Friday Photo #564 – Haugheia Trees

Photo: Last golden leaves of autumn on mountain birch trees of Haugheia, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. October 4, 2023. 14:04

By now the the bright colors of autumn are beginning to fade at Lofoten waits for winter to set it. This year the color seemed to be a little later than normal, perhaps due to the warm and dry summer and mild, but wet September. But like everything else associated with Lofoten, there is no predicting anything, you just have to be here and see what you get.

Over the last couple years Haugheia (hiking guide here) has turned into my favorite little hike just to get a bit of exercise if I’m on my way to Leknes. And while I always carry my camera bag, mostly just for the weight, I probably only take photos 25% of the time. And usually when I do shoot photos, I’m going there specifically to do so. Otherwise, I typically go there is stormy conditions that aren’t always photogenic, preferring to safe the photogenic weather for proper mountains.

On this day I took my autumn workshop group up the hill to visit my favorite grove of trees. It was a cold and blustery October day, with several rain/hail/sleet showers passing, which added to the atmosphere as the mountains vanished into the clouds. Much nicer conditions than the last Haugheia photo I posted (Friday Photo #540), taken on a particularly grey day in May.

The autumn winds will now have blown all but the hardiest of leaves from twisted branches and the trees will sit through the winter and spring, waiting for the summer sun to turn them green again. I’m not actually sure which version of the trees I prefer, but it might be the leaf-less winter version, for some individual trees at least.

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
91mm
ISO 100
f 8
1/125 Second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #563 – Light And Cloud

Photo: Rays of light shine over the distant mountains of Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. October 4, 2023. 16:25

While every landscape photographer dreams of colourful sunrises and sunsets during their travels, the weather often works against us. Even more so on Lofoten this autumn with a near constant layer of low clouds and rain covering the islands for weeks on end. When the horizon is fully enveloped in the next waves of rain swept in by a cold north wind, it is time to look for other options.

Fortunately, other options exist on Lofoten. The dynamic light of backlit clouds actually requires the stormy and rainy weather which is often present in autumn. With the quickly moving in the variable weather, the trick is attempting to predict where you want the light to fall, and then waiting for the right moment to hopefully arrive – which is still not guaranteed. But on rainy days like this cold and blustery day in early October, there is a high chance of such conditions.

It is important not to wait too late in the day, because as the sun gets lower on the horizon, it is more likely to become fully concealed behind the clouds. You will often have better looking shooting towards a more distant background, as this gives you a better chance of having the backlit rainy clouds pass between you and your intended background. The closer your intended subject, the more exact the passing of the rain and gaps in the clouds must be, making a higher miss rate – although for a potentially more dramatic image should conditions come together perfectly. But on a day like this and out with a group, I knew there was a pretty good chance for some interesting light if we positioned ourselves near Vareid while looking towards the distant mountains of Moskenesøy rising over Fredvang.

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon z8
Nikon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6
165mmmm
ISO 100
f 5.6
1/400 Second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #562 – Changing Seasons

Photo: October snow flurries pass over Veggen and Himmeltindan, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. October 8, 2023. 15:08

As I wrote in last weeks post, the weekend’s north wind brought winter like snow flurries across Lofoten and icy roads across much of northern Norway. The temperature has warmed up slightly since then and heavy rain has fallen this week, but with the sun ever lower in the sky, one can sense that winter is not far away.

On the icy roads of Leknes Monday afternoon I noticed quite a few European motorhomes and camper vans still around the islands, and almost all still with summer tires on. This is getting a little risky so late in the year, and snow is already starting to fill up the mountain passes required to exit Lofoten – unless one plans to take the Hurtigruten all the way down to Bergen. Though the official date for winter tires in Northern Norway is October 15, it is expected that one drives as the conditions demand. If Norwegians crash in wintry conditions with summer tires on, they will lose their driving license on the spot. The police are nicer to foreigners though, who won’t have their license confiscated.

For those on a road trip on Lofoten at this time of year and waiting to see when you need to drive south, the weather of Lofoten itself is deceptive, as the islands are quite mild compared to the mountain areas required to leave Lofoten and reach Europe. I can see on the webcams that it looks like full winter over Bjørnfjell – Riksgränsen pass on the E10 east to Sweden. The E6 south over Saltfjellet is maintaining below freezing temperatures as well. This only leaves the coastal FV 17 road as a possible route south avoiding winter conditions at the moment. Though one will still need to pass over the high mountains on the E6 south of Trondheim, where winter is also fast approaching.

If you plan to stick around the north, I would suggest picking up a pair of winter tires soon – which can be bought from most gas stations around Lofoten. Though be prepared for a bit of a price shock if you’re not used to Norwegian prices!

