Friday Photo #51 – Holandsmelen

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View of Vik and Haukland beaches from summit of Holandsmelen mountain peak, Vestvagoy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Afternoon light over Vik and Haukland beaches from the summit of Holandsmelen, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  26 Sept, 2013.  17:30

I almost didn’t head up Holandsmelen on this afternoon, preferring to be a bit lazy, as I didn’t get much sleep up on Reinebringen the previous night.  But as the hours of the day passed by, the weather was too good to be wasted just sitting around.  So in mid afternoon I decided to head up Holandsmelen.

I didn’t know anything about the mountain or if the views would be much good.  Rising to the north of Lenkes’ urban sprawl, I knew the views towards the south would probably not be very interesting.  But with close proximity to some of the beaches on Vestvågøy, and looking like an easy hike, why not?

I like to be on mountains for sunset.  But I also like to catch the last traces of daylight, incase it works better for a given location.  Upon leaving Stamsund, I couldn’t see that there was something of a layer of clouds on the northern horizon.  I hike fast, but by the time I reached the summit, the beaches were in and out of shadow as the sun became obscured by the clouds.  I rushed to find a decent composition as quickly as possible to at least get a couple photos with the beach and farm fields illuminated by the ever sinking sun.  Without the light on the beaches and sea, the image loses too much color and contrast, becoming fairly dull and boring.  But I think I arrived just in time for something interesting to appear.

The Landscape photographer in me wants something a bit ‘wilder.’  More nature, less roads and buildings.  But this is Lofoten, people live here.  And so this is actually something of a typical Lofoten scene: man and nature, side by side.  Even the dead (cemetery towards the left) have a nice view!

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
27mm
ISO 200
f 10
1/100 sec
WB Daylight

Holandsmelen – New Mountain Hiking Guide

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There is now a hiking page for Holandsmelen up on the site.

-CLICK HERE-

Holandsmelen is a small, round peak to the north of Leknes on Vestvågøy.  The summit is reached after an easy hike where one is given fantastic views over Vik and Haukland beach.

This will probably be my last hiking update for the next few weeks.  My travels for the year are finally over and I’m heading home to California next week, where it will take me a week or two to get my life reorganized and everything back on track.  The mountains to be added are: Grytdalstind, and Kroktind.

I will also soon add a summer photo gallery, and I must say that after editing through the images, I’ll probably have one of the strongest image collect from any of my trips.  Despite an overall trend of rain for the 2nd half of August, I did manage to be in the right place, right time on several occasions.

On the other hand, I’m not too sure about an Autumn gallery.  Drowning my camera in Sweden, it took me two weeks to receive a replacement, which then left me only 6 days on Lofoten before I left.  While the weather was good and I got lots of hiking in, I’m not sure I achieved the variety of Images that I would like to show.  I’ll see how it goes once I get a bit more editing done.

My next trip to the islands should begin sometime at the end of January or beginning of February.

Friday Photo #41 – Eggum Nights

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Night image of crack in frozen lake Nedre Heimdalsvatnet, Eggum, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Winter night on Nedre Heimredalsvatnet, Eggum, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Feb 2, 2012.  17:38

With a near full moon and calm winds, five-o-clock is too early to go to be, even in February on Lofoten.  Parked at Eggum for the night, I wandered off for a bit of exploring.

Growing up in California, I’m not sure I even stood upon a frozen lake until my time in Germany five years ago.  But with the low snow levels upon my arrival at the beginning of February, frozen lakes were about the only thing of interest.  I wandered out into a shallow section of the frozen lake, making sure I could always see the bottom in case I happened to fall though; I figured as long as I could still stand up, it wasn’t too likely that I would die.

Several cracks formed interesting features on the surface of the lake, and so I used these as a foreground subject, lit by moonlight.  It was a bit eerie, to stand there alone in the darkness, the ice creaking and cracking as the temperatures dropped, occasionally echoing a loud ‘boom’ through the mountains.  I did my best to remain still and not fall over, often having to use my extended tripod as a bit of walking stick.  A few days later, while on a different part of the lake, as I was putting my camera away, winds blew my tripod towards the center of the lake.  It was a scary few minutes trying to get it back!

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 16-35mm f/4
16mm
ISO 320
f 7.1
152 seconds
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #39 – Himmeltindan Views

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View over Flakstadøy from summit of Himmeltind, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: From the Summit of Himmeltindan, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Oct 2, 2012.  14:38

I usually try and save my mountains for when the light is good.  No point in carrying a heavy backpack several thousand vertical feet only to have shit light.  But as the days of Autumn progressed, I seemed to have had some bad timing.  A few days previously, clouds decided to form over Skottind just as I arrived at the summit, and of course they cleared as soon as I was halfway down again.  Now a couple days into October, another unusually mild Autumn day presented itself.  And so I departed Stamsund under nice blue skies and a bright sun, not entirely sure where I was headed, but up something for sure.

