Photo: Moonrise over Vestfjord from summit of Hermannsdalstind, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  August 23, 2013.  21:15

It was early evening by the time I arrived on the summit of Hermannsdalstind, the sun hanging low on the western horizon.  I didn’t really have much of a plan, other than I would sleep on the summit if possible, which I didn’t really know before arriving.  I had heard there was some place to put a tent, but if so, I didn’t find it.  Luckily for me though, the weather was calm, for Lofoten standards.  I found a mostly flat rock just below the summit, which didn’t look too easy to fall off of, and decided that is where I would sleep for the night.

With the sun setting into the Norwegian sea to the west, a near full moon was rising across the Vestfjord to the east.  The sky was becoming a little hazy, and the light wasn’t as brilliant as could be, but it was one of those ‘wow’ moments.

I go up into the mountain and suffer discomfort in an attempt to capture beautiful images of scenes that not many people will ever see.  Sometimes conditions work photographically and I come away with something nice.  But more often the moment of just being there is the reward for all the sweat of carrying a heavy backpack up a steep mountain.

It was only me up there, alone on the top of Lofoten, the surrounding world in perfect calm.  I only had a little water and a little food, but even without, the views for my eyes would have been enough to sustain me for the night.  Had the rain soon come, I would have been thankful for my few hours up there.  Some (many) moments are better in reality than photographs.

In our over saturated, super dynamic, focus stacked, and micro contrasted world which is the current state of online landscape photography, it is good to remember why we began our journeys to these places in the first part.  For the experience, for the adventure, for the being…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 85mm f/2.8 tilt+shift
85mm
ISO 200
f 8
1/25 second
WB Daylight
2 images – top, bottom

Photo: Summer showers over Kjerringa from Ryten, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  August 26, 2012.  19:40

This photo is from almost exactly a year earlier that last week’s image, taken during my first hike up Ryten.  I actually hadn’t really planned, nor prepared to hike up the mountain, but when I was a little way up the trail from Kvalvika, a young German guy (the only other person camping at Kvalvika that night) asked me if I was interested in going up the mountain.  Standing there only in a light fleece, no rain jacket, no water, no food, no gloves.  My answer was obviously yes.

The weather looked good enough as we set off up the hill.  But upon reaching the approximately half way point, this nice little cloud appeared from behind Kjerringa.  A little further up the mountain it caught up with us.  Heavy, cold drops of rain which quickly soaked through my fleece.  We ran to the largest boulder we could find and did our best to shelter from the rain, which was also falling quite sideways, thankfully.

As the rain passed a brilliant rainbow soon formed over the land, which was now golden in the low evening sun.  Cold and wet, I remained on the summit until sunset.  One of my most memorable days on Lofoten.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70mm f/2,8
35mm
ISO 200
f 9
1/320 second
WB Daylight

Photo: Bunes beach from Helvetestind, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  August 15, 2013.  11:54

Helvetestind is one of those mountains I got to know from the ground before the summit.  A massive, solid piece of granite, it rises nearly vertical from the vast sands of Bunes beach to a narrow summit some 600 meters above.  From sea of summit, the mountain is something to look at, or from.  But now having stood on top, the view from up here is much better!

My journey to the summit was a long one, have been traveling non-stop since I walk out my door in California some 38-40 hours before.  In my usual style for heading to Lofoten, I like to leave my schedule as open as possible once I arrive on the islands as you never know what the weather will do.  Rain usually means I go and hide in Stamsund, while sun means sleep might still be some hours away as I journey strait into the mountains.

For some strange reason, the islands greeted me with sun.  And not just normal sun, but a day with some fantastic puffy white clouds gently floating against a background of blue.  I shot a few time-lapse sequences this day, which may or may not ever be put to use (I need a new computer first).

I set up camp lower down on the ridge, thinking the summit would be a bit too exposed if the weather turned, though maybe I will try it out next time.  Though I did hike back towards the summit at dusk, it was somewhat dull and uneventful, so I didn’t miss too much being lower down.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 16-35mm f/4
16mm
ISO 250
f 9
1/800 second
WB Daylight