Vestvågøya | 68 North

Friday Photo #98 – Grytdalstind And River

Photo: Grytdalsdind rises over river at dusk, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Sept 24, 2013. 18:38

The river Nordalselva flows through Nordal valley before rising into the triangular peak of Grytdalstind. Only a short walk from Unstad, it feels completely wild here, with few signs that anyone has passed this way before you.

It had been an afternoon hiking and exploring, ending on the 534 meter, and quite exposed, summit of Grytdalstind. Getting lost on the numerous sheep trails during the descent, we lost a fair amount of time going cross country through the landscape. Normally this is fairly simple on Lofoten, but this area seemed to be especially rocky and with a few forests of dwarf birch to precariously navigate.

We were exiting the valley just as the last light was shining over the summit of Grytdalstind. I tried to find a good composition, but was too late in the quickly fading light. So I continued to hike on until I reached one of the crossings of the Nordalselva and thought it would make an interesting enough photo. I crossed the river and headed back up the other side until I reached a wider section, and I place I could get to without sinking in bog.

Had I been here about 20 minutes earlier, it would have no doubt been a much more dramatic photo. But I think the scene here is interesting enough to represent the end of a nice autumn day in the mountains of Lofoten.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 200
f 13
15 seconds
WB Daylight
B+W 6 stop neutral density filter

November 21, 2014/0 Comments/by Cody

Autumn, Friday Photo, Vestvågøya

Friday Photo #97 – Autumn Hiking

Photo: A hiker travels through the autumn mountain landscape, Vikjorden, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Sept 29, 2012. 12:21

I’m not sure its possible for me to choose a favorite season on Lofoten, but it could possibly be autumn. The crowds of summer have left, the days begin to grow cool and short, the northern lights once again fill the night sky, and the land fills with color while storms return with increasing frequency.

The last couple years the islands have been fortunate to enjoy rather mild autumn weather, often better than summer! I’m somewhat less adventurous, as I never quite trust the weather, but I find it a nice time to head out and explore some new areas for some short hikes; just to see what I can find, and maybe return to in the summer’s better weather for camping.

On this particular day I had been photographing around some small roadside lakes when I saw a local pull up and head into the mountains along a faint trail. Curiosity got the best of me and I decided to follow him into the golden landscape; not like I had anywhere else to go, and it wasn’t likely to rain anytime soon.

Soon the trail passed a small lake and I veered off the trail and climbed a small hill to get a bit of an overview just as the man was hiking through the scene. I continued up the trail to another small lake and made note of a few mountain routes to return to in the future. Places which are rarely photographed yet no less spectacular than the iconic locations on Lofoten. It is these little discoveries that assure me that I will never get bored with Lofoten, I just have to go a little farther from the road…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
34mm
ISO 100
f 7.1
1/400 second
WB Daylight

November 14, 2014/0 Comments/by Cody

Autumn, Friday Photo, Vestvågøya

Friday Photo #94 – Autumn Color

Photo: Colorful blueberry bush in autumn, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Oct 3, 2012. 11:09

For those of you who’ve followed this site for a while, you’ll know that I’m not much of a macro/detail photographer. But sometimes getting close makes the most sense for what you’re trying to show, and thus you have today’s photo.

2012 was a brilliantly colorful autumn on Lofoten. After having spent close to 2 weeks in Sweden on the Kungsleden trail, and then this, I was about on color overload – which is a good thing!

Everywhere I was surrounded by golden birches, yellow grasses, and red blueberries. Entire hillsides filled with a multitude of colors. This particular day however, I couldn’t put light and landscape together in an effective way. I was always 5 minutes too late for whatever scene I was trying to capture. So finally I kind of gave up (I would later this day hike up Offersoykammen just to be in one place and quit chasing light) and looked for tiny elements that could somehow show what I was seeing. And so I changed my attention to the mountains and sky to a few small bushes around my feet.

While this image could have been taken anywhere in northern Europe, it still feels very ‘Lofoten’ to me somehow…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 85mm f/2.8 tilt-shift
85mm
ISO 50
f 11
1/4 seconds
WB Daylight

October 24, 2014/0 Comments/by Cody

Autumn, Friday Photo, Vestvågøya

Friday Photo #93 – Stamsund Aurora

Photo: Northern lights rise into the sky over Stamsund, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Oct 8, 2011. 23:14

Good things (sometimes) come to those who wait. In my case, this was my last night of a 2 week trip on Lofoten. A trip which thus far the northern lights had failed to appear. For the most part it had been a fairly stormy and turbulent autumn on the islands, with only rare moments of clear skies. But on this final night in Stamsund, the weather calmed and the sky cleared. I could sense something would happen.

