Moskenesøya | 68 North

Friday Photo #151 – Bunes Beach Sunrise

Photo: Colorful summer sunrise at Bunes beach, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. August 17, 2013; 04:45

After having nearly slept in – see Friday Photo #44 for a bit more backstory – my second morning on Lofoten presented me with one of the most colorful sunrises I have seen while on the Islands. My only regret is that I was up on Helvetestind the previous morning, which would have been an absolutely fantastic location for light like this, but Bunes beach was a close 2nd!

It was one of those moments where there is almost too much light, not that I’m complaining! Making it a little difficult to concentrate and the actual scene you are photographing when there is so much around to look at. And then I wonder how many compositions I have time for before the light runs out. Luckily, I had a second camera which I balanced on a rock to shoot a time-lapse sequence – which you can see as the opening sequence of my ‘Northern Light’ video.

I returned to my tent with a small across my face on this morning. It was a good start to another Lofoten trip. Though this was slightly made up for with the storm that blew over during the afternoon/night as I headed over to Horseid beach.

I know I mentioned it yesterday, but I have now released my 3rd Lofoten ebook: Beaches of Lofoten. While my first two books focused on the seasons, this book is a location guide to the fantastic beaches of Lofoten, Bunes being on the the best.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
52mm
f 13
ISO 50
.5 seconds
WB Daylight

November 27, 2015/0 Comments/by Cody

HIking, Moskenesøya, Updates

New Mountain Hiking Guide – Røren

Photo: View over Yttersand beach from Røren, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

I’ve just added a new hiking guide for Røren – Ytresandheia. You can check it out HERE.

More just an easy ridge walk than a mountain peak, this easy little hike provides you with some fantastic views over Yttersand beach. I hiked this route this past June, and it will also be featured in my upcoming ebook guide to the beaches of Lofoten – and the hikes to view them from above. I’m currently about 9,000 words into the writing process, and while I’m intending for it to be a mini-guide, the ebook will probably come in well over 50 pages – I guess I get carried away sometimes.

Thanks to everyone who has already gotten a copy of my 2 previous guidebooks: Seasons on Lofoten – Summer and Seasons on Lofoten – Winter. Without your support, I’m not sure how much longer I could keep providing new content for this site. So thank you!

November 17, 2015/0 Comments/by Cody

Autumn, Friday Photo, Moskenesøya

Friday Photo #149 – Reinebringen Twilight

Photo: Autumn twilight over Reine from Reinebringen, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. September 25, 2013. 19:00

The promise of a clear September sky brought me up Reinebringen for the night with hopes of northern lights. But even in the north, not every clear night brings auroras, and so, despite my 360˚ views, the sky remained quiet until a faint glow arrived at midnight, before quickly vanishing again.

But simply being alone, high in the mountains of Lofoten is a pleasant enough experience in and of itself. The northern lights would have just been an added bonus. This night was cold, with a bit of frost beginning to form, the first signs that winter wasn’t too far away. A spent most of the night laying half-way out of my tent, so I cold keep an eye on the sky without having to move around too much and get out of my sleeping bag. As time passed, I eventually had to begin setting the alarm on my watch to go off every 20 minutes as my eyes grew tired and I drifted to sleep beneath the million stars overhead.

You can checkout the hiking guide to Reinebringen on my Lofoten hiking page. The mountain is perhaps the most popular summit on Lofoten at the moment – more because the name has enter the public consciousness, rather than the view being so much better than anything else; I have several mountain views I like better myself. But with the popularity, the fragile arctic landscape is beginning to suffer. Places that used to be trail are now blank, slippery rock as the covering dirt and vegetation have become warn away. Be conscious of the impact each step makes; the land can handle 100 feet, it can’t handle 10,000.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
f 11
ISO 100
1/8 second
WB Daylight

November 13, 2015/0 Comments/by Cody

Friday Photo, Moskenesøya, Winter

Friday Photo #146 – Northern Lights

Photo: Northern Lights over Rorbu, Reine, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 11, 2014. 23:01

One of the benefits of shooting the northern lights along the fjord near Reine is the multitude of compositions that exist. I had previously taken a number of images of this empty Rorbu in the area of Valen, and on this night, after shooting the northern lights in a few other areas, I decided to take my tour group here for a different scene.

And due to the low snow of February 2014, the mountains themselves weren’t in their top shape, so it was beneficial to use some local architecture as a foreground element in the photo.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 1250
f 4.5
20 seconds
WB Daylight

October 23, 2015/0 Comments/by Cody

Friday Photo, Moskenesøya, Summer

Friday Photo #139 – Hamnoy Rorbuer

Photo: Hamnøy under cloudy summer sky, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 8, 2015. 19:54

Summer or Winter? Despite the calendar telling me it was June, the Islands were anything but summer like on this day. A west wind was bring an near endless series of misty showers and low clouds hanging over the mountain peaks.

