Friday Photo #717 – October Sunrise

Photo: October sun rises over mountains of Norwegian mainland, Olenilsøy, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. October 1, 2025. 07:30

With last week’s passing of the Autumnal Equinox the sun is over half way on its journey towards the Polar Night. The sunrises and sunsets now occur in the southern half of the horizon and as of today, the sun only reaches a maximum elevation of 18.2˚ in the midday sky. It is that time of year where the mountain shadows grow long and cold, and many areas of Lofoten will soon see their last rays of sunlight for the year.

This photo from last year’s autumn photo workshop was one of those mornings where you wanted to look in 10 places at once. And for the most part, I did. I pointed my camera east as the sun began to rise over the Jagged mountains of Steigen, roughly 80 km away across the Vestfjord on the Norwegian mainland. Once the sun rose above the mountains, I turned around and shot the long shadows forming among the much closer mountains of Reinefjord.

Luckily, Lofoten’s sun rises slowly, giving one time to move to multiple locations as sunrise transitions into golden hour. It is usually only the clouds which might otherwise bring an abrupt end to a sunrise or sunset. But on this October morning, there was plenty of time to be everywhere at once…

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 100-400 f/4.5-5.6
210mm
ISO 100
f5
1/1000 Seconds
WB Daylight