Photo: A young birch sapling in pillows of snow, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 14, 2025. 11:52
One thing I sometime miss about the Lofoten landscape is the ability to find a nice lonely tree in the middle of a field or a small isolated grove without too many other distractions. There are a few places around here and there, but most require more effort to reach than I’m able to do on most winter photo workshops. This area is one of the more accessible places, though even the bigger trees are more like bushes, and this ‘tree,’ more like a couple of sticks.
I was actually just shooting a bit of really abstract stuff of just the snow when I decided this little group of twigs might help a little with the scene. It is nothing much, but still a nice abstract moment of winter and snow – which there seems to be less and less of in Lofoten these last years…
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 360mm ISO 200 f6.3 1/500 Second WB Daylight
Photo: Vanishing sun in snow storm on Reinefjord, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 13, 2025. 10:13
On this week’s cruise around Reinefjord I could see the large wall of cloud and snow approaching from the north even before the ferry boat left the jetty in Reine. I could see on the radar that it wasn’t too big of a snow flurry, but the winds were calm and it was moving slowly. My only hope was that the clouds cleared by the time the boat reached Kirkefjord, so I could see my favourite mountains in Lofoten.
Not long into the journey the first flakes of snow began the fall, becoming thicker and thicker at the boat headed into the dark cloud ahead. Most people on deck quickly took shelter inside the cabin, while I chose to remain outside in hopes of seeing something interesting.
It would have been better captured on video, but I still like this still image of last moments of sun before it completely disappeared within the cloud of falling snow. My last moments of seeing anything in the outside world before entering a blank void of grey.
The cloud did eventually pass as the ferry reached Kirkefjord, leaving the mountains rising into an eerie misty sky. But I already posted a view from Kirkefjord (though from another day) last week, so no need for repetition…
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 24-120mm f/4 120mm ISO 400 f6.3 1/1600 Second WB Daylight
Photo: Mountain peaks rise over Kirkefjord on a calm winter morning, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 1, 2024. 09:51
The inner fjord arms of Reinefjord are some of my favourite areas in western Lofoten. Even if not putting on the backpack and heading out to Bunes or Horseid beaches, the boat journey across the fjord is scenic enough itself. And so, more and more, if I can time the weather for a nice flat day or some otherwise interesting weather, I’ve been taking my winter photo workshop groups on a boat ride around the fjord. On this particular day, the group was lucky enough to have its own private rib boat for the journey, allowing me to stop the boat whenever I saw a nice view.
The dramatic peaks surrounding the small village of Kirkefjord has always been one of my favourite areas on Lofoten. Luckily we arrived to near perfect reflections just as the sun was peaking over the horizon and illuminating the vertical rock face of Merraflestinden.
The fjord is long and narrow, so by February, not much sunlight reaches the inner parts and not long after dawn the sun will already be blocked by the mountains on the western side. So one doesn’t have too much time with sunlight back there so early in the winter.
Despite pretty ideal conditions in this image, it is pretty evident to see what is missing for a winter image from Lofoten: Snow. Lofoten’s winters are not a perfect snow wonderland and rain is frequent. Had the mountains here been covered top to bottom in a fresh layer of snow, this probably would have ended up one of my favourite images from the winter. But no worries, I’ll have several chances to try again next year!
God Jul everyone. See you in the new year…
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 14-30mm f/4 20mm ISO 1000 f5.6 1/320 Second WB Daylight
Photo: White-Tail Sea Eagle picks up fish from fjord, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 5, 2025. 13:33
In some of my recent photo workshops we are beginning to introduce more activities than just landscape and northern lights photography. The sea eagle safaris out of Svolvær are one of those activities. And as I still consider myself a beginner wildlife photographer, this is probably as much fun for me as for the clients. And much better than standing around on the Hamnøy bridge at sunrise for the XXth time over the previous two months.
And when I say I’m a beginner, look below at my camera info to see that I made some big mistakes with this image. f/18, ouch!!! I could actually see over the sequence of images where my operate got stopped down. The combination of a small rib boat with relatively tight quarters, stormy weather, thick gloves, etc, probably all lead me to accidentally moving the aperture wheel. And in the excitement, it was sometime until I finally noticed and opened the aperature back up to where it should be for a dark winter day on Lofoten. But I used up the best light while still at f/18. Lesson learned for next year.
Luckily though, the denoise option with Adobe camera raw works wonders these days. So even this ISO 12,800 image turned out pretty decent in the end. Leaving me not too depressed with my mistake…
*For transparency, the boat drivers throw fish to the eagles, so this is not a fully wild image.
