View from Å towards end of Lofoten, Moskenesøy, Lofoten islands, Norway

Photo: Winter twilight, Å I Lofoten, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Jan 6, 2010.  15:14

The first day of my January 2010 trip was finally coming to an end as I followed the light to the end of the road at Å I Lofoten.  And from there, proceeded to walk to the edge of the sea where the final glow of the short winter day was still holding onto a bit of life.

This location has become one of my favorite winter sunset spots over the last few years as the between January and early February the sun sets near the end of Lofoten in the distance.  Combined with a multitude of compositions, depending on how good the snow is, or not, it is a location that I usually walk away with something decent from.

Alone, as seemingly at the end of the world, I stayed out here until near darkness, wishing the light would last just a little bit longer.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 100
f 11
20 sec
WB Daylight
2 images – top, bottom

Lake Ågvatnet and snow covered mountain landscape, Å I Lofoten, Lofoten islands, Norway

Photo: Lake Ågvatnet in Winter, Å I Lofoten, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Jan 6, 2010.  14:22

Having followed the light from Vestvågøy to the end of the road at Å on this short January day, and the only day I saw the sun on this trip, I was eager to get as much variety as possible.  While waiting for the light to fade a bit more before heading out to the coast for sunset, I wandered over to lake Ågvatnet, sublimely covered in a fresh layer of snow.

I took a few ‘normal’ images, ie. no tilt, but for some reason, the scene wasn’t doing much for me.  I’m not quite sure why, but I think it just felt a little out of balance and with no clear focal point.  Finally, I just decided to throw a full tilt on the lens, open up the f-stop for a shallow depth of field and focus on the pointy mountain in the distance.

This did the trick for me.  Combined with the soft light and fresh snow, this image has a bit more of an etherial feel that I typically shoot.  But I like it for some reason.  And the subtly of the image works well as a desktop background, which I currently use.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 200
f 4.8
1/60 sec
WB Daylight
2 images – top, bottom
Full lens tilt

driving on winter road with snow, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Heading to Haukland beach on winter roads, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Feb 6, 2012.  8:57

This week’s photo is more for illustrative purposes than of something scenic.  With more and more people planning on visiting the islands in winter, it can be a bit of a shock to drive on the roads for the first time, especially if you are like me, and grew up in a temperate climate.

While my experience on the European continent is that they tend to keep roads snow free in winter, either by plow or grit, in Lofoten, this is not overly practical.  In big storms, the roads are cleared of deep snow and snow drifts, but overall, there always remains a layer of snow and ice covering any asphalt.   To deal with these conditions, the Norwegians (and Swedes) utilize studded tires from November to April.

While not like driving on dry asphalt, the studded tires work amazingly well.  In my estimate, I would say they retain about 70% the traction level of normal tires on dry conditions.  For road conditions like in this photo, you can more or less drive normally (but be weary on sharp turns).

Where driving conditions become dangerous is when the temperatures warm to 2-6 degrees above freezing and it begins to rain.  This turns all the hard, compacted snow of the roads into a layer of wet ice.  Scary and slippery!  The road plows are good at dealing with this and will have the main roads gritted and ice free within a few hours.  But I would suggest minimizing your driving during this period if possible.  I have gotten stuck a few times where I pulled down into an icy parking area and was unable to drive back out without considerable effort on my part to clear away enough ice to get a bit of momentum built up.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 16-35mm f/4
16mm
ISO 200
f 57.1
1/30 sec
WB Daylight

Stormy sky over Selfjord and mountains of Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Ominous clouds fill the sky as I make my way towards Kvalvika beach, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  July 22, 2006.  19:24

I’m digging pretty deep into the archives for this one, mainly because Kvalvika beach has been on my mind a bit lately as I’m trying to come up with some plans for February, and this image is from my first ever camping trip to Kvalvika in the Summer of 2006.

It was early evening when my friends dropped me off at the trailhead for Kvalvika beach.  The clouds thus far in the day had been dramatic but the rain had held off so far.  Leaving the car and looking around, I was not quite sure what I was getting myself into.  I gave thoughts just to heading back to Stamsund, but I had already mentally committed myself to a couple nights camping at the beach, so I continued on with my plans.

A little ways up the trail I turned around for one last look over the fjord, this is the sight my vision brought.  I will admit to being slightly scared and worried if my tent would survive the night.  I have never seen a sky like this again in Lofoten.

By the time I began my descent to the beach a light rain was falling.  I managed to set my tent up among the grazing sheep of summer before the torrential rain began, and that it did.  Continuing more or less unbroken for the next two days until I packed my wet tent up and began the hike back over the hill.