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon z8
Nikon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6
145mm
ISO 100
f 6.3
1/400 Second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #561 – October Snow

Photo: A dusting of autumn snow covers the summit of Blåtind, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. October 5, 2023. 11:20

A gusty north wind has brought a chill to Lofoten over the last days, and with it, the first mountain snows of the season. And the temperature will continue to drop over the weekend, bringing the snow line down to 200 meters or so – while it is currently at around 400m. Already driving around the last days snow and slush has been falling along the roads as well, with the temperature dropping to 2-3 ˚c at times. If I can manage to find a long enough gap between the snow showers it will be time to put on the winter tires in the next days.

I just finished my only autumn photo workshop this season. And it was a tough one weather wise – it seems like it has rained every days since the beginning of September! But with the shifting of the winds to the rainy and low clouds from the southwest, the more dynamic snow showers from the north at least brought interesting conditions – and some occasional 20+ m/s wind gusts. Today the wind has calmed, before more gales arrive in the next days. So the fairly typical and quickly changing autumn weather on Lofoten.

It is days like these where the mountains fade in and out of the clouds and the light moves quickly. One moment you can be in sideways snow and sleet, while in the next the warm sun is shining brightly overhead. Looking at the radar, it is usually pretty straightforward to see how much time you’ll spend in the snow before the clouds pass and you’re under (somewhat) blue sky again.

This image is from just after the passing of a 10-15 minute snow shower while on the old road above Unstad. I was mostly shooting the more interesting composition of the clearing clouds over the summit of Øst-Himmeltind, but once all the clouds had cleared, I put on my 100-400mm lens to shoot the view south across Vestvågøy to the distant peak of Blåtind, with a fresh dusting of snow. Looking at the northern side of the peak, it is easy to see exactly where the snow line sits across the 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 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6
290mm
ISO 200
f 6.3
1/800 Second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #560 – Autumn Storms

Photo: Waves crash over the rocks at Nesland in September autumn storm, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. September 22, 2021. 15:15

Another storm has passed Lofoten this week with canceled ferries and my house shaking in the wind, making sounds I haven’t heard since the end of winter. It is evident that this year’s warm and dry summer is over and the September storms are making up for lost time and the lack of rain. No one knows what next week will bring, but it looks like there is storm after storm lined up across the north Atlantic, with the eventual destination of the Norwegian coast and Lofoten. Earlier in the month I had been over in Sweden for my usual autumn hiking, but even the wet weather reached across the border so I gave up my plans after just 40km – no point walking in the rain with a heavy backpack for 2 weeks if I can’t even see the mountain tops. I flew south to Spain instead.

As stormy as the sea in Lofoten often is, one thing the landscape here is missing is a good set of sea cliffs. Cliffs where the winter swells pound into a wall of rock, sending the sea high into the air – and often completely soaking my if I’m out photographing. Scotland, or even Spain is better for this, and I have much more impressive stormy seascape images from these countries. On Lofoten, the coastline is slightly sloping for the most part – at least the easily accessible areas. And so while there are plenty of days where the waves are crashing over the rocks and high up the shoreline, it doesn’t quite have the same dramatic affect of a huge open ocean swell running into a vertical wall of rock. But I guess one location can’t have everything!

If you are traveling to Lofoten from now until the springtime, it is always a good idea to check the weather on any travel days, as ferries, planes, buses, bridges, and roads can be canceled or closed whenever the wind blows a little too much.

For more information on road safety, you can see my article: Winter Driving

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 24-200 f/4-6.3
27mm
ISO 31
f 14
1 Second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #558 – Aurora Light Pollution

Photo: Northern lights shine over low clouds and light pollution from nearby village, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. September 4, 2021. 01:01

In the image from a couple weeks ago (Friday Photo #556) I spoke about the still bright northern horizon of late August in the early part of the aurora season. This week’s photo is another type of light pollution typically found during the rest of the aurora season – low clouds and city light pollution. Personally, I prefer a clear sky and glowing horizon like in the previous image, vs. the image here today, which I just find frustrating.

This was a strong aurora, pushing beyond overhead and down towards the southeast part of the sky. Unfortunately, from my location at Storsandnes beach, it meant I was also looking directly towards Leknes. On clear nights, the light pollution would be fairly minimal, especially with such a strong aurora. But on this night, with low rain clouds passing over the islands, the city lights of Leknes illuminate the clouds over a wide area. It doesn’t look good.

Ideal would have been to pick a better location in this type of weather, where I could avoid looking towards any distant city lights. But that can also be easier said than done when there is significant cloud cover and you are sometimes lucky just to find a hole in the clouds anyhow. From this photo, I can see that I likely wouldn’t have seen anything had I gone to Haukland or Uttakeliv beaches, as the cloud cover looks more significant over there. So perhaps even with the light pollution from Leknes, I was at least in a decent location to see the northern lights in a mostly cloudy sky.

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Sigma 14mm f/1.8
14mm
ISO 2000
f 1.8
5 Seconds
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #514 – November River

Photo: River flows through mountain valley, Unstad, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. November 3, 2020. 14:31

By mid November the last of the autumn color is beginning to fade from the Lofoten landscape as the wait for winter continues. The leaves will already be long gone from the trees, but there still can be some of the grasses and smaller bushes which hold on for a little while longer until eventually being covered by the winter snows.