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 165mm ISO 12800 f18 1/2000 Second WB Daylight
Photo: Glowing winter dawn over Hamnøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 2, 2025. 07:54
This was one of those winter mornings on Lofoten where it feels like the sky is glowing from within itself. Even a photo doesn’t do justice to the light as you really need to be there, surrounded by it all – the same way no photo can ever show the experience of a dancing northern lights. I rarely photograph from the Hamnøy bridge these days, but on this morning I wanted to remember a bit of the atmosphere from the light.
Otherwise… While there are many places across Lofoten in which calm conditions are usually preferred, such as the other nearby location of Reinehalsen. For Hamnøy, I actually prefer a little more stormy and wild conditions, particularly for the sea and the rocks in the foreground. And even more so when it is low tide, such as this image.
The light on this morning was fantastic, and if you only have the option to visit Lofoten for a week, I would consider this a pretty decent image from Hamnøy. But for myself, I know the foreground, with that just overly large rock, not contributing much to the composition, could have been much better. I’m sure I’ll stand in this exact same spot for many hours over the coming months, so I won’t have lack of opportunities for this Lofoten classic…
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 14-30mm f/4 16mm ISO 100 f6.3 15 Seconds WB Daylight
Photo: Northern lights – Aurora Borealis illuminate the sky before a full moon, Skreda, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 14, 2025. 21:04
By now Lofoten’s northern lights season is almost half way over for the year: roughly August 20 – April 20. The bulk of my images will be be shot during my winter photo workshop season from late January to late March. On this evening, my group and already had a few hours of somewhat faint, but colourful aurora at Vik beach, just over the hill from our accommodation at Skreda. It was a cold night afternoon an already long day, so it was an early evening to be back to the cabins by 21:00.
Walking out onto the balcony of my cabin, there was still a nice green arch of aurora shining across the southern sky. The sea was calm and I actually liked the addition of the lights shining on the distant shore. And the nearly full moon added a little depth to the scene. Not the usual snowy mountains or beaches of my typical northern lights photos from Lofoten, but I like this image in a bit more of an abstract way – even more so as I was only 10 meter from my bed.
I still read online quite often the misinformation about not being able to see the northern lights with a full moon. This is absolutely false, as you can see here in this image. Yes, a full moon will reduce the visibility of a very faint aurora that you can already barely see with your eyes. But for any aurora worth photographing at least, the moon doesn’t make too much of a difference, and in fact, often aids in the overall image quality by illuminating the landscape and allowing for lower ISO and shutter speeds.
My main dislike of a full moon comes not from its direct interference with the visibility of the northern lights themselves, but more of what to do with it as a compositional element. In this image, I think the mood adds to the overall scene. But sometimes, the moon just doesn’t fit with where the aurora are in the sky and it’s in some awkward part of your preferred composition. Or, with the moon high overhead, it can cast your own shadow onto the foreground of the scene, leaving you struggling to find a foreground to the image. These are mostly critiques about composition, and not the full moon interfering with the visibility of the northern lights themselves.
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 14-30mm f/4 16mm ISO 2000 f4 3 Seconds WB Daylight
Photo: December Rorbu sunset, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. December 1, 2023. 13:08
As Lofoten waits for the arrival of winter’s polar night, the little remaining sunlight may often glow bright on the southern horizon. But what looks like a nice colourful sunset in the above image, was only a small portion of the overall scene.
The following image is the overall scene I was presented with the moment I took the above image. It was a nice and calm December afternoon, but already by 13:00 the light of the day was beginning to fade. Standing in the same position and simply zooming in to 120mm provided an entirely different appearance and atmosphere to the moment.
So is one image more realistic than the other, both taken from the same location only 30 seconds apart. Was it a bright colourful sunset over snow covered cabins? Or was it just a glowing horizon surrounded by a world of blues and greys? Or perhaps both at the same time?
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 24-120mm f/4 120mm ISO 100 f10 1/30 Second WB Daylight
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 24-120mm f/4 24mm ISO 100 f10 1/30 Second WB Daylight
Photo: Car quickly breaks as moose crosses E10 at Storeide west of Leknes, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 17, 2025. 9:21
With the whole of Lofoten covered in a nice layer of winter snow, while I myself am stuck at home fighting off a cold instead of perhaps my first ski trip of the season, its time for my annual winter driving post.
Already, the local newspaper, Lofotposten, has been full of ‘bil i grofta,’ ‘car in a ditch’ articles since the roads got icy last week. And with moderate to heavy snowfall over the last days, the pace of the articles has increased to multiple incidents per day. Yesterday, there was even a headline out of a Tromsø newspaper: (tow truck driver) Pulled the same Chinese couple out of the ditch 7 times in one week. If you are renting a car on Lofoten this winter, I highly suggest getting the full insurance packages, as it is getting very dangerous on the roads these days with drivers who should be nowhere near a car in winter.
