Lofoten Islands – Autumn 2011 Photos

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Lofoten islands, Norway

Photo: Dark skies over Vestfjord, Stamsund, Lofoten Islands, Norway.

—-CLICK HERE— To go to the Lofoten autumn gallery.

It’s taken a few months, but I’m finally getting a few photos online (60 so far) from my Sept/Oct trip to the islands.  I’ll keep updating things over the next weeks as well, so keep checking back!

Overall it was quite a stormy, yet warm autumn.  Often there was a southwest wind which brings an awful misty rain much of the time, especially on the days I was hoping to go out camping.  Overall, Norway had the warmest November in 111 years.  There was one brief night of snow a week into October, but nothing like the cold I experienced in 2009.  So no pics of nice snow capped mountains this year.

I found myself struggling against wind and mist or rain nearly every day, often with only brief moments of better weather.  A few days into the trip a big gale arrived that cleared most of the trees of their leaves, leaving the forests mostly barren and ugly looking.   This led me to have a greater focus on seascapes that I was originally intending, but that is how it goes in the north.  And despite the weather, I still managed a fantastic afternoon up on Reinebringen and on my last night conditions were near perfect for shooting the best Northern Lights that I’ve seen thus far.

I often get asked for info about travel and photography on the islands.  My best piece of advice is to give yourself as much time as possible, the islands need lots of it.

 

Reinebringen, Lofoten islands, Norway

Photo: Hiker on Reinebringen with Kjerkfjord in background, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Lofoten Islands Travel Article

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Reinebringen View Lofoten Islands Hiking

Photo: View over Kjerkfjord from Reinebringen, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Oct. 2011

A few months back I wrote an article about the Lofoten Islands for a new travel website.  As I’ve been on the road, I never got around to posting a link, so here it is finally.  Give it a read and let me know what you think.  Though please don’t try and tell me I have a future in writing.

SWITCHBACK TRAVEL – Lofoten Islands by Cody Duncan

Lofoten islands article

 

Lofoten Islands mountain landscape

Photo: Maervoll, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Oct. 2011

Germany – Frankenjura Bouldering Day 2

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Frankenjura Bouldern - Franenjura bouldering

Photo: Bouldering, Frankenjura, Germany. Nov 2011.

…Continuing from yesterdays bouldering pics.  Here’s fotos from day two.  We found a cool looking boulder, that while not especially difficult (though conditions were crap), made for some good photos I think.  Again, I used an off-camera flash most of the time, which on a few pics almost makes it look like a nice sunny day instead of cold and misty.

 

Frankenjura Bouldern - Franenjura bouldering

 

Fränkische Schweiz forest landscape

 

Frankenjura Bouldern - German Bouldering

 

Frankenjura Bouldern - German Bouldering

 

Frankenjura Bouldern - German Bouldering

 

Frankenjura Bouldern - German Bouldering

 

Frankenjura Bouldern - German Bouldering

 

 

Germany – Fränkische Schweiz Bouldering

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Frankenjura Bouldern

 

In the final days of November I found myself back in the old familiar landscape of the Fränkische Schweiz.  Once my back yard, the rock towers, lonely valleys, high cherry orchards, and dark forests still remain familiar to me after the passage of the years.  The days were short and cold, a heavy gloom coating the land.  German Gray I once called it, and I still keep this opinion.  Anyone who’s been there would agree that this is an appropriate description.  More than just a color, it is a feeling that fills the land in the cold months.

I was lucky to be with a few friends and head out to shoot some bouldering sessions on a couple days.  Here’s a few images from the first day, near Pottenstein.  Light in the forests was pretty much non-existent, so I had to use my SB-800 as an off camera flash to add a little light to the scenes.

 

Frankenjura Bouldern

 

Frankenjura Bouldern

 

Frankenjura Bouldering

 

Frankenjura Bouldering

 

Frankenjura Bouldering

Northern Lights Over Lofoten Islands, Norway

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Lofoten islands, Norway Northern Lights

Photo: Northern lights fill sky over Lofoten Islands, Norway.

October 8, 2011. It was my final night after another two weeks on the Lofoten islands.  There had been a couple minor displays of the northern lights but for the most part these nights were cloudy and stormy, blocking any aurora that would normally be visible.  Finally on my last night the conditions seemed perfect; clear sky and only a calm breeze.  As the hours of darkness passed I would take a look outside in hopes of aurora.  8:00, nothing.  9:00, nothing.  10:00, nothing.  10:30, a bit of something!  Fingers crossed.

By 11:00 the night sky was filled with the best aurora that I’ve ever seen.  Horizon to horizon, the whole sky was dancing with light for a full hour.  I stood out on the edge of the sea, waves gently crashing ageist the rocks, and photographed into the night.  And it was one of those moments I wished I had 20 arms and 10 cameras, as there was so much going on I didn’t know where to point my camera first.  Needless to say, it was a good farewell I was given by the north.

