Friday Photo #47 – Reinebringen Camping

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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

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Friday Photo #46 – Autumn Aurora

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Northern Lights shine in sky over empty cod stockfish drying racks, near Storsandnes, Flakstadoy, Lofoten Islands, Norway
Photo: Aurora and empty stockfish drying racks, near Storsandnes, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  September 24, 2013.  23:36

As the aurora that had filled the sky 30 minutes before finally began to lose strength and fade, I took towards looking for a different type of composition.  I will say it bluntly: I prefer northern lights set against a snow covered landscape.  Something about the dry mountains is autumn don’t just feel right to me.  But none the less, such an opportunity is not to be wasted.

I headed out to the coast near Myrland, on the east side of Flakstadøy so as to have as unobstructed view as possible across the sea (Nappstraumen) towards the northeast, where the aurora was the strongest on this particular night.  But after sometime shooting, I wasn’t totally happy with the night.  As I began the journey back to Stamsund, I passed by these stockfish drying racks, sitting empty in the autumn.

The moon was bright and the aurora losing strength so I was somewhat limited in what angles I could shoot.  I tried to find some interesting angles and something to help give a sense of ‘place’ to the image.  I’m not sure how well it works, but at least it is something slightly different.  Had there been a full covering on snow, and no lights in the background, I would probably be quite happy.  Maybe I’ll try and repeat the image in February.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 2000
f 4.8
30 sec
WB Daylight
3 images – top, middle, bottom

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Friday Photo #45 – Hermannsdalstinden

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Evening light over mountain landscape from rocky summit of Hermannsdalstinden, Moskenesoy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo:  Summer evening on summit of Hermannsdalstinden, Moskenesøy. Lofoten Islands, Norway.  August 23, 2013.  20:57

The sky overhead was still blue as I reached the summit of Hermannsdalstinden early on a Friday evening.  Catching the ferry from Reine meant I had a shorter overall distance to travel, but meant that I had to get a later start than if I had hiked via Sørvågen; but this is not of too much importance with the long days of summer.  Though they are quickly shortening by the end of August.

A wall of low cloud hung over the western horizon, so I knew I would lose direct sunlight a bit earlier than I was hoping for.  But in the last moments as the sun neared the sea and began to soften in the thickening layer of haze, the light softened to a gentle glow across the endless line of mountain peaks of Lofoten.

Luckily for me, the summit of Hermannsdalstinden seems almost perfectly made for light light this, with an endless assortment of rocks and boulders providing the photographer with a multitude of foreground subjects with which to compose a photo.  I wandered around a bit, but finally found this vantage point on one of the ridges just below the summit to be one of the better views to balance light and shadow across the rocks.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 200
f 13
1/8
WB Daylight
3 images – top, middle, bottom

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Friday Photo #44 – Bunes Beach Rainbow

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Rainbow at Sunrise over mountains from Bunes Beach, Moskenesoy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Rainbow at sunrise emerges from mountains at Bunes beach, Moskenesøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  August 17, 2013.  04:29

Perhaps one of the best sunrises I have ever photographed on Lofoten, I nearly slept through this one. My second morning on the islands, I was still suffering the effects of jet lag and staying up till midnight the previous night – the short summer nights don’t leave time for much sleep. So when my alarm went off at 3:30am and I drearily peaked my head out from the tent the sky looked somewhat boring, I laid back down.  I know I am on the islands to take photos, but there are times in tiredness where for a fleeting moment, I wouldn’t mind if it were raining.  Then I come to my senses.  Sleep when I die!

A little more time passed before my next alarm sounded and I figured I might as well get out of the tent and see what the morning would provide. By now a small bit of color was beginning to appear in the sky so I hurried out to the beach. The sunrise towards the east was quite nice with some pink glowing clouds filling the sky, but as I passed around a corner on the coast, this came into sight.

The world seemed to be at a standstill, and even the wind was calm.  For 20 minutes, the rainbow slowly drifted out from behind the cliff until the clouds finally faded.  It was one of those lucking moments where a combination of elements all come together at once.

