Photo: Kjerkfjord panoramic, Reine, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Jan 2010
View across Kjerkfjord towards Vindstad. If I get a good enough forecast hopefully I will take the ferry across and camp for a couple nights at Bunes beach. Would probably be the perfect spot for one of those cliche photos of a tent at night with northern lights in the sky above.
Photo: Nuremberg Christmas market. Dec. 2011
Photo: Yttersand, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Oct. 2011
Despite appearances of a pleasant sunny day, it was raining 6 minutes after I too this image.
Photo: January sun shines through empty stockfish racks, Lofoten islands, Norway
These two images are from the 6th of January, when the sun does not fully rise above the horizon on the Lofoten islands. Normally we’re used to sunrise in the east, sunset in the west. However, north of the arctic circle, this isn’t really true. In winter, the sun rises and sets towards the south, where as in summer, it sets towards the north. In relation to this is that the sun travels much more parallel in relation to the horizon – I wont go into the numbers right now, maybe some other time I’ll bring out the astronomy nerd in me. So, the result of this for the viewer, or photographer, is that the sun appears to rise and set very slowly. Or in more practical terms, sunrise/sunset lasts a lot longer that here in California. On the case of the 6th of January, the sun travels along the southern horizon for about an hour before disappearing once more. Yep, that’s it, 1 hour of sun for the day. Just a few days previous, New Years for example, there is no sun at all. Though it is not far below the horizon, giving a magical twilight light if the skies are clear.
Photo: January winter sun on horizon over Vestfjorden, Lofoten islands, Norway.
Winter view across Kjerkfjorden towards Vindstad, Lofoten islands, Norway. Jan 2010. This was perhaps one of the most perfect days I’ve experienced in my life. The day to which I have since judged every other; none having come close in the last 18 months since I took this photo. But as with all good things, the 4 hours of light of the polar winter was gone all to quickly. An amazing 4 hours it was.
I now have close to 600 images in my panoramic gallery. CLICK HERE to view more.
Lake Gjende, Jotunheimen national park, Norway. Aug 2010. I rose early for sunrise, yet nothing of much interest materialized so I returned to my tent for a few more hours of rest. A few ours later I peeked out the door and saw this scene of total calm. I checked my watch, shit, the ferry leaves in a few minutes, time to get moving. I hoped up, ran down barefooted (to the mosquitoes liking) to the shore of the lake. 5 minutes later, the morning ferry to Gjendesheim passes by, the wake leaving the lake rippled there after…
Lofoten and Vesteraalen islands, Norway. Sept 2009. Taken from on board the Hurtigruten ferry as I traveled from Sortland to Stamsund on a rather stormy and windy day. Luckily storms and wind make for nice light is one is brave enough to face the elements. I made many nice Photos during this journey.
Ring of Brodgar, Orkney, Scotland. Dec 2009. The barren, windswept islands which make up the Orkney islands are one of my favorite places. While the short days of December are probably not the most ideal time to visit, it had been three years since I last stepped foot here, so my return was long overdue. Despite a bit of wind, the weather cooperated quite well over the few days I was there.
Welsh Mountain Pony, Hay Bluff, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. Jun 2010. Hay Bluff, just above the town of Hay-on-Wye was one of my favorite places for a summer afternoon of wandering around the hills. Quite often the weather was typically ‘Welsh’ (rain), yet some days managed to turn out quite nice, there in a Welsh Mountain Pony, and there you go, the photo is almost made for you.
Stamsund, Lofoten islands, Norway. July 2010. I’ve stood in this very spot a hundred times in the last 10 years, and walked away with a hundred different images. It’s a little rocky point out beyond the harbor from the Stamsund Vandrerhjem. To the north is this view towards Henningsvaer. East looks across the Vestfjord towards the Norwegian mainland, visible on clear days. This photo was taken after 11:00pm, on one of those magically endless Lofoten summer days. Stamsund is quite simply the center of the universe, enter and you may never return…
Salton Sea, California. Mar 2010. The Salton Sea is always an interesting place, both for ones eyes and nose. I arrived in darkness to a location that I thought I knew, yet I wasn’t aware just how far the lake level had declined since my last visit. This is what I found waiting in the morning light.
Eureka Dunes, Death Valley national park, California. Feb 2011. Isolated in the northern end of Death Valley national park are the Eureka Dunes. Less frequented than other areas of the park, one can escape here for a bit more isolation and a better chance at footprint-less dunes.
