Friday Photo #145 – Unstad Summer

Summer view over Unstad beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Summer over Unstad, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  June 5, 2015. 22:00

It is always hard to decide how long to wait around the mountains. The light of the midnight sun is on of the main draws of summer on Lofoten, but a relatively cloudy horizon such as this day, you might not end up getting any light as the sun hovers over the sea. So, if you’re wanting better odds of sunlight on your scene, you need to head up a bit early. In this case, I left the car around 19:00 – with plans not to return until 02:00 at the earliest.

It was a 1 hour hike up the ridge towards Nonstind (see hiking guide HERE) to get to this view point. By the time I arrived, there was still enough gaps in clouds to allow brief moments of golden light to shine across the beach and valley below.  Soon enough though, the clouds thickened and Unstad was left in shadow for the remainder of the night.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
17mm
ISO 160
f 8
1/320 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #137 – Uttakleiv midnight sun

View over Uttakleiv from Nonstind mountain peak, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Midnight over Uttakleiv beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 5, 2015. 23:55

My second day on Lofoten and I found myself wandering around the mountains at midnight. My main priority had been to photograph Unstad beach, but as time passed the midnight sun sank into the clouds and the light faded from Unstad.

Not content to descend the ridge I was on, I continued further towards the summit of Nonstind (See hiking guide HERE). The temperature was quite cold – good I brought an extra jacket, and I could see snow flurries approaching from out at sea. But there was a wonderful soft light over Uttakleiv beach – one of lofoten’s most iconic locations, yet rarely seen from this view.

The clouds thickened as time passed and I set up my Fuji xt-1 to shoot a time lapse of the changing lights. I stayed up on the mountain until almost 02:00 before heading back to the car. It was a wonderful night under the 24 hour light of summer on Lofoten.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
70mm
ISO 200
f 10
1/25 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #136 – Stamsund

View over harbor towards Stamsund hostel, Stamsund, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Summer in Stamsund, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  June 12, 2015. 11:00

I talk a lot about the hostel at Stamsund, which is pretty much the main reason I’ve returned to the Islands so many times over the years. But for some reason, I never really take many pictures of the hostel itself – probably because when the weather is good, I’m elsewhere on Lofoten, not sitting around eating popcorn.

During the midnight sun days of June, I become a bit more nocturnal than normal, often not going to bed until 03:00 or 04:00 in the morning. This means I also sleep in a bit. So waking up one morning after a light night in the mountains, the sky was blue and sunny with some nice puffy white clouds. I walked across the bay to get this image of the hostel, shining bright in the summer sun.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
24mm
ISO 100
f 8
1/500 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #135 – Unstad Panoramic

Mountain view over Unstad beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Summer light over Unstad, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 7, 2015. 21:03

Here is a panoramic view of last week’s image. While I really liked the details and shadows of the houses in the closeup, the overall scene was too good not to capture really wide.

I wish I could have gotten to a slightly higher vantage point up the mountain, but time didn’t allow for it. I was lucky enough to find a flat enough rock on the cliff face to set up my tripod and still have enough room to stand. Otherwise it was a rather uncomfortable position of the 50-55˚ grassy slope.

The light and shadows over the village and beach make this one of my favorite scenes from my June trip to Lofoten.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
29mm
ISO 250
f 10
1/400second
WB Daylight
5 image pano

Friday Photo #134 – Unstad Beach

Mountain view over Unstad beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Summer light over Unstad, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 7, 2015. 21:27

Clouds and frequent rain showers had been passing the Islands all day. But finally by evening, the sky seemed to be clearing enough for me to venture out to the hills.

My objective was a small mountain above Unstad, but not knowing where/if there was an actual route to the summit, I picked what looked like the most obvious way, a steep grassy hillside full of grazing sheep with a small creek running down the middle. Progress was slow as the wet grass was slippery and inconsistent, often with rocks buried beneath.

About halfway to the ridge I was trying to reach, I realized the light would be gone before I arrived. So I traversed over a steep slope and out onto some cliffs where I could get a nice view of Unstad, with the low evening sun shining across the village. The shadows of the clouds were racing across the land. giving depth to the scene. I would have liked to have been on top of the mountain, but I’m happy with the results here.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 70-200mm f/4
98mm
ISO 250
f 8
1/320 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #133 – Offersoykammen Midnight Sun

MIdnight sun view over coastal landscape from summit of Offersøykammen mountain peak, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Midnight sun from Offersøykammen, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 7, 2015. 00:45

The good thing about summer on Lofoten is that even if you get a late start, the sun will still be around. I started the evening unsuccessfully trying to make my way to a trail-less summit near Unstad. As it became apparent that the light I was after wasn’t going to wait until I reached the top, I headed down and proceeded to make other plans as my soaked shoes where drying in the car’s heater.

