Photogallery | Lofoten Islands Summer

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Lofoten islands landscape

Photo: 2 minute exposure of summer twilight over Lofoten islands

Lofoten Islands Summer Photo Gallery: CLICK HERE

Here’s a gallery of photos from my most recent Lofoten trip in July/August.  I’m still processing through everything, with only about 100 online at the moment.  More will continue to be added during the next weeks.

Despite the fact that by all accounts this summer has been colder and wetter than average, the trip as a whole was more productive than I was expecting.  Good luck and accurate weather forecasts several days out allowed me to plan and arrive in locations in advance of the short moments of good weather, which never lasts long in the arctic.  Any trip to Lofoten will always included days and days of waiting out rain, but when the sun shines, it’s worth it…

My Lofoten islands website: 68 North will also have a new gallery for summer added shortly.

Utakleiv beach Lofoten islands

Photo: Utakleiv beach. 20 second daylight exposure with 10 stop neutral density filter

Reinebringen – Lofoten islands

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Lofoten islands sunset from Reinebringen

Photo: Sunset over mountains of Lofoten islands viewed from Reinebringen.

Kjerkfjord mountain sunset from Reinebringen

Photo: Rays of sun shine from behind mountain peaks, viewed from Reinebringen, Lofoten islands, Norway.

Memurudalen – Jotunheimen national park

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Memurudalen panoramic landscape, Jotunheimen national park, Norway

Photo: Memurudalen panoramic, Jotunheimen national park, Norway

Memurudalen (say that 10 times) is a scenic alpine valley that ends on the northern side of lake Gjende.  The northern end of the valley rises into glaciers and mountains, from where the fast and cold Muru river flows.

Memurudalen and mountains of Jotunheimen national park, Norway

Photo: Surtninssue rises above Memurudalen, Jotunheimen national park, Norway

wild camping Jotunheimen national park, Norway

Photo: Wild camp above Memurudalen, Jotunheimen national park, Norway

Muru river in Memurudalen, Jotunheimen national park, Norway

Photo: Cold glacial melt water of the Muru river flows through Memurudalen, Jotunheimen national park, Norway

Norway | Lofoten Islands and Jotunheimen National Park

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Evening twilight light in summer over sea, Stamsund, Lofoten islands, Norway

Photo: Summer twilight over Vestfjord at midnight, Stamsund, Lofoten islands, Norway

Evening light on scenic coastline, Stamsund, Vestvagoy, Lofoten islands, Norway

Photo: 1:30 AM summer twilight, Stamsund, Lofoten islands, Norway

From the end of July to the middle of August I was over in Norway.  First two weeks were on the Lofoten Islands waiting out mostly bad weather for an elusive sun.  The third week I was hiking among the mountains and lakes of Jotunheimen national park, where I was lucky and had lots of sun.  All in all, it was a pretty productive trip.

That’s all for now (figured I needed to post something after 3 weeks of silence…).  I’ll try and keep a more regular flow of images and words in the next weeks.

Lake Gjende Jotunheimen national park, Norway

Photo: Lake Gjende from above Memurubu, Jotunheimen national park, Norway

Reflection on lake Gjende, Gjendesheim, Jotunheimen national park, Norway

Photo: Lake Gjende from Gjendesheim, Jotunheimen national park, Norway

To Lofoten

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Bodo Moskenes lofoten islands ferry, Norway

If I timed this post properly, it should be 4:30 AM (Norwegian time) Wednesday morning and I’ll just be getting off the ferry in Moskenes after over 24 hours of straight travel.  Hopefully it wont be raining and hopefully the 3 hour crossing will have been a bit calmer than the above photo, which was not a very fun ride.  Time to go find a nice flat spot to pitch my tent for a couple hours.  Next is the walk to Reine to catch the ferry across the fjord and make my way to Bunes beach…

Norwegian Hiking and Backpacking

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Summer Wild Camping and Backpacking, Jotunheimen, Norway

Photo: Camping above lake Bygdin, Jotunheimen national park, Norway

Jotunheimen glaciers and mountains, Norway

Photo: Cloudy skies over mountains and glaciers in Jotunheimen national park, Norway.

To put it nicely, Norway is not a ‘sunny’ country.  Don’t be fooled by travel guides and brochures showing photos scenic green meadows, waterfalls, or fjords with calm puffy white clouds and blue skies overhead on every page.  This is a lie.  I can’t count how many times I’ve set my tent up in the rain only to take it down in the rain on the following morning, for days on end.  Even during the height of summer one should always be prepared for cold, wet, and windy conditions.  This applies even more if one is planning on venturing out in the mountains.