This is one of the famous views of Eliassen Rorbu on Hamnøy. I have a similar version of this image from a past winter. Looking at the two side-by-side, it’s hard to tell the difference of seasons.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24mm f/3.5
24mm
ISO 31
f 16
25 seconds
WB Daylight

September 4, 2015/0 Comments/by Cody

Friday Photo, Moskenesøya, Summer

Friday Photo #138 – Haukland Beach

Photo: Summer day over Haukland beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 3, 2015. 15:43

It’s always good to start a Lofoten trip with sunshine! Having arrived by ferry in the mornight, picked up my van from Arctic Campers in Ramberg a couple hours later, I next found myself heading up the trail to Mannen (see hiking guide HERE), under a nice blue sky.

The view from Mannen over the crystal blue waters of Haukland beach is one of Lofoten’s most Iconic views. And at 400 meters, with a gentle trail to the summit, I like to think of Mannen as having one of the best views-for-effort ratios on Lofoten.

The view looks south, so it’s better to hike in early morning or late afternoon to avoid the sun glaring off the water.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
24mm
ISO 100
f 10
1/250 second
WB Daylight

August 28, 2015/0 Comments/by Cody

Friday Photo, Moskenesøya, Winter

Friday Photo #129 – Ryten Winter Hike

Photo: Winter hiking towards Ryten at Dawn, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 31, 2015. 10:15

Though the forecast showed calm winds, I could tell the clouds were moving across the mountain peaks a bit faster than I wanted. Even so, I tried to be optimistic about things and packed up my camping gear for the night. The goal: A night camping near the summit of Ryten.

A short while into the hike and after the first little climb I rounded a corner and saw the magnificent light of the sun shining across the snow through a hole in the clouds. Luckily, the light lasted longer than I expected and I was able to capture a few different compositions. I think this image captures the mood of the day quite well.

Later, upon reaching the top Ryten, the wind was so strong that I could barely stand up or talk. The plans for camping were obviously off, so we headed back to the car. I wish I would have carried a lighter backpack all day, but good exercise I guess!

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
24mm
ISO 250
f 8
1/160 second
WB Daylight

June 26, 2015/0 Comments/by Cody

Friday Photo, Moskenesøya, Winter

Friday Photo #124 – Hamnoy Winter View

Photo: Hamnøy in Winter, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 17, 2015. 10:06

A classic view of Hamnøy from the bridge. This view has become one of the more popular compositions of Lofoten over the last couple years, coinciding with the growing popularity of Lofoten itself as a winter destination and the fact that many photo tours base themselves on Hamnøy, only a few minutes walk away. It seems that every time I drive across the bridge, there is a row of tripods setup.

But it is a composition that suites itself particularly well to the soft light of winter – and the more snow the better, of course.

The final image is a composite of 3 images shifted vertically with the 24mm tilt-shift lens. I knew I wanted a vertical composition, but I don’t really like 2/3 crop vertical images much these days. So with the tilt-shift lens, I can shoot multiple images and crop to 8×10, without losing any file size.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 125
f 9.5
25 seconds
WB Daylight
3 images – top, middle, bottom
6 stop neutral density filter

May 22, 2015/0 Comments/by Cody

Friday Photo, Moskenesøya, Winter

Friday Photo #123 – Olstind Winter Sunrise

Photo: Winter Sunrise over Reine, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 18, 2015. 12:16

Whoever advised against shooting landscape photos at high-noon had obviously never been near the arctic winter, where in the first weeks of the year, midday will provide some of the most spectacular light there is to photograph anywhere.

This image is from another one of my days guiding for Muench Photography Workshops Lofoten tour. We had already photographed Olstind on a couple different occasions and locations, but as we were on our way to StatOil for some much needed nourishment after a morning along the coast, this light was too good not to stop.

So we popped out of the vans and spread out across the viewing platform above Reine. I keep telling myself I have enough images of this view after nearly 20 trips to Lofoten, but then I get light light this and have to take just one more. Perhaps it’s time I start a website dedicated only to Reine and Olstind.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
44mm
ISO 40
f 13
10 seconds
WB Daylight

May 15, 2015/0 Comments/by Cody

Friday Photo, Moskenesøya, Winter

Friday Photo #122 – Reine Winter Sunrise

Photo: Winter sunrise over Reine, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 19, 2015. 10:33

On the final morning of my time guiding for Muench Photography Workshop’s Lofoten tour I decided to take some of the group on a short hike above Reine to get a slightly different perspective on the beautiful, but well photographed location. The tour thus far had already experienced some of the most consistently good conditions I’ve had during winter on Lofoten, so it was worth a bit of a gamble on a bit of hiking to a single location. And it paid off.

It was one of those mornings that you didn’t want to leave. The dawn twilight was nice, the first hints of color on the horizon was nicer, and finally, the weak winter sun illuminated Olstind in a soft pink glow. I think the guys were more than happy!

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
34mm
ISO 100
f 10
1/20 seconds
WB Daylight
3 image pano

May 8, 2015/0 Comments/by Cody

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