Friday Photo #92 – Holandsmelen Autumn

Photo: Autumn light shines across the rocky summit of Holandsmelen, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  September 26, 2013.  17:35

Day 3, mountain 3.  After having spent a rather sleepless (because I was trying to keep an eye out for northern lights) night on Reinebringen and descending in the morning, I was feeling somewhat lazy and more or less content to sit around the Stamsund hostel eating popcorn.  But as the hours of the day passed, it became evident that I couldn’t just sit around.  So it my best ‘I’m lazy but need to do something’ mode, I headed towards the small peak of Holandsmelen.

I was a bit worried about the views, due to the close proximity to Leknes and the urbanized areas of Vestvågøy, but I figured there would at least be some decent views of Vik beach, and perhaps something else.  I arrived on the summit with the sun hanging low on the horizon, quickly approaching a thickening layer of clouds out over the sea.

The best images were towards the beaches, where I managed to get a few exposures off before they fell into shadow.  Luckily the sun remained shining a bit longer on the summit, giving me some time to explore the unique rocky texture of the otherwise ‘soft’ mountain.  Holandsmelen is an easy hike and probably a place I’ll be back to to explore again with some different light, maybe I can even find a flat enough spot to sleep for the night, hopefully without too many rocks poking into my back.

The pointy mountain in the center of the image is Skottind.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
28mm
ISO 200
f 14
1/40 second
WB Daylight