Camera Info:
Nikon D200
Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5
46mm
ISO 100
f 5.6
1/200 sec
WB Daylight

Block of ice on frozen Haukland beach in winter, Vestvagøy, Lofoten islands, Norway

Photo: January dawn on Haukland beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  January 6, 2010.  09:49

Some time ago I posted a photo from this morning at Haukland beach, but as I’m now less than one month away from returning to the islands, it’s time for more winter images to inspire me.  Even now, looking back four years later, it still remains one of my most memorable days on the islands and is partly what saw me start this website in the first place and begin to look at Lofoten with a different set of eyes.

After having spent a stormy night at Utakleiv attempting the sleep in the cramped back seat of my all-too-small rental car, Haukland beach was the first scene I came across for the day.  I was not in a rush to get anywhere in particular, but I was in a rush to get as much variety out of the 4 hour day as possible.  I was also still cold from the night, only having a 0˚ sleeping bag with me, as the temperature dropped to -10˚ or so, and the car had yet to properly warm me up in the short drive from Utakleiv.  With already cold feet, I crunched my way across the snow covered sand and down towards the beach.

When I caught sight of this small chunk of ice on the frozen beach, I knew I had found something special.  While Lofoten is cold, there is not often ice on the beaches such as this.  But thanks to the cold temperatures and the small creek that runs into the sea at Haukland, a frozen piece of creek ice must have washed back onto the beach at high tide, and then a light layer of snow fell overnight to complete the scene.  I have attempted to find a scene like this in my last several winter visits, but have never been so lucky again.

The only thing that distracts me is the otter tracks across the middle of the image, I guess he was up before me.  But overall, this is still one of my favorite images from the islands.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 24mm f/3.5
24mm
ISO 200
f 16
8 seconds
WB Daylight
2 images – top/bottom

________________________

Well, I’ve reached image number 52, a whole year of weekly Lofoten Images.  Good thing I still have about 900 images left in my archive to keep things going.  But at the moment, I’m not too sure if I’m going to continue posting weekly photos.  I initially started when there wasn’t all that much content here on the site, so I was just hoping to fill things in a bit.  And in all honesty, I haven’t received much feedback for my efforts during the last year, so I’m kind of questioning whether it’s worth my time to continue.

So now your chance to chime in.  If you find the information or stories useful on this Friday Photo series, maybe make a comment letting me know.  If it’s just been a waste of time, you can let me know that as well. 🙂

Happy 2014!  For those of us heading north in the next months, lets hope the mountains are full of snow and the skies full of Auroras.  And if you see some guy in a ugly blue jacket wandering around, come say hello. (I also accept invitations to hot tea and use of an oven to cook a frozen pizza for dinner in.)

 

 

View of Vik and Haukland beaches from summit of Holandsmelen mountain peak, Vestvagoy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Afternoon light over Vik and Haukland beaches from the summit of Holandsmelen, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  26 Sept, 2013.  17:30

I almost didn’t head up Holandsmelen on this afternoon, preferring to be a bit lazy, as I didn’t get much sleep up on Reinebringen the previous night.  But as the hours of the day passed by, the weather was too good to be wasted just sitting around.  So in mid afternoon I decided to head up Holandsmelen.

I didn’t know anything about the mountain or if the views would be much good.  Rising to the north of Lenkes’ urban sprawl, I knew the views towards the south would probably not be very interesting.  But with close proximity to some of the beaches on Vestvågøy, and looking like an easy hike, why not?

I like to be on mountains for sunset.  But I also like to catch the last traces of daylight, incase it works better for a given location.  Upon leaving Stamsund, I couldn’t see that there was something of a layer of clouds on the northern horizon.  I hike fast, but by the time I reached the summit, the beaches were in and out of shadow as the sun became obscured by the clouds.  I rushed to find a decent composition as quickly as possible to at least get a couple photos with the beach and farm fields illuminated by the ever sinking sun.  Without the light on the beaches and sea, the image loses too much color and contrast, becoming fairly dull and boring.  But I think I arrived just in time for something interesting to appear.

The Landscape photographer in me wants something a bit ‘wilder.’  More nature, less roads and buildings.  But this is Lofoten, people live here.  And so this is actually something of a typical Lofoten scene: man and nature, side by side.  Even the dead (cemetery towards the left) have a nice view!

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
27mm
ISO 200
f 10
1/100 sec
WB Daylight

View over Reine and Fjord landscape from summit of Reinebringen, Moskenesoy, Lofoten Islands, Norway
Photo: The most iconic image of the Lofoten Islands: Reine from the summit of Reinebringen, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  September 26, 2013.  09:10

I post this weeks Friday Photo to help illustrate the importance of time of day and direction of light on the Lofoten Islands.  Something which becomes even more important as you travel further away from midsummer and the sun sinks lower and lower on the horizon.

