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Friday Photo #663 – Reinebringen Aurora

Photo: Northern lights over Reine from Reinebringen, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. September 27, 2020. 22:32

The Midnight sun season on Lofoten often gets the recognition for insomnia and sleepless nights among visitors. But once the sun sets in the north, the sleepless nights continue, but for a different reason: Northern Lights. If I actually think about it, being a photographer in Lofoten means pretty terrible sleep patterns throughout the year – and mostly just staying up quite late, regardless of if it’s winter or summer.

On this particular evening, all the date was looking promising for a decent aurora and so I decided to head to Reine and hike up Reinebringen. I’ve made several unsuccessful attempts over the years, but at least with the Sherpa stairs having been mostly completed by this point in 2020, the mountain was much easier to ascend/descend in the darkness – and now that the stairs are fully completed, its even easier.

As evening progressed and I could see the first aurora, I could also see a lay of clouds approaching. And while I was able to get some ok compositions, the clouds eventually came in and blocked out the best of the evening’s aurora.

Compositionally, it is also quite a difficult location for northern lights, especially when they are in the more easter and southern part of the sky. I would have perhaps been better with a slightly less active aurora closer to the horizon so I could look more north. In the case of this image though, it is two images, a lower and an upper, both at 14mm, to get both the city and the northern lights in the image. A single image alone would not have worked under these conditions and I would have missed too much of the sky or foreground.

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Sigma 14mm f/1.8
14mm
ISO 2000
f2
2 Seconds
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #662 – Solbjørnvatn

Photo: Autumn rain showers passing over Solbjørnvatnet, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. September 3, 2021. 16:44

This afternoon didn’t start out as rainy as this as I was wandering round the hilly landscape on the southern side of Solbjørnvatnet on Moskenesøy. I was semi-planning to hike Narvtiden on this afternoon but as I gained a little more elevation, it became quite clear that the weather was going to shift, not the best time to be on the steep and exposed trail to the summit. And so I hid in a small cave I found and waited out the worst of the rain.

Eventually the heaviest of the showers began to break up and beams of sunlight shined through the clouds. While often wish there would be a little less rain during Lofoten’s autumn – mainly for better northern lights – the autumn rain does make for much more dramatic landscapes and light than what typically occurs in summer.

And so I returned to my van quite soggy after this afternoon.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 24-200-f/4-6.3
37mm
ISO 100
f/8
1/1000 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #661 – Mountain Light

Photo: Beam of light shines from behind Breiflogtind, Lofotodden National Park, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. August 9, 2020. 21:51

There are many days in which I wish I could instantly teleport to several different mountain tops at once. This sunset was one of those moments. I wouldn’t even have needed to go far, just to one of the mountains you can see here, or perhaps the summit of Smeden, which is out of frame on the right, but would have a fantastic view towards the twin-peaked mountain, Breiflogtinden.

But I was on the other side of Kirkefjord, in steep and trail-less terrain, and camp already setup for the night. So I wasn’t going to get far on this evening. There were also some nice compositions in my vicinity, but had I known the rainy day was going to turn into this sunset, I would have chosen to go elsewhere…

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Nikon 70-200mm f/4
70mm
ISO 100
f6.3
1/60 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #660 – A Glimpse Of Light

Photo: A faint midnight aurora over glowing horizon of late August, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. August 29, 2025. 00:10

After weeks of clouds, rain, and wind this August, last finally showed a weather forecast for a cloudless sky. The aurora season has already started here on Lofoten and so I was optimistic for my first shots of the season. while the northern horizon still glows bright at this time of year, the hours around midnight to two am are sufficiently dark for any moderate aurora activity to be visible, especially if it heads in a more southernly direction. And so I kept a close watch out the window has the evening hours progressed.