It was a small group of us left at the hostel and as usual were spent our evenings sitting around the table, warmed by the fire and hopefully some good food in our stomach (on this evening, young Nicola, the wandering French chef, had prepared quite a feast for the group as an end of season party).

Well after dark we heard a knock at the window, followed by ‘come outside quickly!’ Everyone rushed to put on their jackets, grab their gloves and head out into the night. Me, I had to run to grab my camera and tripod.

Entering the darkness of the night, the sky was filled with green. I immediately climbed the hill behind the hostel, and then headed out to the coast, joined by Nicola. Roar took the others out on the boat to watch from the calm waters of the Vestfjord as the aurora danced and filled the sky in every direction. Another one of those moments where I wish I could have had 10 cameras!

This was my best night of northern lights to date. My next best night occurred again on October 8th, the following year, where I was unfortunate enough the be aboard the Hurtigruten while sailing across the Vestfjord and northern lights filled the sky from horizon to horizon.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
24mm
ISO 1250
f 3,2
15 seconds
WB Daylight

October 17, 2014/0 Comments/by Cody

Autumn, Friday Photo, Vestvågøya

Friday Photo #92 – Holandsmelen Autumn

Photo: Autumn light shines across the rocky summit of Holandsmelen, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. September 26, 2013. 17:35

Day 3, mountain 3. After having spent a rather sleepless (because I was trying to keep an eye out for northern lights) night on Reinebringen and descending in the morning, I was feeling somewhat lazy and more or less content to sit around the Stamsund hostel eating popcorn. But as the hours of the day passed, it became evident that I couldn’t just sit around. So it my best ‘I’m lazy but need to do something’ mode, I headed towards the small peak of Holandsmelen.

I was a bit worried about the views, due to the close proximity to Leknes and the urbanized areas of Vestvågøy, but I figured there would at least be some decent views of Vik beach, and perhaps something else. I arrived on the summit with the sun hanging low on the horizon, quickly approaching a thickening layer of clouds out over the sea.

The best images were towards the beaches, where I managed to get a few exposures off before they fell into shadow. Luckily the sun remained shining a bit longer on the summit, giving me some time to explore the unique rocky texture of the otherwise ‘soft’ mountain. Holandsmelen is an easy hike and probably a place I’ll be back to to explore again with some different light, maybe I can even find a flat enough spot to sleep for the night, hopefully without too many rocks poking into my back.

The pointy mountain in the center of the image is Skottind.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
28mm
ISO 200
f 14
1/40 second
WB Daylight

October 10, 2014/0 Comments/by Cody

Friday Photo, Summer, Vestvågøya

Friday Photo #87 – Stamsund Sunset

Photo: Pink sunset over Stamsund, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. July 22, 2010. 00:51

The year 2010 was my first summer back on Lofoten for four years, having spent my last few trips getting to know the islands in the other seasons. As usual, my first stop on the islands was the Stamsund hostel, where I had arranged a meeting with a German friend whom I had spent some weeks with during the previous autumn: a fellow Lofoten addict.

Despite the village of Stamsund not being the most interesting place on Lofoten, there is still something of a wild and unspoiled coast just a short distance from the harbor beyond the hostel. I have stood upon these rocks dozens of times in all sorts of weather. They are one of those places where I can be sitting inside and eating dinner and then Roar will come knocking at the window, ‘ Come outside, the sky is pink!’

And so I gather my camera and run out across the rocks, sometimes a little slippery if it has been raining, and head towards the sea.

This evening a bitter wind was blowing, but the light was brilliant. I found a somewhat sheltered spot on the rocks to take this photo, the waves crashing at my feet.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 16-35mm f/4
23mm
ISO 200
f 16
0.3 second
WB Daylight

September 5, 2014/0 Comments/by Cody

Friday Photo, Summer, Vestvågøya

Friday Photo #85 – Uttakleiv Light

Photo: Afternoon light at Utakleiv beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. August 28, 2013. 18:14

For the last few years I’ve tried to tell myself that I have enough photos of Utakliev beach. Yet, like clockwork, each time I’m on the islands I head out there, ‘ just the check things out…’ Often I find the place windswept and barren. Yet on certain days, where the rest of the islands are under gale force winds, Utakleiv can be the place where a tripod wont blow over.