Devil’s Racetrack, Death Valley national park, California. Feb 2010. Vertical panoramic to emphasize the texture of the dry lake bed playa.
Photo: Winter dawn on Lone Pine Peak, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California. Feb 2010
Well, it’s Tuesday and I’m back in Santa Barbara instead of up in the mountains. Had a bit of a technical problem, compounded by a stupid oversight on my part, which forced me to call off the mountain.
The problem, my stove didn’t work. No stove in winter camping means no water to drink. A bit of an issue. Ya, that’s a frozen lake in the foreground of the above photo, but it wouldn’t have been the smartest decision in my life if I had tried get get water out of it. The stupid mistake on my part was that I didn’t bring a lighter/matches – which I normally always have in my bag, but I had to take everything out when I last flew, and I guess things never made it back in. Now the stove is supposed to be self lighting with one of those ‘clicker’ things, but being a new one, I never tested it out at 12,000 feet, where it apparently doesn’t work. Started up just fine once back down in the valley. Stupid me…
Had it been sunnier, I would have tried putting my water bladder on top of my snow shovel (black) to maybe get some heat radiation to melt some snow; likely not enough to continue the climb, but at least for a less thirsty night/hike out. My best attempt was to fill up a small bottle with snow at keep in next to my body under my jacket. Managed to get a couple sips for the morning at least. I wasn’t in that far, so I didn’t have any worries about an ‘epic,’ just more anger at a situation I could have easily avoided.
I could have gone back in the next day, but I sort of lost my motivation for suffering. Spent the afternoon bouldering at the Buttermilks, but I still wasn’t feelin’ it. I’m a bit distracted at the moment with trying/hoping/figuring out how to get a work visa for Norway, which isn’t looking all that hopeful, unfortunately. If I had $20,000 sitting around, I might qualify for a 6 month ‘skilled migrant job seeker’ type visa, but I’m a little poor for that. At the beginning of the year I had hoped to be in Lofoten by June where I want to work on a book project over the course of a year, as well as run some photo workshops/tours for more adventurous types. Not just the walk 10 feet from the road type stuff, but camping in the mountains and longer hikes, more of less what most of my own travels are. I basically want to be some sort of photo/travel ambassador for the Lofoten islands as anyone who’s ever been knows it’s the coolest place in the world! More thoughts on this later, I’m still hoping that I can pull something off, somehow, someway…
On the bright side, at least I walked away less sunburt than normal.
Photo: Mt. Whitney sunrise. Feb 2010
I’m heading up for a week or so in the eastern Sierra today. Maybe try and bag a few peeks depending on weather, or just be lazy and enjoy some bouldering in Bishop. I guess it depends on the weather…
Photo: Coastal rocks, Butt of Lewis, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Jan 2011
I don’t really know why, but for some reason I was under the impression that the Butt of Lewis was not a very interesting place. I guess it is probably a often visited tourist location, being one of those furthest, highest, most, lowest, type place. In the case of the Butt of Lewis, its the northern most point of the Outer Hebrides.
There’s not really much there. An old 1860’s lighthouse, some cliffs, and a few birds; maybe even some puffins in summer. Oh, and there’s wind. Yep that should be on the list. I don’t think there’s ever a shortage of wind in this part of the world, being the first piece of land any weather hits arriving from the arctic. I should probably also add rain to the list as well. So for a place that’s seems relatively boring on paper, and with bad weather, I found it totally awesome.
I think it helps that I arrived in perfect conditions for the mood of the location. Had I been there on some calm, sunny summer day I’m not sure I would have walked away with the same impression. Or had there been mist and haze, I may have hopped back in the car without the camera ever exiting the backpack. But I was lucky. January winds whipped the sea into a fury. Rain arrived, then passed with enough time in-between to get some work done. I could find sheltered areas, probably a bit close to the cliffs, where my tripod would remain mostly still. As the short winter day faded towards night, I think I saw this place in it’s raw, natural state. Cold, harsh, barren, empty, isolated, dark. Yet amazingly beautiful.
Photo: Butt of Lewis lighthouse, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Jan 2011
Photo: Coastal rocks, Butt of Lewis, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Jan 2011
Photo: Panoramic of Butt of Lewis, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Jan 2011
Photo: Stormy seas crash below Butt of Lewis lighthouse, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Jan 2011
Photo: Loch Ba frozen in winter, Rannoch Moor, Scotland. Jan 2011
Photo: Cracking ice of frozen loch, Rannoch Moor, Scotland. Jan 2011
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