumn photo workshop this season. And it was a tough one weather wise – it seems like it has rained every days since the beginning of September! But with the shifting of the winds to the rainy and low clouds from the southwest, the more dynamic snow showers from the north at least brought interesting conditions – and some occasional 20+ m/s wind gusts. Today the wind has calmed, before more gales arrive in the next days. So the fairly typical and quickly changing autumn weather on Lofoten.

It is days like these where the mountains fade in and out of the clouds and the light moves quickly. One moment you can be in sideways snow and sleet, while in the next the warm sun is shining brightly overhead. Looking at the radar, it is usually pretty straightforward to see how much time you’ll spend in the snow before the clouds pass and you’re under (somewhat) blue sky again.

This image is from just after the passing of a 10-15 minute snow shower while on the old road above Unstad. I was mostly shooting the more interesting composition of the clearing clouds over the summit of Øst-Himmeltind, but once all the clouds had cleared, I put on my 100-400mm lens to shoot the view south across Vestvågøy to the distant peak of Blåtind, with a fresh dusting of snow. Looking at the northern side of the peak, it is easy to see exactly where the snow line sits across the mountain.

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

Camera Info:
Nikon z8
Nikon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6
290mm
ISO 200
f 6.3
1/800 Second
WB Daylight