Friday Photo #694 – Skagsanden Sand Patterns

Photo: Sand patters bubble up on Skagsanden beach, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 26, 2020. 07:42

I was looking for a different image to post this week when I noticed I had never shared this one before. It’s actually one of my favourite images of the unique sand patters that can form on Skagsanden beach – the sand patters are common, but finding them in good photographic conditions is less common. On this morning I was lucky that the beach was free from seaweed and no one had yet walked through the scene. Even for myself, I approach these scenes slowly, so I don’t put footprints or tripod holes in my own image.

Skagsanden beach is somewhat unique on Lofoten in that the white sand of the beach often has lines and patterns formed from darker sand which flows down from a river coming from the mountains behind the beach. In this image, you can see the water of the river bubbling up through the beach sand to the surface, which then form the darker patterns in the sand when the water flows away. It’s a little bit like panning for gold, as the different rock types have slightly different densities.

Usually these more intense patters and designs form at the back of the beach, where all the seaweed and debris is also continually washed up, leaving a chaotic and messy scene. For whatever reason on this morning, the water was flowing much lower on the beach in the clean section of low-tide sand. It almost looks like an alien head or some kind of weird caterpillar.

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
ISO 31
f13
2 Seconda
WB Daylight