Friday Photo #209 – Winter Tourism

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Friday Photo #209 - Sakrisøy Winter

Photo: Sakrisøy and Olstind in winter, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 22, 2015. 17:39

I couldn’t really decide for a photo for today’s post. However, with near storm force winds hitting the islands today, maybe I will talk a little about visiting the islands in winter. And more specifically, driving.

With the New York Times listing Lofoten as one of the top travel destination of 2017, it is going to be a busy year here on the islands. Already I have seen the rental cars begin the fill the previously quiet, near empty E10 which has existed over the last few months. The draw of winter here in the north is a powerful one – one of the reasons I myself decided to call this place home after traveling here for so long.

With the increase in traffic, I have recently seen some very poor driving practices from inexperienced winter drivers over the last days. Driving here in winter is scary, especially with sideways blowing snow at night (which is currently 15:30) and gale force winds. Driving 40 mph along the E10 is fine, and probably safe. But please, when choosing a place to allow others to overtake, do not pull over immediately before a blind turn, as has happened several times in the last days to me. I do not want to get killed trying to pass you! Find a straight section of road, and slow down there. The locals are not going to run you off the road if you do not immediately pull over when they arrived behind you – this is the countryside, we are used to tractors, sheep, and all kinds of other slow moving stuff on the roads…

Also, it is generally not allowed to park along the E10. It is a highway, despite the fact that the speed limit is slow in Norway and it might feel more like a country road. Unfortunately though, with snow covering many of the pullouts, unless you know where they are from experience, this means you might have to drive by that epic shot, or at least find a safe parking place and walk back. If you would not park along the highway at home, do not do it here either, just because its more scenic.

Drive extra carefully when the temperatures warm up/cool down. Lofoten is not as cold as it looks and the temperatures rise and fall continuously throughout the winter. The scariest time to drive is when it begins to rain after a cold period, turning the roads into a wet and slippery mess. Even pulling down into parking areas such as Skagsanden can cause trouble in these conditions. So be careful. And in the opposite effect, warm rain which freezes overnight will also turn the roads into chaos. The road crews do their best to prepare and maintain the roads for such conditions, but it can take time.

At the end of the day, Lofoten is here for you to enjoy! So do your best to do so. But please also be aware that the islands are not a giant amusement park. Winter tourism is a relatively new thing for the islands, and it might take some time for things to adjust, as this was traditionally a time locals have enjoyed quiet and solitude outside of the busy summer season. But times are changing and everyone should be able to get along…
Nikon D810
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
24mm
ISO 64
f 10
20 seconds
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #208 – Kvalvika Beach Winter

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Friday Photo #208 - Kvalvika Winter

Photo: Winter view over Kvalvika beach from Ryten, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 28, 2016. 16:22

I attempted a night camping on Ryten last year (2015), however conditions deteriorated and it was so windy that standing was difficult, much less setting up my tripod! This February I had a little more luck.

Heading up Ryten (hiking guide here) in late afternoon, the plan was to camp. Though In winter, one can never be too sure of these things. However, arriving at the top, it was perhaps the calmest weather I have ever experienced on Ryten; hardly a breeze. Which was good, since the ground was frozen solid and the snow of poor consistency, so I couldn’t really stake out my tent properly.

The light wasn’t the best, with the often, seemingly ever-present layer of clouds on the horizon, blocking out the last of the days light. But it is a nice scene none-the-less. This will probably also be my view for the first day of 2017, though, with winds forecast to 20+ m/s in Ramberg, I doubt I’ll get many photos from up top!

Have a good new year everyone! There will be plenty more photos to come in 2017…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
15mm
ISO 100
f 11
1/20 second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #204 – Reine Sunrise

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Friday Photo #204 - Reine Sunrise

Photo: Autumn sunrise over Reine, near Vindstad, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. October 23, 2016. 08:51

The original plan for the previous night had been to camp on the summit of Storskiva. But it was far too windy to stay up high on the mountain, so we descended the peak and found a more sheltered location above Bunes beach, with nice views towards Reine as well. The nights come early in late October, and after a long, cold hike, I was soon fast asleep.

I didn’t know what sunrise would bring, but I wasn’t optimistic, and my tent was still shaking strongly in the cold wind as I stirred myself from sleep and took a look outside. Not much. But I go up anyhow and went to join my friend who was already up, taking a bit of shelter behind some rocks.

Soon enough however, a faint pink began to shine on the clouds and I could see the first rays of light hitting the peaks rising above us. The light slowly crept down the mountains until it was upon us. I knew it was time to move!

