Friday Photo #702 – Midnight Glow

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Photo: Midnight glow from behind the mountains of Moskenes, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 20, 2019. 00:11

Sunday is the summer solstice which marks the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. Although for Lofoten, where the sun has been above the horizon for nearly a month now, it has already been a long ‘day.’ What it does mark though is the sun’s highest point over the northern horizon. From now, the sun will turn and begins its journey south again.

But not to worry if you haven’t reached Lofoten yet – the sun will remain above the horizon until July 17 or so. And it won’t begin to get dark again until the second half of August. There is still plenty more summer light left to enjoy.

Often, I actually find the solstice period a bit boring for photography, as the sun remains quite high in the evening sky. Yet on this evening, some nice light managed to shine through the mountains from the back of Reinefjord as misty clouds swept across the landscape.

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Nikon 70-200mm f/4
175mm
ISO 100
f6.3
1/40 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #701 – Misty Dawn

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Photo: Misty clouds swirl over the landscape after a night of summer rain, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 7, 2021. 06:53

This was one of those weather forecasts where it could be very good, or it could just be ‘ehh.’ It ended up more on the ‘ehh’ side of things.

I had been hoping for some nice evening light over Horseid beach while camped high on the ridge between Markan and Branntuva peaks. But what I had hoped to be some stormy-ish light just ended up being a mostly grey sky – until the midnight rains arrived and I headed into my tent.

Despite missing any evening light, the one benefit of the rain was misty clouds rising across the landscape in the early morning hours. The light was still flat and grey – the sun hidden behind thick clouds. But at least the rising low clouds added some depth and contrast to the otherwise completely flat light. Not what I had hiked up the mountain hoping to find, but it could have been worse…

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 24-200mm f/4-6.3
38mm
ISO 100
f7.1
1/250 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #700 – Lofoten Nightlife

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Photo: Willow Ptarmigan – Rype in Norwegian – enjoying the evening summer sun, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. May 18, 2026. 23:05

With Lofoten’s roads filling up with motorhomes and the mountains with hikers it is good to remember that most of Lofoten’s breeding birds are ground nesting. And in the case of the common gulls – sometimes this nest can be in the middle of a parking lot. Not always the best of locations.

When out hiking or camping at this time of year it is important to be mindful of where you walk. Even when I’m going out to take photos of the flowers in the fields outside my house, I have to be careful where I step, even though I’m generally aware of where most of the nest are, some can be extremely well hidden amongst the growing grass and flowers.

The Ptarmigan in this photo is just a visitor. What you can’t see because of the lighting is a common gull – Fiskemåke – sitting on a nest in the grass on the edge of the rock. Even knowing it’s there, I have to look closely. Though as soon as I walk out into my backyard, I’ll receive a close dive-bomb by one of the parents – which trade of pooping on the roof of my sauna as they keep watch from the chimney.

The Ptarmigan here was a tolerated visitor on an otherwise claimed piece of property. Had ravens or crows made a visit, they would have quickly been mobbed away. But for now, most of the birds are at peace with each other. Once the chicks hatch in a another week or two, then all peace ends and the fight for survival begins.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 180-600 f/5.6/6.3
250mm
ISO 280
f5.6
1/1000 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #699 – Midnight Sun

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Photo: Midnight sun under Fredvang bridge, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. May 29, 2021. 00:43

The midnight sun season has officially begun on Lofoten! The sun will be in the sky 24 hours a day from now until mid July, when it finally sinks below the northern horizon again. As I like to repeat, the term midnight sun is a bit of a misnomer. Yes, the sun is above the horizon at midnight – but its actual lowest point in the sky will be around 01:00 – where it still remains above the horizon as well. But ‘midnight sun’ just sounds nicer.

I took this image completely by accident. I was driving home from an evening hike in the Reine area and when I passed by the bridge with the sun underneath I had to turn around and go back for a photo.

My timing was slightly off by about 5 minutes or so. It would have been nice to get the sun centered under the bridge. I’ve kept it in my mind over the years to go back and try again, but it has never quite worked out. One of these days…

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Nikon 200-500 f/5.6
320mm
ISO 800
f5.6
1/1000 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #698 – Spring Flowers

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Photo: Spring buttercup flowers in evening sunlight, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. May 19, 2026. 22:59

I think it’s now safe to say that spring has arrived on Lofoten – possibly summer even with some of the temperatures during the last week; though rain returns tonight and throughout the weekend. Not good timing for my first cruise ship group of the season, but as I always say, no predating the weather on Lofoten – it doest what it likes, no matter what the calendar says.

I’ve still been spending long hours on the computer trying to finish up some updates on my Kungsleden trail ebooks before the summer hiking season begins. The end is in sight, but still a lot of hours left.

Ironically, the only day I’ve gone hiking in the last week was a grey-ish flat light days with occasional drops of rain. I didn’t even take my camera out of the backpack. The only photos I have taken in the last week are in the evening light of the wildflowers in my neighbourhood fields. It’s hard to sit at the computer when I can see golden light shining in my window at 23:00! By next week, Lofoten will be under the 24 hour daylight of the midnight sun. Time goes fast.

I was originally shooting a slightly different composition with mountains in the background, but I couldn’t quite get the flowers to work for the foreground, I still think they needed a few more days to grow a bit more. But when the sun emerged from a layer of clouds, I noticed the back-lit flowers looked a little more interesting. I’m not sure if the sun is a bit too overpowering in the sky, but overall, not too bad of an image for 5 minutes outside my house an hour before midnight. Now back to ebook editing.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 24-120mm f/4
79mm
ISO 100
f5
1/250 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #697 – Midnight Skua

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Photo: Arctic skua flies low over moorland, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 18, 2022. 00:22

This week’s photo is one from the archives as I’m fully concentrated in ebook editing mode to get my hiking guides updated for the upcoming summer season. West Lofoten Hikes has already been updated, and the Kungsldeden guides are up next; hopefully finished by the end of next week.