Around 23:30 I saw a first faint glow of green over the mountains of Himmeltindan and so I grabbed my camera and headed down to the beach. I actually drove down instead of the 2 minute walk, because I was hoping I’d eventually drive elsewhere as the night progressed. But it didn’t

The faint soon disappeared. Though that is being generous, as it was barely visible anyhow. From time to time, a little green would brighten here and there, mostly keeping low to the glowing northern horizon. I stayed on the beach until well after midnight until I decided it wasn’t going to be my night and went home – though still keeping an eye out the window for a little while longer.

Had this been April, I wouldn’t have even bothered going out. But for my first aurora of the season, I guess I need to put in a little bit of effort, even if that effort is just standing on an empty beach for an hour.

The weather still looks good for the next days, so maybe tonight or tomorrow I’ll have a little more luck, and a better picture to post for next week.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 20mm f/1.8
20mm
ISO 640
f2.2
2.5 Seconds
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #659 – Aurora Season

Photo: September northern lights – aurora borealis rise into sky over Myrland beach, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. September 2, 2024. 00:41

I had been hoping this week’s photo would be of my first northern lights of the season. After weeks of rain and cloudy skies, some clear skies were finally in the forecast last night and so I was optimistic for an early season aurora photo. But as the sky darkened near midnight, it was aided by a giant cloud that seemed to sit over my valley until after 01:00. I could see elsewhere on Lofoten some northern lights were spotted, but it wouldn’t be so for me. And with rain returning this afternoon and throughout the weekend, it will probably be some days before I spot my first green in the sky.

And so, this week’s image is my first aurora from last year, taken on the early morning hours of September 2. This is actually somewhat late for my first aurora of the season, but last year was a rainy autumn as well, which this year seems on track to repeat, unfortunately.

And realistically, while the northern lights become visible from Lofoten starting around August 16/17 at the earliest, the sky is still too bright for much photography and the aurora will mostly only be visible higher in the sky. By the first days of September though, the northern horizon has faded into a deep amber glow with sufficient darkness for the aurora to be visible from the horizon.

It might not be something people think about, but early season auroras actually become visible further south at first – assuming sufficient solar activity, and work their way north. This is because, at the moment, the sky is simply darker at 65˚N than 68˚N. The further north sky won’t pass the darkness of the southern sky until the autumnal equinox, at which point the high north becomes darker, eventually reaching the polar night north of the Arctic Circle.

For example, The Lofoten Islands, at 68˚N have a slightly longer aurora season than Tromsø which is at 69˚N. Tromsø’s sky stays brighter longer in the late summer, and gets brighter earlier in the early spring.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Sigma 14mm f/1.8
14mm
ISO 2000
f2
6 Seconds
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #658 – The Wind Trees

Photo: Mountain birch tree on Haugheia overlooking Nappstraumen, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. August 14, 2025. 14:38

The weather has shifted and it feels like autumn is in the air. Last week I was down along the Helgeland coastline for a bit of a road trip and while the weather started off nice – too hot even – for a hike up Rødøyløva, it quickly deteriorated to wind and rain for much of the remained of the trip. I had planned to go to some mountain areas closer to the Swedish border as well, but it was evident that I would just get wet without much reward for photography. And so I headed back to Lofoten, where it is still rainy and windy, and looks to be so for the foreseeable future. I hope this year is not a repeat of last year.

With autumn around the corner and after a fairly lazy summer without much hiking, long overdue house projects had priority on any sunny days, it is time to get my legs moving again in preparation for planned autumn hiking season over in Sweden. Though this year I must say I don’t have too much motivation as I don’t currently have any ebook hiking projects underway. So I probably just go somewhere easy and hike for a week or so, and hopefully not the entire time in the rain.

Haugheia (hiking guide here), which I pass on the way to Leknes is my usual stop when I need to go for an hour walk just to get some movement in for the day. While most of the views are nothing too interesting, especially if I’m up there in grey-ish weather, the small grove of wind-twisted mountain birch trees on the western side is always an area I like to photograph. So even if just for a bit of exercise, I still always carry my camera just in case.

