Lofoten

Senja and Lofoten, part 10: All good things...

When I woke up the next day and looked outside, I was met with very gray skies. I felt a bit down, but mostly relieved; I had gotten out the morning before and got some amazing images. Now I could sleep in and not feel disappointed with myself for not getting out. 

During the night, the snow had come rolling in. What was just a cloud bank on the horizon was now thick clouds with occasional snowfall, adding more fresh snow to the already impressive amount. I was in no hurry anywhere. It was my last full day, and I had a very early start the next day. I ate a good breakfast and packed down most of my stuff that I didn't need. I decided to drive around a bit just to scout the area. I knew there was no photos to be had, but at least I'd have a record of the area for next time.

A good sunrise location, just not today.

Ytresand beach.

I tried to find inspiration to take some photos that day. I really did. But I was tired. I had been on the trip for 11 days now, and I was really feeling it. The location was still as beautiful as ever, and the weather wasn't all that bad, but I just kind of gave up. It was enough. There is only so much travel and photography I can do during a trip. One final location, and I was done.

Beach on the road to Myrland. I wish I was here earlier.

As another patch of snow started coming down, I snapped the final image of the trip. The location was great, the rest wasn't.

The drive home was long. Apart from some GoPro time lapse, I don't have any footage from either day. Nothing really happened either; the weather was good, the roads were excellent (especially the Swedish ones), and I just kept driving. In hindsight, I'd probably do the same trip in three days next time, especially the return drive. It took me days to recover from the driving, and weeks to recover from the trip itself.

Home, at last. 5223 kilometers, by far the longest trip I've ever done by car.

So, was it worth it?

For once, I don't know. I really don't want to complain, but there is one really big issue with the trip after I've been home for a few months. I'm completely fed up with landscape photography, and photography in general. It's now been three months since I came back, and I've taken my camera out of the bag once during that time. I think it was too much. The utter, absolute, amazing crazy place I spent many days in spoiled me really, really badly. I look out my window at home, and I don't see a single mountain. There's no fjords, no solitude, no deserted beaches, and no eagles anywhere.

It's taken me this long to process all my images, and I still have over 200 GB of time lapse footage left; I have no idea when I'll have the energy to finish that. I'm sure I will get around to it eventually, but it still feels I need a break. My summer vacations are coming up in a month or so, I will probably try something then; I've been thinking about some intimate woodland landscapes this time around. Maybe that'll work out, maybe it wont. Time will tell.

I'm sure I will go back to Lofoten. I want to see how it looks without snow and ice. It feels like I barely scratched the surface of what you can see and experience in the region, and now that I've been there, I know where to head next and what regions to concentrate on. But the return trip will have to wait. For now, I have the images, and more importantly, the memories to remind me of that superlative, magical place. They remind me of how incredibly lucky I am to be able to visit such a paradise.

Senja and Lofoten, part 9: Hamnøy and exploring southeast

In the second post of this series, I talked about putting in the effort. As landscape photographers, it is almost mandatory if you want to get those once in a lifetime shots. Sure, you can get lucky and get the perfect conditions at the perfect location (the storm clouds over mountains a few posts ago is an example of just that), but for consistency, you have no choice but to do the work, set the alarm, and get out of bed.

That said, I'm horrible at it. On this trip, there were multiple mornings where I should have gone out, but didn't; many times I'm a lazy man, even with things I know I'd enjoy once I get going. This particular morning however, I didn't have a choice. I had two mornings to go before heading back to Finland. If the weather wasn't on my side this day, I'd only have one backup morning. So, at 4:30 in the morning, I started my drive to Hamnøy.

Of course, I wasn't alone. Hamnøy is the defining photo of the Lofoten islands, and I counted around 30 other people on the bridge with me. I was one of the earlier ones so I could pick my spot. We all lined up, set up, and waited.

45 minutes to go.

If I'd sell my stuff I guess this one would be called the money maker. Then again, I know for a fact that 30 people have the same image, so...

The sky eastward slowly got brighter and brighter, lighting the horizon a lovely pink and orange. Then, there it was, the first light hitting the peak, a lovely pink spreading around the cliff face. I took my shot, double-checked it, re-framed, and shot again. Two images, slightly different, and both absolutely worth it to wake up for.

But I wasn't done. While most people were staying on the bridge, shooting that scene, I packed my stuff and walked up a small hill close by that I'd scouted the day before. I had gotten an idea for a shot; something I could use as a background for my emails, to remind me of where I had been. Something simple. Something that showcased this wondrous place. I knew just what to shoot, and I had the perfect weather for it.

View northward from the hill. You don't have to look closely if you don't want to. But if you do, you see the small detail, such as the fishing boats. This photograph brings a smile to my lips each time I see it; it's not perfect by any means, but it means the world to me.

After that, I was done. I had gotten the photo I came to Lofoten for, and a great bonus on top of that. It had been a superb morning. While driving back, the landscape got brighter and brighter as the sun rose. I tried a few locations on the road back, but they would have worked better at sunrise. Didn't bother me though, not one bit.

Not the best I'd seen, but not bad.

After breakfast I decided to explore the final direction I hadn't been to yet, the southern part of Vestvågøy, the island I was staying on. The reason I had left it for last was that the maps didn't promise a lot of amazing views. I mean it isn't bad by any means, but it just isn't as dramatic as the drive south. 

