This was my first ever published ebook, way back in January 2015. Now 9 years since that first edition, the eBook has grown to 342 pages with 330 images, and 40 destination maps. New in this edition is a custom Google map for easier navigation across the listed destinations.
If you had previously purchased the 4th edition, from February 2020 until now, you will receive an email for a free download of the new fifth edition.
Photo: Waves flow over Unstad beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 26, 2023. 14:22
I am not sure how many times I have stood on Unstad beach over the last decade, probably a lot! And though I’m a little more picky with light and conditions these days, it is always a favorite location for me to take my winter photography groups. The beach seems to always have a nice variety of potential images, no matter what conditions are present.
One of my favorite interpretations of the beach is the outflowing water over the the rocks which form the border zone between the sandy beach and the boulder beach. With constant change from the shifting sands, tide, waves, and weather, the location usually has something new to offer while keeping a similar motif.
On this day, with passing snow showers in the distance, the flowing water over the rocks offered a nice foreground contrast to help show the storminess of the 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 14-30mm f/4 16mm ISO 64 f 10 1.3 Seconds WB Daylight
Photo: Night driving through winter snow storm, Lofoten Islands, Norway. March 15, 2023. 23:48
The January sun is riser higher and higher above the southern horizon with each passing day and as Lofoten is beginning to emerge from its long wither sleep, the Islands’ roads and rorbuer cabins will soon be filling with photographers and tourists looking to experience the winter landscape. For many of you, it might be your first time ever driving in winter conditions, and so this is my (somewhat) annual winter driving post.
The picture itself is pretty self explanatory, and likely a view you will experience multiple times if spending a week on Lofoten. And the picture actually has better visibility than the reality of being in a moving vehicle in heavy snow and pitch black roads – only your headlights and the dim snow poles keeping you traveling in the right direction. It can be hypnotising as the snow flakes fall though the headlights. And the concentration required becomes exhausting as the drive gets longer.
Take your time, plan ahead, and use caution. And if the night looks like this, just maybe stay in your cabin and relax – you can’t see the northern lights in the middle of a blizzard anyhow…
For more detailed information and winter road and driving conditions on Lofoten and in Norway, here is my article:
Photo: Midday sun low on the southern horizon over Nappstraumen, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. November 29, 2023. 12:26
The last sun and first sun of each winter follow the same cycle – with the sun’s lowest point on the winter solstice. Equal time before or after the solstice and the sun will follow the same path through the sky. So the sun in this picture from late November last year will be in the same location as today, nearly two months later. The only difference being that the days in November are getting shorter, while in January they are growing.
The weather itself is not too much different between November and January. And the past couple years it seems November has quite cold, dry, and stable weather, making it quite a nice winter month actually. And in turn, the last couple Januaries have been stormy and wet – with January 2023 being particularly terrible!
It is too early to say what this winter will bring. Hopefully it is cold and calm, with a nice dusting of fresh snow every few days. But one this is certain: the days are getting longer. That is the only real predicable element of the seasons on Lofoten. Anything else is just luck and chance.
Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north
Camera Info: Nikon z8 Nikon 14-30mm f/4 15mm ISO 100 f 13 1/30 Second WB Daylight
https://www.68north.com/content/2023/12/friday-photo-575-southern-sun.jpg10001500Codyhttps://www.68north.com/content/2016/12/68north-logo-V4.pngCody2024-01-12 03:00:002023-12-01 05:51:11Friday Photo #575 – Southern Sun
Photo: The sun is back! Low January sun partially over horizon over the Vestfjord, Ballstad, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. 12:30
After a month below the horizon the sun is now (partially) shining again over Lofoten But… When we will first see the sun again is entirely up to the weather. As you can see here with a lucky perfectly clear horizon on January 5th, thus sun is only halfway over the sea and any small layer of clouds would have blocked it out for hour it was visible.
Last year was the earliest I’ve ever seen my ‘first sunlight’ of the year, which was actually the day before this on January 4th while in Reine – with is also near the southern most latitude of Lofoten, so the sun is visible a little earlier there. But two days in a row of first sunlight is pretty special and rare. Usually it takes a week or so, and my longest ever wait was January 18th.
It was a cold east wind blowing on this day and a sun only halfway across the horizon isn’t defiantly not providing any warmth! Though perhaps you could say the warmth of color in the sky was enjoyed by the eyes. The days will still be short for the next weeks and it is this time of year that you can still feel like you are far north in the arctic, while still enjoying a couple hours of sunlight each day. By February, the days will begin to feel ‘normal’ with the sun higher in the sky, and then already by March I’ll have to set my morning alarm clock to a painfully early time to take my groups out for sunrise.
But I enjoy this time of year of the return of the sun much better than I do the countdown of the sun’s departure in November and early December. I is nicer to know more light is on the way with each passing day, than the opposite – that the polar night is coming.
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 250mm ISO 100 f 7.1 1/320 Second WB Daylight
https://www.68north.com/content/2023/12/friday-photo-574-return-of-sun.jpg10001500Codyhttps://www.68north.com/content/2016/12/68north-logo-V4.pngCody2024-01-05 03:00:002023-12-01 05:48:41Friday Photo #574 – Return Of The Sun
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