This was a particularly blustery summer day. I had stopped at a few different locations, but most were more windy than I would have liked. The clouds were moving fast through the sky and the fleeting moments of sun were separated by spells of heavy, sideways falling, rain.

I headed out to Utakleiv in the rain and waited in the car until I could see the rain beginning to pass. Soon enough a bit of sun began to shine in the distance. Looking to the left, I could see the next front quickly approaching. I had time for a few photos and then drops of rain began to fall again while the distant mountains disappeared behind the clouds.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3,5 tilt+shift
24mm
ISO 50
f 16
8 seconds
WB Daylight
2 images – top, bottom
6 stop B+W neutral density filter

August 29, 2014/0 Comments/by Cody

Friday Photo, Summer, Vestvågøya

Friday Photo #84 – Stamsund Twilight

Photo: Summer twilight, Stamsund, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. July 31, 2010. 01:19

Summers on Lofoten mean sleepless nights. With the sun finally setting in mid July, the following weeks provide magical twilight nights as the end of summer begins to approach. It is in these weeks that I like to head out at midnight and see what I can find.

Stamsund was my base for all of my first visits to Lofoten. I was poor in those days and more or less happy just to be on the islands. I couldn’t afford a rental car, so I would spend many of my days wandering around the coast and nearby mountains of the hostel.

Even to this day, the coastline just a short walk from the hostel remains one of my favorite places to photograph. Over the years I have seen everything, from the seasons first snow, northern lights from horizon to horizon, gale force storms, and calm silence. It is someplace I will return to again and again, always finding some new light to photograph.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 85mm f/2,8 tilt+shift
85mm
ISO 200
f 8
121 seconds
WB Daylight

August 15, 2014/0 Comments/by Cody

Friday Photo, Vestvågøya, Winter

Friday Photo #78 – Ice Puzzle

Photo: Ice puzzle, Nedredal, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 7, 2014. 15:23

Despite the cold temperatures and traces of snow on the higher mountain peaks, Winter in the low grounds was particularly difficult to find this year (2014). With barely any snow to speak of, I was left looking for other ways to show that it was February and not May on Lofoten.

The southern road, 815, on the Vestfjord side of Vestvågøy is a seldom photographed area of the islands, but a location that often provides a variety of compositions in changeable light. Or in the case of Winter, the low, boggy sections of coastline where fresh and salt water meet tend to freeze and break apart after a sufficient period of cold.

The result can be a scenic coastal landscape covered in puzzle-like sheets of ice. Exposed to the southwardly setting sun, what looked like a promising sunset unfortunately faded away into Winter’s usual combination of a deep blue-gray color as the last light faded from the sky. But I still like the abstract and complex, yet simple, composition of the image.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 100
f 13
.3 seconds
WB Daylight
2 images – top, bottom

July 4, 2014/0 Comments/by Cody

Friday Photo, Vestvågøya, Winter

Friday Photo #76 – Utakleiv Beach Winter

Photo: Dusting of snow covers Utakleiv beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 9, 2014. 11:41

Walking out of the hostel in the early morning hours it was an unexpected surprise to find a light dusting of snow had fallen overnight; an otherwise rare event during my previous 9 days on Lofoten thus far. We chased the promise of a nice sunrise to another location, which failed to appear, before making our way towards Haukland and Utakleiv. Being a Sunday, I was eager to get to the beaches before the snow was filled with footprints from other photographers and locals on their afternoon walks – do you know how much damage a single dog can do to an otherwise pristine beach? Some might say, ‘just photoshop out the footprints.’ But I don’t agree with that. Better to come back another day and try again.

With luck, and it being nearly noon, no one had thus far decided to walk along Utakleiv beach, or at least not the majority of it. So I was pleasantly surprised to come across some untouched sections of beach to photograph.

Had there been no snow on the beach, I probably would not have taken this image. The light is quite flat and I already have a decent collection of images from Utakleiv that I’ve taken over the years. But with a little snow, I had the opportunity to produce something somewhat new in the otherwise familiar setting.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 50
f 13
13 seconds
WB Daylight
2 images – top, bottom

June 20, 2014/0 Comments/by Cody

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