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Friday Photo #680 – Frozen Reinefjord

Photo: Frozen snow covers the surface of Reinefjorden on a still winter day, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 7, 2024. 10:29

It is not often that the surface or Reinefjorden freezes during winter. While the temperatures are often cold enough to do so, it is often the near constant wind rarely allowing the fjord to sit still enough for the surface to eventually freeze. And while the fjord looks frozen and icy in this image, it is actually somewhat of an illusion – it is not ice on the surface, but the accumulation of heavy snowfall which was faster than the water could melt it away.

Ice or not, it still looked quite cool and is a fairly rare sight, especially going so far out into the fjord. It was the lucky combination of heavy snow without the usual accompaniment of wind.

It was quite treacherous actually getting to the shore line from the road, as it is very easy to miss holes in the snow covered boulders leading to the fjord’s edge, so slow precaution is always needed under such conditions. And you also don’t want to slip and end up taking an ice bath yourself.

I had already shot several different compositions, including the edge of the foreground before eventually wandering closer to this nice little crack through the ice to use as a leading line towards Osltind. By now the snow was beginning to fall again and the mountain was slowly disappearing until it eventually faded away for good.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 14-30mm f/4
25mm
ISO 100
f8
1/100 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #678 – Vanishing Sun

Photo: Vanishing sun in snow storm on Reinefjord, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 13, 2025. 10:13

On this week’s cruise around Reinefjord I could see the large wall of cloud and snow approaching from the north even before the ferry boat left the jetty in Reine. I could see on the radar that it wasn’t too big of a snow flurry, but the winds were calm and it was moving slowly. My only hope was that the clouds cleared by the time the boat reached Kirkefjord, so I could see my favourite mountains in Lofoten.

Not long into the journey the first flakes of snow began the fall, becoming thicker and thicker at the boat headed into the dark cloud ahead. Most people on deck quickly took shelter inside the cabin, while I chose to remain outside in hopes of seeing something interesting.

It would have been better captured on video, but I still like this still image of last moments of sun before it completely disappeared within the cloud of falling snow. My last moments of seeing anything in the outside world before entering a blank void of grey.

The cloud did eventually pass as the ferry reached Kirkefjord, leaving the mountains rising into an eerie misty sky. But I already posted a view from Kirkefjord (though from another day) last week, so no need for repetition…

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 24-120mm f/4
120mm
ISO 400
f6.3
1/1600 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #677 – Kirkefjord Reflection

Photo: Mountain peaks rise over Kirkefjord on a calm winter morning, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 1, 2024. 09:51

The inner fjord arms of Reinefjord are some of my favourite areas in western Lofoten. Even if not putting on the backpack and heading out to Bunes or Horseid beaches, the boat journey across the fjord is scenic enough itself. And so, more and more, if I can time the weather for a nice flat day or some otherwise interesting weather, I’ve been taking my winter photo workshop groups on a boat ride around the fjord. On this particular day, the group was lucky enough to have its own private rib boat for the journey, allowing me to stop the boat whenever I saw a nice view.

The dramatic peaks surrounding the small village of Kirkefjord has always been one of my favourite areas on Lofoten. Luckily we arrived to near perfect reflections just as the sun was peaking over the horizon and illuminating the vertical rock face of Merraflestinden.

The fjord is long and narrow, so by February, not much sunlight reaches the inner parts and not long after dawn the sun will already be blocked by the mountains on the western side. So one doesn’t have too much time with sunlight back there so early in the winter.

Despite pretty ideal conditions in this image, it is pretty evident to see what is missing for a winter image from Lofoten: Snow. Lofoten’s winters are not a perfect snow wonderland and rain is frequent. Had the mountains here been covered top to bottom in a fresh layer of snow, this probably would have ended up one of my favourite images from the winter. But no worries, I’ll have several chances to try again next year!

God Jul everyone. See you in the new year…

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 14-30mm f/4
20mm
ISO 1000
f5.6
1/320 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #675 – Hamnøy Dawn

Photo: Glowing winter dawn over Hamnøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 2, 2025. 07:54

This was one of those winter mornings on Lofoten where it feels like the sky is glowing from within itself. Even a photo doesn’t do justice to the light as you really need to be there, surrounded by it all – the same way no photo can ever show the experience of a dancing northern lights. I rarely photograph from the Hamnøy bridge these days, but on this morning I wanted to remember a bit of the atmosphere from the light.

