Photo: Fishing boat heading through Nappstraumen with Himmeltindan rising in the distance, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. April 5, 2026. 20:05
It is that time of year where Lofoten tries to decide if it is still winter or spring can finally begin. This year it seems spring is currently on the winning side as the storms of March have broken for a mostly sunny start to April. Perhaps winter was already over in March, as this year Norway recorded its warmest March ever – which any photographer who was here last month will be well aware of.
It is also that time of year where I slowly forget about time as the days become endlessly long. It will often be well into the evening when I look at the time and see it’s already 20:00 and I haven’t cooked dinner yet. Dinner is now becoming a daylight activity on Lofoten. Already this week sunset is at 20:40, and growling quickly later by the day.
Here, a lone Sjark (small fishing boat) sails below a still snow-capped Himmeltindan rising 962 meters from the sea. The lower foreground mountains of Mannen and Veggen are already mostly snow-free. Spring is hopefully on the way.
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 270mm ISO 500 f8 1/320 Second WB Daylight
Photo: Northern Lights – Aurora Borealis rise into sky over Skagsanden beach, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 23, 2026. 21:26
The days of April are quickly growing longer as Lofoten enters the period of not-really-winter but not-quite-spring. How long this weather lasts is anyones guess and this year it seems to have already started at the beginning of March, as weeks of rain have already melted away all the low level snow across the islands, with only slight dustings temporarily returning the landscape white again for a short while. After a long winter guiding, it is that time of year where I want to go south and see some green grass and trees, which is still about 6-7 weeks away here in the north.
What is soon coming to an end though is Lofoten’s aurora season, with a little over 2 weeks left for your last chance to see the northern lights until they return again in late August. This winter started off pretty well, mostly helped by the stable and clear weather of January and February. However, as March arrived, the weather became stormy and unsettled, and almost consistently grey – especially the nights. There have been many difficult aurora years in the past during my workshop season, but finally, this year was the first time a winter photo tour did not get any northern lights over the course of a week since I started guiding on Lofoten in 2016. Frustratingly for them, both the week prior and after were lucky with 4 nights of aurora each. That is how the luck works up here sometimes, and after 10 years, it finally caught up with me.
This image is from a fantastic night in late February. I had the group on site early but the aurora were off to a slow start this evening. Though this is often helpful for groups, as everyone can get setup as a leisurely pace, get their cameras focused, etc., without panicking that they are missing a sky full of dancing aurora. That came later.
After some hours of the normal ebbs and flows, a little before 21:30 the sky finally decided to put on a fantastic show for the group as dancing streaks of magenta aurora shone from horizon to horizon – actually almost too high/south in the sky for Skagsanden beach.
In the above image, is the aurora near its peak brightness at 21:26: ISO 2000, f/2.2 1 second exposure. The below image was taken just 3 minutes prior, at 21:23: ISO 2000, f/2.2 4 second exposure. The aurora increased 2 stops in brightness in those 3 minutes, but it was really more like 1 minute, as I had stopped shooting to change compositions.
If I had not been paying attention to the change in brightness, I would have completely lost the magenta highlights in the above image. It also makes the aurora much brighter than the remaining night sky – with a quarter moon on this night, and a much more tricky exposure overall. In these moments the aurora is often moving quite fast as well, making it difficult to find a composition, especially while standing on a beach with multiple photo groups around. While better visually just watching the sky full of dancing light, it is a fast moving and difficult photographic scenario.
The below image, while lacking the intensity of the above, is a much easier shooting situation while on location, and easier processing once home, as the scene was already pretty well balance between the aurora and the night sky and foreground reflections. And while still moving slightly across the sky, the aurora is easier to compose with the surrounding landscape.
Two different northern lights images taken from the same spot only 3 minutes apart. That is the magic of it.
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Viltrox 16mm f/1.8 16mm ISO 2000 f2.2 1 Second WB Daylight
Photo: Northern Lights – Aurora Borealis shine across sky over Skagsanden beach, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 23, 2026. 21:23
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Viltrox 16mm f/1.8 16mm ISO 2000 f2.2 4 Seconds WB Daylight
Photo: Drying stockfish under a rainy March sky, Reine, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. March 19, 2026. 16:47
It had been an almost perfect winter, until it wasn’t. As soon as March arrived, the cold and calm days of January and February were instantly replaced with wind and rain. It was almost like a light switch was flipped. Almost a month later, and Lofoten has since received only a light dusting of snow, which is now melting away in the next waves of rain. My hopes of much, if any, skiing this year have melted away.
It is always difficult to make an impression about one year’s weather. What will next winter bring? No one can say. But looking across the years, it seems Lofoten’s winter season is becoming shorter. Not in an abrupt end, but kinda just fading away never to fully return. This is where Norway’s ’11 seasons’ joke comes into play. Perhaps we are in Fool’s Spring, or maybe it’s already Spring of Deception. There is still time for lots of winter left, but it just doesn’t feel like it will return this year.