With a couple options available, I chose Offersøykammen, pulling into the parking lot just after 23:00. Loaded down with camera gear, I sprinted my way towards the summit, ascending the 400 meters in just over 30 minutes – completely soaked in sweat, despite the cold temperatures.

The direct light had faded as the sun moved behind the clouds, so I set up a time-lapse with my Fuji xt-1, then set about wandering around the summit looking for other compositions. This photo was taken a bit before 01:00, as the sun was reaching its lowest point in the sky, after this, sunrise would begin…

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 200
f 8
1/60 second
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #132 – Unstad Midnight Sun

Midnight sun over Unstad beach, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Waiting for midnight over Unstad, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. June 5, 2015. 23:28

I addition to a few last photos from my Seasons on Lofoten – Summer eBook, I was also already planing one of the next books, about the beaches of Lofoten. But beyond merely capturing the beaches from sea level, I was also looking to photograph them from above. Unstad beach was the 2nd hike I made, up to the summit of Nonstind.

I started the evening much earlier, with some nice evening light shining in over the bay. But as time passed, I was quite ready to leave the mountain yet, so I headed up a bit further. Somewhere along the ridge there was this nice overlook, which I reached just as the sun emerged for a few minutes from the otherwise mostly cloudy sky.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
32mm
ISO 100
f 9
1/100 second
WB Dayligh

Friday Photo #127 – Himmeltindan Winter Sunrise

Vikvatnet winter, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Winter sunrise over Vikvatnet and Himmeltindan, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  January 27, 2015.  10:06

A somewhat mild winter, temperature wise, left many of Lofoten’s lakes still unfrozen or only partially frozen at the end of January.  Lakes that I had stood in the middle of at the same time in previous years were now no-go zones, unless I was looking for a cold swim.

But in this gentle balance of freezing and thawing, unique patters and shapes can form which give a bit of detail to a scene.  In this case, there was a rock just beneath the thin layer of lake ice which kept the nights snow from melting.

The snow circle was a few meters into the lake.  I tried to get as close as possible, and still being close to the shore, the water wasn’t that deep, but I didn’t want to risk breaking through.  So I pushed my camera and tripod out as far as my arms could reach, the ice making creaking sounds with every movement, so I could get something of a decent composition.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24mm f3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 125
f 11
1/13 seconds
WB Daylight
2 images – top, bottom

Friday Photo #125 – Offerøykammen Winter View

Offersoykammen in winter, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Winter view from summit of Offersøykammen, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  January 20, 2015. 12:01

The fine weather of mid January 2015 held on for a few more days after my time guiding for Muench Photography Workshops.  After Picking up my rental car in Stamsund, I didn’t really know what else to do than go for a short hike.

There was lots of fresh snow around and my snowshoes wouldn’t arrive for a few more days, so I had to pick something easy and familiar – Offersøykammen seemed like a good fit. Luckily a couple people had gone up the route before me – it’s a popular peak with the locals – so I didn’t have to do any route finding and thus made pretty good time as I climbed towards the summit.

The winds picked up a bit as I reached the top a little before noon.  The low winter sun, barely rising over Skottind to the south cast a nice orange/pink glow across the wind carved snow of summit.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 200
f 11
1/100 seconds
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #120 – Lofoten Northern Lights

Northern Lights, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Northern Lights over Haukland beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 31, 2015.  22:16

What had started out as a windy morning had calmed to little more than a light breeze by evening.  In the previous 2 weeks I had photographed some decent aurora displays, but finally on the end at January the moon was bright enough to light up the landscape. Now all I had to do was wait.

I didn’t want to get too comfortable while waiting in the car, but with the cold and the dark, sleep become difficult to avoid.  So I set my alarm to go off every 30 minutes to wake me up for a quick peak outside.  At 21:30, I saw the first hint of green in the sky.

I had parked near Haukland beach, knowing that I can reach a number of good locations within a few minutes to adjust for where the northern lights might appear in the sky.  As luck would have it, they where almost perfectly aligned over Haukland, and so that is where I started a night of shooting.

Camera Info:
Nikon D810
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
15mm
ISO 2000
f 4
8 seconds
WB Daylight