Camping Kvalvike beach, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Photo: Camping at Kvalvike beach, Lofoten islands, Norway.

So if the weather sucks so bad, why even go?  Because Norway is an amazingly beautiful and friendly country.  And because when that sunny summer day does come, you will instantly forget that week of rain and cloud that proceeded and will follow it.  And if you are north of the arctic circle and standing on a mountain top at 2 am under a perfectly blue sky, you will already start planning your return trip.

Mountain lunch, Lofoten islands, Norway

Photo: Mountain snack, above Stamsund, Lofoten islands, Norway

Here’s my packing list for a 3 week trip which I start tomorrow.  The first 2 weeks I’ll out on the Lofoten islands, followed by one week hiking around Jotunheimen national park.  Since the main purpose of my trip is photography, I need to keep the weight of my camping equipment and clothing to a minimum to help offset the weight of my camera gear.

Some useful links for traveling around Norway:

Backpacking packlist for Norway

Footwear:
I normally only wear hiking boots in places where I’ll encounter lots of snow and or bog/mud, such as Norway.  However, I’m trying to keep things a bit lighter on this trip so I’m only going to take some trail-runners.  This may be a regrettable decision and lead to constantly wet feet, but I hope not…

Camping Gear:
•Backpack – Golite Odyssey
•Daypack/camera bag – Black Diamond Sphynx 32L
•Tent – MSR Hubba single person
•Sleeping Bag – Mountain Hardwear Phantom 32
•Lightweight foam sleeping pad
•Leki Makalu trekking poles
•Water filter – Katadyn mini
•Petzl Zipka plus headlamp
•first aid kit
•Rain cover for backpack

Cooking:
•Stove – Snow Peak GigaPower
•Cookware – Snow Peak titanium pan & lid
•Spoon Fork combination
•Food

Misc:
•Multipurpose camp soap
•journal & pens
•Hand cleaner
•Plug adapter
•Book
•Maps

Clothing:
•Shell Jacket – Golite
•Shell Pants – Marmot Precip
•Marmot Driclime windshirt
•Lightweight fleece
•MEC lightweight softshell pants
•Lightweight shorts
•3x t-shirts
•3x socks
•3x underwear
•Fleece beanie
•Lightweight camp towel
•Sandals

Lake Gjende in summer, Jotunehimen, Norway

Photo: Scenic summer view of Lake Gjende, Jotunheimen national park, Norway.

Wild Welsh Mountain Ponies

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Wild Welsh mountain pony, Hay Bluff, Wales

Wild Welsh mountain ponies in and around Hay Bluff in the Black Mountains area of Brecon Beacons national park, Wales.

I’ve posted previously about the wild ponies that run around the mountains here in south Wales.  There’s several herds that hang out on Hay Bluff, just outside of town here.  They make for more interesting subjects than near infinite amount of sheep cruising around.

White Welsh mountain pony on hillside, Hay Bluff, Wales

Wild Welsh mountain pony feeds on grassy hillside, Hay Bluff, Wales

Two wild Welsh mountain pony foals, Hay Bluff, Wales

Portrait of wild Welsh mountain pony foal, Hay Bluff, Wales

Buachaille Etive Mor

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Buachaille Etive Mor, Scotland

Buachaille Etive Mor.

Probably one of the most iconic, and therefore, most photographed scenes from the Scottish Highlands.  A cold December morning last year.

68 North | Lofoten Islands Photography

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Lofoten islands Norway photography - Unstad

68 North | Lofoten Islands Travel and Landscape Photography

I’ve been working for the last couple weeks on a new website for my photos from the Lofoten Islands, Norway.  I wanted a place where I could show more photos, as much of my recent work has been from the islands, but I didn’t want to completely take over my main website.  So…  I came up with 68north.com for this new project.

I’ll be traveling up to Lofoten in July, so I should update the site soon after that with more new work.

Raftsundet – Lofoten and Vesterålen

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Raftsundet panoramic photo, Lofoten islands, Norway

Raftsundet – The mountains of Hinnøya on the left, Austvågøya and Lofoten on the right.  In simple terms, the Raftsund straight is the geographic border between the Lofoten Islands district and the Vesterålen district, though the southern section of Hinnøya belongs to Lofoten and the northern part of Austvågøya to Vesterålen.  Photo from September 2009 while traveling aboard the Hurtigruten to Stamsund.