This tree here used to be part of one of my favourite compositions in the area – see Friday Photo #408. Unfortunately, the tree you see lying in the foreground also used to be part of the composition, but has since fallen in one of Lofoten’s many winter storms. It is a windy place up there along the ridgeline, which is what makes the trees what they are.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 24-120 f/4
48mm
ISO 100
f5.6
1/320 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #657 – The Flow of Fog

Photo: Summer sea fog flows around the summit of Olstinden as seen from Reinebringen, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. July 19, 2019. 20:32

This summer, like most summers had some foggy days on the Yttersia of Lofoten once the sun finally came out in July and the temperature rose over 20˚c. On several occasions I was taken by surprise on an otherwise sunny start to the day as the fog rolled in and interfered with bbq and beach day plans – its not really fun to sit outside in a cold, grey mist. One should always be weary of a north wind on a warm summer day.

Since I can’t move my house, I’m generally stuck on the foggy side of Lofoten. But on many occasions I saw camper vans and motorhomes camped along my road on these grey, dreary days. I wonder if they knew that just driving a few kilometres to the south side of Lofoten, they’s have full sunshine and a nice summer day. That it where I would go at least.

In this photo, taken on an August evening from Reinebringen, you can see the fog flowing in from the left and swirling around Olstinden. This was quite a strong layer of fog, as you can see it flowing over 600-700 meter mountains in the background. But even then, Reine village – out of frame to the bottom right, remained fog free. So being in the right or wrong location on these days can make a big difference.

If you are hiking, being in the mountains is usually the right location, as being above the fog in the evening light is one of the coolest experiences in my opinion, especially photographically. And I think using long-ish exposures to capture the flow of the fog works better than shorter shutter speeds, at least in situations like this where the sun is out of frame. In the 30 seconds of this exposure, you can see the flow of the fog as it attempts to reach Reine.

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Nikon 24-70 f/2.8
62mm
ISO 100
f10
30 Seconds
WB Daylight
10 stop Neutral Density filter

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Friday Photo #656 – Curlew Twilight

Photo: Curlew in July midnight twilight, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. July, 21, 2025. 23:53

I haven’t had much luck with the Arctic Skuas in my neighbourhood this year. I have seen them flying directly over my house on several occasions in the last weeks, but anytime I head out to the moorlands to take a look, just silence… Silence from the Arctic Skuas at least, but the neighbourhood is still alive with life for the next few weeks as various types of young fledgling chicks gain strength for their long migrations south.

The curlew parents fly around in an attempt to distract you from their chicks, which sit absolutely still in the bushy heather attempting to remain unseen. The young chick from the curlew in this image happened to be just along the side of the trail as I was passing by. Had I been a hungry fox, it would have been an easy meal. But I was more interested in getting a nice shot of the parent, as it was obvious I wasn’t having any luck with the Skuas on this evening.

With the sun soon setting combined with a layer of fog out to sea, it was getting dark-ish for wildlife photography at midnight. The curlew was often in front of mountains and other vegetation most of the time as it flew around and landed on various small outcroppings. This was too dark and pushed my ISO up to 25600 at times. It wasn’t until it finally landed in an area overlooking the sea where I could get more light from the brighter open background and distant mountains. I could also drop my shutter speed a little as well as the bird luckily remained still for long enough to get a few shots.

The following morning as I was walking to the shower, two of the Arctic Skuas flew right outside my bathroom window… Perhaps I should just sit on the toilet for my future wildlife photography attempts.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 180-600mm f/536-6.3
300mm
ISO 2800
f6.3
1/640 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #655 – Summer Harvest

Photo: Norwegian Marshmallows – Plastic wrapped hay bales from late July grass cutting, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. July 23, 2025. 03:16

The grass cutting in my area was late this year, not occurring until this week. Though reading the local news, it seems the cool and wet start to this year’s summer led to a smaller yield than normal. So perhaps they waited a little longer for a bit of extra growth. Or perhaps they were just busy during the week+ or sunshine and 20˚c summer days Lofoten has experienced recently. Though now as August approaches, it looks like the weather may be shifting with more rain and wind on the forecast.