I returned to my tent for a couple hours more sleep before having to pack up camp and hike back to the ferry.  As I was leaving the beach the sky was now a flat grey and a gentle rain began to fall.  A rain that some hours later would see me arrive soaking wet at Horseid beach and forced to hide in my tent for the next 18 hours…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 50
f 16
3 seconds
WB Daylight
2 images – top, bottom

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Friday Photo #43 – Reinebringen Twilight

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Twilight view from Reinebringen over Reine, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Twilight over Reine from summit of Reinebringen, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  September 25, 2013.  19:48

Clear September skies and hopes of a repeat of the previous night’s Northern Lights led me to the summit of Reinebringen on this day.  Otherwise, I perhaps would have hiked some new mountain somewhere, but the chance at seeing the Aurora fill the night sky over Reine was something I had to go for.  And of course, the view from Reinebringen in one of the best and most iconic ones in Lofoten, so it’s easy for me to find an excuse to go up there.

The clouds that had filled the sky during the afternoon faded away as Twilight and then the blue hour arrived.  My last night on Reinebringen had been in the Summer of 2010, the nights still too short for any really darkness to arrive, so seeing the streetlights come on as the world darkened came a bit as an unexpected, but scenic surprise to me.

Without the lights, the blue tones, and lack of much contrast would have left this scene lacking in contrast in my opinion.  Still scenic, but not special.  The warm glow of the street lights, running across the islands like a slithering snake lead my eye through the image and give overall depth to the scene.  An image I was never expecting to create, but something I’m quite happy to come across.  And I’m sure this won’t be my last night on Reinebringen…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 200
f 8
10 seconds
WB Daylight
2 images – top, bottom

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Friday Photo #42 – Kvalvika Beach Aurora

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Northern Lights Kvalvika Beach Lofoten
Photo: Aurora over Kvalvika beach campsite, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Aug 30, 2013. 22:54

As August (and summer) comes to an end the Arctic sky finally begins to darken enough for the Aurora to return from their summer Holidays.  Well, they’ve been in the sky all along, but it was never dark enough for them to shine.  This year, might first sighting of the Northern Lights was on August 21st, Though they were quite faint against the twilight night.  The night of this image, August 30, the sky was significantly dark and the Aurora strong enough for a decent image to be made.

This is also an image that I nearly missed, as a few hours earlier I had sprained my ankle while coming down from sunset up on Ryten, and was thus is a fair amount of pain and without the ability to move much.  But as soon as I saw the Aurora, I left the warmth of the campfire and did my best to hobble and crawl around the ground to get myself in position.  And with the fairly dark foreground of the campsite, and the Aurora high overhead, I needed to keep my camera quite low to the ground to capture more of the sky.  Thus I would probably would have ended up laying on the ground anyhow, sprained ankle or not.

The Aurora only lasted for a few moments and then disappeared as quickly as it arrived.  But due to the high cliffs surrounding Kvalvika beach, it is probably not the best location for Aurora watching anyhow, most of the lower horizon is hidden from view.  Had I still been up on Ryten, it probably would have turned out to be quite a nice display.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 16-35mm f/4
16mm
ISO 800
f 5
10 seconds
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #41 – Eggum Nights

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Night image of crack in frozen lake Nedre Heimdalsvatnet, Eggum, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Winter night on Nedre Heimredalsvatnet, Eggum, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Feb 2, 2012.  17:38

With a near full moon and calm winds, five-o-clock is too early to go to be, even in February on Lofoten.  Parked at Eggum for the night, I wandered off for a bit of exploring.

Growing up in California, I’m not sure I even stood upon a frozen lake until my time in Germany five years ago.  But with the low snow levels upon my arrival at the beginning of February, frozen lakes were about the only thing of interest.  I wandered out into a shallow section of the frozen lake, making sure I could always see the bottom in case I happened to fall though; I figured as long as I could still stand up, it wasn’t too likely that I would die.

Several cracks formed interesting features on the surface of the lake, and so I used these as a foreground subject, lit by moonlight.  It was a bit eerie, to stand there alone in the darkness, the ice creaking and cracking as the temperatures dropped, occasionally echoing a loud ‘boom’ through the mountains.  I did my best to remain still and not fall over, often having to use my extended tripod as a bit of walking stick.  A few days later, while on a different part of the lake, as I was putting my camera away, winds blew my tripod towards the center of the lake.  It was a scary few minutes trying to get it back!

