Photo: Full rainbow under light of the midnight sun, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. July 4, 2022. 23:57

This was one of those stormy Lofoten days where the weather is quite boring and rainy during daytime, but as the sun gets lower on the horizon interesting light can happen. I had been out hiking Storknubben on GImsøy the day before in boring cloudless blue sky, but unfortunately had a meeting scheduled for this evening so I couldn’t get too far away from the house.

As midnight approached there was some nice light out in the distant mountains across the Nappstraumen so I wandered out to the field next to my house for a few shots. Soon I felt some drops of rain begin to fall while the sun was still shining bright. Behind me, I could already see the faint beginnings or a rainbow forming as the rain began to fall heavier and heavier from a seemingly invisible cloud.

With the sun low on the horizon and almost due north at midnight – the rainbow occurring almost directly south – I knew I wasn’t in the best location and it would take some time to get to a better composition for the location of the rainbow. So instead, I sent up my drone, which hasn’t seen much use this year as I understand their utility, I still have a fair dislike of them in general, just looking at the world through a tiny screen while a bunch of advanced technology does more or less all the work; that is not really photography for me. But alas, in the situation, my drone seemed like the best option, so I sent it up.

For what I generally consider the low quality image of a drone photo, I think it captured the moment pretty well, and was the only way I could do so without having already been on maybe Stornappstind, Middagstind or Møntind as the rain approached.

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

Camera Info:
DJI Air 2s
ISO 100
f 2.8
1/100 second
WB Daylight

Photo: Midnight summer rain over mountains of Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. July 4, 2022. 00:07

So far this summer it has been one of those years with either completely clear weather or completely grey weather. And while sunset doesn’t occur during the midnight sun season from late May to mid July, so nice color can occur with the right cloud conditions. But often this year, even in the late night hours, the light has just been a bit, ‘ehhh…’ With the sun just hanging over the horizon in a semi-hazy blue sky. But finally this week there was a little bit of nice drama in the sky and the weather turned blustery and rain showers swept across the islands.

Luckily the fields by my house have escaped their summer cutting so far, by this late in the summer the grasses are already growing much higher than the flowers, giving the late a bit more of a wild and unkempt look than a few weeks previous. On my daily route to Leknes I can see the farmers have cut most of the fields already, so it won’t be long until this one is harvested as well and then the flowers will be gone for the year.

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
35mm
ISO 400
f 6.3
1/80 second
WB Daylight

Photo: Arctic Skuas under the midnight sun, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 18, 2022. 01:02

I am admittedly a terrible wildlife photographer and even worse when it comes to birds – probably because I don’t really have much interest in birds anyhow. But there is one coolish bird in my neighborhood – Arctic Skua.

I first encountered Great Skuas on Orkney in 2003 and then over several following trips. Last summer on Svalbard was my first encounter in Arctic Skuas. Much small than Great Skuas, they are equally aggressive when approaching too close to their nesting area and will repeatedly attack any trespassers. Given my mostly non-interest in birds, I never really noticed that they were also here on Lofoten, and a breeding pair is in my neighbourhood.

I’ve made a few attempts to photograph them, but have yet to return with anything very good. My 200-500mm lens seems too slow to focus while they are in flight – they are fast!. So I generally return with a whole card full of soft images. The surrounding mountains also make it difficult, mostly limiting my shooting direction north towards the open sea.

I’m not sure if I have to patience required for wildlife photography, but I’ll make a few more attempts over the summer months.

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 200-500mm f/5.6
500mm
ISO 500
f 6.3
1/800 second
WB Daylight

Photo: Ground nest in coastal moorland of common gull, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. May 26, 2022. 16:07

With the midnight sun having arrived in the north and the landscape turning greener by the day – though the trees are still not fully green yet – it is breeding and nesting season for many of Lofoten’s migratory birds. 

Most of the birds are ground nesting, often choosing to hide their eggs in the thick and boggy heather of the coastal moorlands. But as the islands are full of birdlife, the nests are everywhere in reality. I’ve even seen young gull chicks walking around the parking lots in Leknes and Svolvær in the middle of the day. 

Most of the birds are semi-aggressive when you approach too close. The gulls and kittiwakes will scream as they fly towards you, but never get too close. The rarer, but highly aggressive arctic skua (dark brown in color) will come into near contact with your head in repeated attacks until you leave the nesting area. While others like the oystercatchers will try to distract you to get you away from their nesting site. 

If you are just walking through an area and suddenly notice aggressive bird activity, then take a little more caution to where you are walking, as you can see in the photo, the eggs are pretty well camouflaged, and easy to accidentally step on.

If you are camping, then you need to take a little more care to investigate the area and perhaps move away from a planned camping location. Continued proximity to a nesting area, such as setting up a tent for a night, may force the parents to abandon their nest for too long, and thus the chicks never hatch. So be careful to keep a great enough distance should you happen to enter into a nesting area.

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 200-500mm f/5.6

450mm

ISO 500

f 5.6

1/1000 seconds

WB Daylight