Winter | 68 North

Friday Photo #157 – Flakstadøy Coast

Photo: Crashing waves on Flakstadøy coast, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 18, 2015; 10:19

Beyond the beaches on the east side of Flakstadøy, there are near endless possibilities of other coastal scenes. This section of coast, before reaching Storsandnes, was particularly nice on this day as the bigger waves carried just enough strength to wash over the flat, coastal rocks.

Though I often shoot 2 image with a tilt-shift lens for the square crop, this image a bit rare for me in that I utilized separate exposures for each image. for the waves, I wanted a nice flow of water, but still a bit of detail and not a totally soft and milky look, so I use a 1 second exposure. However, for the sky, I wanted a bit of softening of the clouds, so I exposed at 10 seconds for the upper image. I could have gone longer, but shooting 2 images always takes a bit of extra time, and I usually end up having to run away from a bit wave multiple times while shooting, so I need to work fast…

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24mm f/3.5
24mm
f 13
ISO 31
1 second, 10 seconds
WB Daylight

January 8, 2016/0 Comments/by Cody

Friday Photo, Vestvågøya, Winter

Friday Photo #156 – Offersøykammen Winter Sun

Photo: Low winter sun from Offersøykammen, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 20, 2015; 12:31

Happy 2016! I’m not quite sure where 2015 went, probably because I spent most of my time behind the computer writing 3 ebooks on Lofoten, but the new year is here. I have some big plans for the year, which if I can manage, should result in some pretty cool stuff happening on this site and beyond.

Next, this image marks 3 years of Friday Photos! I’m not quite sure how I have done it, and on a few occasions it was sometime late in the night before I thought, ‘Oh crap! it’s Friday!” And then quickly tried to write something. Lately, it has been a bit of a struggle as I put most of my focus on ebooks; I’m not a natural writer, and some weeks I only have so many words in my head, which once used up, I struggle to produce anything more. But I’ll still continue along as best as I can.

For anyone who has purchased one of my ebooks in the last year, thank you! Without your support, I’m not sure what the future of this site might be. I must admit, there are times when I wonder if keeping this site going is still worth it, especially as there are so many new places in the world to discover. It really is hard work to provide so much information…

Now to the photo. A rare, sunny and calm winter day in early 2015. One of the last good days before the weather more or less turned into one endless storm for pretty much the whole of February. Having been dropped off in Leknes and then hitchhiking to Stamsund to pickup my rental car, I had something of a late start to the day. Offersøykammen seemed like the easiest destination to get some decent images without too much effort.

I think it can be written, that the sun barely rises above the horizon in January, but sometimes that is hard to translate visually. A big reason of these Friday Photo posts is to show you what it really looks like. So this is just about as high as the sun reached on January 20, with pink light shining across the snow covered landscape. The day is one long sunrise – sunset. Absolutely fantastic!

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
20mm
f 16
ISO 200
1/60 second
WB Daylight

PS: There are still a few places available on my winter photo workshop in February, if you’re interested in trying to get to places like this… 🙂

January 1, 2016/0 Comments/by Cody

Friday Photo, Moskenesøya, Winter

Friday Photo #155 – Toppøy Winter

Photo: Toppøy in winter, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 14, 2015. 08:28

A fresh layer of fallen snow at dawn – perfect! Though the heavy sky kept much color from appearing, a layer of snow covering the coastal rocks down to the tide line is one of my favorite types of winter scenes on Lofoten, and one that has to be taken advantage of when it appears.

I have shot many versions of this scene over the years, more often turning 90˚ to my right and looking across the fjord the the rising pyramid of Olstind, across the fjord. However, on this day I turned my attention to the Rorbu cabin, as the light was slightly more interesting in this direction, with a bit more contrast behind the mountain. And I have plenty compositions of Olstind in better light anyhow…

I think this is a nice ‘winter on Lofoten’ type scene: Rorbu, mountains, sea, and snow.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24mm f/3.5
24mm
ISO 125
f 11
20 seconds
WB Daylight

December 25, 2015/0 Comments/by Cody

Flakstadøya, Friday Photo, Winter

Friday Photo #154 – Hustind Winter Hike

Photo: Winter climb of Hustind, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 21, 2015; 13:39

The weather was bad basically everywhere on Lofoten this day, however, with my friend Till having just arrived on the islands from Germany, we were looking to head somewhere into the mountain. Hustind seemed like a good option.

One of Lofoten’s more iconic peaks as the background of the popular Skagsanden beach, the summit is a rather lonely place much of the time, and even more so in winter. With passing waves of snow and no trail to follow, the route simply takes you up, until reaching the top.

This photo is from about mid way, as the mountain begins to steepen before reaching the summit. In the background, the next wave of clouds and snow are approaching, which would envelop us shortly after arriving on the summit, leaving us in a white-out until we descended back down the mountain.

You can checkout a summer hiking guide for Hustind HERE.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 400
f 8
1/400 second
WB Daylight

December 18, 2015/0 Comments/by Cody

Friday Photo, Vestvågøya, Winter

Friday Photo #153 – Haukland Beach Winter

Photo: Winter view over Haukland beach from Mannen, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 23, 2015; 13:24

A few weeks earlier I tried to take the normal trail to the summit of Mannen, but beneath the deep snow, I took a wrong turn. Once my friend Till arrived on Lofoten from Germany, we took a look at the mountain and decided to take the ‘direct route.’ An hour plus of climbing the steep hillside, traversing thin passages of snow, and a final scramble up the rocky ridge, we arrived at the summit.

The weather was grim, with a strong wind blowing from the west, flying snow filling the air over Uttakleiv. But a few parts of the mountain remained sheltered enough to keep my tripod steady as I took in the view over the snow covered Haukland beach.

While this location is better known for its summer view, I think I like the winter version better.

You can find a (summer) hiking guide to Mannen HERE.

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

Photo: Winter ascent of Mannen, Vestvagøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.February 23, 2015

December 11, 2015/0 Comments/by Cody

Friday Photo, Moskenesøya, Winter

Friday Photo #152 – Bunes Beach Winter

Photo: Bunes beach frozen in winter, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 25, 2015; 12:28

After a night of rain while camping at Bunes beach in February the following day arrived with clearing weather and cooling temperatures.

In winter, Bunes doesn’t allow water to flow very easily to the sea, which means that a large part of the beach become a shallow 2-6 centimeter deep lake. With the addition of a night of rain, even more of the beach became waterlogged. As long as temperatures are above freezing, this is fine, just some puddles to walk through. When the temperature drops however, nearly the entire beach become a giant sheet of ice!

It is a long walk from the camping area at the back of the beach to the shoreline. Now imagine the whole distance being frozen. There were some awkward moments of time as we utilized our best skating techniques to cross the beach. If we weren’t lazy, crampons would have been a much safer option for walking…

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

December 4, 2015/2 Comments/by Cody

Flakstadøya, Friday Photo, Winter

Friday Photo #150 – Storsandnes Beach Winter

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

November 20, 2015/2 Comments/by Cody

Friday Photo, Summer, Vestvågøya, Winter

Friday Photo #147 – Haukland Beach

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

October 30, 2015/0 Comments/by Cody

Friday Photo, Moskenesøya, Winter

Friday Photo #146 – Northern Lights

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

October 23, 2015/0 Comments/by Cody

Flakstadøya, Friday Photo, Winter

Friday Photo #130 – Hustind Winter

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