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Friday Photo #38 – Stamsund Autumn Storm

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

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Friday Photo #36 – Vikvatnet Thaw

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

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Friday Photo #35 – Moonlight Over Eggum

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

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Friday Photo #31 – Winter Farm

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

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Friday Photo #26 – Offersoykammen

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

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Friday Photo #21 – Driftwood Campfire

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

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Friday Photo #20 – Rolvsfjord

Reflection of misty mountains and village, Rolvsfjord, Lofoten Islands, Norway
Photo: Rolvsfjord, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Sept. 29, 2011.  13:03

If you spend enough time on the islands you’ll soon come to realize that the weather changes quite literally around every corner.  Taking the southern coastal road, 815, on Vestvågøya towards Svolvaer the seas were choppy an rough.  Until I rounded a corner near Rolvsfjord and the land sat in perfect calm.

Normally I avoid images with so many buildings, but something about this scene seemed too good to pass by.  Or perhaps it was merely that I’d yet to have anything for the day to show for.  But this image feels somewhat surreal and otherworldly to me.  The contrast of the fir trees to the amber colors of Autumn and the rising clouds of a recently passed shower help give depth to the image while the almost welcoming landscape seems soft and forgiving.  Almost something Lord of the Rings like in character.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 24-70 f-2.8
38mm
ISO 200
f 9
1/50 sec
WB Daylight

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Friday Photo #19 – Stamsund Blue

Dark weather over coast, Stamsund, Lofoten islands, Norway
Photo: Stamsund blue, Stamsund, Vestvågøya, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Oct. 1, 2011.  16:41

I am not sure how many hours of my life I have stood in this location, the outer coast beyond the Stamsund youth hostel, but it is probably well into a day by now.  My more or less default spot when the weather is grim and I dare not venture too far from the warm fire burning in the old Eidsfos Verk #242.

On this gloomy autumn day, this is the only place I ventured to in hopes of a few images so as not to feel the day a complete waste.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 24-70 f-2.8
70mm
ISO 100
f 11
61 sec
WB Daylight
2 images – top/bottom

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Friday Photo #16 – Vik Beach Winter

Sea and snow meet at Vik Beach, Vik, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway
Photo: Winter tide, Vik Beach, Vestvagøyå, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Feb. 16, 21013.  17:19

For several days a layer of low clouds had enveloped the islands and concealed the sun.  Flat, gray light was all there was to be found over most of Lofoten.  Finally, as evening arrived I headed out towards Utakleiv, where I planned to spend the night.  I was originally going to stop at Haukland beach while on my way, but there was already a crowd of other photographers there – and for some reason, I’m a bit self-conscious about invading another photographers ‘working space.’  Nothing more annoying than composing a shot and have some dude, or usually a workshop group, as numbers bring boldness, set up a tripod in the middle of your scene.  But I digress, a rant for another day perhaps…

So I instead headed towards Vik beach, which sat empty.  I had good luck with my timing as the incoming tide was meeting the snow line on the beach, which I often find an interesting motif.  The clouds here on the north side of the island also began to show some texture as they first met with the mountain wall of Lofoten.

There seem to have been a sheep or two which had wandered up and down the beach, leaving a maze of footprints in the otherwise almost completely untouched snow.  This reduced the possibilities of including more foreground in the composition and meant I needed to keep just to the water’s edge.  But in the end, I think it worked out quite okay.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift
24mm
ISO 50
f 16
25 sec
WB Daylight
6 stop B+W ND filter
2 images – top/bottom

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Friday Photo # 15 – Stamsund Summer Twilight

Summer evening twilight, Stamsund, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Late Summer twilight, Stamsund, Vestvagøyå, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Aug 24, 2012.  00:59

Even one month after the Summer’s first sunset, the northern horizon of late August still glows throughout the night.

After several days of turbulent weather, this evening, my first after arriving at the hostel in Stamsund, was eerily calm.  With clear skies, I stayed up late in hopes of an early appearance of the Northern Lights, which had appeared a few nights prior.

Finally, on one of my trips up the small hill behind the hostel I came upon this scene.  I’m not sure what in particular I was drawn to, and perhaps at some other period in my life I would have passed this photo by, just content to be an observer.  but the stillness of the night was rare for Lofoten and as I had only been on the islands for a few days, I was still eager for photos.

More effort of my behalf would have perhaps led me down to the shoreline to shoot for a few more hours, but I think a comfy bed was calling my name by this point in my travels.  Still was a night to remember.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
24mm
ISO 200
f 5.6
30 sec
WB Daylight

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