Even in this photo, taken at 09:10 in the morning, you can begin to see the mountain shadow approaching from the left of the image.  Soon, parts of Reine will be cast in shadow for the remainder of the day, the sun failing to rise above the surrounding mountains.

So with the fjord at Reine opening up towards the southeast, if you want direct light shining across the entirety of the village(s), then this means you need to be up the mountain not too long after sunrise.  Though accounting for time of year, in summer, the sun rises more to the northeast, so you’ll be able to take your time.  Whereas once the autumnal equinox is reached, with the sun rising to the east, you will find yourself hiking up the mountain in the dark – or, if you’re like me, camping on top, which is easier.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/2.8
35mm
ISO 200
f 11
1/160 sec
WB Daylight
8 images – vertical (portrait)

Northern Lights shine in sky over sea and mountains of Vestvagoy, from near Myrland, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Northern Lights over Himmeltindan from Myrland, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  24 September, 2013.  22:54

After waiting two weeks for a new Nikon D800 camera to arrive, having dropped dropped it in a lake in Sweden, I lucked out at had a good display of Northern Lights on my first night back in action.  There had been some good displays in the previous weeks, but this was the best thus far, and I would have probably been quite grumpy had my camera arrived the following morning.

The main element I find missing while shooting the Northern Lights in autumn is snow.  There is just something a little less magical, but perhaps that’s just me.  It can also be a bit of a struggle sometimes to get yourself away from any coastal lights, as pretty much the whole population of Lofoten is on the coast.  And then, with the unpredictability of where the Northern Lights will actually appear in the sky (if they do at all), you often have to take a gamble on a composition that may or may not come into form.

This shot was my backup location.  I had originally intended to shoot from the beach at Myrland, giving me a nice clean view across to Vestvågøy, but the lights where too high in the sky to include both beach and Auroras in the image.  So I quickly hopped back in the car  and headed back down the road a way to a location where I had a slightly better overall composition.

I still think the empty sea is a little on the boring side, but at least the Aurora seems to be emerging from the summit of Himmeltindan, the highest mountain on Vestvågøy, so that kind of makes the image work for me.

Another think of note.  This image is from a night with a nearly full moon.  I often see the (incorrect) opinion floating around the internet that you need a moonless sky to see the Northern Lights.  This is simply not true.  And if fact, I think having some moonlight, to help illuminate the foreground, especially with winter snow, actually makes for a better image.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 800
f 5.6
30 sec
WB Daylight
2 images – top, bottom

Scenic Myrland beach, Flakstadoy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Myrland beach, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  September 1, 2013.  20:55

Formerly, the beach at Myrland was a place I only visited on rare occasions.  But in the last year, perhaps because I have grown tired of some of the other beaches, I have often found myself walking on its sands.  Or perhaps it is a more fitting location for Spring and late Summer, with the location of the sun setting in the sea.  I don’t kno

Two days after my sprained ankle at Kvalvika beach, I was limited to where I could go.  The light was promising and the day had been a fine one.  I would have climbed a mountain where it possible, but I was still resorting to hobbling around and using one of my trekking poles as a makeshift crutch.

One of the reasons I like the beach at Myrland is that there are large, isolated boulders in the tide line.  This gives the beach a multitude of subjects to use for foreground elements in what would be an otherwise somewhat boring photo.  I think it is now my new favorite beach…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 50
f 13
1.6 sec
WB Daylight
2 images – top, bottom

Tent camping on narrow ridge of summit of Reinebringen mountain peak, Reine, Moskenesoy, lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Camping on summit of Reinebringen, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  September 25, 2013.  20:44

You can read a bit more about what lead me to the summit of Reinebringen on a late September night in my Friday Photo #43 post – but the main idea was for me to camp on top of the mountain in hopes of shooting some Northern Lights.

There is not much room for a tent on the narrow ridge of the mountain, but there is enough.  This was now my 2nd night on Reinebringen, my first being in August 2010 on a perfect Summer day.  This night was was as perfect as Autumn gets; crisp clear skies and a light wind.  Temperatures dropped to a few degrees above freezing, but that is to be expected at the end of September.  Had this been 2009, then I would have been camping in Snow!

I have mentioned elsewhere, that I think it is important to attempt to get new perspectives on an increasingly photographed world.  Over the last couple years I have witnessed an explosion in the amount of photographers on the islands.  But often burdened by huge bags of gear, few seem willing to venture to the top of mountains, and even fewer still, willing to spend a night on top.  It might not always result in award winning images, but you will no doubt get something slightly less common than the previously scenic views which are now overflowing from every photo sharing site on the net.

So, next time you’re on the islands, grab your tent and head up high for a night or two.  There are still thousands of spectacular views which are seldom photographed.

For info on the hiking route to Reinebringen: CLICK HERE

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 400
f 5.6
30 sec
WB Daylight
2 images – top, bottom