As I parked my car at Haukland beach, I could see some high cloud appearing on the horizon and heading in my direction.  Headphones in and some good music blasting out of the Ipod, I set myself a frantic pace as I hit the trail.  I quickly overheated and had to strip down to only a t-shirt, in October!  Higher and higher I ascended, lungs and legs burning while to clouds grew ever nearer to the Autumn sun.

I lost.  By the time reached the 931 meter south summit, barely over an hour after leaving the car, at sea level, the clouds had arrived and the light grew flat.  I met a few soldiers at the top, lucky them, they got to take the elevator inside the mountain.  I half joked if I could catch a ride down and was given a stern ‘No, that won’t be possible.’  I already knew as much, but it was worth a try.  Though I was pleasantly informed that since the radar on the higher north summit was down for maintenance, I was allowed to continue on up there.

The wind blew cold and I didn’t waste too much time hanging around.  While flat light covered the islands, there was at least a bit of interesting light in the sky.  Not the ideal image that I imagined, but not a total loss either.  And all the more reason to head back up again…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 85mm f/2.8 tilt-shift
85mm
ISO 100
f 8
1/250 sec
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #38 – Stamsund Autumn Storm

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Dramatic sky over sea, Stamsund, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Autumn Clouds, Stamsund, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Aug 29, 2013.  19:10

When the winds blow strong, I usually keep my head low and spend my time by the warm fireplace in the Stamsund hostel.  Stamsund was one of the reasons I became so enamored with the Islands in the first place, and despite the fact that I wander around much more than my early journeys (before I could afford to rent a car), I still try and spend a good be of time here.

And it’s not all sitting around and sharing stories with other travelers.  There are a few places out on the coastline beyond the hostel that are pretty reliable and sheltered for when the weather gets bad.  It’s a common sight for me to be heading out the door, tripod in hand, to go scrambling over the rocks and out to the sea whenever a break in the rain occurs.

While the mountains of this scene never change, the sky and the sea often due.  If you compare all the photos I’ve taken over the years from pretty much this exact same, you’ll think each one was taken somewhere else.  On this particular day, heavy, wet clouds were sweeping across the islands.  This spot proved to be the only place where I could get myself out of the wind enough to keep my tripod from shaking while the waves crashed just below my feet.

I experimented with a number of exposure times and this one feels the most dynamic to me.  Any slower and there wasn’t quite enough movement in the clouds and they just appeared out of focus.  Much longer and the clouds lost any texture, and lost the stormy appearance what this day was.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 50
f 16
30 seconds
WB Daylight
6 Stop B+W Neutral Density filter
2 Images – Top/Bottom

Friday Photo #36 – Vikvatnet Thaw

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Mountain reflection of frozen lake Vikvatnet, Vestvagoy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Vikvatnet, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Feb 10, 2012.  10:42

This weeks Friday Photo is more illustrative rather than scenic in purpose.  This photo shows that Lofoten is not always a winter wonderland of white snow from sand beach to highest peak.  There is actually a fragile balance between snow and rain that has a rather dramatic effect on the appearance of the landscape, and in turn, what photographic opportunities you will find.  With a fresh layer of snow, most anything is photogenic.  When the snow line retreats up the mountains, the low areas can often look bland and lifeless.

Despite the northern latitude of Lofoten, the winter temperatures remain quite mild.  For several days previous to this photo a southwest wind brought the temperatures above the freezing level, while rain melted away the snow.  Finally reaching a high of 6.2˚C, which might not sound like much, but it was February in the Arctic Circle.  And for another reference, the high temp on June 1st, 2012 was 6.5˚C, while June 1st, 2013 reached a high of 26.3˚C.  What an amazing variation!  Lofoten weather is unpredictable at best, and years seldom seem to repeat themselves.  In fact, the weather almost makes a point of being completely bi-polar year upon year.

When I passed by this scene a few days earlier, the lake had been covered in a nice coating of snow.  On this morning, I passed by once again on my way out to Haukland beach to see if I could find something interesting.  Now, a layer of rain water covered the ice, allowing for a reflection of the mountains.  And in combination with the freeze patterns in the ice, created some interesting texture. The light was a bit flat, but what can you do.  I was glad it had actually stopped raining for a few minutes.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
44mm
ISO 200
f 11
1/20 sec
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #35 – Moonlight Over Eggum

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Full moon shines in night sky above mountain peak, Eggum, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Moonlight over Mustaren, Eggum, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Feb 3, 2012.  17:13

To my dismay, barely any snow covered to lower elevations of the islands upon my arrival at the beginning of February 2012.  This was in quite a contrast to my first real winter experience on the islands in January 2010, where it snowed so much that I got my car stuck several times and had to be pulled out.  I had traveled to the islands imagining what scenes I would find and how I would photograph them, and yet I arrived to something totally different.

