Winter | 68 North

Friday Photo #52 – Haukland Beach Winter

January 3, 2014/10 Comments/in Friday Photo, Vestvågøya, Winter/by Cody

Photo: January dawn on Haukland beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 6, 2010. 09:49

Some time ago I posted a photo from this morning at Haukland beach, but as I’m now less than one month away from returning to the islands, it’s time for more winter images to inspire me. Even now, looking back four years later, it still remains one of my most memorable days on the islands and is partly what saw me start this website in the first place and begin to look at Lofoten with a different set of eyes.

After having spent a stormy night at Utakleiv attempting the sleep in the cramped back seat of my all-too-small rental car, Haukland beach was the first scene I came across for the day. I was not in a rush to get anywhere in particular, but I was in a rush to get as much variety out of the 4 hour day as possible. I was also still cold from the night, only having a 0˚ sleeping bag with me, as the temperature dropped to -10˚ or so, and the car had yet to properly warm me up in the short drive from Utakleiv. With already cold feet, I crunched my way across the snow covered sand and down towards the beach.

When I caught sight of this small chunk of ice on the frozen beach, I knew I had found something special. While Lofoten is cold, there is not often ice on the beaches such as this. But thanks to the cold temperatures and the small creek that runs into the sea at Haukland, a frozen piece of creek ice must have washed back onto the beach at high tide, and then a light layer of snow fell overnight to complete the scene. I have attempted to find a scene like this in my last several winter visits, but have never been so lucky again.

The only thing that distracts me is the otter tracks across the middle of the image, I guess he was up before me. But overall, this is still one of my favorite images from the islands.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 24mm f/3.5
24mm
ISO 200
f 16
8 seconds
WB Daylight
2 images – top/bottom

________________________

Well, I’ve reached image number 52, a whole year of weekly Lofoten Images. Good thing I still have about 900 images left in my archive to keep things going. But at the moment, I’m not too sure if I’m going to continue posting weekly photos. I initially started when there wasn’t all that much content here on the site, so I was just hoping to fill things in a bit. And in all honesty, I haven’t received much feedback for my efforts during the last year, so I’m kind of questioning whether it’s worth my time to continue.

So now your chance to chime in. If you find the information or stories useful on this Friday Photo series, maybe make a comment letting me know. If it’s just been a waste of time, you can let me know that as well. 🙂

Happy 2014! For those of us heading north in the next months, lets hope the mountains are full of snow and the skies full of Auroras. And if you see some guy in a ugly blue jacket wandering around, come say hello. (I also accept invitations to hot tea and use of an oven to cook a frozen pizza for dinner in.)

Friday Photo #41 – Eggum Nights

October 18, 2013/0 Comments/in Friday Photo, Vestvågøya, Winter/by Cody

Photo: Winter night on Nedre Heimredalsvatnet, Eggum, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Feb 2, 2012. 17:38

With a near full moon and calm winds, five-o-clock is too early to go to be, even in February on Lofoten. Parked at Eggum for the night, I wandered off for a bit of exploring.

Growing up in California, I’m not sure I even stood upon a frozen lake until my time in Germany five years ago. But with the low snow levels upon my arrival at the beginning of February, frozen lakes were about the only thing of interest. I wandered out into a shallow section of the frozen lake, making sure I could always see the bottom in case I happened to fall though; I figured as long as I could still stand up, it wasn’t too likely that I would die.

Several cracks formed interesting features on the surface of the lake, and so I used these as a foreground subject, lit by moonlight. It was a bit eerie, to stand there alone in the darkness, the ice creaking and cracking as the temperatures dropped, occasionally echoing a loud ‘boom’ through the mountains. I did my best to remain still and not fall over, often having to use my extended tripod as a bit of walking stick. A few days later, while on a different part of the lake, as I was putting my camera away, winds blew my tripod towards the center of the lake. It was a scary few minutes trying to get it back!

