Friday Photo #530 – Hamnøy Aurora

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Photo: Northern Lights from the Hamnøy bridge, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 19, 2023. 23:23

After an extended period of grey skies over Lofoten, the weather finally cleared and the aurora once again danced in the sky over the islands. I wrote last week (friday photo #529) about the winter crowds on Lofoten this February. And while the Hamøy bridge has always been one of the most popular sunrise locations, it now seems to have become one of the more popular aurora locations as well, as crowds lined the bridge every night with even a small potential for aurora.

While I understand why it is one of the more iconic sunrise location of Lofoten, I’m not quite sure why it has become so popular for northern lights. It is technically a quite difficult image for aurora, as there are multiple light sources of various intensity which makes most images requiring somewhat complicated post-processing – at least more than I like to do, though I’m perhaps in the minority here. And it also requires the northern lights be be in quite a specific area of the sky, much more so than other locations. So in a rare clear sky in the 2nd half of February this year, ‘the bridge’ would definitely not have been my first choice of aurora locations. And this photo was only taken after I had visited multiple other areas previously this evening – and my workshop group was staying the foreground cabins, so it was a short walk from ‘home.’

Below, you can see the behind the scenes of the image. Not anywhere near an enjoyable nature experience, but more like the hustle and bustle of a big city. And the bridge lights (the yellow cast of the foreground rocks) are so bright, that you can barely see the northern lights with your own eyes. So everyone was taking pictures of something they didnt even get to enjoy themselves! It’s one thing for me, living on Lofoten with 8 months of aurora per year, but if this was your only chance, and you spent your time on the bridge. Ehh, I don’t know… Perhaps photos are more important than actual experience these days.

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

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 20mm f/1.8
20mm
ISO 1000
f 2.0
5 seconds
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #529 – Photography Season

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Photo: Photographers line the Hamnøy bridge at dawn, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 19, 2023. 07:31

If I had any doubt that travel was still slow in the post-Covid era, it is now over. Lofoten is currently as busy, if not more, than ever for the winter photography season. Some days it seems as if every single pull out along the E10 is filled with multiple photo groups, even including random places that I’ve rarely ever seen people at before. It is crowded out here these days!

For those of you who might of read my article about Norway’s new-ish driving regulations for commercial guiding, I have thus far seen no sign of enforcement during the last month, and the roads of Lofoten are as full as ever of rental vans and international workshop groups. Currently, there are only three licensed tour operators among the dozes of others here on Lofoten. Though a bus driver that crashed a bus full of Italian grannies off the road last weekend seems to have gotten fined, this is a rare event.

Beyond workshop and tour groups, there are a lot of individual travelers as well. I’ve written previously, but if I was an individual photographer, I would avoid February on Lofoten these days, unfortunately. While one might get lucky at times, you will more often than not have to deal with crowds at every location in which you wish to shoot. Though perhaps this is normal for many locations around the world these days, and maybe I’m one of the rare ones that remembers Lofoten winters pre-2015. The Corona years were a nice memory of the old days on Lofoten, but now that is over for sure!

I’m not quite sure why February is peak season on Lofoten. January is more atmospheric for the feeling of the arctic winter, with still enough daylight for productive photography days. While March is typically has calmer and more reliable winter conditions overall, though this has been changing somewhat in recent year, as winter overall on Lofoten has become less reliable – even Senja and Tromsø are now receiving extended periods of mid-winter rain these days.

So, this weeks photo is an average morning on the Hamnøy bridge this February. Some days are busier and some less. But it seems there is always at least one person standing on the bridge 24 hours a day, sun or sideways rain, waiting for that perfect moment…

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

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 24-120mm f/4
91mm
ISO 100
f 5
1/60 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #528 – Light or Conditions

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Photo: Olstind mountain peak rises into misty winter light over Reine harbor, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 29, 2023. 12:11

It is the middle of February and the winter photography season on Lofoten is well under way as individuals and tour groups chase the best arctic light across the islands. I myself will barely sleep for the next month as I show my own groups around Lofoten and Senja. February is high season for photography on Lofoten – where as I’ve written numerous time before, there is hardly a tripod to be seen in summer. Which I personally find strange, as summer is beautiful on Lofoten!

