Friday Photo #147 – Haukland Beach

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Haukland beach in summer and winter, Lofoten Islands, Noway

Photo: Haukland beach summer and winter, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 23, 2015; 13:24 – June 3, 2015; 14:43

I thought I’d show something a little different this week.  This images is more of a happy accident than something I intentionally planned; I stood on top of Mannen two times this year and took the same picture twice: once in winter, once in summer.

I thought this would be a cool way to show how different the same location can look just a few months apart.  I have been receiving a lot of emails lately asking for the ‘best’ time to go, and this is something I struggle to answer. Is winter better than summer? I don’t know. If you want to hike, enjoy the midnight sun, camp at Kvalvika, etc, then summer is better.  If you want bleak, abstract landscapes, chances of northern lights, and short, atmospheric days, then winter is better. I guess in a round about way, and the way my journey has taken me, you just have to see the islands at every time of year; every season is different and unique in its own way.

So which view do you like better: summer or winter?

Camera Info: winter
Nikon D810
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
21mm
f 8
ISO 200
1/320 second
WB Daylight

 

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Friday Photo #145 – Unstad Summer

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Summer view over Unstad beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Summer over Unstad, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  June 5, 2015. 22:00

It is always hard to decide how long to wait around the mountains. The light of the midnight sun is on of the main draws of summer on Lofoten, but a relatively cloudy horizon such as this day, you might not end up getting any light as the sun hovers over the sea. So, if you’re wanting better odds of sunlight on your scene, you need to head up a bit early. In this case, I left the car around 19:00 – with plans not to return until 02:00 at the earliest.

It was a 1 hour hike up the ridge towards Nonstind (see hiking guide HERE) to get to this view point. By the time I arrived, there was still enough gaps in clouds to allow brief moments of golden light to shine across the beach and valley below.  Soon enough though, the clouds thickened and Unstad was left in shadow for the remainder of the night.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
17mm
ISO 160
f 8
1/320 second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #144 – Hustind Midnight Sun

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Mountain landscapes from the summit of Hustind, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Midnight sunset as storm clears over the summit of Hustind, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 12, 2015. 23:49

By the time of this image I had been waiting several cold hours on the summit of Hustind. My feet were wet from the hike in, and there was a near constant, sideways blowing, heavy and wet snow streaking across the summit. But I was focused on waiting for some light. I gave myself until midnight for conditions to improve, then I would head down and search for light elsewhere.

I had packed my gear away and was getting ready to head down when I sensed an easing of the storm. And then suddenly, the snow stopped and the clouds cleared from the summit. I could snow see the world around me.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
17mm
ISO 100
f 10
1/25 second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #143 – Hustind

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Mountain landscapes from the summit of Hustind, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Low clouds from the summit of Hustind, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 12, 2015. 22:54

My first trip up Hustind was in February, where I had a few seconds to take in the view before being caught in the white-out of a snow storm. In those brief views, I imagined the summit would be a nice place to watch the midnight sun from. Fast forward to June.

With low clouds, I knew the 600 meter summit of Hustind would be a bit of a risk, but it was the last day of my trip with any sort of a decent forecast before conditions deteriorated for the rest of my time on Lofoten. In the late evening, with snow falling around me I began to make my way across the boggy ground the the mountain.

I arrived at the summit with wet feet, and most of the ascent having been made under heavily falling snow. The winds on top were bitterly cold, somehow I had found worse conditions in June than I experienced in February!

The summit was just in the cloud line, but on rare occasions the cloud with lift slightly allowing a bit on the midnight sun to be observed before sending me back into the darkness again.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24-700mm f/2.8
24mm
ISO 200
f 10
1/250 second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #142 – Henningsvaer mountain view

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View over Henningsvær from summit of Festvågtind, Austvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: View over Henningsvær from the summit of Festvågtind, Austvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 11, 2015. 18:53

This image is a result of the necessity for flexibility in your plans when traveling to Lofoten – winter or summer. My goal for the day had originally been for Matmora, but as had been the trend for most of my days on Lofoten thus far, the summit remained hidden in a layer of clouds. Luckily, Festvågtind (see hiking guide HERE), near Henningsvær was clouds free – or at least when I decided to start hiking.

