Friday Photo #11 – Agvatnet

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Boats at Rest, Agvatnet, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Row boats float in Ågvatnet, Å I Lofoten, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  July 2001

This is the oldest Lofoten photo I’ll ever post on this site. But this photo is perhaps the whole reason this website exists. It was the summer of 2001 and a 20 year old long haired version of me was on his first ever backpacking trip to Europe. Or more specifically, 10 weeks of summer in Scandinavia. Becoming a photographer was not anywhere on my mind, infact, I would be moving to Santa Cruz to study computer science (ha! That didn’t last too long…) shortly after my return. But I still carried my trusty old Nikon FE (my first ever slr camera) and a couple dozen rolls of film to document my summer in Scandinavia.

I’ve written elsewhere about my discovery of Lofoten while in Bodø, because I had merely wanted to go north of the Arctic circle somewhere. The following morning I was on the ferry to Moskenes. Not having any idea of where to go, I teamed up with the only other Americans making the journey and followed them to Å. Sometime shortly before midnight I was wandering back from a walk and took this photo.

It is not technically perfect. In fact I’d dare say its pretty damn bad. I should have given a little more room in the foreground, and no doubt a tripod and a little hyperfocal-distance also would have helped, but the overall balance of the image is still appealing to me Or perhaps my memories from back then still hold power over something that would never see the light of day today.

Anyhow, I made a print of this when I returned home. It hung on my wall in the various places I lived for the following 5 years until I was finally able to return to Lofoten again. Since that second visit, the Summer of 2006, I’ve been to the islands every year except 2008, when I was doing my best to live in Germany.

Over these last years I’ve returned here again and again to try and make a ‘better’ version of this photo. I’ve never succeeded. Either the boats were missing, or half sunk, or it was raining, or too windy, or Frozen, or… And so this image remains an inspiration to my future and my love of the islands.

Perhaps when I once again have a place to live, I’ll pull the dusty print out of storage and give it a deserved place on my wall.

Camera Info:
Nikon FE
Nikon 35-105 F3.5-4.5 ais
Fuji Provia 100

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Friday Photo #7 – Kvalvika Beach

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Kvalvika beach from Ryten, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Golden evening light shines on Kvalvika Beach, Moskenesøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Aug 26, 2012.  20:04  

There were only two of us camping on Kvalvika Beach this day in late August, myself and a young German guy.  It is thanks to him that I took this photo.

I had been wandering around the beach taking a few photos in the afternoon light.  I had hiked a little bit up a trail to get a slightly higher vantage point which I thought was nice.  He I some him come walking across the beach in my direction and when he got to me, he mentioned the he was going to hike up the mountain, Ryten, and asked if I wanted to come along.  Sure, why not.

Only wearing a light fleece and with no water, I found myself heading up the mountain.  As we got higher it became apparent that we wouldn’t be remaining dry much longer as we could rain showers quickly heading out way.  But by now it was too late to head back down, so I continued on.

A cold rain hit fast and hard.  The drops seemed huge, even by Norwegian standards.  I did my best to take some shelter behind the biggest bolder I could find, which managed to keep me about 3/4th dry.  15 minutes of this and then the sun finally began to reemerge, creating a rainbow so close I could almost find my pot of gold.  A few more minutes and the rain had past, leaving me soaking wet in the chilly wind high up the mountain.  But now, an even brighter golden light now shone over the landscape.

Wet and cold, the light was too good to leave.  Over the next hours I made some of my favourite images of this trip.  I wouldn’t be back at my tent until after dark.

Click here for info on getting to Kvalvika Beach.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
24mm
ISO 200
f 9
1/80 sec
WB Daylight
Single Image
No Filters

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Friday Photo #4 – Aurora Over Olstind

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Northern Lights - Aurora Borealis in night sky behind Olstind mountain peak, Reine, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Northern Lights over Olstind, Moskenesøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Feb 6, 2012, 19:25

Northern Lights over Olstind:  Olstind, as it rises from the waters of the Kjerkfjord is perhaps the most Iconic mountain on Lofoten.  A near perfect pyramid when view from some angles, it just begs to be photographed over and over again; which often I do!

This photo is taken a few hours after last week’s image.  With a rare moment of clear skies, I parked my car near Reine, hoping to capture an image such as this.  And one of the benefits of sleeping in a car is that I don’t have the temptation of being lulled back to a warm room and a hot meal.  I suffer from the cold and eat bread and butter for dinner, but I can also sleep more of less wherever I want, and thus be quickly ready when moments like this occur.

I don’t quite like the reflected lights from the distant village of Kierkefjord.  I could have located myself a bit more to the right, but this would also have concealed the brightest part of the Aurora, so a bit of a compromise had to be found.  For me this image is just a start of an idea, and something I hope to approve upon over the years.

Another element to this image is that it was captured a few days before the full moon, hence the landscape is well lit.  I often read the somewhat misinformed advice that the Northern Lights are best captured when there is no moon.  Not true in my opinion.  And with a snow covered landscape, I think moonlight is an essential part of night photography; to photograph a Northern Lights landscape, not just the lights themselves somewhere in the sky with a dark silhouette in the foreground.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 24-70 f/2.8
24mm
ISO 200
f 5.6
132 sec
WB Auto
Single Image
No Filters

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Friday Photo #3 – Reine Winter Blue

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Reflection of Olstind mountain peak in harbour at Reine, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Winter blue, Reine, Moskenesøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Feb 6, 2012, 16:50

Winter blue, Reine:  The day to this point had been my most productive day yet after 1 week on the islands.  A light dusting of snow had fallen over the previous night but as morning arrived the sky was clear and the islands were frozen in silence on the coldest day of 2012, -10.7˚C.

As evening arrived I hung out around Reine in hopes of some Northern Lights, though the forecast showed only a small probability.  As evening began in late afternoon the islands took on this amazing tone of blue.  And with near perfectly still waters, I knew this was an image to capture.

This is taken from the turnout on the side of the E10 just after the turnoff into Reine and is probably the most photographed scene of Lofoten.  Despite this, when you encounter a special light, you can still create something somewhat unique.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 24-70 f/2.8
44mm
ISO 200
f 10
15 sec
WB Auto
Single Image
No Filters

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