Lofoten islands, Norway northern lights

Photo: Aurora Borealis over mountains of Lofoten Islands, Norway

 

Lofoten islands, Norway aurora borealis

Photo: Aurora Borealis over mountains of Lofoten Islands, Norway

 

Lofoten islands, Norway northern lights

Photo: Northern Lights fill sky, Lofoten Islands, Norway

 

Lofoten islands, Norway northern lights

Photo: Northern Lights in sky over rocky coastline at Stamsund, Lofoten Islands, Norway

 

Travel Updates – In Wales

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Northern lights lofoten islands october 2011

Photo: Northern lights over Lofoten Islands, Norway.  Oct 8, 2011

It’s been quite a bit of time since my last post.  I’ve been on the road for the last 2.5 months in northern and eastern Europe.  I really tried to get some blogging done, but every time I pulled out the crappy little netbook that I had, I felt more like throwing it in the ocean than trying to get any work done.

The trip started with 2 weeks on the Lofoten islands, with a spectacular display of the northern lights on my final night.  I next spent 25 hours on 3 train to reach Stockholm.  Then I took the overnight ferry along with hoards of drunk Finns to Helsinki and immediately took another ferry to Tallinn, Estonia.  I had meant to travel through the Baltics about 5 years ago, so this part of the trip was long overdue.  I spent 2 weeks heading south via Riga, Klaipeda, and Vilnius before an epic bus ride to far south east of Poland.  In Poland I hiked around the Biesczszady and high Tatra mountains, taking advantage of an unusually warm and dry autumn in Europe this year.  After Poland was a journey through the Czech Republic, visiting some old favorite cities of Olomouc and Cesky Krumlov.  Finally it was another 2 weeks in Germany visiting old friends and a bit of bouldering.

I’m in and around Wales for the next couple months.  Will make a journey out the the Western Isles for the new year again and maybe another journey in late Jan out to Orkney.  I’m also working on possible plans for a Lofoten trip in Feb.

The blog should more or less be back to normal now (not that many people read it anyhow) and I’ve lots of photos and stories to post from the last couple months.

Tallinn, Estonia

Photo: Main square, Tallinn, Estonia

 

High Tatra mountains, Poland

Photo: High Tatra mountains, Poland

 

Frankenjura Bouldering

Photo: Bouldering, Frankenjura, Germany

PDN Great Outdoors 2011 Contest Winner

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PDN great outdoors contest winning image 2011

My image from Haukland beach, Lofoten Islands was selected as a finalist in the 2011 PDN Great Outdoors photo contest.  It was printed in the Sept. issue and now the contest website is live.  I’m quite honored to appear next to quite a few other photographers whom I myself admire.

CLICK HERE:  for 2011 PDN Great Outdoor photo contest

Not to promote myself too much, but if you’re interested in purchasing a print of this image: CLICK HERE

Prints

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Haukland Beach, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Frozen tide on Haukland Beach in winter, Lofoten islands, Norway.

I’m pleased to announce that I now have a number of my images available for purchase as prints.  It is only a small number for now, but I will be adding new images in the following months.  I’m also open to requests, so if there is anything in particular you might be looking for, let me know.

CLICK HERE to view my print gallery

Camera Gear for European Backpacking Trip

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Utakleiv, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Utakleiv, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Yesterday I wrote about my backpacking gear for my next Europe trip.  Today is a bit of my thoughts about the camera gear that I’ll carry.  My overall ideal is to travel as light as possible, while still having enough tools to get the shot.  It is something I struggle with and am not perfect at.  I find myself wanting to take an extra lens ‘just in case I might need it,’ even though most times I wont.  Do I need a 50mm 1.4 for low light? Do I need an 70-200mm if I see some cool animal?  Yes and no.  I could easily end up carrying so much that I’ll never make it out into the wilderness to see that animal, or I’m too tired to keep walking around the streets of the old town for that nice evening light.  I need to accept the idea that I don’t need to, and can’t, take photos of everything.

Camera: Nikon d700
24-70 f2.8 lens
24 f3.5 tilt-shift lens
85 f2.8 tilt-shift lens
SB-800 strobe
Neutral Density filters: 6 stop B&W, 10 stop B&W
Polarizing filter
UV Filter
Flash Cards: about 120GB
Cable release
Lens pen
Battery charger
Zeiss lens wipes
Lens tissue

I’m trying to keep my gear to a minimum on this trip.  I’m not really an ultra-wide shooter, so 24mm on full fame is generally wide enough for me.  I’m also not bringing a telephoto either, as it’s just heavy and I tent not to use it all that often anyhow.  Will I miss some shots by not having everything from 14mm to 200mm? Yes, not doubt.  It is simply the trade off that must be made.  If it was a shorter trip to one specific location, I might take a bit more, but for traveling for 2.5 months, less is better after a while.