Usually at this time of year I’m not in the mountains as often as the days are short and the trails are often quite icy and slippery. Actually, November is perhaps my least photographed month on Lofoten. Sometimes there is special light here and there, but often is is just flat, grey, and rainy – like in todays image.

If I am out photographing, I’ll typically try and find scenes without any trees preset, which isn’t too hard in the wester half of Lofoten! And if there’s been a lot of rain lately, then usually the small rivers are flowing quite nicely and might be a useful subject.

Located just outside of Unstad, this small little creek has become a favorite of mine as a rainy day location, as it’s only a few minutes walk from the parking lot, but has a multitude of different angles it can be photographed from. I’m actually not sure I’ve ever photographed this location in ‘good’ weather, but maybe I’ll have to try one day.

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Sigma 14mm f/1.8
14mm
ISO 31
f 14
0.5 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #512 – Autumn Mountains

Photo: Mountain peaks rise into misty clouds, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. October 5, 2022. 16:47

I was in the Flakstad ‘swamp’ on a rainy October afternoon looking to capture the last of this years autumn color, which after a few passing storms, had quickly faded from the landscape. The wind was mostly calm, but the frequent passing rain showers kept breaking up the reflections on the small ponds I was attempting to use as foregrounds.

The higher peaks were mostly in the clouds, but as the showers passed, they would become visible from time to time. Mostly having given up on reflections, I looked for something else to use as the foreground, and so I looked for a bit of colourful autumn foliage. As the peaks of Bjørntind emerged from the clouds, I thought I would give this composition a try.

Since moving to the mirrorless Nikon Z7 II last year, I’ve only had the 24-200 f/4-6.3 as my ‘normal’ focal length lens. While I love it for for its light weight for hiking and backpacking, I do wish it was a bit faster for a shallower depth of field. In this image for example, I wish I could have shot at f/2.8, for example, to have the foreground properly out of focus and just a blur of color. Here, I think there is still too much detail in the various leaves, and not abstract enough in my opinion.

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 24-200mm f/4-63.3
46mm
ISO 100
f 6.3
1/50 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #511 – Unstad Waves

Photo: Sea spray flows off crashing waves at Unstad beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. October 4, 2022. 18:18

I nice and clean autumn swell was hitting Unstad the other week just a few days after the Lofoten masters surfing competition – which I unfortunately missed. I arrived a while before sunset and was mostly shooting the surfers out in the nice backlit waves. Eventually though, the sun dipped into a layer of cloud on the horizon and the light soon faded.

But as the twilight approached, the offshore wind still kept blowing a nice sea spray off the incoming sets. I watched a few sets roll through, which timed with a stronger gust of wind sent the sea spray flying in a beautiful dance above the sea.

By now it was slightly too dark for a fast shot to freeze the motion, and the light had been better when the sun was still visible. But going in the opposite direction, I tried a slightly longer shutter speed to capture a bit more of the flow of the waves and wind.

Like most things to do with the sea though, it seemed I watched the best waves pass by, and by time I pulled out the camera the conditions had changed slightly. Or perhaps its just the difference between watching the real motion of the wind and waves vs. trying to capture the moment in a still image. Either way, I think this image is a good attempt, but not really representative of the moment I was trying to capture.

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 24-200mm f/4-6.3
115mm
ISO 50
f 13
0.3 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #510 – Reine Autumn

Photo: Olstind mountain peak reflecting in Reinefjord in autumn color from Reinehalsen viewpoint, Reine, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. October 2, 2022. 08:42

It felt like an early autumn this year in Lofoten and by now the October winds have stripped nearly all of the trees bare. But it also was a bright and colourful autumn while it lasted, with the birch trees much more vibrant than the previous couple years. And finally, after a mild finish to September and start to October, the first dusting of snow finally arrived last weekend.

It was also somewhat of a backwards autumn this year, at least in regards to September, which experienced fantastically mild and sunny weather with many days over 10˚c and cloudless night after cloudless night of dancing northern lights.

It was also a poor summer as well, so maybe it finally rained itself out by the time September arrived. August should normally average 55mm of rain. This year Lofoten received 190mm! Making this August the 3rd wettest month (in total precipitation) in the last year. Yet in the opposite direction, September should Normally receive 128mm or rain. This year only 50mm of rain fell. This actually makes this September the driest month in the last year.

So it was a terrible summer followed by a fantastic start of autumn this year on Lofoten. By now though, the ‘normal’ autumn weather seems to have taken hold as regular spells of rain and wind sweep across Lofoten and most of northern Norway. With the sun lower on the horizon each day, the islands now wait for winter’s arrival.

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 14-30mm f/4
30mm
ISO 100
f 7.1
1/80 second
WB Daylight