In this week’s photo, Lofoten’s stockfish attempt to dry beneath a rainy grey sky. You can see in the background mountains that most of the snow is gone – it is already looking more like May than March. Despite being out in the field guiding nearly every day of the month so far, my own photography slowed down to a handful of days – although this is also due to many perfect photography days earlier in the winter. Even a week up north on Senja was filled with positive temperatures and rain.
While the clouds did part at times, grey has been the dominant color of March this year and I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve seen the sun. A north wind in shaking my house as I write this and Thursday’s scheduled cruise ship guiding was canceled because of the weather – though a big storm and 10m waves down south are largely to blame for that.
I was out last night, the first clear night in a long time, waiting for the rocket launch from Andøya (it was canceled). A faint aurora was in the sky, which would have looked cool with the rocket launch. As it became clear things were canceled around 21:30, I began my walk home. Turning off my headlamp once back to the road, I could see the horizon was still glowing. Soon I can dream of summer…
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 14-30mm f/4 30mm ISO 200 f6.3 1/125 Second WB Daylight
https://www.68north.com/content/2026/03/friday-photo-690-below-the-rain.jpg10001500Codyhttps://www.68north.com/content/2016/12/68north-logo-V4.pngCody2026-03-27 03:00:002026-03-26 06:50:11Friday Photo #690 – Fish and Rain
Photo: Waves flow over rocks at Unstad beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 28, 2026. 11:25
After all these years, Unstad still remains one of my favourite beaches on Lofoten and is one of the few beaches that I’ll still go to on my own as well, not just with photo workshops. On this day though, it was my first workshop of the year which got lucky with some nice and moody conditions before warming back up with a nice cinnamon bun at the surf shop. Not a bad way to start the morning.
In general for Unstad, the stormier the better, to the extent that you can still walk normally and not risk getting blow over, as there’s not much fun shooting in that. But some nice waves flowing over the rocks with passing snow flurries in the distance give Unstad a pretty nice mood when it happens. And with the constant passing of winter storms and high or low tides, the rocks are always in a different pattern and the waves flowing differently.
Unstad also works well as a beach for teaching seascape photography. While Uttakleiv is more popular among photographers, I find it easier to get better compositions out of Unstad. And, more importantly, it is generally a bit safer for many clients than the slippery and icy rock slaps at Uttakleiv, which has been particularly icy so far this winter due to the many weeks of cold. And in a couple more weeks, when the sun begins to set to the right over Helligberget, the last mountain, all kinds of interesting light becomes possible. I’ll be back for sure…
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 14-30mm f/4 25mm ISO 64 f10 1/2 Second WB Daylight
Photo: White-Tailed Sea Eagle silhouetted against winter sky, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 6, 2026. 12:45
It took me several days this week to delete around 500gb of data or roughly 10,000 photos to clear up some hard disc space. Of those 10k photos deleted, probably 90% of them were flying puffins and other birds from a couple Scotland trips last year; mostly tiny or out of focus birds somewhere in the frame or too zoomed in and cutting off the wings, which is usually my biggest error with flying birds: Trying to get too close.
And so for this year’s eagle trips I tried to keep all my bird issues in mind. I was partially successful. I defiantly got more keepers and some interesting moments than last years attempt, but there were also many moments where I was close, but just missed something – mainly my issue with being too zoomed in and cutting off the wings.
I think this image is perhaps my favourite from the first day out on the boats. Though I do wish I was a bit wider in the overall framing, to give a bit more of a sense of place, as it was a nice sky and atmosphere in the background. But at the end of the day, I’m pretty happy with this image as well.
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 250mm ISO 720 f6.3 1/2500 Second WB Daylight
Photo: Classic view of Olstinden mountain peak rising over Reine harbor in winter, Reine, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 27, 2026. 11:34
Some scenes require little work and this is one of them. When you have a perfect reflection, nice dappled light, fresh snow on the mountain, and a few wispy clouds, all you need to do as a photographer is basically point you camera somewhere towards the mountain and the photo will more or less take itself. It is no wonder this is such a classic view of Lofoten.
I’m not sure how many times I’ve photographed this scene over the years. And often I’ll just stand to the side or help others. But at least once a winter, I still need to photograph it on especially nice days. This year it seemed to happen on my first workshop of the year in January. But I’ll be by more than a few more times in the coming month, so maybe I’ll get another version as well. Only time will tell for that…
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 24-120mm f/4 35mm ISO 32 f11 60 Seconds WB Daylight 10 stop neutral density filter
Photo: Dawn light shines over Narvtinden mountain peak and reflection, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 26, 2026. 09:51
This view has long been a favourite of mine. It is often a relatively straightforward shot, so I don’t tend to stop there too often anymore, but on this January morning, it looked like the sky had potential for something special.