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 16-35mm f/4
16mm
ISO 320
f 7.1
152 seconds
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #40 – Vatterfjordpollen Winter

October 11, 2013/0 Comments/in Austvågøya, Friday Photo, Winter/by Cody

Photo: Ice forms on Vatterfjordpollen, Austvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Feb 15, 2013. 16:12

As the last light faded from the short February day I found myself passing Vatterfjordpollen on the way back towards Svolvær and in search for a car-bivy spot for the night. I was actually thinking of maybe checking out the Lofoten meeting of the Norwegian Alpine Club, but the hotel looked a bit to posh for me, as so I passed on by.

When the temperature is sufficiently cold, some of the tidal fjords will begin to freeze. Sometimes this creates something interesting and sometimes not. The days thus far in the heavy overcast sky had mostly been a waste. Another ‘weather’ day for Lofoten. But in the darkening sky I wandered down to the fjord’s edge.

By far from my best image from the trip, in those first days on the islands I’m always anxious to take a picture of something, anything. And as I drive in circles and see the needle on the gas tank fall, knowing next time I pull up to the gas station I’m going to blow through $100+, that desperation grows even further. Sometimes I don’t have the patience to park in one place and read the day away, even though I know I should.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
24mm
ISO 100
f 134
.5 seconds
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #36 – Vikvatnet Thaw

September 13, 2013/0 Comments/in Friday Photo, Vestvågøya, Winter/by Cody

Photo: Vikvatnet, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Feb 10, 2012. 10:42

This weeks Friday Photo is more illustrative rather than scenic in purpose. This photo shows that Lofoten is not always a winter wonderland of white snow from sand beach to highest peak. There is actually a fragile balance between snow and rain that has a rather dramatic effect on the appearance of the landscape, and in turn, what photographic opportunities you will find. With a fresh layer of snow, most anything is photogenic. When the snow line retreats up the mountains, the low areas can often look bland and lifeless.

Despite the northern latitude of Lofoten, the winter temperatures remain quite mild. For several days previous to this photo a southwest wind brought the temperatures above the freezing level, while rain melted away the snow. Finally reaching a high of 6.2˚C, which might not sound like much, but it was February in the Arctic Circle. And for another reference, the high temp on June 1st, 2012 was 6.5˚C, while June 1st, 2013 reached a high of 26.3˚C. What an amazing variation! Lofoten weather is unpredictable at best, and years seldom seem to repeat themselves. In fact, the weather almost makes a point of being completely bi-polar year upon year.

When I passed by this scene a few days earlier, the lake had been covered in a nice coating of snow. On this morning, I passed by once again on my way out to Haukland beach to see if I could find something interesting. Now, a layer of rain water covered the ice, allowing for a reflection of the mountains. And in combination with the freeze patterns in the ice, created some interesting texture. The light was a bit flat, but what can you do. I was glad it had actually stopped raining for a few minutes.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
44mm
ISO 200
f 11
1/20 sec
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #35 – Moonlight Over Eggum

September 6, 2013/0 Comments/in Friday Photo, Vestvågøya, Winter/by Cody

Photo: Moonlight over Mustaren, Eggum, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Feb 3, 2012. 17:13

To my dismay, barely any snow covered to lower elevations of the islands upon my arrival at the beginning of February 2012. This was in quite a contrast to my first real winter experience on the islands in January 2010, where it snowed so much that I got my car stuck several times and had to be pulled out. I had traveled to the islands imagining what scenes I would find and how I would photograph them, and yet I arrived to something totally different.

The lack of snow left much of the landscape somewhat drab looking, especially in the flat light of my first days on the islands. And so I found myself looking for new perspectives that I hadn’t though of. At this point in my previous winter experience, I’d never really seen ice, as it had always been covered in snow before. And so on my second night while camping out at Eggum I took a little wander.

By evening the the weather had calmed by what had thus far been some pretty blustery weather. Though Eggum is often one of those places, depending on wind direction, is totally blown out (usually), or sometimes eerily calm, such as this night. I tried some seascapes, but they weren’t working out particularly well, so I turned around and pointed my camera towards the near full moon just as some clouds began appearing from behind the mountain.