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 16-35mm f/4
16mm
ISO 320
f 7.1
152 seconds
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #40 – Vatterfjordpollen Winter

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Ice forms on Vatterfjordpollen, Austvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Ice forms on Vatterfjordpollen, Austvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Feb 15, 2013.  16:12

As the last light faded from the short February day I found myself passing Vatterfjordpollen on the way back towards Svolvær and in search for a car-bivy spot for the night.  I was actually thinking of maybe checking out the Lofoten meeting of the Norwegian Alpine Club, but the hotel looked a bit to posh for me, as so I passed on by.

When the temperature is sufficiently cold, some of the tidal fjords will begin to freeze.  Sometimes this creates something interesting and sometimes not.  The days thus far in the heavy overcast sky had mostly been a waste.  Another ‘weather’ day for Lofoten.  But in the darkening sky I wandered down to the fjord’s edge.

By far from my best image from the trip, in those first days on the islands I’m always anxious to take a picture of something, anything.  And as I drive in circles and see the needle on the gas tank fall, knowing next time I pull up to the gas station I’m going to blow through $100+, that desperation grows even further.  Sometimes I don’t have the patience to park in one place and read the day away, even though I know I should.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
24mm
ISO 100
f 134
.5 seconds
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #39 – Himmeltindan Views

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View over Flakstadøy from summit of Himmeltind, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: From the Summit of Himmeltindan, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Oct 2, 2012.  14:38

I usually try and save my mountains for when the light is good.  No point in carrying a heavy backpack several thousand vertical feet only to have shit light.  But as the days of Autumn progressed, I seemed to have had some bad timing.  A few days previously, clouds decided to form over Skottind just as I arrived at the summit, and of course they cleared as soon as I was halfway down again.  Now a couple days into October, another unusually mild Autumn day presented itself.  And so I departed Stamsund under nice blue skies and a bright sun, not entirely sure where I was headed, but up something for sure.

As I parked my car at Haukland beach, I could see some high cloud appearing on the horizon and heading in my direction.  Headphones in and some good music blasting out of the Ipod, I set myself a frantic pace as I hit the trail.  I quickly overheated and had to strip down to only a t-shirt, in October!  Higher and higher I ascended, lungs and legs burning while to clouds grew ever nearer to the Autumn sun.

I lost.  By the time reached the 931 meter south summit, barely over an hour after leaving the car, at sea level, the clouds had arrived and the light grew flat.  I met a few soldiers at the top, lucky them, they got to take the elevator inside the mountain.  I half joked if I could catch a ride down and was given a stern ‘No, that won’t be possible.’  I already knew as much, but it was worth a try.  Though I was pleasantly informed that since the radar on the higher north summit was down for maintenance, I was allowed to continue on up there.

The wind blew cold and I didn’t waste too much time hanging around.  While flat light covered the islands, there was at least a bit of interesting light in the sky.  Not the ideal image that I imagined, but not a total loss either.  And all the more reason to head back up again…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 85mm f/2.8 tilt-shift
85mm
ISO 100
f 8
1/250 sec
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #38 – Stamsund Autumn Storm

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Dramatic sky over sea, Stamsund, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Autumn Clouds, Stamsund, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Aug 29, 2013.  19:10

When the winds blow strong, I usually keep my head low and spend my time by the warm fireplace in the Stamsund hostel.  Stamsund was one of the reasons I became so enamored with the Islands in the first place, and despite the fact that I wander around much more than my early journeys (before I could afford to rent a car), I still try and spend a good be of time here.

And it’s not all sitting around and sharing stories with other travelers.  There are a few places out on the coastline beyond the hostel that are pretty reliable and sheltered for when the weather gets bad.  It’s a common sight for me to be heading out the door, tripod in hand, to go scrambling over the rocks and out to the sea whenever a break in the rain occurs.

While the mountains of this scene never change, the sky and the sea often due.  If you compare all the photos I’ve taken over the years from pretty much this exact same, you’ll think each one was taken somewhere else.  On this particular day, heavy, wet clouds were sweeping across the islands.  This spot proved to be the only place where I could get myself out of the wind enough to keep my tripod from shaking while the waves crashed just below my feet.

I experimented with a number of exposure times and this one feels the most dynamic to me.  Any slower and there wasn’t quite enough movement in the clouds and they just appeared out of focus.  Much longer and the clouds lost any texture, and lost the stormy appearance what this day was.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 50
f 16
30 seconds
WB Daylight
6 Stop B+W Neutral Density filter
2 Images – Top/Bottom

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