Friday Photo #477 – White Winter

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Photo: Deep winter freeze at Nedre Heimredalsvatnet, Eggum, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 9, 2022. 11:42

Lofoten has been full of snow for the last weeks and even the often windswept outer coastlines and mountains have remained in a deep freeze – the landscape often looking like a black and white painting. But unfortunately, this will soon be coming to and end for the time being as the weather forecasts are warning of up to 50cm of rain arriving Saturday night.

It will actually be a very quick transition from white winter to brown winter. The forecast for Saturday at 08:00 is -5 degrees c, while by 20:00 in the evening the temperatures will have risen to 5 degrees c. A 10 degree temperature difference in only a few short hours. And with it, heavy, snow melting rain, which looks like it will last throughout most of next week as well, unfortunately. Even Tromsø further north doesn’t look like it will be spared of warm temperatures and rain.

So tomorrow will be the last morning to enjoy the winter wonderland for now. How much will be left? Who knows. But hopefully the snow soon returns and there are plenty more weeks of skiing here…

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 14-30 f/4
14mm
ISO 100
f 9
1/40 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #476 – Clear Sky Quiet Sky

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Photo: Clear sky – quiet sky: barely visible aurora on clear winter night, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 15, 2022. 20:12

After weeks of high aurora activity but mostly cloudy and stormy conditions on Lofoten, a perfectly clear night finally arrived! But unfortunately, the aurora did not…

Clear sky, full moon, and fresh snow. Everything that would make a perfect night of northern lights. Except, other than a barely visible glow low on the horizon, the northern lights never arrived. Which was expected, as after a moderately active month with lots of high KP auroras dancing behind the clouds, the sun has grown in the last days.

But it can be a bit frustrating sometimes. If the clear sky had been just 2 days earlier, it would have been an epic night! But that is part of the aurora photography game. And even living in the arctic, a fair amount of luck and good timing is still needed.

Luckily, there are 2 months left in this winter’s aurora season – so 60 more nights to go out looking for the tricky lady dancing across the northern sky…

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
1.6 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #475 – Sea Eagle In Flight

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Photo: Sea eagle in flight over Nappstraumen, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 5, 2022. 11:34

Sea eagles are more or less a daily sight on Lofoten. Photographing them, however, tends to be a little more difficult. Although perhaps that is because I don’t consider myself anywhere near any sort of competency with wildlife photography, and usually only make any attempt when a seemly easy opportunity presents itself. Which in the case of sea eagles, happens on occasion.

Usually, they can be seen sitting on coastal rocks as one drives around. But as soon as you come to a stop, they’ll quickly fly away. The best opportunities I have is a rock they frequent on the road to my house, where I can drive past and park out of sight around the corner, then do my best to sneak up without being seen. Sometimes I’m successful, but usually not!

Driving home on a windy day last week, I noticed one eagle sitting on a small rock and another coming into land as well. I stopped my van and waited for a second. They didn’t fly away. Not having my camera prepared, I had to reach to the back of my van to grab it, and put on my 200-500mm lens, which was even further back in my van.

By now the first eagle had taken off, but the 2nd was still hovering almost parallel to me, fighting against the strong southern wind coming up the Nappstraumen. Rolling down my window, I was able to shoot from inside my van, as the eagle floated up and down in the wind. It soon landed for a second, but I think then decided the rock wasn’t really that nice of a place to rest, and took off again, this time slowly flying off around the corner.

Overall, I had maybe 3-4 minutes of being stopped with at least one eagle present, which is quite a long time! Unfortunately, I wasn’t prepared – I’m usually more watchful during the spring time when they are sitting around more often – and half that time was getting my camera setup. And it was quite dark and cloudy overall, so I needed and ISO of 1000, and really should have gone higher, as even at 1/800 second, there is still a bit of motion blur in the shot, as the eagle was bouncing around in the turbulent wind gusts.