I stood there for a while in the cold and silence, the crashing of waves a few meters behind me the only sound to be heard. Some minutes later, a pair of otters began wandering around the rock near me, oblivious to my presence; perhaps it was so cold they couldn’t smell me, or I’d only been on the islands for a couple days so I wasn’t too ripe yet. I’ve seen otters many times on the islands, but this night, in the darkness, was the closest I’ve ever been to them.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 16-35mm f/4
16mm
ISO 200
f 11
121 seconds
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #33 – Olstind in Clouds

August 23, 2013/0 Comments/in Friday Photo, Moskenesøya, Winter/by Cody

Photo: Olstind hidden in Winter Clouds, Moskenesøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Feb 17, 2013. 17:11

Olstind, probably the most iconic peak of the Lofoten Islands, when you can see it. Taken at the same time an location as last weeks Friday Photo, another gloomy image during the fading light of a short February winter day.

For some reason I don’t imagine I’ll ever have enough images of Osltind. While often times I pass the mountain by if it’s a scene and lighting conditions I’ve previously photographed, when something new is to be found I’ll usually make the effort to hop out of the car, or walk, and see what I can come up with.

I think the calmness of the evening drew me out here on this particular day. I’ve seen the mountain hidden in clouds enough times before, but for some reason, there was something a bit more interesting this time. The sky was heavy, as indeed, rain started falling only a few minutes after this image. But at the moment, the islands were calm. The waters of the fjord sat flat and silent, hardly making a sound on the barnacle covered rocks I was standing on. And so yet another photo of Olstind was taken.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 100
f 8
8 seconds
WB Daylight
2 Images – Top/Bottom

Friday Photo #32 – Empty Rorbu

August 16, 2013/1 Comment/in Friday Photo, Moskenesøya, Winter/by Cody

Photo: Abandoned Rorbu, Vestvalen, Moskenesøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Feb 17, 2013. 17:12

Like last weeks Friday Photo, this is a location I’m so familiar with that I’ve never thought of taking a photo of it before. I’ve stood in front of this building a dozen times or more, with my camera pointed at Olstind – one of my favorite locations to shoot Olstind from as you can get away from all the power lines – yet I’ve never turned around and given much though to the building itself. Perhaps I just needed the right conditions.

I find something haunting about this image. It is dark and subtle, far from the typical ‘hero’ type Lofoten photos I and others normally take. It feels lonely and forlorn, yet with a glimmer of something. A future.

Perhaps on most occasions I would not have even been here as the last traces of light faded from a February day while a gentle rain began to fall just as I put my camera in my backpack and wandered back to the car. I was merely killing a bit of time before being graciously invited by another photographer I had met for a cup of tea in his Rorbu just down the road – an invitation not to be passed up while sleeping in a car in winter. And so, I ended up with what is probably one of my favorite images of the trip.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 100
f 8
8 seconds
WB Daylight
2 Images – Top/Bottom

Friday Photo #31 – Winter Farm

August 9, 2013/0 Comments/in Friday Photo, Vestvågøya, Winter/by Cody

Photo: Winter farm, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Feb 16, 2013. 14:21

It had now been several days of heavy, mountain concealing clouds covering the islands. Exactly the opposite of what I want, but often what is there. At least it was still cold, and the snow remained, so there is that to be thankful for. But it was one of those days where the needle on the gas tank drops lower and lower, yet the camera rarely makes it out of the bag.

I’ve driven by this lake and farm a hundred times or more, and never taken a photo, likely since I was headed towards something better. But for some reason on this particular day, a day of otherwise almost nothing photographically, the emptiness of this scene caught my eye. There is almost nothing but white and gray, save for a single farmstead. Somehow I can almost feel the cold and the bleakness of the Lofoten winter in this image. I’ll probably drive by a hundred more times and never take another photo.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
70mm
ISO 200
f 11
1/100 sec
WB Daylight
2 Images – Top/Bottom

Friday Photo #30 Flakstadpollen in Winter

August 2, 2013/0 Comments/in Flakstadøya, Friday Photo, Winter/by Cody

Photo: Frozen Sea ice in Inner Flakstadpollen, Flakstadøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Feb 14, 2013. 09:01

As the second half of February arrived this year, the previous weeks of cold, but clear and calm weather came to an abrupt end. Heavy clouds rolled across the islands and the beautiful light of the low winter sun was taken over by a flat, dull gray. At least there was still a decent coat of snow that had yet to be too covered in footprints.

