Friday Photo #46 – Autumn Aurora

Northern Lights shine in sky over empty cod stockfish drying racks, near Storsandnes, Flakstadoy, Lofoten Islands, Norway
Photo: Aurora and empty stockfish drying racks, near Storsandnes, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  September 24, 2013.  23:36

As the aurora that had filled the sky 30 minutes before finally began to lose strength and fade, I took towards looking for a different type of composition.  I will say it bluntly: I prefer northern lights set against a snow covered landscape.  Something about the dry mountains is autumn don’t just feel right to me.  But none the less, such an opportunity is not to be wasted.

I headed out to the coast near Myrland, on the east side of Flakstadøy so as to have as unobstructed view as possible across the sea (Nappstraumen) towards the northeast, where the aurora was the strongest on this particular night.  But after sometime shooting, I wasn’t totally happy with the night.  As I began the journey back to Stamsund, I passed by these stockfish drying racks, sitting empty in the autumn.

The moon was bright and the aurora losing strength so I was somewhat limited in what angles I could shoot.  I tried to find some interesting angles and something to help give a sense of ‘place’ to the image.  I’m not sure how well it works, but at least it is something slightly different.  Had there been a full covering on snow, and no lights in the background, I would probably be quite happy.  Maybe I’ll try and repeat the image in February.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 2000
f 4.8
30 sec
WB Daylight
3 images – top, middle, bottom

Friday Photo #43 – Reinebringen Twilight

Twilight view from Reinebringen over Reine, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Twilight over Reine from summit of Reinebringen, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  September 25, 2013.  19:48

Clear September skies and hopes of a repeat of the previous night’s Northern Lights led me to the summit of Reinebringen on this day.  Otherwise, I perhaps would have hiked some new mountain somewhere, but the chance at seeing the Aurora fill the night sky over Reine was something I had to go for.  And of course, the view from Reinebringen in one of the best and most iconic ones in Lofoten, so it’s easy for me to find an excuse to go up there.

The clouds that had filled the sky during the afternoon faded away as Twilight and then the blue hour arrived.  My last night on Reinebringen had been in the Summer of 2010, the nights still too short for any really darkness to arrive, so seeing the streetlights come on as the world darkened came a bit as an unexpected, but scenic surprise to me.

Without the lights, the blue tones, and lack of much contrast would have left this scene lacking in contrast in my opinion.  Still scenic, but not special.  The warm glow of the street lights, running across the islands like a slithering snake lead my eye through the image and give overall depth to the scene.  An image I was never expecting to create, but something I’m quite happy to come across.  And I’m sure this won’t be my last night on Reinebringen…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 200
f 8
10 seconds
WB Daylight
2 images – top, bottom

Friday Photo #39 – Himmeltindan Views

View over Flakstadøy from summit of Himmeltind, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: From the Summit of Himmeltindan, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Oct 2, 2012.  14:38

I usually try and save my mountains for when the light is good.  No point in carrying a heavy backpack several thousand vertical feet only to have shit light.  But as the days of Autumn progressed, I seemed to have had some bad timing.  A few days previously, clouds decided to form over Skottind just as I arrived at the summit, and of course they cleared as soon as I was halfway down again.  Now a couple days into October, another unusually mild Autumn day presented itself.  And so I departed Stamsund under nice blue skies and a bright sun, not entirely sure where I was headed, but up something for sure.

As I parked my car at Haukland beach, I could see some high cloud appearing on the horizon and heading in my direction.  Headphones in and some good music blasting out of the Ipod, I set myself a frantic pace as I hit the trail.  I quickly overheated and had to strip down to only a t-shirt, in October!  Higher and higher I ascended, lungs and legs burning while to clouds grew ever nearer to the Autumn sun.

I lost.  By the time reached the 931 meter south summit, barely over an hour after leaving the car, at sea level, the clouds had arrived and the light grew flat.  I met a few soldiers at the top, lucky them, they got to take the elevator inside the mountain.  I half joked if I could catch a ride down and was given a stern ‘No, that won’t be possible.’  I already knew as much, but it was worth a try.  Though I was pleasantly informed that since the radar on the higher north summit was down for maintenance, I was allowed to continue on up there.

