Photo: Mooring rope coiled on pier, Toppøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 18, 2018. 14:59

If you’ve been following me for a while you’ll have noticed that I normally don’t shoot too many detail type images. However with a busy tour season this winter, I have been returning again and again to the same areas with my guests – areas that I’ve already been to hundreds of times before as well. So unless there is some spectacular light or particularly unique conditions, I’ve more of less shot all the ‘big views’ already.

So sometimes I look for small details to fill in the gaps between the landscapes; stuff which helps tell the story about life on the islands.

I saw this rope on a previous day or two and and made a mental note that it might look more interesting if there was a bit of snow – the was none when I fist saw it. Luckily, a light snow did fall one evening and I rust randomly happened to be back at the location, so I went and took a look. I initially took another composition, with the mountain Olstind in the background and then went away.

It wasn’t until later in the afternoon that I was back again. The snow had been walked on by that point in time, ruining any wider shots. So I decided to go low, and close. Even with my tripod completely flattened out, it was still too high, so I took my camera off and held it on the ground.

I knew I would likely crop this 1:1, so I used my 24mm tilt-shift lens, shifting vertically, to shoot 3 images. I also knew I wanted a shallow depth of field and to focus just on the front coil of rope. Though I did use some other focal points, such as the pole, but this makes the house in the background too sharp and distracting.

[That was a lot of words about a boring rope on a pole…]

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 100
f 4
1/80 second
WB Daylight
3 images – top, middle, bottom

Photo: February sun low on the horizon just after sunrise, Vindstad, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 7, 2017. 09:09

A month after the sun has returned to Lofoten the days are beginning to feel normal and the dark days of the past weeks are quickly forgotten. And while the sun rises higher each day and is quickly approaching the east, there still remains many locations on Lofoten with receive little to no direct sunlight – still in the shadows of the surrounding mountains.

From this location, on the low mountain pass between Vindstad and Bunes beach, early February brings about 45 minutes of sun at sunrise before disappearing behind Reinebringen. Camping out there for several nights, I would begin my mornings on the right side of this image, where the sun would first hit. But soon, the mountain shadows would approach and I’d have to relocate towards the left of the scene, until eventually the sun was gone.

Another week or so later and the sun would have bee sufficiently high to shine on this location for most of the day. Though on Lofoten, there is often a compromise. With the trade off for more hours of sunlight, the sunrise itself will begin to occur too far to the east (left side of the photo), and thus not be visible from this location until the sun was higher in the sky. Always something to think about when choosing a sunrise/set location on the opposite side of the islands with mountains in between.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 200
f 13
1/30 second
WB Daylight

Photo: Descending towards Vindstad, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. April 9, 2017

Welcome to 2018! Well, the first post of the year at least. I probably should have come up with something bigger and more important to say this week, as last week’s post (#260) was the completion of 5 years of these Friday Photos. Not too bad if I can pat myself on the back.

It has been quite a journey since then, and if you asked me back then if I thought I would be living in my own house, in one of my favorite places on Lofoten. I would have told you you were crazy! But here I am, listening to the wind and snow shake my house on this dark Friday afternoon – Though I did manage to get my 2nd ski tour of the year in today, so off to a good start!

So hopefully the rest of 2018 continues at this pace. But in the darkness of the last months, and with the avalanche issues and road closures, photography has taken a bit of a 2nd seat to just keeping moving and living a more ‘normal life.’ Though with a busy tour season coming up over the next months, I’ll be out for plenty of sunrises, sunsets, and northern lights. And not to jinx myself, but this winter is already off to a much better start than last year’s. Lets hope it continues.

After a weekend in the hidden valley, and with a storm quickly approaching it was time to return to Vindstad and catch the ferry back to civilization. What had been deep snow on out ascent, had turned to a wind blown and icy hard snow on the steepest, upper section of the pass. This is why I always carry crampons in winter, even if the slope might otherwise not be overly steep and can be easily ascended/descended under regular conditions. Luckily for my knees, the hard stuff didn’t last too long, then it was time to sit down and slide on my ass the rest of the 400 meters to the sea. I should have brought skis, it would have been a good run!

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
19mm
ISO 160
f 8
1/400 seconds
WB Daylight