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 200-500mm f/5.6
500mm
ISO 1000
f 5.6
1/800 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #474 – Missed Solar Storm

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Photo: Moderate twilight northern lights in sky over Storsandnes beach in early evening, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 2, 2022. 17:54

Wednesday’s clear skies and an incoming CME (coronal mass ejection) and prediction of G-1 solar storm is always an exciting forecast for Lofoten. More so after weeks of wind and mostly cloudy weather – though with northern lights to be found if one put in the time and effort. But a clear night sky is always something to look forward to, and seem like a somewhat rare treat in recent years.

With the aurora forecast in mind, I prepared and early dinner for myself at 17:00. When I next looked out the window into the still fading twilight around 17:30, I could see the first hints of green in the darker parts of the sky. Quickly getting dressed for the cold temperatures I was soon alone at Storsandnes beach shooting the aurora with still a little glow left on the horizon – a situation more common in early autumn or late winter, as normally, the northern lights are not out so early as this night.

Despite the early start to the evening, the aurora eventually began to fade and I headed home to warm up and wait to see what might happen later. But later never really came. There were a few small flareups from time to time, but not enough to take me from the warmth of my house. Looking at the aurora data, I could see that the solar energy had mostly faded. The solar storm would likely not arrive. And so I went to bed.

Waking up in the morning, I checked the solar data again. Now the storm had arrived! But not for Lofoten, unfortunately, as the day was already beginning to break. But those in Canada and Alaska were probably getting a nice show.

The same scenario receded itself yesterday (Thursday), with northern lights becoming visible as soon as the sky was sufficiently dark, yet fading away early. A few bigger flare ups occurred later in the evening, but by then, the sky over Lofoten was already heavily clouded, waiting the arrival of today’s blizzard like conditions…

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 2500
f 2
2 seconds
WB Daylight

Aurora data at 18:42 Wednesday evening.

Aurora date at 08:35 Thursday morning.

Friday Photo #473 – Light And Shadow

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Photo: Last light over the summit of Himmeltinand, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 27, 2021. 14:21

It is now the end of January and the sun has been climbing higher and higher in the Lofoten sky for several weeks now. Yet, the high arctic feeling is still here as the ‘Lofoten wall’ casts long shadows across the landscape. And many locations across the islands (such as my house) will not see the first sun of the year for many more weeks.

It is about five weeks after the winter solstice today, January 28th, and the sun will only reach a maximum altitude of 3.89˚ just after noon.

To give a comparison, on the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, nowhere south of about Östersund, Sweden, or 62.86˚n has the sun lower than 3.89˚ in the sky. To say another way; no one living below Östersund, Sweden, or the small village of Berkåk along the E6 in central Norway, will ever experience the sun lower in the sky than it currently is on Lofoten today.

But! Like I write about frequently, the benefit of being so far north is that the sun returns quickly!

This time of year, late January and into early February is when I feel Lofoten it at its best balance of arctic north, yet with enough daylight for productive days of photography and not just sitting around in the darkness. If you are on Lofoten now, you will feel like you are in the far north. By mid February or so, this feeling slowly fades away as the sun climbs higher in the sky and Lofoten could be winter in any number of places in the world; the high arctic feeling is gone.

The visible side mountains in the background of this image are quite open the the southern sky, so already receive several hours of direct sunlight each day. While the snowy field in the foreground of the image won’t see the sun until the 17-18th of February.

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

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Nikon 70-200mm f/4
70mm
ISO 100
f 6.3
1/80 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #472 – Winter Sun

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Photo: January sun hangs low in the southern sky over Vestfjorden from Ballstadheia, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 18, 2020. 13:37

The official polar night ended on Lofoten two weeks ago and the sun rises higher and higher in the sky each day – with a total increase in 1 hour of daylight per week. Still though, mid to late January is quite a dark time on the islands, with the sun remaining perilously close to the southern horizon. So close, that even the seeming inconsequential low band of clouds on the horizon was enough to block all of this days direct light until it finally moved around them just before sunset – 14:05 on the date of this image, January 18th.

Turning around 180˚ and facing north, it was otherwise perfect weather over the whole of Lofoten. But the most light the landscape saw until this very last moment of the day was a soft winter twilight. That small layer our clouds was enough.