The wind blew cold and I didn’t waste too much time hanging around.  While flat light covered the islands, there was at least a bit of interesting light in the sky.  Not the ideal image that I imagined, but not a total loss either.  And all the more reason to head back up again…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 85mm f/2.8 tilt-shift
85mm
ISO 100
f 8
1/250 sec
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #38 – Stamsund Autumn Storm

Dramatic sky over sea, Stamsund, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Autumn Clouds, Stamsund, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Aug 29, 2013.  19:10

When the winds blow strong, I usually keep my head low and spend my time by the warm fireplace in the Stamsund hostel.  Stamsund was one of the reasons I became so enamored with the Islands in the first place, and despite the fact that I wander around much more than my early journeys (before I could afford to rent a car), I still try and spend a good be of time here.

And it’s not all sitting around and sharing stories with other travelers.  There are a few places out on the coastline beyond the hostel that are pretty reliable and sheltered for when the weather gets bad.  It’s a common sight for me to be heading out the door, tripod in hand, to go scrambling over the rocks and out to the sea whenever a break in the rain occurs.

While the mountains of this scene never change, the sky and the sea often due.  If you compare all the photos I’ve taken over the years from pretty much this exact same, you’ll think each one was taken somewhere else.  On this particular day, heavy, wet clouds were sweeping across the islands.  This spot proved to be the only place where I could get myself out of the wind enough to keep my tripod from shaking while the waves crashed just below my feet.

I experimented with a number of exposure times and this one feels the most dynamic to me.  Any slower and there wasn’t quite enough movement in the clouds and they just appeared out of focus.  Much longer and the clouds lost any texture, and lost the stormy appearance what this day was.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 50
f 16
30 seconds
WB Daylight
6 Stop B+W Neutral Density filter
2 Images – Top/Bottom

Friday Photo #34 – Munkebu Hut in Autumn

Munkebu mountain hut with Hermannsdalstinen peak in distance, Moskenesøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Munkebu hut and Hermannsdalstind in Autumn, Moskenesøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Oct 7, 2012.  13:27

My last full day on the islands for 2012.  After a rather stormy last few days, the weather cleared up and I decided to make one last journey into the hills.  I had originally planned on getting an early start to the day and maybe making an attempt on Hermannsdalstind, but that didn’t happen; perhaps because I stayed up too late the previous night looking for Northern Lights.

By this time in the year, end of the first week of October, nearly all the trees across the islands had lost their leaves.  While this left much of the islands somewhat barren looking as they awaited the arrival of the first snows, the low, ground foliage still had some nice color to be seen.

I had actually planned at staying a night or two in the Munkebu hut in August or September, but someone decided to infect the place with bed bugs (eeeekkk!), so it was closed the majority of the 2012 Summer season (as far as I have read, it has been re-opened for 2013, but that’s probably a bit late news for you if you’re reading this now).  But as I’d never been up here before, I decided just to start hiking and see where I ended up for the day.

While I think this area is quite a beautiful part of the islands, and one of the the most isolated parts of Moskenesøya, one of the landscape photographers greatest nemeses is present, power lines!  grrr!  There would be some beautiful, untouched views from up here, yet a row of power lines always seem to find their way into the best composition.  And I’m not even sure what they’re doing way out here, and the poor guys that had to put them in in the first place, but they’re there.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70f/2.8
29mm
ISO 200
f 8
1/200 sec
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #20 – Rolvsfjord

Reflection of misty mountains and village, Rolvsfjord, Lofoten Islands, Norway
Photo: Rolvsfjord, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Sept. 29, 2011.  13:03

If you spend enough time on the islands you’ll soon come to realize that the weather changes quite literally around every corner.  Taking the southern coastal road, 815, on Vestvågøya towards Svolvaer the seas were choppy an rough.  Until I rounded a corner near Rolvsfjord and the land sat in perfect calm.