Much of my time this winter will be spent surrounded by the iconic views of Moskenesøy and west Lofoten, helping my clients get the best possible conditions at the classic photo locations and exploring new locations as the clouds and light shift across the islands; Looking for perfect light and perfect conditions. And, when lucky, both at the same time!

Though it winter, this can sometimes be a rare phenomenon – dramatic light and perfect weather conditions for a location. Take the two images here, taken just two days apart on my first workshop of the year in January. The image above is a classic shot from the Reinehalsen viewpoint with Olstind perfectly reflecting in the harbor. But the light is boring and flat. The second image, taken the day before, was a brief moment of dramatic light as the sun emerged from the clouds between snow showers. But it was windy and the waters of the bay unsettled. Without the reflection, I always think this scene fills a little empty and unbalanced – too much blank water filling the scene.

Ideally, I would have liked the light of the 2nd image with the reflection of the first. But, that can sometimes be a rare thing on Lofoten. So you try bother versions and see which one you like best. In this case I prefer the first image – relatively boring light, but better overall conditions for the scene.

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

Camera Info image 1:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 24-120mm f/4
41mm
ISO 100
f 8
1/30 second
WB Daylight

Camera Info image 2:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 24-120mm f/4
38mm
ISO 64
f 9
1/40 second
WB Daylight

Photo: Olstind mountain peak rises into sunlit passing snow showers over Reine harbor, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 28, 2023. 11:42

Friday Photo #527 – Winter Storm

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Photo: Crashing waves at Myrland beach during winter storm, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 8, 2023. 12:56

I powerful storm swept over Lofoten on Wednesday causing damage and road closures across the islands. Included in the damage was a smashed rear window on my van – not sure if caused by wind alone or if something hit it. Either way, it was a shock to walk outside Thursday morning, happing that my road had now opened after several days of closure, only to see my van filled with glass and snow. It then took most of the morning and afternoon to come up with a temporary solution until it can get properly fixed in two weeks.

Some of the highest windspeeds recorded Wednesday were 47.3 m/s at Svolvær airport, 39.2 m/s on Skrova, and 37.5 at Leknes airport. Just for reference, hurricane speed winds are anything over 33 m/s. So it was a windy day on Lofoten! But beyond the wind, the warm southern air also brought torrential rain, with one location on Austvågøy measuring 229.6mm of rain in 24 hours.

For Lofoten and safety, this is considered ‘stay at home’ weather. Ferries, flights, and buses were canceled. And the E10 was closed by rock slides and landslides in several location, isolating parts of Lofoten. Also in such windy conditions, lots of pieces of buildings can be blowing around, making it dangerous for both driving and walking. On my drive to Stamsund this morning to fix my window, I could see a lot of debris near the road which had blown from somewhere.

Even if you can’t speak Norwegian, it can be a good idea to checkout the local newspapers (Lofotposten or Lofot-Tidende) and their facebook groups if you see in your weather forecast that a big storm is approaching. These storms are generally forecast and observed for several days before they hit Lofoten, so the local papers will send out warnings and announcements when necessary. Any road closures with be shown on the traffic information map on Statens Vegvesen’s website.

But, as wild as the storm was in reality, without any visual reference, many the ocean for Lofoten, the storms don’t actually look that stormy in photos. I was on the wrong side of the islands to photograph the biggest of the waves, and I would only consider the waves in the above photo as medium: visually somewhat stormy yes, but not too powerful or high. This image is a complete failure to represent to ferocity of the day.

Additionally, when Lofoten receives such weather, the sky is often just grey. Boring flat grey. And in this case, filled with rain. Had I not included a moderately stormy looking beach in the foreground and just photographed some mountains instead, it would look like it was just taken on a boring rainy day.

