Photo: Hammarskaftet rises above Reinefjord, Reine, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 24, 2015. 14:30

The weather forecast was promising enough to make me think 2 nights camping at Bunes beach would be a good idea. Standing around the pier in Reine, while waiting on the ferry departure to Vindstad, the weather looked like it might have other plans in mind.

Standing on the Pier, the harbor and fjord were almost perfectly still. As the Fjordkyss warmed up her engine, I took a couple last images.  I liked how just the peak of Hammarskafted was clear of the clouds, the rest of the ridge hidden in mist. It makes the peak look like a lone tower, rising above the village.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
24mm
ISO 125
f 10
1/25 seconds
WB Daylight

Photo: Last light over the end of Lofoten, Å, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 12, 2015. 15:29

I think I have written many times by now about the cliffs past the village of Å being a good sunset location for a few weeks in winter. If you’ve missed the other times, I’m writing it again. From late January to mid February, the sun sets right around the mountains at the ‘end’ of Lofoten. And with this also being a scenic section of coastline, it is one of my favorite winter sunset locations.

Though I have been here plenty of times before, I did find myself having some compositional challenges on this particular day. The sea was just average, not particularly stormy and not particularly calm. There was also a fresh dusting of snow that I wanted to include in the scene.

After trying several other compositions from higher up on the rocks, which, I would have been happy with were this my first visit, I felt they were missing something. Finally getting closer to the sea, I came upon this view. It was the most dramatic part of the scene, but I think the image has a better balance of the elements, still showing all I wanted to show, but in a much simpler form.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 31
f 16
13 seconds
WB Daylight
3 images: top,, middle bottom

Photo: Winter camping at Horseid beach, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  March 3, 2014. 18:47

I often get asked if its possible to reach so-and-so location in winter. And I can only really answer, ‘I don’t know.’ Winter on Lofoten can mean anything from hurricane force winds and -20˚C windchill in a hopeless whiteout, Waste deep powered snow, 7˚C and rain, or anything in between.

The start of 2014 saw Lofoten nearly devoid of snow. The calendar said winter, but the islands looked more like May. While the temperatures still remained relatively cold, and one had to be cautious of ice, most lower level hiking locations on the islands were easier than normal to reach.

Taking advantage of these condition, I visited all 3 of Moskenesøy’s best beaches.  I actually would have like a bit more snow and winter look, but it still nice to be out camping in places that I normally only visit in summer or autumn.

On this night, at Horseid beach, I was hoping for some northern lights, but they would not arrive unfortunately.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
17mm
ISO 500
f 5
4 seconds
WB Daylight

Photo: Winter sunrise over Solbjørn mountain peak, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 31, 2015; 10:09

I got a late start on this morning, as I took my time packing my backpack for a planned night camping on Ryten. The beginning of the route begins in a low valley with limited visibility, but as we climbed the first hill, I could see the clouds overhead beginning to get some nice color.  Not knowing what was happening on the other side, I picked up the pace in an attempt to reach someplace with some light.

Well, there was no need to rush. It was one of those mornings where to sun seemed perfectly timed with the clouds, each moving in parallel with each other, keeping the light going and going.

Though my goal was Ryten – which turned out to be far to windy for camping, I spend more than an hour at this first location while shooting everything from 14mm to 200mm. This is a telephoto shot of Solbjørn peak, on Moskenesøy.

Stay tuned next week for the 14mm version of this scene.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 70-200mm f/4
200mm
f 10
ISO 160
1/100 seconds
WB Daylight

Photo: Olstind winter sunrise, Toppøy, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 22, 2015

I’m not sure if I will ever have enough images of Olstind, and when I think I might, I’ll drive by and see light like this. There is a good reason that this is Lofoten’s, and perhaps one of Norway’s as a whole, most iconic mountain peaks. Rising like an Egyptian pyramid directly from the fjord, mountains don’t get much better in my opinion. Although someone had do go put a salmon farm at the bottom of the mountain a year or so back, which is a bit annoying!

With the southern oriented January sun, Olstind catches the first morning light, making the Reine area a good location to photograph in the mornings.  And for Olstind specifically, there is no shortage of locations from which to aim your camera at the mountain.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
f 13
ISO 31
20 seconds
WB Daylight
3 images: bottom, middle, top