I quickly grabbed my gear and hopped to the far side of the rocks, looking directly into the autumn sun rising over Reine, on the far side of the fjord in the distance. It was windy like mad facing in this direction, and I wasn’t entirely sure that my light mountain tripod would get me any still shots, but I did my best to wait for brief pauses in the gusts, where things were a bit calmer for a brief second or two.

Composition wise, I don’t think this is the strongest image. But I can feel the warmth of the sun after a cold night, and that is what draws me into it.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
24mm
ISO 200
f 14
1/10 seconds
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #199 – View Over Bunes Beach

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Friday Photo #199 - View Over Bunes beach

Photo: Panoramic view over Bunes beach and Reine near summit of Storskiva, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. October 22, 2016. 12:11

After the previous weekend’s failure to reach the summit of Ertenhelltind, last weekend I found myself on the 21:30 ferry from Reine to Vindstad with another mountain in sight. The goal: Storskiva. The iconic peak rising 848 meters above the southern side of Bunes beach.

The autumn has mostly been mild and dry this year, and even mostly cooperative on the weekends when my mountain partners are available. Though no rain was forecast, a shower passed over my house Friday afternoon, giving me a bit of hesitation about the condition our route for Saturday. But as evening came, the radar was clear and so I headed to Reine.

After a cold, windy night camping on the pass above Bunes, we took a leisurely start to the hike. The forecast was for full sun, yet the sky remained somewhat cloudy, but above the summits at least! With the sun low on the horizon at this time of year, Bunes only gets a brief amount of sunlight. With the clouds added in, light was only cast among the surrounding mountains.

A little below the summit we took a shot break and I shot this 12 image pano, handheld – not always time/need for the tripod, even though it was on my backpack. The wind was blowing cold, so we didn’t stop long. Above, the temperatures dropped below freezing and the turf was frozen and slippery, with winter just around the corner. But not before one last snow free summit of the year! And one that I have waited a while for and will surely be back again to watch the magical summer midnight light shine across Bunes and Helvetestind!

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
24mm
ISO 200
f 10
1/320 second
WB Daylight
12 image pano

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Friday Photo #198 – Yttersand Beach

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Friday Photo #198 - Yttersand Beach

Photo: Autumn morning over Yttersand beach, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. October 18, 2016. 09:31

I had originally planned to camp on the summit of Fuglhuken, yet a late start to the day meant I would not reach the summit before sunset. The weather was cloudier than forecasted, and my main hopes were for a repeat of the northern lights, which had been fantastic on the previous night – when I was a bit lazy after a day of climbing, so stayed low on the beaches.

I thought about just heading back to the car, but since I had already carried my gear up to Ytresandhei, I decided just to stay the night up on the ridge near Røren, just in case anything happened.

At 18:40, I saw the first flicker of aurora in the sky. However, the combination of high clouds and full moon were too strong. Crawling into my sleeping bag to escape the cold, I remained optimistic for the sky to clear, and kept checking until late into the night. Sometime early in the morning a faint aurora glowed overhead, but it wasn’t strong enough, nor was I, for me to enter into the cold.

Dawn brought some nice colors, but the composition was off for my location on the ridge. So when it became evident I wouldn’t shoot much, I packed camp and began the short walk back to the van. It wasn’t until I was almost back at the parking area that I thought this scene looked interesting enough to pull out my camera. The clouds were moving just enough for me use a 10 stop ND filter and and an exposure of 90 seconds to bring a little softness back into the sky to match the feeling of the light.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
28mm
ISO 50
f 13
91 seconds
WB Daylight
10 stop ND filter

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Friday Photo #197 – Olstind Rainbow

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Friday Photo #197 - Olstind Rainbow

Photo: Autumn rainbow over Olstind mountain peak, Reine, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. October 2, 2016. 08:44

The beginning of October brought the usual turbulent autumn weather across Lofoten. And with the wind and rain come the rainbows. I often remark, that for a place with so much rain, rainbows are relatively infrequent compared to my experience with similar conditions such as in Scotland. Yet with the autumn rains and the lowering sun, the rainbows seem to grow in frequency.

I was guiding a tour on this particular morning. I was just about to pickup a client from the bridge at Hamnøy, but as I saw the rain approaching, I told him to stay – and where he got an absolutely fantastic photo – while I continued across the bridge and parked on the other side.