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

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 24-120mm f/4
60mm
ISO 1000
f 5.0
1/400 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #526 – Eye Of Uttakleiv Storm

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Photo: Winter waves wash over the rocky coastline concealing the Eye of Uttakleiv, Uttakleiv, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 24, 2022. 15:32

I had originally planned another image of the full moon for this weeks post. But as the evening light faded I could see waves crashing over the small rocky islands off the coast from my house – the rocks I use as a gauge to see how stormy the sea is. And so with Lofoten well into winter, I thought I might talk about weather and timing for certain locations in Lofoten. And specifically for today, the famed ‘Eye of Uttakleiv.’

Where is the Eye in the above image? Well, that is specifically the problem I want to talk about with timing and weather. In the case of the above image, the Eye in concealed beneath the waves and tide of a stormy winter’s day. While I like the image itself well enough, had my intent been to photography the Eye on this day, I would have been out of luck. It was simply too stormy and the waves were crashing too high, even at low tide.

In general, I think the stormier the better for seascapes, particularly at Uttakleiv. But if one was hoping for a photo like the image below, a stormy day often won’t work. Or, I should be even more detailed and say that that a storm from a southern direction, bringing a southern swell and waves, will likely work for the Eye. With the above image, the storm and swell was out of the north, which crashes directly into the bay at Uttakleiv.

If you have have a few days on Lofoten and the ability to select locations for ideal conditions, it can be useful to use and app/website like windy.com to check the swell size and direct as it hits Lofoten. If you want stormy coastal conditions, head to parts of the islands where the swell is impacting directly. If you want calmer coastal conditions, head to the opposite side of the islands. Although, since you can’t move the Eye of Uttakleiv to another location, if it’s on your photo list, you’ll want to keep an eye out for a calmer swell on that part of Lofoten.

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

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 14-30mm f/4
17mm
ISO 31
f 13
10 seconds
WB Daylight

Photo: Calm winter conditions at Eye of Uttakleiv, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.

Friday Photo #525 – Winter Full Moon

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Photo: Winter full moon over Ristind, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 5, 2023. 11:58

After the storms of the new year passed the weather of early January calmed just in time for the return of the sun, which I first saw on January 4th this year. At the same time was also a bright full moon filling the sky over Lofoten. And while I was happy to see the sun, I found it more interesting to shoot the moon.

Part of this is due to the fact that January sun is ‘south’ of Lofoten, barely rising over the water of Vestfjorden. So there’s not really too much you can do while shooting the sun, as its in an awkward location. The full moon offers much more variety in early winter, and being opposite the sun, if often in a more photogenic location during the midday twilight.

I wrote last month in Friday Photo #518, how I tried to shoot the full moon over Kirkefjord from Reinebringen, but didn’t quite succeed on the only day with suitable weather for that attempt. Conditions in January were no longer suitable for hiking Reinebringen, so I didn’t put in the effort for anything special. Though I knew the moon would shine over the mountains on the northern side of Vestvågøy during the day, so I kept an eye out for this.

I shot the moon here over two days. This first day produced slightly nicer light as the southern horizon was clear, allowing for a hint of alpenglow to shine over the mountains, Ristind in this image. Compositionally, with the multiple jagged peaks of Himmeltindene and Ristind, I found it easier for a long telephoto image, than a medium wide shot showing more of the landscape, as it was hard to light up all the mountains with the moon also in a location which felt balanced.

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

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6
350mm
ISO 100
f 5.6
1/80 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #524 – Stortind Winter

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Photo: Stortind mountain peak rises over snow covered sand during low tide in inner Flakstadpollen, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. December 16, 2022. 11:16

By ‘normal’ weather standards, this past December was a good one. Starting out dry and cold, a couple passing storms put down a good layer of snow before quickly clearing to calm and cold weather again. It wasn’t until the holidays when a warm spell arrived, bringing windy rain across the islands.

Looking at the weather data below for 2022, you can see the last two Decembers have been abnormally dry, receiving only about 50% of expected precipitation. However, within the two Decembers themselves, 2021 was largely better during the 2nd half of the month, while 2022 was better during the beginning and middle of the month. This is more or less a small look at what happens throughout the year as well.

