Friday Photo #602 – A Sea Of Fog

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Photo: Looking across a sea of fog concealing the village of Napp, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. July 17, 2024. 00:52

It has been hot the last days here on Lofoten with full days of sunshine and blue skies. The other day on the way to hike Skottind I ended up in a conversation with one of the nearby residents who said this has been the best summer since 1955! I’m not sure how true that is, though it has definitely been above average in my opinion. But…

As I wrote a few weeks back in Friday Photo #599, there is one thing that the weather forecasting doesn’t account well for – the nightly fog monster which envelops the lower elevations on Lofoten’s northern coast. So while the weather forecasts is accurate of Leknes and other areas that avoid the fog – hot sunny days can always be a bit risky on the northern coast.

I was planning on posting a nice image of one of the last nights of midnight sun taken earlier on this evening, but I think this image is a good example to show how much difference just a little bit of elevation can make – the fog here is concealing everything below 150m or so.

This whole evening it had been t-shirt weather as I was photographing up in the mountains of Flakstadøy. Below me though, I could see the fog concealing the landscape and blocking out any views of the midnight sun for the many people camped at Storsandnes beach as I drove by earlier in the evening.

On my way back home, the route descended into the fog you see here. The temperature dropped immediately as I entered into the mist and visibility was limited to 20 meters or so. Quite a contrast from a sunny, perfect summer evening in the mountains.

If I was camping, I would have much rather been up in the mountain sunlight than in the cold fog down on the beach.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 24-120mm f/4
44mm
ISO 100
f 8
1/8 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #601 – Sunset Season

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Photo: Midnight sun illuminates the sky over the northern horizon, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. July 11, 2024. 01:00

The midnight sun is getting noticeably lower on the northern horizon and by next week it will once again touch the sea for the first time since May. And while the atmosphere of the seemly endless days will soon be gone, that is a good thing, as the next ‘season’ arrives on Lofoten: Sunset season.

Late July and into early August is when the sun just below the northern horizon during the midnight hours. If the weather cooperates, this is then the time of hours long, all night sunsets. Light for photographers which is far better than the midnight sun itself – which is more similar to a several hour long golden hour light. But it late July, the fiery sunsets arrive, where the sky glows for hours and hours while most of the world is sleeping.

One of the unique things about Lofoten, and the arctic in general, is that the sun is above the horizon all 360˚ of the compass. This also means that the sun rises and sets on all 360˚ of the compass. In other words, depending on the time of year, you can have the sun rising or setting in any location you want in the landscape. For a landscape and mountain photographer, this is useful for having nice light on certain mountains, no matter their orientation – you just need to calculate and plan ahead for where you wan the sun to set. So for many locations on the northern side of Lofoten, the coming weeks will be some of the best time for photography before the sun then travels too far south in the sky.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 24-120mm f/4
59mm
ISO 100
f 8
1/250 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #600 – Simply Summer

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Photo: Summer wildflowers glow in the endless light of the midnight sun, Myrland, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. July 2, 2023. 02:13

Friday Photo #600. That is a lot of articles about a small set of islands on the edge of the world. I’m not even sure myself how I have managed so many words about Lofoten. At times I have thought about slowing down or even giving up, but I know once I do, then life will bring too many other distractions. And missing one week will become two, then a month, then six months… So forcing myself to post once a week still seems like the best option at the moment. So next week will be Friday Photo #601.

July means summer season is in high gear here on Lofoten and the rest of Norway. The nights are still endless as the midnight sun remains in the sky for another few weeks, with then leads into one of my favourite times of the year – the twilight nights.

Again this week is photo from last year, on a nice July evening. I’ve, fortunately or unfortunately, continued my absence from home during the last week as I was guiding a midnight sun photo workshop exploring the Helgeland coast and Islands south of Bodø. After that, I’ve mostly been stuck in front of the computer, despite some nice light and weather outside the windows.

Looking for which image to post this week, I was looking for something from the first week of July anytime in the last couple years. And for whatever reason, I seem to take more or less a similar image to this every year in early July. I guess it’s just the way the light and the flowers happen to be at this time of year as I wander around the neighbourhood in the early morning hours. Or maybe I’m always looking to show how nice summer is at this time of year. I don’t know, but I found it sort of interesting.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 24-120mm f/4
46mm
ISO 100
f 5.6
1/200 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #599 – Summer Grey

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Photo: Misty grey summer weather over flowery meadow on Yttersia – northern coast of Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 16, 2024. 18:24

This week it is another photo of less than ideal summer weather – a misty grey, light fog, cloaking the landscape and hiding the mountains and sun. However, more important to the story here is location. Just 2km down the road and further from there was a fantastically sunny summer day. Two completely different experiences just a couple km apart from each other.