Possible sunrise location for the last morning, but OK mid-day too.

Ballstad harbor.

Mountaintop detail.

Same mountain from the other side of the bay.

I continued my drive along the coast, trying to find images, but also just enjoying the scenery. As expected, it wasn't as dramatic as the previous days, but the weather as great so I didn't mind. On the way, I found a small installation of fish drying, nestled in by a small leisure harbor. I really do wonder why the birds don't eat all of the fish, since there is nothing to protect them, they just hang there:

Dried fish, anyone?

I didn't count them.

I mean, there were plenty of crows and eagles around, I'd think they'd treat the display as an all-you-can-eat buffet. I don't know, maybe the local birds prefer more sportsmanlike behavior. But speaking of eagles, guess what I photographed during my lunch?

I really do miss being able to take close-ups of these majestic birds.. Although we do have white-tailed eagles in the Turku archipelago too, they are mostly very shy and don't come nearly as close as this. At least if, you're not being sneaky, which I really wasn't, eating my bag of food at the top of a mountain pass.

After lunch I finished my drive round to Stamsund; not really much to report there. That particular area has forest by the road and coast, so you can't really see much of anything while driving. My mind was quickly moving to where I was planning to take the sunset image of the day, Uttakleiv Beach. Uttakleiv is one of the iconic beaches in Lofoten and is right next to Haukland Beach where I had been earlier. Getting there was no problem; finding a composition with more than a hundred other photographers was.

I'm not super happy with what I got, to be honest. There were too many people around and I couldn't really concentrate on the image. After I took this, I wanted to see if I could find something else, but it was no use. The beach was full of tourists and the light was disappearing fast; another storm was heading our way and it covered most of the horizon, blocking the final phase of the sunset. I stayed on the beach for a good hour after I took the image above, just taking in the view. I knew it was probably going to be the last sunset image I took during the trip. It turns out I was right.

Senja and Lofoten, part 8: The most incredible place

When you read 'Lofoten Islands in winter', what do you think of? Mountains? Snow? Ice? Fjords? Small fishing villages? I thought of all of those, and more. To actually be there was a dream come true. On the third day in Lofoten, I drove southwards toward the end of the islands. The weather had calmed considerably from the days before. And even though there was a bit of cloud on the sky, it was that nice sort of cloud that just looks great. Even though my drive southward was only about 1 hour long, it took me about three times that.

Behind the red shed, the little outcrop, was where I took the sunset image you can see in the previous post.

And in the other direction, my trusty, thirsty steed. Wherever you look around these parts, there is a pointy mountain.

I mean, come on!

So yeah, I stopped along the way. A lot. But can you really blame me? I just do not have the words to describe my feelings on this day. I was in paradise. Lofoten is unlike any place I've ever been in, and to be able to see and experience it during a day like this was just... incredible. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Crystal clear.

Bridges to Fredvang.

After many, many stops I finally got to Hamnøy for the scouting. It didn't take me long to find the location I was looking for.

Either this...

...or this. I'd choose the final one next morning.

While I was here, I took the opportunity to walk around to see if there were other shots to be had. I knew where I'd have to be the next morning, but there might still be some hidden gems somewhere. 

This guy had the right idea. But what is he taking a photo of?

Ah, yes.

View south-west.

View south-east towards the mainland. This actually gave me an idea that bore fruit the next morning.

Locals.

I wandered around for an hour or so, watching the sea, boats and birds, and just enjoying the views. I was getting hungry though, so it was time for another delicious Outdoor Deluxe Meal. The location this time was Djupfjorden, that has a convenient parking spot built on a scenic position. I took a photo of the small fjord itself, and then settled down for my lunch. The eagles the day before were on my mind, so before I did anything with the portable stove, I strapped on my birding setup. Just in case.

Small and cozy. I'd love to take a photo that would show the scale of the place, but there just is no way to do it from this vantage point.

I sat on the ledge that you can see above, looking out towards the sea (behind me in this shot). I had the bag of food in my left hand and a spoon in my right. And on my right side, hanging from my shoulder harness, my tele lens with the correct settings dialed in. Mid-chew, I looked to my left, put the bag of food down beside me, lifted my camera, and fired of a full burst. Afterwards I put down the camera, picked up my food and continued eating.

It was time to head back. I had a plan to get to a particular beach for sunset, Skagsanden beach. On the way I couldn't resist, and stopped at the same location I was at earlier. The sun had shifted a bit, shining nice side light on the mountains so that I could do nice panoramas that I'll put on my wall at some point. 

The beach was absolutely packed. I stopped counting at a hundred photographers, it was simply mental. I was a bit late, again, so didn't really have a good pick of compositions. I tried my best, but my heart wasn't really in it. It had been a long day, and I was really tired. And happy about all the photos I had already gotten that day. I also knew I had an early start the next day; there was no chance I'd miss sunrise at Hamnøy.

It had been a crazy, long day. Writing this, I know I should try more to describe what I felt, but mostly I was just overwhelmed. And that's really not that strange. Now, I just look at the images, and smile.

After sunset when most of the photogs had left. I should've put more effort in, such as focus stacking the image. But I was already half asleep.

Sunset at Skagsanden. Would've been great, were it not for the footsteps of some idiot.