The main winter driving hazards on Lofoten these days will be:
Your own driving abilities – Especially if you are new to driving in snow.
Other tourists – Anything from inexperienced drivers driving in the middle/left side of the road (very common), turning the completely wrong way on roads/roundabouts, randomly stopping in the middle of the road, driving on sidewalks, and basically anything else you can imagine. Learn how to recognise other rental cars, as they will be one of your biggest hazards while driving on Lofoten.
Weather – There will be days where you NEED to stay in your rorbu or hotel. Do not put yourself or others at risk, not to see anything but blowing snow anyhow.
Wildlife – Moose are common in the mid and eastern areas of Lofoten, and even more so into Vesterålen and Ofoten. numerous moose vs. car crashes happen every winter. Avoid driving at night when possible.
In this week’s photo I was on my way to drop-off clients at the airport in Leknes when I spotted a family of moose on the side of the road up ahead. Luckily I was right next to the large pullout at Storeide and so I had a safe place to stop – Never stop in the middle of the road! I rushed to put on my telephoto lens as fast as I could before hopefully trying to walk somewhere for a better angle. But before I even got the door to my van shut I could see the large bull moose heading up towards the road, right into traffic. And so I shot a series of images the best I could from my distance. The best composition was unfortunately blocked by a passing car heading towards me. At least this was a decent image to talk about winter driving on Lofoten in this week’s article.
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 400mm ISO 1250 f5.6 1/1600 Second WB Daylight
Photo: Misty waves crash along the Eggum coastline, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. October 2, 2025. 12:06
This was one of those days where the weather isn’t quite as bad as the forecast predicts. After a late night shooting aurora the previous evening, the forecast of a rainy day wasn’t too unwelcome as a bit of rest was needed. But, despite the dreary, grey sky, the rain was mostly staying further out to sea, and so we headed to the sea.
I don’t often take groups to Eggum, as it can be a tricky place to photograph and is highly dependent on what weather and light you arrive to. But with a moderate size swell still hitting Lofoten and the dark sky, I thought it could be a good place for some atmospheric seascapes along the rocky coastline.
I initially started out on the rocky part of the pay just out of frame on the right side of the image, and shooting towards my position here and the mountains behind me. But it wasn’t quite working for me. I wanted to be up higher, and shoot across the breaking waves. And so I walked some distance down the old pathway to the opposite end of the shallow bay.
Here, I had a higher vantage point, and also a better background – the dark mountains of Vesterålen, some 50km away.
Like with most seascape photography, I sat and watched the breaking waves, hoping for the elements to line up across the frame. I was also trying the hide the rocky shoreline before me, as the white-wash was too distracting from the rest of the scene. I stayed for a while, until the misty rain turned into proper rain drops and it was time to head back to the van.
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 350mm ISO 500 f7.1 1/640 Second WB Daylight
Photo: Autumn tree and old stone wall, Slydalen, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. October 3, 2025. 15:50
By now the autumn storms have blown the last leaves from Lofoten’s trees and the islands wait for the long dark night of winter to settle in. But only a month ago the landscape was full of autumn color – a short lived, but perhaps Lofoten’s most colourful time of the year – including the nights as well. Of all the season’s on Lofoten, autumn probably passes the quickest, with maybe 3 week of color from Sept 15-20-ish to October 5-10-ish. This year felt a little on the late side, as the temperatures remained quite mild throughout September and into early October. But while the cooling air gets the autumn season started, it is the winds of the first høststorm – autumn storm which bring it to an end as the leaves fly into the sea.
With flat light from a layer of high cloud on this day, I was looking to capture a little autumn color, as I had otherwise not done too much this year. I headed up the old mountain road to Slydalen, now a mostly empty place of long abandoned farms mostly used for summer holiday homes. Some of the trees higher up the mountain were already past their prime, while the main valley remained bright and vibrant.
This old birch tree growing from an old stone wall running through a fallowed field caught my eye. There aren’t many stone walls on Lofoten and to me this scene looks more like an image I might have taken in Scotland. I took some wider compositions as well, with the mountain Blåtind rising in the distance over the valley. But the sky and light weren’t quite right and the scene felt out of balance. In the end, I preferred this simpler shot of just the tree and the wall, together in their surroundings as they probably have been for a hundred years or more.
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 220mm ISO 200 f6.3 1/100 Second WB Daylight
We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.
Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.
Essential Website Cookies
These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.
Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.
We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.
We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.
Google Analytics Cookies
These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.
If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:
Other external services
We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.
Google Webfont Settings:
Google Map Settings:
Google reCaptcha Settings:
Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:
Other cookies
The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:
