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Friday Photo #150 – Storsandnes Beach Winter

Winter twilight at Storsandnes beach, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Winter blue hour reflection at Storsandnes beach, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  January 19, 2015; 15:03

Friday photo #150 – Wow! Little more than a month away from 3 years of this. Not sure how I have managed, but I have. And I hope you guys have been finding these posts a useful look at what might exist behind an image, otherwise I’ve wasted a lot of time! 🙂

I’ve previously written about how I seem to have a regular rotation of locations I go over a series of years. For the past few years I have been visiting Storsandnes quite frequently. This image is from the final evening of a winter photo tour with Muench Workshops which I was guiding in January.  With a light dusting of fresh snow of the beach, we spent several hours from late afternoon until darkness.

I always think the winter blue hour on Lofoten has a special feel to it, especially as the mountains seem to glow so bright agains the sky, it is almost like they have their own light from within.

I have also chosen a beach image this week as I will hopefully announce the release of my 3rd Lofoten ebook in a few more days. Can you guess what it will be about? Did you guess Lofoten’s beaches?

I was intending for it to be a mini guide, but this wouldn’t have done proper justice to the variety of beaches which Lofoten has. And then including images from winter, summer, spring, and autumn, the book is now over 130 photos and over 12,000 words for the first draft. So it’s looking like it might be my biggest book yet!

PS: If you’re on my email list you will get a 25% discount for a limited time… 🙂

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
42mm
f 13
ISO 40
2.5 seconds
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #147 – Haukland Beach

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 #146 – Northern Lights

Northern Lights - Aurora Borealis shine in sky over abandoned Rorbu cabin, Valen, near Reine, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Northern Lights over Rorbu, Reine, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 11, 2014. 23:01

One of the benefits of shooting the northern lights along the fjord near Reine is the multitude of compositions that exist.  I had previously taken a number of images of this empty Rorbu in the area of Valen, and on this night, after shooting the northern lights in a few other areas, I decided to take my tour group here for a different scene.

And due to the low snow of February 2014, the mountains themselves weren’t in their top shape, so it was beneficial to use some local architecture as a foreground element in the photo.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 1250
f 4.5
20 seconds
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #130 – Hustind Winter

Hustind Winter Hike, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Climbing Hustind in winter, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  February 21, 2015.  13:18

Hustind is one of those peaks that I’ve driven by dozens of times, always thinking I need to hike it sometime, yet always pass it by for some other objective.  Finally, on a stormy February day after my friend Till joined me from Norway, we figured the peak would be a good warmup for things to come.

As we ascended towards the summit, we were under constant threat of the next wave of snow approaching from the south.  The higher we got, the closer the clouds.  But even then, a faint sun would break through from time to time, adding a bit of contrast to the otherwise cold and barren landscape.

One on the summit, the snow arrived within a few minutes and we had to descent in a near total whiteout, luckily with our footprints to follow…

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
16mm
ISO 250
f 8
1/500 second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #129 – Ryten Winter Hike

Winter HIking Ryten, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Winter hiking towards Ryten at Dawn, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 31, 2015.  10:15

Though the forecast showed calm winds, I could tell the clouds were moving across the mountain peaks a bit faster than I wanted.  Even so, I tried to be optimistic about things and packed up my camping gear for the night.  The goal: A night camping near the summit of Ryten.

A short while into the hike and after the first little climb I rounded a corner and saw the magnificent light of the sun shining across the snow through a hole in the clouds.  Luckily, the light lasted longer than I expected and I was able to capture a few different compositions.  I think this image captures the mood of the day quite well.

Later, upon reaching the top Ryten, the wind was so strong that I could barely stand up or talk. The plans for camping were obviously off, so we headed back to the car. I wish I would have carried a lighter backpack all day, but good exercise I guess!

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
24mm
ISO 250
f 8
1/160 second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #128 – Hoven Winter View

Hoven, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Winter view from Hoven, Gimsøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  January 21, 2015.  11:53

With another one of mid January’s fantastic winter days, and the day after I hiked up Offersøykammen, I found myself a bit bored again, so I headed up Hoven, a small mountain on Gimsøy.

Luckily, I again had a few footprints in the snow to follow, taking away any difficulties in winter navigation. Though even in winter, Hoven is a relatively straight forward and simple hike, it’s always nicer to have a path to follow, if only to save on time.

By the time I reached the summit I was down to a t-shirt – so much for arctic circle in the heart of winter!  But a moderate breeze was blowing, so I quickly returned to a down jacket once I stopped moving and started shooting.

The southern sky, with the noon sun low on the horizon was glowing a bright orange.  At this time of year, the sun is so low in the sky that only southern facing aspects of the islands receive any direct sunlight, and that’s only if their not blocked by any mountains.

I liked the reflection in the water below, and the contrast between the cool blues of the snow and the warm sky.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 70-200mm f/4
130mm
ISO 160
f 9
1/125 second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #127 – Himmeltindan Winter Sunrise

Vikvatnet winter, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Winter sunrise over Vikvatnet and Himmeltindan, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  January 27, 2015.  10:06

A somewhat mild winter, temperature wise, left many of Lofoten’s lakes still unfrozen or only partially frozen at the end of January.  Lakes that I had stood in the middle of at the same time in previous years were now no-go zones, unless I was looking for a cold swim.

But in this gentle balance of freezing and thawing, unique patters and shapes can form which give a bit of detail to a scene.  In this case, there was a rock just beneath the thin layer of lake ice which kept the nights snow from melting.

The snow circle was a few meters into the lake.  I tried to get as close as possible, and still being close to the shore, the water wasn’t that deep, but I didn’t want to risk breaking through.  So I pushed my camera and tripod out as far as my arms could reach, the ice making creaking sounds with every movement, so I could get something of a decent composition.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24mm f3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 125
f 11
1/13 seconds
WB Daylight
2 images – top, bottom

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Friday Photo #126 – Storsandnes Twilight

Storsandnes beach in winter, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Winter twilight at Storsandnes beach, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  January 20, 2015.  14:35

I had shot Storsandnes in fantastic light at dusk on the previous evening, yet as the light began to fade on this day, something drew me back here again.

The light was similar to the previous afternoon with the soft pinks and blues as the earth’s shadow passes through the sky prior to the arrival of night.  But there were some gently moving clouds beginning to appear, something to add balance to the sky.

Though this image is fairly similar to several others that I have taken at Storsandnes, there is something more interesting here than in any of the others.  I’m not sure if it’s the simplicity of the composition or the subtleness of the color, but it is one of my favorite images from the winter of 2015.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 4mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 31
f 13
90 seconds
WB Daylight
6 stop neutral density filter

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Friday Photo #125 – Offerøykammen Winter View

Offersoykammen in winter, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Winter view from summit of Offersøykammen, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  January 20, 2015. 12:01

The fine weather of mid January 2015 held on for a few more days after my time guiding for Muench Photography Workshops.  After Picking up my rental car in Stamsund, I didn’t really know what else to do than go for a short hike.

There was lots of fresh snow around and my snowshoes wouldn’t arrive for a few more days, so I had to pick something easy and familiar – Offersøykammen seemed like a good fit. Luckily a couple people had gone up the route before me – it’s a popular peak with the locals – so I didn’t have to do any route finding and thus made pretty good time as I climbed towards the summit.

The winds picked up a bit as I reached the top a little before noon.  The low winter sun, barely rising over Skottind to the south cast a nice orange/pink glow across the wind carved snow of summit.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 200
f 11
1/100 seconds
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #124 – Hamnoy Winter View

Hamnoy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Hamnøy in Winter, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  January 17, 2015.  10:06

A classic view of Hamnøy from the bridge.  This view has become one of the more popular compositions of Lofoten over the last couple years, coinciding with the growing popularity of Lofoten itself as a winter destination and the fact that many photo tours base themselves on Hamnøy, only a few minutes walk away. It seems that every time I drive across the bridge, there is a row of tripods setup.

But it is a composition that suites itself particularly well to the soft light of winter – and the more snow the better, of course.

The final image is a composite of 3 images shifted vertically with the 24mm tilt-shift lens.  I knew I wanted a vertical composition, but I don’t really like 2/3 crop vertical images much these days.  So with the tilt-shift lens, I can shoot multiple images and crop to 8×10, without losing any file size.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 125
f 9.5
25 seconds
WB Daylight
3 images – top, middle, bottom
6 stop neutral density filter

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