Some might wonder why I’m taking the 24mm tilt-shift when I already have something at 24mm.  Mostly this is personal preference in that I’ve come to find 2/3 format to have something missing.  So with the tilt-shift I can shoot square or pano format with relative ease and not also have to carry special pano gear.  And by shifting the 24mm t/s, I can get a bit wider if I need to.  And it is also helpful for a bit of perspective control while shooting in narrow European streets and alleys.

The ND filters are absolutely necessary for the images I envision, most especially for the Lofoten Islands.  They bring out a presence and atmosphere of the islands that is otherwise difficult to find.  I used to keep UV filters on all my lenses, but I gave this up some time ago as I spent too much time taking them off and putting on the ND’s.  I do carry one though incase I need to shoot in heavy sea spray and I don’t want my lens to get overly soaked.  I’m not really sure why I carry a polarizer, as I hardly ever use it, but it comes in handy sometimes.  I generally don’t use microfiber lens cloths, as they just get too dirty and greasy after a while, especially if wiping salt water.  Disposable tissues in combination with the Zeiss disposable wipes is the best combination for crappy weather that I’ve found.  And I like clean lenses.

Tripod: Gitzo 1128 carbon fiber
Ballhead: Really Right Stuff BH-40,  plus L-plate on camera

I have a lighter tripod and ballhead, but as I’ll be in low light with bad weather a lot of the time, I need something a bit more sturdy.  If it was just a short trip, I would bring an even bigger tripod/ballhead, but I can’t really justify it for months on the road.  I’m a big fan of the Really Right Stuff gear, plus they’re just up the road from me.  The BH-40 is the best in function, strength and weight that I’ve found.

Backpack: Osprey Hornet 32  – 21 oz. (600 g.)

Yesterday I also mentioned my preference for using a normal hiking daypack over a camera specific backpack.  It’s not as convenient as a photo bag, and can take a bit longer to dig around for gear of find lenses, but at the end of the day, the benefits outweigh any drawbacks.  Or at least for me.  Again as with my lens selection, this is a purely person preference for how I like to travel.  This will be my first trip with the Osprey bag, but it feels pretty good loaded up.  Years ago, I had an old Mammut bag that was super light and perfect for travel.  It suffered 2.5 years of abuse before the bottom finally started giving out and I had to put it into retirement.  And I really put my gear through a lot.  While traveling my backpack is with me 24/7. It showers with me, sleeps with me, is in the hostel kitchen with me, sits next to me at the pub or on the train, and is always on my back while walking around or hiking.  My gear back basically becomes an extra body part.  For the last couple years I haven’t found a bag that was as good as the Mammut in overall function; most are either a bit on the heavy side or too flimsy.  The main problem with finding a light bag is that I need them to have a good hip belt.  The ultralight bags usually are lacking in this regard and the bags with decent hip belts tended to be a bit heavier.  The Osprey comes in pretty good in this area.  My only real critique is that the the top of the bag is some thin netting material, so I’ll have to take a bit of extra caution to keep things dry while in drizzly, rainy weather.   It could also have two Ice axe loops as well, so it probably wont be that good as a climbing bag.

 

Hiking and Travel gear for Lofoten Islands and European Backpacking

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I sometimes get asked what gear I carry while traveling, so here’s a list of what I’m taking for 2 1/2 months of travel in Northern Europe from late September till mid December. Ideally I could carry a bit less and travel lighter, but having to carry gear both for camping in the Lofoten Islands and hanging out in Czech cities inevitably leads to some inefficiencies. Normally for a hiking trip, I would not carry anything that I don’t need every day. For mixing Norwegian camping and staying in hostels, this concept doesn’t work especially well. But here it is anyhow. Tomorrow I’ll write about camera gear.

Backpacking gear

 

Backpacking gear:
Backpack: Golite Odyssey, 90L (5490 in^3) – 47 oz.
Sleeping bag: REI Sub Kilo – 31 oz.
Pad: Thermarest NeoAir – 13.6 oz.
Tent: Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1 – 37 oz.
Stove: Primus TiLite + Titanium pot (.9l) – 9 oz.
Trekking poles: Black Diamond Ultra Distance 10.5 oz. (pair)
Water Purification: Steripen Adventurer – 4 oz.
Total weight:  9 lb. 7.5 oz.  (4.2 kg.)