By the time I was out of my van, the rain was already falling, blowing right into the direction I needed to shoot. I turned my back to the wind and set my camera up in advance. Turning quickly, I fired off a series of shots as the wide glass of the 14-24 was pelted with rain. Luckily the first few shots were good enough.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
16mm
ISO 125
f 7.1
1/250 second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #195 – Ytresand Aurora

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Friday Photo 195 - Northern Lights

Photo: Autumn northern lights over Ytresand beach, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. September 27, 2016. 21:12

The forecast called for heavy clouds and a bit of rain, yet as the day faded into night, the sky remained clear. Busy with work, I peaked out the window just to see if anything was happening. Lights!

Hopping into my van, I knew my best shot was to head to Ytresand. Only 5 minutes from my house, it is not only a scenic beach, but also a relatively quiet place compared to the more popular Skagsanden beach – as I was aware of several photo tours on the islands at the moment.

As I arrived and ran down to the water the sky was filled with light. I first set up a time lapse sequence to shoot with my little Fuji, then wandered elsewhere to shoot with my D800. It was high tide, so I couldn’t get the clear reflections I was hoping for the the flat, sand beach. But the aurora was so strong that even the incoming tide took a nice green tone.

It is for nights like this that I moved to Lofoten. Hopefully there are many more in the coming months…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 1600
f 3.2
10 seconds
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #194 – Summer Sunset

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Friday Photo 194 - Summer Sunset

Photo: July sunset over Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. July 30, 2016. 23:19

I think the color on this evening will take some time for me to beat! I’ve already posted an image from the same location for Friday Photo 188, but that was taken from my tent, and almost an hour before this image. One of those Lofoten sunsets where the light just keeps on getting better and better as the hours pass; my tired body from a long day in the mountains struggling with my mind which wants to keep shooting. Luckily the photographer in me won on this evening!

The previous evening, while hiking into our mountain camp I had seen the promise of what the light could be from this location. However, having not reached Vindstad until 22:00 on the Friday evening ferry, and a little bit of wandering around trying to find which way to go, meant I missed most compositions before the light had gone, and it wasn’t nearly as colorful as this anyhow. But wanting to hike a bit out of the mountains from our high camp, this location seemed like a good spot.

And it was! From late afternoon till midnight, I hardly had time to put down the camera as the light was constantly changing and there were a million scenes to shoot all within a few minutes of my tent. My total photo count for the day was 1,888 images, which for me is a 4-5 times what I would normally shoot, even on a day that I consider good!

I think I will try and get back here in winter, and see what this location has to offer then.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
19mm
ISO 100
f 11
1/13 second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #193 – Vindstad Ferry

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Friday Photo 193 - Vindstad Ferry

Photo: Fjordkyss arrives in Vindstad, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. July 30, 2016. 16:32

It is now mid September and the long days of summer are already feeling like a distant memory. The green fields and leaves of summer are now taking on the golden tones of autumn and the nights feel like they are becoming oppressively long. Where has the midnight sun gone? Next year I guess.

This image is from an evening camping above Vindstand on the second night of a mountain adventure to one of Lofoten’s rarely visited valleys. The forecast called for rain overnight and in the morning, so we though it best to head a little further out of the mountains to not have such a wet walk in the morning. Turns out the forecast lied, but I won’t complain this time!

I didn’t plan to photograph the ferry, but as I saw it coming across Reinefjord on its second run of the afternoon – the summer crowds at Bunes beach fill the boats beyond capacity, I thought it would possibly make a good photo for the next edition of my Summer ebook. Lucky for me, the sun was also cooperating, with a nice light shining on the foreground, and I actually like that the background mountains are in shadow. Summer on Lofoten…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
20mm
ISO 125
f 8
1/320 second
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #191 – Summer Camping

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Friday Photo #191 - Summer Camping

Photo: Sunset camp near the summit of Moldtind, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. August 19, 2016. 21:22

The weekend saw me making a second, and this time successful, attempt on the rarely visited peak of Støvla, near Sørvågen in the west of Moskenesøy. Not leaving until mid afternoon for the like hike in via Munkebu hut and then off trail with difficult route finding to Moldtind, we arrived after 19:30 and set up camp on the flattest rocks which could be found on the entirely rocky mountain. And of course, nice views were a priority as well, with our tents looking directly over Hermannsdalstind, rising across the valley to the north.

As the sun grew low on the horizon, the late season snow glowed pink, creating a scene that looks more like winter as opposed to the last days of summer. The sky overhead was brilliant, in color that lasted long into the night and provided may more images. I kept high hopes for the possibility of northern lights, but as the midnight darkness arrived, so did the rain, which was my companion until morning. Maybe next time as there are still plenty of tent nights to be had before the winter takes its hold over the islands.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
19mm
ISO 250
f 10
1/60 second
WB Daylight

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