This particular day was one of the more common types of weather conditions to be experienced on Lofoten during the summer – sea fog. Typically, the fog blows in from the north on otherwise completely clear sunny days. So the northern side of Lofoten can be rather grim and dark, while just heading over to the inner side of Lofoten will often be full of sunshine.

The weather forecasts don’t account well for the summer fog, especially a light version like this, and especially for the high amounts of local variation possible. But one sign of possible northern fog or mist risk is a fully sunny and cloudless forecast for a location like Leknes or Svolvær, in combination with a light northern wind of 4-7 m/s or so. Any other wind direction will typically keep the fog out to sea. So If I’m looking at the weather forecast and see full sun but a north wind, I’ll probably be cautious about making any plans for the yttersia – north side of Lofoten, which, unfortunately, is where most of the nicest beaches and many of my favourite hikes are.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 24-120mm f/4
24mm
ISO 100
f 5.6
1/320 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #598 – Midsummer midnight

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Photo: Midsummer midnight sun over the sea, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 20, 2024. 00:00

Yesterday was the summer solstice and the sun’s highest low point over the northern horizon for the year. From now on the days get shorter – although that won’t really be noticeable until the sun finally sets into the sea in mid July. The transition from the end of winter to the arrival of the summer green is so long up here in the north, by midsummer, the actual start of summer, it already feels like autumn is not too far away.

But while the sun may have begun its journey south, thousands of tourists are speeding north in what is already looking like will be the busiest summer ever on Lofoten. In locations where they measure hiking traffic, like Reinebringen, there has already been over 40,000 hikers on the mountain so far this year. And with the tourism season not even in full swing yet, it will probably well surpass last year’s numbers of 215,000 visits, and 160,000 in 2022. It’s a good thing they finally finished the stairs!

But even among the busy roads and thousands of daily hikers on the popular handful of mountains, there still remains the quiet and hidden peaks. Trail-less mountains where one can sit in silence and enjoy the sun floating over the northern sea as if you are the only person in the world. This is where I will mostly be this summer – or BBQing in my backyard.

You may have noticed that I’ve been posting mostly older photos recently, while in general I try to keep these ‘Friday Photo’ posts more of a running journal of recent happenings or info. Most of the reason for this is that I’ve only actually been in my own house about 3 weeks total this year. After a long winter workshop season, I immediately departed for and overdue visit back to California, which then was immediately followed by a trip to Scotland – mostly chasing puffins on Orkney and Shettland – but more on that later. So, now I’m finally looking forward to a bit more time and home and hopefully I don’t have to go near an airport until sometime in the autumn.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 24-120 f/4
24mm
ISO 100
f 8
1/640 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #597 – Dark Summer Skies

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Photo: Rain heavy clouds fill the midnight sky over mountains of west Lofoten. June 7, 2021. 0042

Last week (Friday Photo #596) I wrote about the endless light of summer’s midnight sun. But that was only part of the story. The endless light is the dream, but not always the reality. And while yes, the sun will be above the horizon the entire month on June, it is not always present in the landscape.

This evening I was looking at a mixed forecast with an eventually passing couple hours of rain. I took a gamble with the forecast and headed up to an isolated mountain ridge to camp for the night. While I got some decent photos, the weather ended up a bit heavier than expected, so I never got much light. If I would have sat the evening in my garden, it probably would have been one of those sky on fire sunsets. The weather forecast for either event basically looks the same, but you never know what will actually happen until it does. In which case, hopefully you have chosen the mountains over a bbq.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 14-30mm f/4
18mm
ISO 100
f 8
1/10 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #596 – Neverending Light

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Photo: Mountains of Vestvågøy rise from a shimmering night sea, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 4, 2021. 01:57

Two weeks into the midnight sun season and Lofoten is bathed in 24 hour sunlight. And the days only get bright over the following two weeks until the summer solstice on June 20th. By now I will be almost completely ‘nocturnal’ as I stay up late into the morning hours with the sun drifting over the sea to the north. This view is from my house on one of those late mornings. How can I ever sleep?

