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.