Friday Photo #108 – Mountains of Moskenesoy

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Lofoten Mountain landscape

Photo: View over Moskenesøy from Branntuva, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Septermber 15, 2014.  15:10

Branntuva is lonely and rarely hiked mountain deep in the heart of Moskenesøy, with most of the upper part of the mountain trail-less.

After hiking Markan the previous day, Branntuva seemed like the next best target from my base camp at Fageråskaret pass. And unlike the day before, there was hardly a cloud in the sky this day, only a low fog approaching from the sea creating a light mist in the lower valleys.

Fromt the summit, there are fantastic view in nearly every direction, especially the overlook of Horseid beach.  But of all the choices, I found this scene of all these steep ridges leading towards the high peak of Hermannsdalstind to be one of the best.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 85mm f/2.8 tilt-shift
85mm
ISO 100
f 9.5
1/400 second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #107 – Branntuva Sunset

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Sunset over Branntuva, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Sunset over Branntuva from the summit of Markan, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  September 14, 2014.  19:24

Following up on last weeks image, here is another view from the summit of Markan.  The mountain to the left of the image is Branntuva, which was actually the original goal for this afternoon, until I figured I would not have enough time to get to the summit, so I made the wise decision to turn for Markan instead. – I hiked up Branntuva the following day.

For me, this part of Moskenesøy is one of the most scenic and wild parts of Lofoten.  And each time I reach the summit of one mountain, I’m looking at the dozen other peaks surrounding me and imagining what the views from they are like…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
19mm
ISO 200
f 8
1/30 second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #106 – Markan Sunset

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Markan, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Autumn mountain light from the summit of Markan (600m), Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  September 14, 2014.  18:54

Waiting for sunset from the summit of Markan was one of the more memorable moments of my autumn travels on Lofoten.

It was one of those days that either turns out really bad or completely rewarding.  Luckily I had the reward this time, which is better than can be said for the last time I passed by Marken, hiking as fast as I could to keep ahead of an approaching storm.

On this afternoon it seemed as if rain would begin to fall at any moment, yet it never did.  All that happened was that the light got better and better until the sun was finally low on the horizon and the colors began to fade.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 200
f 9
1/160 second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #104 – Storsandnes Northern Lights

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Lofoten Islands Northern Lights

Photo: Northern Lights over Storsandnes beach, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  September 16, 2014.  22.10

Wow – it’s 2015!  And even more wow, this photo marks the 2 year anniversary since I started this Friday Photo series, mostly as a way to keep adding something fresh to the website when I otherwise had nothing else to add.  Hopefully I have enough words for anther two years…

Here’s another aurora image from the same night as Friday Photo #100.  I like Storsandnes as an area for auroras as the horizon is fairly open, giving you a decent overview of what the northern lights might be doing, allowing me to make the decision to stay or head someplace else with a better composition.

On this night, I had been contentedly sitting around the campfire we had made, so I decided to stay and just enjoy the night.  I set my little Fuji XT-1 up on some rocks to take a time-lapse sequence, then set about grabbing a few images myself.

When the auroras began, there was still enough glow on the horizon to add a bit of light to the overall scene.  One of the difficulties of shooting in autumn, and when the moon is not out, is the darkness of the land.  Without winter’s snow covering the mountains, the nighttime autumn landscape easily becomes nothing more than black silhouettes agains the sky, something which I’m not all that fond of, to tell the truth.

Yet, with day’s light still fading, the added color and brightness helps separate the horizon, adding a bit of depth to the scene which is otherwise lost as the sky grows darker…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 1000
f 3.5
25 seconds
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #103 – Clouds and Light

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Stornappstind, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Rays of light over Napp from Stornappstind, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  September 21, 2014.  14:38

Stornappstind is one of those mountains that I’ve driven by dozens of times and always think to myself, ‘I should hike up there soon.’  Yet that soon never seems to arrive.  But finally on this trip, the mountain found it’s place near the top of my ‘to hike’ list.

As morning arrived a cold wind was blowing from the east.  It had been several days since my last hike, and at other times I probably would have skipped going out on a day such as it was, but I was too restless to sit around.

Leaving the hostel in Stamsund, I still wasn’t sure which mountain to hike.  But with the strong wind, and at times rain and snow blowing across the islands, I though something on a western facing slope would offer the best shelter for most of the way up.  Stornappstind fit the description, and so I headed to the parking area.

Climbing higher up the mountain I was relieved when snow, rather than rain began to fall in wave after wave of passing clouds and wind.  And then it would clear and rays of light would break through the clouds and dance across the land below…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
38mm
ISO 200
f 131/100 second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #102 – Markan Mountain Light

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Markan, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Autumn light over Kråkhammartind from the summit of Markan, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  September 14, 2014.  18:35

It was already late afternoon by the time I reached my planned mountain camp at Fageråskaret pass, deep into the mountains of Moskenesøy.  I had passed this way the previous year – while running from a quickly approaching storm – and figured it would be a good base camp to explore a few of the nearby mountains.

Initially, I thought of heading up Branntuva, but after a few minutes heading cross-country towards the summit – there is no trail – it was evident that it would take more time than there was light left in the day.  And so I returned to the pass and began heading up the ridge towards Markan.

The weather hadn’t quite cleared as much as the forecast predicted, and I was worried that I would get rained out.  But as I ascended higher and higher, I noticed a bit of sunlight beginning to break through the clouds.

Reaching the summit, the light was fantastic.  One of those perfect combinations of stormy mountain light, but still mild enough where you can take photos!  I rarely have mountain days like this, and I don’t think I could have chosen a better peak than Markan on this day.  It was fantastic to watch the light travel across the near vertical peak of Kråkhammartind.