Otherwise… While there are many places across Lofoten in which calm conditions are usually preferred, such as the other nearby location of Reinehalsen. For Hamnøy, I actually prefer a little more stormy and wild conditions, particularly for the sea and the rocks in the foreground. And even more so when it is low tide, such as this image.

The light on this morning was fantastic, and if you only have the option to visit Lofoten for a week, I would consider this a pretty decent image from Hamnøy. But for myself, I know the foreground, with that just overly large rock, not contributing much to the composition, could have been much better. I’m sure I’ll stand in this exact same spot for many hours over the coming months, so I won’t have lack of opportunities for this Lofoten classic…

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 14-30mm f/4
16mm
ISO 100
f6.3
15 Seconds
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #663 – Reinebringen Aurora

Photo: Northern lights over Reine from Reinebringen, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. September 27, 2020. 22:32

The Midnight sun season on Lofoten often gets the recognition for insomnia and sleepless nights among visitors. But once the sun sets in the north, the sleepless nights continue, but for a different reason: Northern Lights. If I actually think about it, being a photographer in Lofoten means pretty terrible sleep patterns throughout the year – and mostly just staying up quite late, regardless of if it’s winter or summer.

On this particular evening, all the date was looking promising for a decent aurora and so I decided to head to Reine and hike up Reinebringen. I’ve made several unsuccessful attempts over the years, but at least with the Sherpa stairs having been mostly completed by this point in 2020, the mountain was much easier to ascend/descend in the darkness – and now that the stairs are fully completed, its even easier.

As evening progressed and I could see the first aurora, I could also see a lay of clouds approaching. And while I was able to get some ok compositions, the clouds eventually came in and blocked out the best of the evening’s aurora.

Compositionally, it is also quite a difficult location for northern lights, especially when they are in the more easter and southern part of the sky. I would have perhaps been better with a slightly less active aurora closer to the horizon so I could look more north. In the case of this image though, it is two images, a lower and an upper, both at 14mm, to get both the city and the northern lights in the image. A single image alone would not have worked under these conditions and I would have missed too much of the sky or foreground.

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Sigma 14mm f/1.8
14mm
ISO 2000
f2
2 Seconds
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #662 – Solbjørnvatn

Photo: Autumn rain showers passing over Solbjørnvatnet, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. September 3, 2021. 16:44

This afternoon didn’t start out as rainy as this as I was wandering round the hilly landscape on the southern side of Solbjørnvatnet on Moskenesøy. I was semi-planning to hike Narvtiden on this afternoon but as I gained a little more elevation, it became quite clear that the weather was going to shift, not the best time to be on the steep and exposed trail to the summit. And so I hid in a small cave I found and waited out the worst of the rain.

Eventually the heaviest of the showers began to break up and beams of sunlight shined through the clouds. While often wish there would be a little less rain during Lofoten’s autumn – mainly for better northern lights – the autumn rain does make for much more dramatic landscapes and light than what typically occurs in summer.

And so I returned to my van quite soggy after this afternoon.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 24-200-f/4-6.3
37mm
ISO 100
f/8
1/1000 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #661 – Mountain Light

Photo: Beam of light shines from behind Breiflogtind, Lofotodden National Park, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. August 9, 2020. 21:51

There are many days in which I wish I could instantly teleport to several different mountain tops at once. This sunset was one of those moments. I wouldn’t even have needed to go far, just to one of the mountains you can see here, or perhaps the summit of Smeden, which is out of frame on the right, but would have a fantastic view towards the twin-peaked mountain, Breiflogtinden.

But I was on the other side of Kirkefjord, in steep and trail-less terrain, and camp already setup for the night. So I wasn’t going to get far on this evening. There were also some nice compositions in my vicinity, but had I known the rainy day was going to turn into this sunset, I would have chosen to go elsewhere…

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Nikon 70-200mm f/4
70mm
ISO 100
f6.3
1/60 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #657 – The Flow of Fog

Photo: Summer sea fog flows around the summit of Olstinden as seen from Reinebringen, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. July 19, 2019. 20:32

This summer, like most summers had some foggy days on the Yttersia of Lofoten once the sun finally came out in July and the temperature rose over 20˚c. On several occasions I was taken by surprise on an otherwise sunny start to the day as the fog rolled in and interfered with bbq and beach day plans – its not really fun to sit outside in a cold, grey mist. One should always be weary of a north wind on a warm summer day.