This was also the first day I had seen the sun in the new year of 2020. So Just barely! If I had decided to be lazy and had skipped hiking up Ballstadheia/Nonstind on this cold day, I probably would not have seen the sun at all, as hiking up to 400 meters bought me a little more light potential – which payed off in the end.

I’ve previously posted the image looking towards the north – Friday Photo #368 – Which is a much better photo and the scene I was actually up there to capture. Today’s image is an illustration of how the actual conditions look at this time of year.

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

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Sigma 14mm f/1.8
14mm
ISO 4100
f 13
1/60 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #471 – Winter Driving

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Photo: Difficult winter road visibility in flat light and fresh snow, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. March 5, 2021. 15:59.

With Norway remaining essentially closed for last winter’s tourism season on Lofoten, the snowy roads in 2022 will likely be somewhat busier as photographers begin to travel again. Photographers and tourists that often are not experienced with winter driving conditions. So this weeks post is a bit of a safety post, which I do from time to time, for all the people chasing snowy beaches and northern lights over the next months.

Even in somewhat decent visibility as in this photo: no fog, sideways snow, its daylight, etc. You can see it is quite difficult to distinguish the right side of the road, even with the aid of snow poles. And what looks like plenty of room to pull over slightly will actually immediately see your car into a 1 meter deep ditch which begins just outside of the snow poles.

The flat light and lack of roadside objects of contrast make driving in these conditions quite demanding of attention, even more so in busy traffic or when the numerous large trucks heavy with fish are speeding towards you in the opposite direction down a road that is already uncomfortably narrow in summer.

For a more detailed article, see: Winter Driving

But for now, a few brief tips to keep you and others safe on the roads:

  • Never attempt to pull off the side of the road unless you are 100% sure of what is below the snow. Nearly all sections of road on Lofoten have drainage ditches immediately outside of the snow pole line. The road plows do an okay-ish job of cleaning out the roadside parking areas, but not always after a fresh snow storm. However, unless you have seen the roads in summer, I do not suggest pulling out into unknown depths of snow. This is a good way to get stuck.
  • Let other vehicles pass. With the above said about pulling off the road. If you are traveling especially slow, be polite and pull over at the next safe and visible pull out area. Signal clearly before doing so.
  • Do not park on the road! Especially so in regards to the E10. There are some nice roadside views, but unless there is a proper pullout, you cannot park on the road.
  • Be very careful of driveway and parking lot entrances. Driveway entrances are not always well marked, if at all, from the surrounding roadside ditches. The Parking at Haukland beach is a particularly treacherous one that always catches cars after a fresh snow.
  • Double any travel time Google maps give you for driving to a location in good weather. Triple the driving time in bad weather or darkness.
  • Stay home when its the best choice. There are several days each winter where it is simply unsafe and irresponsible to be out on the roads.
  • Be careful of side roads in periods of heavy snowfall. Especially so in early mornings or late evenings. When the snow is falling, all roads plows are out just to keep the main roads of Lofoten open. Smaller roads to rural villages or scenic areas might get temporary overlooked, and deep snow can build up quickly, especially in high winds. Uttakleiv beach is a good example of a location that is not always accessible during heavy snowfall.
  • Plan ahead in anticipation of any long drives. Weather conditions might dictate that if you are driving from Lofoten to Harstad/Evenes airport for example, you might need to adjust your schedule by a day or two. Beyond difficult and dangerous driving conditions, there are also several closure points, such as the Gimsøy bridge, which can block travel between west and east Lofoten, even for periods over 24 hours.
  • Most importantly: Enjoy your trip! Lofoten is not going anywhere anytime soon. You cannot control the weather, so there is no point in trying to fight it. The weather does what it does, so just go with the flow. You’re on Island Time up here…

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

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Nikon 24-70 f/2.8
36mm
ISO 100
f 10
1/25 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #470 – January Sun

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Photo: Midday January sun low in the southern sky over Nappstraumen, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 13, 2021. 11:53

After a month below the horizon, the sun finally returns to Lofoten this week. Although the first sighting is always weather dependent, and even a low layer of clouds might hide the sun for another week or more. But it is back, and will reveal itself eventually!