But this photo, an artic skua flying at midnight over the moorlands of my valley is not completely random. It should be sometime soon in which the skuas hopefully return to Lofoten. Every time I see a flutter of bird activity over in the moorlands I give a quick scan with my binoculars looking for a dark shape flying swiftly through the sky. No luck so far, but maybe soon.

Though the last years I haven’t had much luck with my neighbourhood skuas. They were here, as I’d see them flying right outside my windows once a week or so – obviously with no camera nearby. Or on several occasions they were sitting on some rocks down on the beach as I would drive by. Again, with no camera nearby.

On the random occasions I would head out into the moorlands with a bit of purpose, nothing. Well, plenty of gulls of course, but no skuas to be seen. Hopefully this summer I have a bit more luck.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6
360mm
ISO 250
f5.6
1/4000 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #696 – Between Seasons

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Photo: Evening spring rainbow over farm, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. May 7, 2026. 21:25

It is that time of year where each day the weather rolls the dice and decides if it will still be winter or maybe spring and summer will be on the horizon. After a warm ‘false spring’ in mid April, the weather has once again cooled significantly in the last weeks and more than once I’ve woken up in the morning with a snow covered lawn or sat in line waiting for the Nappstraumen tunnel to pounding hail or graupel on my windshield.

Yet, despite the unsettled weather, the signs of spring are showing in the landscape – and a bit early I would say. The trees in my yard are already sprouting green leaves and the first flowers can be seen along the roadside. And slowly, but surely, Lofoten’s farm fields are begging to change from brown to green as the grass grows in the long hours of daylight.

Slow showers have been passing over the islands this week. Which has been a bit frustrating as need a predictable period of dry weather to change a dead battery in my van, pour some concrete in my yard, and put on summer tires. But in the wind-still sky, showers just seem to appear out of nowhere and slowly drift across the landscape.

This photo is from last night as the sun was shining over the sea as a rain shower passed over my neighbourhood bringing a bright rainbow across the sky. Today, it almost feels like bbq weather, and I probably would have, had I not looked at the forecast for Saturday and Sunday…

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 24-120mm f/4
39mm
ISO 100
f7.1
1/80 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #695 – Sunset Season

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Photo: Setting May sun over Nappstraumen from Myrland beach, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. May 15, 2021. 02:50

Lofoten’s aurora season is now over until the autumn. As the islands wait for the arrival of the midnight sun in a few more weeks, Lofoten enters into what I like to call ‘sunset season,’ With the sun sinking just below the horizon during the midnight hours, the next weeks offer the possibility for hours-long sunset-to-sunrise colourful skies.

I often feel like this May light is somewhat wasted though. It can still be some time until the fields are green and the first wildflowers appear, and this is even longer up in the mountains. May still feels and looks a bit wintry; no snow, just brown grass and leafless trees, while the nights are some of the best light of the year. This often leads me to focus on coastal area and beaches, without too much of the landscape present. This is not to complain, as there’s still plenty of nice photos to be taken from the beaches as well, especially when you can wander down from your house at 03:00…

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Sigma 14mm f/1.8
14mm
ISO 31
f13
0.8 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #694 – Skagsanden Sand Patterns

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Photo: Sand patters bubble up on Skagsanden beach, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 26, 2020. 07:42

I was looking for a different image to post this week when I noticed I had never shared this one before. It’s actually one of my favourite images of the unique sand patters that can form on Skagsanden beach – the sand patters are common, but finding them in good photographic conditions is less common. On this morning I was lucky that the beach was free from seaweed and no one had yet walked through the scene. Even for myself, I approach these scenes slowly, so I don’t put footprints or tripod holes in my own image.

Skagsanden beach is somewhat unique on Lofoten in that the white sand of the beach often has lines and patterns formed from darker sand which flows down from a river coming from the mountains behind the beach. In this image, you can see the water of the river bubbling up through the beach sand to the surface, which then form the darker patterns in the sand when the water flows away. It’s a little bit like panning for gold, as the different rock types have slightly different densities.

Usually these more intense patters and designs form at the back of the beach, where all the seaweed and debris is also continually washed up, leaving a chaotic and messy scene. For whatever reason on this morning, the water was flowing much lower on the beach in the clean section of low-tide sand. It almost looks like an alien head or some kind of weird caterpillar.

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
ISO 31
f13
2 Seconda
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #693 – Spring Ptarmigan

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Photo: Winter plumage willow ptarmigan flies though mountain landscape, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. April 6, 2026. 18:23

In the longer and warmer days of April the local wildlife is beginning to increase its activity ahead of the summer mating and nesting season. Over the last weeks I can hear a noticeable increase in noise as the resident birds, such as willow ptarmigans (this photo), as well as the newly arrived migrants such as oystercatchers, common gulls, curlews, and more look for mates and nesting sites in the fields and moorlands of my coastal valley.

This year’s warm March means some of the locals haven’t quite adapted to the lack of snow yet, such as this still winter-white willow ptarmigan seen flying here. In another month they will be brownish color and almost completely camouflaged in the heathery landscape. But for now they are quite easy to spot, little white dots on the brown landscape. Though perhaps looking more like gulls is also a good camouflage technique for this time of year.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 180-600mm f/6.3
600mm
ISO 4500
f6.3
1/2000 Second
WB Daylight

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