I don’t know why, but I like to photograph the hay bales each year. By the time the cut the field the wildflowers and grasses are already too overgrown for the field to looking very nice as a photographic subject itself – This from late may until late June, after which the grasses grow taller than the flowers.

I usually go out at sunrise – 03:16 in this case, and wander around the fields. There has also been a lot of fog in my area the last week, which would ebb and flow throughout the day, but occasionally clear during the very early morning hours – the ‘clouds’ in this image are from clearing sea fog, not actual clouds.

Summer still has a long way to go on Lofoten – at least another month hopefully! But with the cutting of the fields, and now the setting sun as well, it begins to feel like the inevitable turning of the seasons is upon us, and the first autumn storms are not far away. Which I’m not quite sure why, as before I moved here, August was when I usually preferred to visit, as there was at least a bit of darkness for camping. And still for some weeks, the days are longer here than anywhere on the continent during midsummer, so it’s not like it’s really dark now. Perhaps it is just the observing the slow change of seasons and light, and knowing the summers are short here in the north – so you want to hold on to the sun for a little while longer.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 24-120mm
39mm
ISO 100
f11
1/50 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #654 – New Parking Regulations

Photo: New 4-hour parking limit signs installed at Skreda rest area, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. July 15, 2025. 14:06

A couple weeks ago in Lofotposten it was announced that Statens Vegvesen (Norwegian road authority) was planning to install a dozen or so parking time limit signs along the E-10 in Lofoten, Driving to and from Leknes this week, I noticed one of the new signs had just been installed at the Skreda rest area, which is the marking parking location for the popular Offersøykammen hike. Parking is now limited to 4-hours.

In other locations, 2-hour limitations have already been installed – like the parking area at Skagsanden beach, a popular surf location for locals and tourists a like in winter. So I guess surf session will be quite limited.

With 20˚c weather finally arriving this week, the weather isn’t the only thing which has heated up as the usual parking chaos at Haukland beach even lead to a farmer abandoning is tractor in the middle of the road, as illegally parked cars blocked the roadway and he couldn’t drive further. I was at Haukland at 10:30 yesterday morning with my first group of cruise ship guests and the parking lot was already completely full.

The main intent of these new time limit signs is an attempt to stop every parking location across Lofoten from turning into de-facto free campgrounds, which has been the case. Part of this has also come from truck drivers who are required to take breaks by law, but find their parking areas already filled with motorhomes and camper vans staying for the night. But driving by Skreda a couple nights ago, it seemed the signs had only a little affect as a dozen or so people were still camped there at 03:00 – and its not like anyone is going out to write tickets at this hour. So, I imagine for Skreda at least, camping will continue as usual.

As always, the Lofoten communities have poor inter-island cooperation. So limiting the parking in a larger parking area like Skreda will now just push the 15-20 free-campers somewhere else and make it someone else’s problem. And then more new signs and fences will be put and and everyone will get moved somewhere else again. Until finally there is no place for anyone to park and enjoy Lofoten’s nature.

The Lofoten that existed 10 years ago is gone. The freedom to pull off alone in some quiet spot and camp for the night has been replaced with no-camping signs, fences, time limits, paid parking, full campgrounds, and, for the last few remaining free parking areas, motorhomes and camper vans packed in like sardines – defiantly not how I would enjoy things. And this then makes finding parking for hiking more difficult for everyone, locals and tourists alike. But no politician is creative enough here to come up with shuttle bus systems to relieve traffic to popular areas like Haukland beach or Fredvang/Kvalvika beach or other solutions to the growing traffic along Lofoten’s outdated narrow roads. And so Lofoten becomes a neglected victim of its own popularity to the benefit of few.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 25-120mm
57mm
ISO 100
f8
1/400 Second
WB Daylight

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