I often arrive to the islands in less than ideal conditions, often missing some brilliant light by a day or two. But I always feel a need to get those first few photos. I have been to the islands enough now to know that I need to be patient, but as days 1, 2, 3 pass by and I’ve hardly touched my camera, I sense a growing frustration within myself to get out and shoot something. Oftentimes this can be a fruitless quest, but every once in a while, something interesting will appear despite all efforts of the light working against me.

This image only existed for a few day. Thanks to a fresh coating of snow that had fallen overnight, ‘cleaning’ up the sea ice, which by itself, was not especially photogenic. Luckily, despite the crowd of photographers on the islands this February, I was the first to come across this scene, finding it still untouched; though most groups only hang around Reine anyways, going for the ‘hero’ shots made popular by several photographers better known than myself. But that is good, as I often find that I have the rest of the islands to myself. Free of footprints in the snow, and to wander as I please. Perhaps I shouldn’t give away too many secrets though…

Without the crack in the ice, this scene would not have worked at all as it would have been too flat and boring. And I think in situations like this, one needs to resist the urge to punch up the contrast to some hyper-realism that didn’t exist. The light was shit, as it often is on Lofoten in winter. But using shape and form, there is still the possibility to find something interesting.

This is a scene where the 24mm tilt-shift lens is really is a valuable lens for Lofoten, often due the the sheer vertical relief of 800-1000m mountains rising directly from the sea. Much winder than 24mm, and there are distracting elements on the edges of the frame. But with a normal 2/3 crop, the tops of the mountains would be lost, unless getting low enough to the snow where the crack would then lose separation and definition. I guess one could always crop from a wider lens, but I don’t really like to do that.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm ISO 100
f 13
1/30 sec
WB Daylight
2 Images – Top/Bottom

Friday Photo #28 – Hamnoya January Sunrise

July 19, 2013/0 Comments/in Friday Photo, Moskenesøya, Winter/by Cody

Photo: Winter sun at midday, Hamnøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 6, 2010. 12:50

By the end of the first week of January, the sun is just barely beginning to wake from its winter hibernation. Not even fully crossing the horizon, the sun slowly arcs the southern sky before the long winter night returns by mid afternoon. While I had already made a half dozen trips to the islands by this point, this was my first real journey into the heart of winter.

Alone and cold, my only shelter from the fierce storms that blasted the islands was my tiny rental car, unable to even fully recline the seats to sleep. I spent and average of 20 hours per day wrapped in my sleeping bag, reading by the light of my headlamp to pass the time, drifting in and out of sleep when I could. Snow fell so heavily on several days that the only place I could park so sleep for the night was next to bus stops on the E10 where a snow plow would hopefully arrive by mid morning to dig me most of the way out. But it was over these 5 days that I took some of my brilliant photos of the islands to date. I embraced to cold and the darkness and used it to my advantage.

This image is from my first full day on the islands. The night had been turbulent and stormy (I had yet to learn that Utakleiv is generally not a good place to sleep in a car in winter), but as dawn arrived, the islands clear and calm. By midday I found myself in the west as the sun was beginning to break the horizon. It seemed to just sit there, halfway between sea and sky.

Despite the fact that the horizon was clear, the clouds overhead never developed much color. The mountain behind me were glowing a brilliant pink, but I also wanted to capture something looking towards the sun, even though the scene was actually somewhat boring to tell the truth. So after unknowing getting my car stuck in the snow (I had to get pulled by some guy in a tractor I found clearing the streets a little later), I walked over to the cod drying rack, still sitting empty this early in the year. Trying a few composition, I eventually decided something a bit more abstract might fit the scene better. So I ’tilted’ the lens all the way to throw most of the frame out of focus and help lead the viewer towards the sun.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 200
f 5.6
1/160 sec
WB Daylight
2 images – top/bottom
Full lens tilt

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