The air was calm and still, and cold! Some snow flurries were gently floating in from the north so it was a race for which would arrive first; the light or the low clouds. It ended up being a bit of both.
As far as I could tell, the southern horizon seemed clear and I was hoping we’d get a good light show as the sun arrived. And it came very close, but didn’t quite happen. Conditions were just on the edge of one of those fire in the sky moments, the clouds never quite caught all the light and these soft pinks faded across the sky into a deep blue of the passing snow. I would have probably been better to be looking in a more southernly vantage point. But I do like the softness and subtleness of the light for this image.
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 24-120mm f/4 84mm ISO 100 f8 1/13 Second WB Daylight
Photo: Warm winter light shines through the steep valleys of distant Flakstadøy, Yttersand, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 26, 2026. 11:36
Despite the quickly lengthening days, the late January sun does not rise far above the horizon, leaving much of the northern valleys of Lofoten hidden in shadow. Here, even approaching noon, the sun only shines across the highest peaks rising over Vikten, the rest of the valley and village remains in the shadow of the surrounding mountain wall.
I actually almost didn’t shoot this image, but after seeing by co-guide Sam take a nice version, I decided it was worth pulling out the camera as well. I do tend to get a little lazy on Lofoten these days, and it is a common occurrence during image reviews that I think to myself that I probably should have taken a few more photos during the trip – especially with the fantastic winter conditions this year has received so far.
It is a simple image, but I like the mood in it. Late January is always a good time of winter on Lofoten; The days are long enough where you have plenty of time to shoot and get around, but the sun is low that you still have that feeling and atmosphere of being in the far north. By late February, the sun is beginning to feel a bit more ‘normal,’ or as it could be anywhere else in the world. It is only the difference of a few weeks, but you can feel it.
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 400mm ISO 200 f7.1 1/400 Second WB Daylight
Photo: Misty clouds conceal Ristinden peak at dawn, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 5, 2026. 09:30
I will dare to say that the last month has been the best winter in recent memory. Day after day of cold and still weather, barely a hint of wind, and nights of dancing northern lights over the snow covered mountains. Having completed my first 2 photo workshops of the year, both groups have walked away with amazing images that would often take multiple visits to Lofoten to achieve. It has been a good start to my winter guiding season compared to the struggles with warm, stormy weather of the previous couple years. Let’s hope this continues!
This image is from one of those mornings where I wish I could freeze time. Central Vestvågøy was largely covered in a low, wispy fog flowing in and out of the valleys and hills. Rarely have I ever seen such conditions in winter. Unfortunately, it was also a day in which I had to move the group from Leknes to Svolvær, which always makes things a little difficult with a van stuffed with luggage (and this group had a lot of luggage!).
As we drove east across Vestvågøy I could see the misty clouds swirling around the mountain peaks and as I reached the low pass at Torvdalshalsen, which, most importantly, has a parking area, I knew it would be a near-perfect location for the time being as the dawn light lit the steep slopes or Ristind among the swirling mist.
Despite the stillness, moments like this are often brief, and this was one of those times to remind the group with one of my common sayings, ‘Less talk, more walk!’ In other words, get moving people, this light isn’t going to last forever! And eventually the mist rose and concealed the mountain.
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 340mm ISO 200 f5.6 1/160 Second WB Daylight
Photo: Winter winds blow over Haukland beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 2, 2025. 11:48
But where are the mountains? Yes, there should be mountain in the background of this image, except at this moment in the middle of a passing snow shower, there aren’t. Or well, the mountains are there, you just can’t see them. Only a bit a patience, and understanding of Lofoten’s weather will determine if you leave the windswept beach or wait things out a little bit. For Lofoten in general, patience is often the key. Or perhaps experience is the key, as in the moment of this photo, all views seem lost. Should one stay, or walk away?
It is probably because of the false illusions of social media that many now expect almost every moment to be perfect. We want perfect scenes of a perfect snow covered beach and mountains, yet don’t expect to be there when the snow is actually falling and the mountains aren’t visible – that just occurs in some other magical time when we are not present. We only want the results, the scenes of perfection we now see a thousand times a day on social media.
But for a snow covered landscape to exist, it must snow at some point. And that moment might be when you are walking across a windswept beach.
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 14-30mm f/4 25mm ISO 100 f9 1/15 Second WB Daylight
We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.
Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.
Essential Website Cookies
These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.
Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.
We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.
We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.
Google Analytics Cookies
These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.
If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:
Other external services
We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.
Google Webfont Settings:
Google Map Settings:
Google reCaptcha Settings:
Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:
Other cookies
The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:
