Friday Photo #567 – November Twilight

Photo: November twilight over Himmeltindan, Lofoten Islands, Norway. November 12, 2023. 15:03

Like last year, it has been a clear cold November so far – though a big storm is coming next week. I was actually thinking of posting several of the same photos this week, as I took this nearly exact same image 3 days in a row of the afternoon twilight after a cold and crisp November day.

The sun is already low on the horizon and many areas of Lofoten no longer receive direct sunlight. In this calm weather, Leknes actually sinks into a deep freeze as the cold air settles in the valley around the town, making it colder than Svolvær. Returning home from my Isle of Skye photo workshop last Friday, I had the fun task of installing the winter tires on my new tour van in quite cold temperatures for this time of year. Though that also meant my driveway was frozen solid and not the usually muddy mess when I change tires earlier in the autumn.

Despite these clear nights, and despite the forecast of an incoming solar storm, they northern lights played tricky and generally did not arrive until well after midnight, when I myself was sleeping after long days of work catchup on the computer. With both the weather and aurora forecast, I had thought about hiking out to Kvalvika beach on this night, but I’m glad I didn’t, as I would have either frozen to death or returned home, or fallen asleep had I decided to camp, well before any northern lights occurred. Even with everything looking favourable, the northern lights can still require a bit of effort and luck! More so than I was willing to contribute this past week.

Luckily for me, I’ve yet to grow tired of this view out my window. It’s actually a bit distracting at times when I need to concentrate on work – I’m currently busy working on the next update of my Seasons on Lofoten – Winter ebook, which I hope to get out in the next couple weeks, ready for next years winter season. So in these short days, it is nice to be able just to walk into my backyard, take a couple photos, and then get back to the computer work and at least feel like I’ve also done a bit of photography without having had to climb a 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 24-120mm f/4
120mm
ISO 100
f 8
1/4 Second
WB Daylight