Photo: January dawn on Haukland beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway.  January 6, 2010.  09:49

Some time ago I posted a photo from this morning at Haukland beach, but as I’m now less than one month away from returning to the islands, it’s time for more winter images to inspire me.  Even now, looking back four years later, it still remains one of my most memorable days on the islands and is partly what saw me start this website in the first place and begin to look at Lofoten with a different set of eyes.

After having spent a stormy night at Utakleiv attempting the sleep in the cramped back seat of my all-too-small rental car, Haukland beach was the first scene I came across for the day.  I was not in a rush to get anywhere in particular, but I was in a rush to get as much variety out of the 4 hour day as possible.  I was also still cold from the night, only having a 0˚ sleeping bag with me, as the temperature dropped to -10˚ or so, and the car had yet to properly warm me up in the short drive from Utakleiv.  With already cold feet, I crunched my way across the snow covered sand and down towards the beach.

When I caught sight of this small chunk of ice on the frozen beach, I knew I had found something special.  While Lofoten is cold, there is not often ice on the beaches such as this.  But thanks to the cold temperatures and the small creek that runs into the sea at Haukland, a frozen piece of creek ice must have washed back onto the beach at high tide, and then a light layer of snow fell overnight to complete the scene.  I have attempted to find a scene like this in my last several winter visits, but have never been so lucky again.

The only thing that distracts me is the otter tracks across the middle of the image, I guess he was up before me.  But overall, this is still one of my favorite images from the islands.

Camera Info:
Nikon D700
Nikon 24mm f/3.5
24mm
ISO 200
f 16
8 seconds
WB Daylight
2 images – top/bottom

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Well, I’ve reached image number 52, a whole year of weekly Lofoten Images.  Good thing I still have about 900 images left in my archive to keep things going.  But at the moment, I’m not too sure if I’m going to continue posting weekly photos.  I initially started when there wasn’t all that much content here on the site, so I was just hoping to fill things in a bit.  And in all honesty, I haven’t received much feedback for my efforts during the last year, so I’m kind of questioning whether it’s worth my time to continue.

So now your chance to chime in.  If you find the information or stories useful on this Friday Photo series, maybe make a comment letting me know.  If it’s just been a waste of time, you can let me know that as well. 🙂

Happy 2014!  For those of us heading north in the next months, lets hope the mountains are full of snow and the skies full of Auroras.  And if you see some guy in a ugly blue jacket wandering around, come say hello. (I also accept invitations to hot tea and use of an oven to cook a frozen pizza for dinner in.)

 

 

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

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