The dramatic archipelago of Lofoten rises sharply out of the arctic waters of Northern Norway.
While scouting the beaches around Lofoten we came across Storsandnes. This beach had a great view of the mountains of northern coast of Vestvågøy including Offersøykammen (furthest to the right) which we had climbed earlier that week. This photo was taken near the day's end and you can see the low sun cast shadows across the mountains to give them a sense of depth and scale. Although it appears clear in this framing, there were fairly thick clouds on the western horizon so we didn't quite see as dramatic a sunset as we'd hoped. On the bright side, however, the sky remained clear for a spectacular auroral display a few hours later.
To get this shot, I held my camera inches away from the water with one eye out to sea as the waves rolled in pretty quickly and I was in no mood to get drenched in the chilly water!
Storsandnes Beach, Vestvågøy, Lofoten, Norway, 2016
Sony a7R Mark II with Sony FE 16-35mm f/4
Tags: camera:sony_a7r2 f:wide f:ultrawide norway seascape lofoten reflections beach sunset square Vestvågøy Storsandnes
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The northern lights contour themselves to match the midground mountains in Lofoten Norway.
In stark contrast to our previous sightings of the northern lights in Norway, our viewings in Lofoten were at comfortable early-autumn temperatures. The immediate benefit of this was that we didn't need gloves or hats (some of us were in shorts!) to enjoy the view, but also meant that we could capture the reflections of the spectacle in liquid water rather than the frozen lakes and fjords we had to deal with previously.
Flakstadpollen, Lofoten, Norway, 2016
Sony a7R Mark II with Samyang 14mm f/2.8
Tags: camera:sony_a7r2 lofoten norway lake reflection aurora arctic mountains fjord SixteenByNine northern lights borealis
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Wind-herded clouds scud off the peaks of Vestvågøy across Storsandnes Beach in Lofoten Norway.
We visited this beach several times as we drove between the southern two islands of the Lofoten Archipelago, and even though we visited at different times of day and under varying weather conditions, it was beautiful every single time. This was taken when the weather was perhaps the least inspiring -- it was overcast, there was very little contrast and it was cold and windy. By using a long exposure, however, it was possible to make this composition more interesting by interleaving the fluid sea and sky with the stable rocks and mountains.
The link between the fluid and stable is also interesting. Lofoten is part of the Transscandinavian Igneous Belt which was formed a little under two billion years ago. It has been these two fluid forces -- as well as glacial action -- that have, over those two billion years, shaped the land into its beautiful forms. My 2 minute exposure doesn't sound all that "long" anymore ;)
Storsandnes Beach, Lofoten, Norway, 2016
Sony a7R Mark II with Zeiss FE 16-35mm f/4
Tags: camera:sony_a7r2 f:wide f:ultrawide norway seascape lofoten longexposure beach sunset square Vestvågøy Storsandnes clouds dramatic mountains archipelago arctic
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Two days after being violently shot out of our Sun, sub-atomic particles glissade through the atmosphere over Norway adding a tinge of green to the summer twilight sky.
We were incredibly lucky on our trip to have an auroral display bright enough to be visible even where the sun had set a short while earlier. This has been the only time I've seen the afterglow of sunset, the colours of twilight and the green and purple of the northern lights in a single scene.
One of the hardest things to do when taking a photograph of the aurora (other than trying not to get too excited and messing up your settings!) is to ensuring that you have a good composition. It's too easy to be mesmerized by the dramatic show going on overhead and only take a picture upwards without any environmental context, but without such context, it's difficult for a viewer to get a holistic appreciation of the scene.
This is harder than it sounds as most of the time the aurora only shows up when it's very dark and so any foreground is also very dark. You can work around this using artificial light or be lucky with a dim moon on the oppsite side to the aurora, but my preferred approach is to find a reflective surface like snow or ice, or even better liquid water in a lake or puddle. The problem with liquid water is that it tends to ripple which mar any clean reflections, which mean that using the sea is usually quite hard. In order to get this photo, I walked a short distance away from the beach and positioned my camera near a small puddle. By using a wide lens and lowering the camera, I managed to make the small puddle large enough to balance out the composition and hopefully provide interest to the viewer in all parts of the frame.
Utakleiv beach, Lofoten, Norway, 2016
Sony a7R Mark II with Samyang 14mm f/2.8 UMC
Tags: camera:sony_a7r2 f:wide f:ultrawide norway aurora beach lofoten seascape twilight ThreeByTwo reflections vertical vestvågøya utakleiv
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Despite visiting the spot several times, it was only when we were late and rushing to catch our ferry on our last day that we had good light over Reine in Northern Norway -- we had to stop!
It was a photo of this tiny fishing village that brought us to Lofoten in the first place, and it was important for me to take a decent photo of it before heading home. The spot where this photo is taken is remarkably easy to get to as it's essentially a parking lot for the southern side of the village but offers better views than some of the more arduous hikes in the area. I only had a minute or two for this photo, so it was a quick dash from the car with the only camera I had in easy access to a spot I'd identified earlier, 2 captures and then back to the car again.
Reine, Lofoten, Norway, 2016
Sony RX1R Mark II
Tags: square norway lofoten reine dawn sunrise reflection mountains Moskenesøya camera:sony_rx1r2
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