Photo: Midnight glow from behind the mountains of Moskenes, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 20, 2019. 00:11
Sunday is the summer solstice which marks the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. Although for Lofoten, where the sun has been above the horizon for nearly a month now, it has already been a long ‘day.’ What it does mark though is the sun’s highest point over the northern horizon. From now, the sun will turn and begins its journey south again.
But not to worry if you haven’t reached Lofoten yet – the sun will remain above the horizon until July 17 or so. And it won’t begin to get dark again until the second half of August. There is still plenty more summer light left to enjoy.
Often, I actually find the solstice period a bit boring for photography, as the sun remains quite high in the evening sky. Yet on this evening, some nice light managed to shine through the mountains from the back of Reinefjord as misty clouds swept across the landscape.
Camera Info: Nikon D850 Nikon 70-200mm f/4 175mm ISO 100 f6.3 1/40 Second WB Daylight
Photo: Misty clouds swirl over the landscape after a night of summer rain, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 7, 2021. 06:53
This was one of those weather forecasts where it could be very good, or it could just be ‘ehh.’ It ended up more on the ‘ehh’ side of things.
I had been hoping for some nice evening light over Horseid beach while camped high on the ridge between Markan and Branntuva peaks. But what I had hoped to be some stormy-ish light just ended up being a mostly grey sky – until the midnight rains arrived and I headed into my tent.
Despite missing any evening light, the one benefit of the rain was misty clouds rising across the landscape in the early morning hours. The light was still flat and grey – the sun hidden behind thick clouds. But at least the rising low clouds added some depth and contrast to the otherwise completely flat light. Not what I had hiked up the mountain hoping to find, but it could have been worse…
Camera Info: Nikon Z7 II Nikon 24-200mm f/4-6.3 38mm ISO 100 f7.1 1/250 Second WB Daylight
Photo: Drying stockfish under a rainy March sky, Reine, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. March 19, 2026. 16:47
It had been an almost perfect winter, until it wasn’t. As soon as March arrived, the cold and calm days of January and February were instantly replaced with wind and rain. It was almost like a light switch was flipped. Almost a month later, and Lofoten has since received only a light dusting of snow, which is now melting away in the next waves of rain. My hopes of much, if any, skiing this year have melted away.
It is always difficult to make an impression about one year’s weather. What will next winter bring? No one can say. But looking across the years, it seems Lofoten’s winter season is becoming shorter. Not in an abrupt end, but kinda just fading away never to fully return. This is where Norway’s ’11 seasons’ joke comes into play. Perhaps we are in Fool’s Spring, or maybe it’s already Spring of Deception. There is still time for lots of winter left, but it just doesn’t feel like it will return this year.
In this week’s photo, Lofoten’s stockfish attempt to dry beneath a rainy grey sky. You can see in the background mountains that most of the snow is gone – it is already looking more like May than March. Despite being out in the field guiding nearly every day of the month so far, my own photography slowed down to a handful of days – although this is also due to many perfect photography days earlier in the winter. Even a week up north on Senja was filled with positive temperatures and rain.
While the clouds did part at times, grey has been the dominant color of March this year and I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve seen the sun. A north wind in shaking my house as I write this and Thursday’s scheduled cruise ship guiding was canceled because of the weather – though a big storm and 10m waves down south are largely to blame for that.
I was out last night, the first clear night in a long time, waiting for the rocket launch from Andøya (it was canceled). A faint aurora was in the sky, which would have looked cool with the rocket launch. As it became clear things were canceled around 21:30, I began my walk home. Turning off my headlamp once back to the road, I could see the horizon was still glowing. Soon I can dream of summer…
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 14-30mm f/4 30mm ISO 200 f6.3 1/125 Second WB Daylight
https://www.68north.com/content/2026/03/friday-photo-690-below-the-rain.jpg10001500Codyhttps://www.68north.com/content/2016/12/68north-logo-V4.pngCody2026-03-27 03:00:002026-03-26 06:50:11Friday Photo #690 – Fish and Rain
Photo: Classic view of Olstinden mountain peak rising over Reine harbor in winter, Reine, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 27, 2026. 11:34
Some scenes require little work and this is one of them. When you have a perfect reflection, nice dappled light, fresh snow on the mountain, and a few wispy clouds, all you need to do as a photographer is basically point you camera somewhere towards the mountain and the photo will more or less take itself. It is no wonder this is such a classic view of Lofoten.
I’m not sure how many times I’ve photographed this scene over the years. And often I’ll just stand to the side or help others. But at least once a winter, I still need to photograph it on especially nice days. This year it seemed to happen on my first workshop of the year in January. But I’ll be by more than a few more times in the coming month, so maybe I’ll get another version as well. Only time will tell for that…
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 24-120mm f/4 35mm ISO 32 f11 60 Seconds WB Daylight 10 stop neutral density filter
Photo: Dawn light shines over Narvtinden mountain peak and reflection, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 26, 2026. 09:51
This view has long been a favourite of mine. It is often a relatively straightforward shot, so I don’t tend to stop there too often anymore, but on this January morning, it looked like the sky had potential for something special.
The air was calm and still, and cold! Some snow flurries were gently floating in from the north so it was a race for which would arrive first; the light or the low clouds. It ended up being a bit of both.
As far as I could tell, the southern horizon seemed clear and I was hoping we’d get a good light show as the sun arrived. And it came very close, but didn’t quite happen. Conditions were just on the edge of one of those fire in the sky moments, the clouds never quite caught all the light and these soft pinks faded across the sky into a deep blue of the passing snow. I would have probably been better to be looking in a more southernly vantage point. But I do like the softness and subtleness of the light for this image.
Camera Info: Nikon Z8 Nikon 24-120mm f/4 84mm ISO 100 f8 1/13 Second WB Daylight
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
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
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
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
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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