I initially arrived at the summit at the same time as a passing snow storm. But unlike the higher surrounding mountains, the clouds would quickly pass revealing what looked like a fantastic summer day if you were to ignore the near freezing temperatures on the summit.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 125
f 10
1/250 second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #141 – June Snow

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Summer snow flurries approach over sea, Austvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Approaching snow flurry over Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 11, 2015. 20:01

This is the view from the summit of Festvågtind (hiking guide HERE)  on turbulent summer evening. Over the hours I spent on the summit there was a constant transition between sun and snow. Wave after wave of clouds and snow flurries were approaching over the sea from the west, creating an interesting dance of light and shadow.

I have my Fuji xt-1 set up shooting time lapse sequences of the quickly changing conditions. But it was one of those days in which I had a half dozen cameras, as there was interesting light and clouds in almost every direction.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 70-200mm f/4
145mm
ISO 200
f 8
1/640 second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #140 – Summer Snow Flurry

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Female hiker is summer snow flurry near summit of Festvågtind, Austvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Summer snow flurries on Festvågtind, Austvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 11, 2015. 18:27

In early summer it’s important to be prepared for sometimes winter-like conditions if heading out into the mountains. In the typical changeable nature of the weather on Lofoten, we had started the hike under a nice sunny blue sky. By the time we reached the summit, we had to sit on the leeward side of the large summit boulders to wait out the first of many snow flurries passing the mountains.

Even as one band of snow passed, the next would already be lined up on the horizon, approaching from Stamsund to the west. But as quickly as the snow would arrive, it would leave again and the sun would be shining brightly.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 70-200mm f/4
135mm
ISO 200
f 5.6
1/160 second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #139 – Hamnoy Rorbuer

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Red fishermen's Rorbu cabins over fjord, Hamnøy, Reine, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Hamnøy under cloudy summer sky, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 8, 2015. 19:54

Summer or Winter? Despite the calendar telling me it was June, the Islands were anything but summer like on this day. A west wind was bring an near endless series of misty showers and low clouds hanging over the mountain peaks.

This is one of the famous views of Eliassen Rorbu on Hamnøy. I have a similar version of this image from a past winter. Looking at the two side-by-side, it’s hard to tell the difference of seasons.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24mm f/3.5
24mm
ISO 31
f 16
25 seconds
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #138 – Haukland Beach

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View over Haukland beach from summit of Mannen, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Summer day over Haukland beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 3, 2015. 15:43

It’s always good to start a Lofoten trip with sunshine! Having arrived by ferry in the mornight, picked up my van from Arctic Campers in Ramberg a couple hours later, I next found myself heading up the trail to Mannen (see hiking guide HERE), under a nice blue sky.

The view from Mannen over the crystal blue waters of Haukland beach is one of Lofoten’s most Iconic views. And at 400 meters, with a gentle trail to the summit, I like to think of Mannen as having one of the best views-for-effort ratios on Lofoten.

The view looks south, so it’s better to hike in early morning or late afternoon to avoid the sun glaring off the water.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
24mm
ISO 100
f 10
1/250 second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #137 – Uttakleiv midnight sun

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View over Uttakleiv from Nonstind mountain peak, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Midnight over Uttakleiv beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 5, 2015. 23:55

My second day on Lofoten and I found myself wandering around the mountains at midnight. My main priority had been to photograph Unstad beach, but as time passed the midnight sun sank into the clouds and the light faded from Unstad.

Not content to descend the ridge I was on, I continued further towards the summit of Nonstind (See hiking guide HERE). The temperature was quite cold – good I brought an extra jacket, and I could see snow flurries approaching from out at sea. But there was a wonderful soft light over Uttakleiv beach – one of lofoten’s most iconic locations, yet rarely seen from this view.

The clouds thickened as time passed and I set up my Fuji xt-1 to shoot a time lapse of the changing lights. I stayed up on the mountain until almost 02:00 before heading back to the car. It was a wonderful night under the 24 hour light of summer on Lofoten.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
70mm
ISO 200
f 10
1/25 second
WB Daylight

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