If one were to seek advice online about when its best to visit Lofoten, summer often gets the top choice – especially among non-photographers. This is sometimes true and sometimes not. Looking at 2022 you can see several spikes of warm weather, but an overall cool summer. You can also see the June and July had slightly above rainfall. And then August, which turned out to be the second wettest month of the year, with nearly triple the normal rainfall. And following with the normally wet and rainy September, it seems like the year1s quota of rain must have fallen in August, making September one of the driest months of the year.

What’s my point to all this? Nothing really. Or simply to illustrate the difference between what the weather should do, and what the weather actually does. Like everywhere else in the world, sometimes the weather is better than average, and sometimes worse. But you won’t know which until you get here and look out the windows.

Though a tip, mostly for those on road trips with a planned stop to Lofoten. Keep an eye on the weather before your planned visit, and this applies to the rest of Norway as well. If you can seen just a constant flow of rain and storms sweeping across Lofoten, try to adjust your plans if possible, or potentially skip Lofoten overall for a destination with improved weather. And the reverse can also be true, with southern Norway having the bad weather and then you should race north to Lofoten’s sun.

I myself use this tactic when planning short road trips around (northern) Norway or longer hiking trips over in Sweden. I generally try to give myself a rough timeframe of when I was to visit a place, and then keep an eye on the weather until the time seems right. In the last years I’ve tried to spend a bit more time down along the Helgeland coast south of Bodø. But the summer’s have left me checking the weather forecasts daily, hoping for a week of good weather. In the last years, I’ve had to settle for maybe 2-3 days of hopefully not terrible weather, between otherwise seemingly endless weeks of rain. Hopefully summer 2023 turn out better!

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

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 14-30mm f/4
14mm
ISO 100
f 10
0.4 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #523 – Reinebringen Winter

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Photo: Winter view over Reine from Reinebringen, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. December 11, 2022. 11:58

Late last week a pair of hikers required helicopter rescue from the summit of Reinebringen as they were unsure of their ability to descend from the summit. It was a cold and windy-ish day, but nothing too extreme by Lofoten standards, though the short days of early winter makes hiking a bit more risky simply due to the limited hours of light and reduced margin of error should a rescue be required; The Sea King helicopter is located in Bodø, while the alpine rescue team is located in Svolvær.

At a modest 448 meters high, it is easy to underestimate Reinebringen – and even more so since there is a stone stairway all the way to the top, making it perhaps Lofoten’s most popular hike in summer. Winter, however, is a different story.

Under usual winter conditions on Lofoten, Reinebringen is not a safe hike to attempt. And there are multiple signs at the base of the mountain warning so.

The upper 1/3rd of the mountain, below which much of the time hiking is spent, consists mostly of steep rocks slabs which release frequent avalanches, even well into the spring – when rockfall also becomes an increased danger. The steps themselves will be covered in snow in most places, if not entirely, especially on the upper portion of the mountain where wind blows deep snow into the gully where the steps are located. The wind also means the snow on the upper, steepest part of the mountain can often be hard and icy, much more so than lower down.

On Friday Photo #518’s post with an image taken from this same day, I wrote that the storms passing at the time meant Reinebringen would probably not be a safe hike for the rest of the winter. A warm-ish and rainy holiday season, followed by multiple days with a cold south-east wind blowing straight into the mountain has also added to the danger, as most of the upper mountain snow is probably quite icy and hard by now. Any new falling snow will likely be quite avalanche prone for the foreseeable future.

Beyond the avalanche risk of the mountain, the hike itself is quite steep and exposed. Once crossing into the upper half of the route, there are many places where one would not want to fall. And tragically, the mountain has taken two young lives in the last year alone: December 2021 and June 2022. Reinebringen’s 448 meters and popularity should not be underestimated.

So, with all of the above saying Reinebringen is a danger hike in winter and should be avoided, how am I posting a photo of a winter view from Reinebringen? Well, specific winter conditions and very little actual snow meant the hike was less risky than usual for winter. One benefit of living on Lofoten full time is that I can observe the changes in weather and the mountains. I knew this was the first snow of the winter and only a small amount had fallen, while the weather remained cold and stable after the storm had passed. So this was a rare opportunity for a winter visit to Reinebringen in conditions that were fairly predictable and safe.