The lack of snow left much of the landscape somewhat drab looking, especially in the flat light of my first days on the islands.  And so I found myself looking for new perspectives that I hadn’t though of.  At this point in my previous winter experience, I’d never really seen ice, as it had always been covered in snow before.  And so on my second night while camping out at Eggum I took a little wander.

By evening the the weather had calmed by what had thus far been some pretty blustery weather.  Though Eggum is often one of those places, depending on wind direction, is totally blown out (usually), or sometimes eerily calm, such as this night.  I tried some seascapes, but they weren’t working out particularly well, so I turned around and pointed my camera towards the near full moon just as some clouds began appearing from behind the mountain.

I stood there for a while in the cold and silence, the crashing of waves a few meters behind me the only sound to be heard.  Some minutes later, a pair of otters began wandering around the rock near me, oblivious to my presence; perhaps it was so cold they couldn’t smell me, or I’d only been on the islands for a couple days so I wasn’t too ripe yet.  I’ve seen otters many times on the islands, but this night, in the darkness, was the closest I’ve ever been to them.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 16-35mm f/4
16mm
ISO 200
f 11
121 seconds
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #31 – Winter Farm

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Farm building in snowy winter landscape, Farstad, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Winter farm, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Feb 16, 2013.  14:21

It had now been several days of heavy, mountain concealing clouds covering the islands.  Exactly the opposite of what I want, but often what is there.  At least it was still cold, and the snow remained, so there is that to be thankful for.  But it was one of those days where the needle on the gas tank drops lower and lower, yet the camera rarely makes it out of the bag.

I’ve driven by this lake and farm a hundred times or more, and never taken a photo, likely since I was headed towards something better.  But for some reason on this particular day, a day of otherwise almost nothing photographically, the emptiness of this scene caught my eye.  There is almost nothing but white and gray, save for a single farmstead.  Somehow I can almost feel the cold and the bleakness of the Lofoten winter in this image.  I’ll probably drive by a hundred more times and never take another photo.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
70mm
ISO 200
f 11
1/100 sec
WB Daylight
2 Images – Top/Bottom

Friday Photo #26 – Offersoykammen

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Silhouette of landscape photographer on summit of Offersoykammen with Flakstadoy in background, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Photographer at Sunset on Offersøykammen, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway. May 4, 2013. 20:36

[I’m barely squeaking in under this deadline this week. I should probably write these out a day or two in advance to be on the safe side…]

I’ve come the appreciate the small peak of Offersøykammen as a relatively easy spot to reach which provides the willing photographer with a number of possible compositions. The most dramatic of which is perhaps the view towards Flakstadøya, as the wall of mountains rise out of the turbulent waters of the Nappstraumen.

Never knowing exactly what the light might do, I always this it’s best to head up into the hills with a bit of extra time to spare. 10 days into this trip, and any sort of decent sunset had yet to materialize, no matter how brilliant the day, as a perpetual wall of cloud blocked the horizon.

And so the three of us found ourselves sitting on top of the mountain, in the freezing wind, for hours, waiting in hope for the arrival of some light. But alas, as the sun neared the horizon, the clouds took over and the light and color faded in another anticlimactic finish of the day. And so we headed down, slightly defeated, but better than having sat at another beach, again…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 27-70 f 2.8
32mm
ISO 100
f 13
1/100 sec
WB Daylight

Friday Photo #21 – Driftwood Campfire

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Evening campfire at Utakleiv beach, Lofoten Islands, Norway
Photo: Driftwood campfire, Utakleiv, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Aug 27, 2012.  21:44

Despite the fact that it had been as near to a perfect day as is possible on Lofoten, I was the only one to setup a tent at Utakleiv this evening.  By late summer, burnable wood can be somewhat scarce to come by, all the best driftwood having been previously scoured from the beaches over the preceding months.  But despite this, I managed to collect together an unseemly assortment of half moist logs and boards from the rocks at Utakleiv.

Even in late summer the nights are so short that a fire isn’t really necessary, but to me it’s more of a tradition while camping than anything else.  Although sitting alone by a fire still feels a bit lonely, there was no one else around to share it with.  And so I sat, on one of the few calm evenings of summer 2012, myself and my fire at Utakleiv while the sun sank below the horizon.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24+70mm f-2.8
70mm
ISO 100
f 4
.3 sec
WB Daylight