Since I can’t move my house, I’m generally stuck on the foggy side of Lofoten. But on many occasions I saw camper vans and motorhomes camped along my road on these grey, dreary days. I wonder if they knew that just driving a few kilometres to the south side of Lofoten, they’s have full sunshine and a nice summer day. That it where I would go at least.

In this photo, taken on an August evening from Reinebringen, you can see the fog flowing in from the left and swirling around Olstinden. This was quite a strong layer of fog, as you can see it flowing over 600-700 meter mountains in the background. But even then, Reine village – out of frame to the bottom right, remained fog free. So being in the right or wrong location on these days can make a big difference.

If you are hiking, being in the mountains is usually the right location, as being above the fog in the evening light is one of the coolest experiences in my opinion, especially photographically. And I think using long-ish exposures to capture the flow of the fog works better than shorter shutter speeds, at least in situations like this where the sun is out of frame. In the 30 seconds of this exposure, you can see the flow of the fog as it attempts to reach Reine.

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Nikon 24-70 f/2.8
62mm
ISO 100
f10
30 Seconds
WB Daylight
10 stop Neutral Density filter

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Friday Photo #649 – Moltind Midnight Sun

Photo: Midnight sun shines bright in sky over mountain landscape of Lofotodden National Park, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 13, 2020. 00:29

Another bright bluebird night from June 2020, this time watching the midnight sun from Moltinden (651m) peak, which rises high over Kvalvika beach in Lofotodden national park. In the north, the sun is just above the distant peak of Fuglhuken (557m).

This was actually my 2nd attempt at the peak within a short time period, however during my previous attempt I got lost in the fog trying to find my way up to the mostly trail-less summit, and so I turned around, not being able to see more than a few meters ahead of me. Though with a layer a sea fog below, that would have made for some nice photos! Maybe when I sense another foggy evening, I head up earlier in the day before it arrives.

On this hike as well, I actually took an alternative way up, hiking most of the way out to Vest-Kvalvika, before then basically climbing up the steep side of the mountain to the summit ridge. I took the normal ridge route for the descent, though there is one very narrow crossing, which I wouldn’t want to do if the trail was too wet.

I hung around for a little while on the summit. But without a single cloud in the sky and the sun beginning to rise again after its lowest point just after 01:00, there was no need to wait around all night.

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 100
f14
1/30 Second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #646 – Ryten and Fuglhuken

Photo: The twin peaks or Ryten and Fuglhuken rise over a twilight reflection on Kvalvika beach, Lofotodden National Park, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. May 16, 2021. 00:09

By mid-May the nights are no longer dark and its possible to be out all night long without need for a headlamp, so this is usually the start of my summer’s midnight hiking season on Lofoten. This evening’s forecast was for a nice clear sky so I headed out to Vestervika – West-Kvalvika beach to watch the sunset, which is already at 23:30 at night and sunrise again at 02:30 the following morning.

The slightly hazy but otherwise clear sky actually resulted in a fairly boring sunset of soft light just slowly fading away. But after the sun had been below the horizon for some time, this night pink twilight afterglow began to emerge and light up the landscape. This is basically the same light as the twilight nights in the 2nd of July, which is perhaps my favourite time of year for camping on Lofoten. It is generally too bright for me to do much camping during the midnight sun period these days when I can simply hike back out and have a nice bed to sleep in.

From this side of Kvalvika I always like the symmetry of the two peaks. And though it looks slightly smaller, Fuglhuken is 557 meter hight, while Ryten is slightly smaller at 543 meters. Though from the other side of the beach, standing directly below the vertical cliffs of Ryten, it is an impressive mountain to look at. I guess both views are nice in their own way.

After this shot, I packed up my back for the 4 kilometer hike back to my van and then the 40 minute drive home. Not a bad evening.

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
26mm
ISO 64
f11
20 Seconds
WB Daylight
6 stop ND filter

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