You can checkout the hiking guide for Markan – HERE

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-240mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 200
f 11
1/60 second
WB Daylight
3 image pano

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Friday Photo #101 – Tent And Auroras

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Lofoten Islands Northern Lights

Photo: Northern Lights over Tent, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  September 22, 2014.  22:44

The journey to Munkebu hut is now a fairly familiar one for me, but the goal of this particular journey into the mountain of Moskenesøy was targeted at the peak of Munken.  With forecasts for clear skies, I figured it would be good to get another night in the mountains, in hopes of photographing some northern lights.

I have spent a good many nights in the mountains of Lofoten, but for some reason, they sky often remains quiet for me.  Not on this night though!

With the lengthening nights of Autumn, it’s not very practical to sit outside and wait for Northern Lights to possibly show up, not to mention the sub zero temperatures.  So I set my alarm to ring every 15-20 minutes so I can look out of the tent to see if the sky is doing anything.  On this night I didn’t have to wait long until I noticed a bright streak of green beginning to appear in the sky.

I first went off to setup my little Fuji XT-1 to shoot a time-lapse before returning to the tent to grab my main camera (Nikon D800) to see what else I could come up with.  The tent seemed like it would be nice, so here it is…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
16mm
ISO 1250
f 3.2
20 seconds
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #100 – Campfire Aurora

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Campfire and Northern Lights, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Beach side campfire and Northern Lights, Storsandnes, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  September 16, 2014.  22:48

After two nights in the mountains I was sort of looking forward to a shower.  But unfortunately for us, the forecast was for another night of clear skies, so instead of the warming fire and soft bed of the Stamsund hostel, it was to be a night sleeping in the car.

A couple weeks earlier I had gotten in brief contact with Theo and Bee, a British couple traveling around Europe in their VW van – checkout their website and blog at VDubVanLife.  Anyhow, I sent them a text to see if they were up for an afternoon BBQ and campfire. They were.

Seeing as how we were both were sleeping in our vehicles, I figured Storsandnes would be a decent location – a good place for a BBQ, and if any northern lights decided to show up, a pretty good spot as well.

I love the month of September for its somewhat rare combination of (relatively) mild nights combined with long hours of darkness.  The only equivalent darkness you will find is in March, when you generally don’t want to spend all that much time outdoors.

As evening progressed, I decided we couldn’t carry on without a campfire, so Theo and I scoured the coast to collect driftwood for our campfire.  Luckily, this is an area seldom camped in, so there was plenty of wood to be found, enough for two nights of campfires as it turned out.

We sat around enjoying the fire for a while, but soon enough, I noticed that faint green glow in the sky; the horizon still carrying the colors of the day’s end.  At that point, the photographer kicks in and any enjoyment of the campfire disappears.  Well, that was until Theo and I thought the girls sitting around the fire with northern lights above would make for a nice photo.  And then proceeded to tell them to ‘sit still’ for the next 20 or so minutes…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 2500
f 3.2
15 seconds
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #99 – September Northern Lights

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Lofoten Islands Northern Lights

Photo: Northern lights fill sky over Gimsøystraumen, Austvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Sept 24, 2014.  21:31

September 2014 had already been a spectacular month for auroras on Lofoten, probably my best month ever.  So as October, and my planned departure from the islands, approached, I was content, but still always hoping for maybe just one more…

With a forecast of some pretty heavy storms to hit the islands in the following days, we took advantage of what would likely be the last night of clear weather for the trip and camped out on the coast near Henningsvær.  And as luck would have it, just after dark, a faint glow began to appear in the western sky, before finally erupting in almost 180˚ of aurora which lasted for hours.  A good farewell to a month in the north.

Photographing the northern lights in the autumn is a different experience than winter.  There is no need to polar expedition style down jackets, as at least on Lofoten, the temperatures often remain quite mild – though it did dip down to freezing on a couple nights.  But what I don’t like as much is the lack of snow.  If there is no moonlight, then all you will have are black mountain silhouettes in the foreground unless you can find a nice piece of water for a reflection and some separation.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
17mm
ISO 1600
f 3.2
8 seconds
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #98 – Grytdalstind And River

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View towards Grytdalstind mountain peak, Vestvagoy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Grytdalsdind rises over river at dusk, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Sept 24, 2013.  18:38

The river Nordalselva flows through Nordal valley before rising into the triangular peak of Grytdalstind.  Only a short walk from Unstad, it feels completely wild here, with few signs that anyone has passed this way before you.

It had been an afternoon hiking and exploring, ending on the 534 meter, and quite exposed, summit of Grytdalstind.  Getting lost on the numerous sheep trails during the descent, we lost a fair amount of time going cross country through the landscape.  Normally this is fairly simple on Lofoten, but this area seemed to be especially rocky and with a few forests of dwarf birch to precariously navigate.

We were exiting the valley just as the last light was shining over the summit of Grytdalstind.  I tried to find a good composition, but was too late in the quickly fading light.  So I continued to hike on until I reached one of the crossings of the Nordalselva and thought it would make an interesting enough photo.  I crossed the river and headed back up the other side until I reached a wider section, and I place I could get to without sinking in bog.

Had I been here about 20 minutes earlier, it would have no doubt been a much more dramatic photo.  But I think the scene here is interesting enough to represent the end of a nice autumn day in the mountains of Lofoten.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 200
f 13
15 seconds
WB Daylight
B+W 6 stop neutral density filter

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