And importantly, never be afraid to turn around. I had actually made a visit to Reinebringen in late November. There was no snow present, but Lofoten had been in a deep freeze of clear, windless days. A thin layer of frost was covering everything from sea to summit. I started up the steps, which felt fine. But around step 30-40 I turned around to test the feeling of the steps on decent. Even with spikes on my shoes, they were quite slippery and caution was needed. The thought of having to descend 2000 steps in such manner seemed like a difficult and dangerous task. And so I continued down the 30-40 steps and back to my van. A cappuccino at Bringen cafe was a better idea than Reinebringen on this day.

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

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 24-120mm f/4
27mm
ISO 100
f 8
1/20 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #522 – First Sun

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Photo: My first sunlight of 2023 as the sun partially rises over the Vestfjord, Hamnøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 4, 2023. 12:25

After a stormy holiday season with lots of wind and rain, the weather has finally cleared just in time for the return of the sun to Lofoten! Wednesday I headed towards Reine to try and catch a glimpse and there she was, shining over the southern horizon of the Vestfjord.

This winter season has been the shortest polar night since I moved to Lofoten in early 2016. My last sun sighting was December 11th (Friday Photo #519) from the summit of Reinebringen – which you should no longer hike this winter season, and there was a helicopter rescue there yesterday of stranded hikers. And the return of the sun on Wednesday, January 4. So 23 days between sightings of the sun. Not too bad, as I’ve periods of up to two months some years.

With the sun now having crossed the horizon, the days will begin to feel much lighter. Though the rising of the sun is still somewhat slow, roughly 0.1˚ per day. It will be another week, January 13th, before the sun is fully 1˚ above the horizon at its highest when viewed from Reine. So this is the time of year when Lofoten’s snow covered mountains glow red and pink throughout the day in one continuous motion from sunrise to sunset.

There has also been a wonderful full-ish moon filling the twilight sky over Lofoten the last days, of which I have much better images than a boring closeup of the sun – which could have been taken anywhere, at anytime of day, really. But I was happy to see the sun again, so pictures of the moon can wait, as they are not as time sensitive. So perhaps next week’s post will be a nice picture of the moon over some mountains. If nothing else more interesting occurs between now and then…

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

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6
400mm
ISO 100
f 5.6
1/1000 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #521 – Calm Between Storms

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Photo: Winter blues of the polar night on Christmas day, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. December 25, 2022. 12:56

The peaks of Himmeltindan rise into the pastel blues of twilight on Christmas afternoon in a rare moment of calm weather in the last week. Lofoten has been in full winter mode for several weeks now, and with that has been near daily storms and the usual flight and ferry cancelations. Even all the local buses were canceled this morning.

Although I miss the calm weather of the first half of December, the current storms are actually much more normal at this time of year. The holidays have seen Lofoten briefly filled with tourists and I see many of them walking the streets of Leknes in the noon twilight and blowing snow wondering what they have gotten themselves into. Although there has also been brief moments of dancing northern lights if one looked out the window at th right time.

The weather systems look like they will continue blowing across Lofoten over the weekend and into the new year. A friend and I had discussed plans for a midnight hike on new year’s eve to watch to fireworks from the mountains, but looking at the current forecast, a warm fire and whisky will probably be a better idea!

Now over a week past the winter solstice, I can slowly sense the days lasting longer – still not that long though! But soon it will be time to wait for the correct weather and head out for my fist glimpse of sunlight of the year. Although as I’ve previously written (Friday Photo #519), my last sighting of the sun this year was December 11th, so it not that long ago, and better than many years.

With the storms also usually come slightly warmer temperatures, and that is how the current forecast looks for the next week. Though with the existing snow base currently on Lofoten, it will take a prolonged period of heavy rain before most of the sea level snow even melts. So I’m cautiously optimistic that 2023 will be a good winter on Lofoten – both visually for my photo workshops and physically for lots of skiing. But of course like all things weather related in northern Norway, only time will tell…

Happy New Year from Lofoten! See you in 2023 and year 10(!!) of Friday Photo weekly ramblings.

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

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 24-120mm f/4
53mm
ISO 100
f 8
1/5 second
WB Daylight