I like the northern lights well enough, but rarely will I stay up past midnight exclusively for them. And the same goes for any other light on Lofoten – except for the midnight sun season. For me, the midnight sun is the highlight of the year living on Lofoten. Without it, I couldn’t live here.

Photographically, the midnight sun is rarely the best light. But it is the best time simply to be here and experience the slowness, if not stopping, of time for a few short, but precious weeks.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 24-200mm f/4-6.3
200mm
ISO 320
f 6.3
1/640 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #589 – Willow Ptarmigan

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Photo: Willow Ptarmigan – Rype walks across snowy field, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. April 18, 2022. 17:01

The long days of mid April bring an ever increasing level of activity to Lofoten as the migratory birds arrive and fight over mates and nesting locations. Though the willow ptarmigans – rype in Norwegian – live on Lofoten year round, they also increase in liveliness during the spring and their calls begin the fill the air.

Usually in winter, my only knowledge of their presence is a set of fresh tracks in the snow. But by April I can hear the males calling out as the fly around the neighbourhood. If I hear one near by house, I’ll often times try to sneak out a get a few photos before they fly away. Sometimes they are patient, other times not.

I still have yet to get a nice image of a fully white rype in a full winter landscape. I guess I’m not that dedicated to wildlife photography! Maybe I should try before all the snow melts…

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6
500mm
ISO 500
f 5.6
1/1600 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #559 – Vaeroy

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Photo: View over Gjerdheia and Nordlandshagen from Nordlandsnupen, Værøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. August 18, 2023. 21:04

Despite looking over towards the mountains of Værøy rising across the distant sea on a fairly regular basis, it is now only twice that I’ve been out there, an island that is quickly becoming one of my favorite places for a long weekend getaway form ‘mainland’ Lofoten. Part of the reason for this is that the ferry schedule between Moskenes – Værøy only really works during the summer. In the off season, it is a bit more complicated and problematic to get there from Lofoten, unfortunately. So summer it is, though I’ve scouted some nice locations I’d like to be back to for the northern lights season.

In my previous trip last year, I hiked Håen, Hornet, and Måhornet. I missed the highest peak on the island though, 450m Nordlandsnupen, and so that was the first hike on my recent trip. While there was a good weather forecast, the summits of all the mountains were in a layer of heavy cloud as I made my way up the mountain. Soon enough though, the clouds cleared and I had a nice view of the surrounding landscape and across to the Lofoten mainland.

While I usually like to wait on the summit of mountains for sunset, it seamed the weather and sun location for my hike of Nordlandsnupen would mean it wasn’t the ideal location for sunset on this day. So after sitting around for an hour or two I made my way back down the mountain towards this view – looking towards the plateau of Gjerdheia. On the way up, the upper half of the mountain had been in the clouds, but I knew it would likely be a nice view, and better than the view I eventually found at the summit.

There was still a fairly thick layer of clouds along the northern horizon, so I headed down from the mountain a bit earlier than I might otherwise have done, knowing that I was looking for a view like this somewhere along the ridge on my descent still with a bit of direct light. The further I descended, the more dramatic the cliffs began to appear, but I think this image is a nice balance and view over the surrounding landscape.

I’m already looking forward to my next trip out to this tiny little islands of so many photographic possibilities…

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

Camera Info:
Nikon z8
Nikon 14-30mm f/4
25mm
ISO 100
f 7.1
1/30 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #557 – Last Nights Of Summer

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Photo: Mountains of Vestvågøy rise into late summer twilight, Lofoten Islands, Norway. August 28, 2023. 00:02

What a summer Lofoten has had this year! Only a few days of rain and dream weather throughout August. One of these days the first autumn storm will arrive, but even with the fading twilight it feels like this summer might never end.

This night was after last week’s aurora photo (Friday Photo #556), another clear evening but no aurora. The day had been warm, over 20˚, but as the evening came the temperature dropped as normal. Until midnight, when a warm summer breeze arrived and the temperature rose to around 16-18˚c in the middle of the night. It almost felt like the Santa Ana winds of California which would warm up the autumn evenings. I thought about going down to the beach to wait for northern lights, but I opted for my backyard instead. I don’t know how many more evenings I’ll be able to sit outside this year, but this night was a nice one to do so!

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

Camera Info:
Nikon z8
Nikon 14-30mm f/4
30mm
ISO 320
f 4
20 Seconds
WB Daylight

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