Gear wise I have to make some small concessions for both cold temps and saving space, so I’m not very close to being ultralight on this trip.  For spring/summer/autumn, a 0˚ C sleeping bag would save some weight.  But from the experience of a night in the mountains on the Swedish – Norwegian border in October a couple years ago, a warmer bag is definitely a safer and more enjoyable option. On the other hand, I’m sure I’ll roast in a few hostel dorms where the punters like to shut all the windows and turn it into an oven of hot stale air and a crescendo of snoring.  On just a hiking trip, I would probably switch the NeoAir pad for a light weigh foam one to save a few ounces.  But foam pads are big and I hate having a bunch of crap strapped to the outside of my bag while walking around cities or hopping on trains.  Plus the NeoAir is way more comfortable anyhow.  Tent is about as light as there is, unless going for a tarp, but when I have to guerrilla camp in sometimes not-so-legit places, I prefer a bit more privacy/protection of a tent.

For staying in cities/hostels, all the camping gear is basically dead weight and unnecessary.  Though generally it’s not a far walk from the train station to the hostel, so it’s not really a problem.  Maybe it’s more of a self-conscious thing; me with a huge old bag and others with small tiny bags of just clothes (and shoes for the stylish peoples).  I always get some weird looks when I have to pull out my tent and dry it over my bunk while everyone else in the dorm is getting fancied up for a night on the town.

Clothing:
Base layer: Patagonia R2
Softshell: Fjalraven
Insulation: Mountain Hardwear Compressor
Shell Jacket: Golite
Shell Pant: Marmot Precip
Pants: MEC lightweight softshell,  REI medium weight soft-shell
shorts
3x t-shirt: 2 cotton, 1 synthetic
3x socks
3x underwear
Gloves
sandals (for hostel showers)
Shoes: Vasque Goretex lined trail runners
Clothing (carry weight):  4 lb.  11 oz. (2.1 kg.)

Again, due to traveling in autumn/winter, I have to pack a bit heavier in the clothing department in preparation for colder temps.  I’ve also had to do a bit of a compromise to cover both hiking and city/hostel life.  If it was a purely hiking trip, I would go a bit lighter with the insulation as I can hike in a light jacket or fleece into below zero temps as long as I’m moving.  But for wandering around cities on a crisp autumn day, I’ll need a bit more insulation.  I chose a hooded softshell jacket over my all time favorite jacket, the Marmot DriClime windshirt, as it fits better with a heavier base layer, the Patagonia R2 jacket.  I figure I’ll have both jackets on pretty much anytime I’m outdoors, so the extra weight shouldn’t matter too much.  While hiking, I shouldn’t overheat too bad in the softshell alone.  I might ditch the rain pants, as I don’t like hiking in the rain anyhow, and with a second pair of pants, if I do get too wet, I can change once at camp.  I carry a super lightweight rain jacket over something a bit heavier that I would wear instead of the softshell as I simply can’t stand wearing hardshell jackets, and will only put one on in a heavy downpour.  I hope I haven’t made a mistake taking trail runners over light boots, but I think I’ll be fine.  Only if there is a considerable amount of fresh snow will it be an issue, so I might run into some problems in the high Tatra mountains, but otherwise, there shouldn’t be too much snow around by mid December (hopefully…).

Other items:
Knife
Headlamp: Petzl Zipka2
Rain cover
Towel
Toothbrush/paste
Biodegradable soap
Earplugs
Hand cleaner

If I wasn’t a photographer, my backpack is actually not too bad for over 2 months of autumn/winter travel mostly in northern Europe.  Next comes the heavy stuff: my camera gear.  Which while I’m trying to pack fairly light and only take a few lenses, it definitely adds some pounds to the backpack.  I’ll talk more about how I carry my camera gear tomorrow.  But basically I keep everything in a normal hiking daypack which can fit inside my larger backpack, as opposed to having a dedicated photo type backpack.  I’ve found this to be a good system in several ways: First, it easily fits inside my larger bag, so while hiking everything is in the one bag and depending on conditions, I may or may not carry my camera in a chest case.  I generally find most photo backpacks to be large and bulky compared to the inside space.  And most aren’t compressible at all due to the thicker padding, so I can’t sort of fold them up to fit is space gets a bit tight.  Second, a hiking daypack is going to be a fair bit lighter (mine is 21 oz. – 600 g.) backpack.  Next, it’s a relatively discreet looking ‘normal’ daypack when walking around cities, nothing that says ‘expensive camera gear inside.’ (and after a few months on the road and the bag gets some nice faded colors going, really looks ghetto then).  It’s more practical for going out on day hikes or short mountain adventures.  Finally, it’s more comfortable to sleep with in hostel beds (yes, I sleep with my backpack). There’s probably a few other benefits as well that I might think of by tomorrow.  But for the benefits gained, I also loose a bit of ease of function with a dedicated photo bag and it’s a bit harder on my gear.  And there are a few companies making photo bags for more adventurous photographers in mind, so I might take a look one of these days and see if there’s anything I could be interested in.