Normally I avoid images with so many buildings, but something about this scene seemed too good to pass by.  Or perhaps it was merely that I’d yet to have anything for the day to show for.  But this image feels somewhat surreal and otherworldly to me.  The contrast of the fir trees to the amber colors of Autumn and the rising clouds of a recently passed shower help give depth to the image while the almost welcoming landscape seems soft and forgiving.  Almost something Lord of the Rings like in character.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 24-70 f-2.8
38mm
ISO 200
f 9
1/50 sec
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #19 – Stamsund Blue

Dark weather over coast, Stamsund, Lofoten islands, Norway
Photo: Stamsund blue, Stamsund, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Oct. 1, 2011.  16:41

I am not sure how many hours of my life I have stood in this location, the outer coast beyond the Stamsund youth hostel, but it is probably well into a day by now.  My more or less default spot when the weather is grim and I dare not venture too far from the warm fire burning in the old Eidsfos Verk #242.

On this gloomy autumn day, this is the only place I ventured to in hopes of a few images so as not to feel the day a complete waste.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 24-70 f-2.8
70mm
ISO 100
f 11
61 sec
WB Daylight
2 images – top/bottom

Friday Photo #6 – Maervoll Autumn

Dramatic light over mountains and coast, Maervoll, Lofoten islands, Norway

Photo: Afternoon light shines over Mærvoll and Himmeltindan, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Oct 7, 2011.  17:17

Thus far the day had consisted of flat, misty light and I’d only taken a couple boring photos.  As evening approached I headed out to Unstad to see if there might be some clearing on the horizon.  There was, but it was out of alignment with any photogenic composition.  And the wind, it was a bit too windy for my small little tripod to have any hopes of a sharp photo.  So at that, I packed up my gear and started heading back to Stamsund for the night.

Emerging on the other side of the tunnel, this scene came into view.  A light mistily rain was minutes away from falling on me and the sun had just started shining through a hole in the clouds, casting a soft golden light across the land.  So I stopped the car on the side of the road and raced to get a few photos before the rain arrived.

While I find the symmetry of this scene pleasing, there are also some distractions that can make a good composition a bit difficult.  Just out of frame to the right is a sit of power lines on the hillside.  And along the bottom of the fjord is the village of Maervoll.  Keeping the foreground dark helps reduce the impact of the village, while a tighter framing keeps out the power lines, although I think the scene would be a bit better if I could go a bit wider.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
42mm
ISO 200
f 8
1/400 sec
WB Daylight
Single Image
No Filters

Friday Photo #2 – Autumn on Offersoykammen

Offersoykammen lofoten islands hiking

Photo: Autumn sunset from summit of Offersøykammen, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands.  October 3, 2012

To coincide with this weeks new hiking guide, here’s a photo from the summit of Offersøykammen, a small, isolated mountain peak on the western most edge of Vestvågøya.

Autumn on Offersøykammen: The day so far had been a typical blustery Autumn day on Lofoten; clouds and rain, light and shadow.  But as late afternoon approached, and having nearly driven around the whole of Vestvågøya, I knew I had yet to capture an image that would represent the day, and more importantly, the brilliance of Autumn on the Lofoten Islands.  The previous day I had also hiked up Himmentindan, the highest peak on Vestvågøya, so I was telling my legs I’d give them a rest day.  And so with that in mind, I figured I might as well make the easy hike up Offersøykammen and see what the light would provide.

I reached the summit as the sun was hanging low over the mountains of Flakstadøya in the west, casting a brilliant golden light over the colourful Autumn foliage on the relatively flat summit.  I shot several compositions including various rocks as a foreground element, but this scene seemed the most balanced to me.

As I waited around for the sun to lower, I noticed a mist begin to form around the mountain below me.  This soon turned into light clouds blowing over the ridge, climbing higher and higher until the summit was surrounded by a sea of clouds.  I went back to the rocks and made this image, as I like the way the mist had a softening effect on the light.  10 minutes later, I was in a complete whiteout, the sun now invisible.  And so my hopes of sunset were gone.

As I left the summit and descended back below the clouds I soon discovered that I had pretty much chosen the only peak to be covered in clouds, nearly everything else remained free and clear in the softening evening light.  But looking back, I think the clouds had near perfect timing for the creation of this image, something maybe a bit more special than I would have seen had it not arrived.

Technical notes: Image is from a single RAW file processed twice: once for foreground and once for background.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70 f/2.8
24mm
ISO 100
f 13
1/10 sec
WB Daylight
Single Image
No Filters