If the weather forecast is promising, I often like to hike up a mountain for my first viewing of the sun in the new year. And hopefully one of many more hikes to come as the days get longer over the following months.

In this image, even week after the polar night has ended, and just before noon, you can see how low the sun still remains in the sky. It won’t be until early February that the days begin to feel somewhat ‘normal’ for anyone visiting Lofoten. Before that, it is still quite dark and atmospheric here in the North. Perhaps one of my favourite times of year actually, as the ‘deep winter’ feeling is present, but then I know the return of longer days are actually not too far away. Much nicer than November, when one can feel the winter darkness creeping further in day by day, with many long dark nights still ahead.

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

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
52mm
ISO 31
f 13
1/25 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #469 – Reinebringen Twilight

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Photo: Twilight moon over Kirkefjord from the summit of Reinebringen, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. December 30, 2020. 11:32

I generally don’t pay too much attention to the moon here on Lofoten. On this morning I should have! My first thought upon reaching the summit ridge of Reinebringen and seeing the full moon over the mountains in the twilight sky was that I should have arrived an hour or so earlier!

Lofoten’s northern latitude means that the moon has a somewhat ‘odd’ orbit, to put it simply and without going into technical details. So in general, the moon is not part of my active photography consciousness most of the time. Usually I’ll just randomly see it from time to time, and maybe it happens to be in a good location for a photo, though usually not.

In the summer, I’m quite aware of the sun’s elevation in the sky throughout the weeks around midsummer, where the sun never sets. For me, this is easier to plan for as it doesn’t move as quickly as the moon, so there is a little more of a buffer in regards to weather and other conditions, making the timing not so critical. But with the moon; there is only 1 full moon a month.

On this morning, I wish I had arrived earlier so that the full moon would have been in the centre of the mountain pass over Kirkefjord, instead of somewhat out of place on the right side of the image. In its current location I feel it doesn’t really and much to the scene, and is perhaps even a distraction.

Although had I been on Lofoten earlier, perhaps the moon would have been behind the small layer of clouds lower on the horizon. And, still being a week away from the return of the sun, it perhaps would have been more of a blue hour type light instead of the soft pink twilight. I’ll never know.

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

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Nikon 70-200mm f/4
80mm
ISO 100
f 6.3
1/15 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #468 – December Hiking

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Photo: Hiker on the snowy ridge towards Vikjordtinden under a dark December sky, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. December 28, 2020. 12:50

Hiking days start early in December. And even then, there still might not be enough time to get to where you were planning to go. On the case of this dark and windy December day, the objective was Vikjordtinden on the southern side of Vestvågøy. We never made it.

Every day in December we wake up before sunrise here in Lofoten. If it is just a working day on the computer, then the time doesn’t matter too much. If I’m actually planning to go outside and do something, then this needs to be as a reasonable hour in the morning as the hours of visible light are preciously short – there is no time to waste!

Heavy clouds make December’s world even darker, so even just before 10:00 we were walking through the icy forest in near darkness. Luckily, there was no snow on the lower elevations and the boggy areas were mostly frozen, making for fairly easy hiking. But soon we left what little there was of a trail and headed cross country up a steep mountain ridge. The hiking here was somewhat slow and the warm-ish thin layer of snow that we eventually climbed into the heavy, wet, and slippery. And just deep enough to fill in the dozens of holes between rocks and the bushes.

The wind was blowing strong from the south, though not terribly cold. Continuing along the ridge, the snow deepened just enough to make route finding difficult as we climbed over rocky steps, careful not to slip. This took time. It was just before 13:00 by the time we reached the first high point along the ridge, before a long descent then another long climb to the summit. Not much light left on this dark December day.

And so I took a few photos before we turned around and began the slow descent. Returning to my van by headlamp.

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

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Sigma 14mm f/1.8
14mm
ISO 400
f 5.6
1/13 second
WB Daylight