Kjerkfjord as seen from near Reine, Lofoten islands, Norway.
This is the light at around 1:30 pm on the afternoon of January 6, the first day since mid December where the sun once again appears on the horizon at 68˚ north. Got lucky to have calm winds and mostly clear skies on this day. Imagine more or less the same light like this lasting for hours. Magical.
Haukland Beach winter, Lofoten islands, Norway.
When the sky is clear, the light as this amazing diffuse glow to it. Due to being so far north, the sun travel at much more of a horizontal angle than what occurs as one approaches the equator. So due to this, the period of ‘sunset’ or ‘sunrise’ light is extended into hours, not just minutes. In early January, the sun barely rises above the horizon so there is not really any direct sunlight, more like a 4-5 hour sunrise-sunset until the darkness of night comes by about 2:30-3:00 pm.
Abandoned house, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, Scotland.
I wonder what stories these old walls could tell. Once it was probably the center of a large farm. Times changed and the old ways lost their charm. The young generation left home for the glamour of the city. No one wanted to live on the edge of the world anymore. The house sat alone, empty. The paint faded. The roof caved.
Black Cuillin Hills as viewed from Glenbrittle, Isle of Skye, Scotland.
Late afternoon light over Loch Brittle, Isle of Skye, Scotland.
I say late afternoon and not evening, as I do not consider 4:00 pm to count as ‘evening,’ despite the fact that it was nearly dark at this time.
Tonight (Halloween 2009) was the Hay on Fire festival here in Hay-on-Wye, Wales. The night first started with a parade through town that slowly made its way out to the ‘Warren’ on the edge of the river Wye where the fire festival was held. The crowd numbered in the thousands to watch the fire dancing, hear the music and see the final culmination in the burning of a wicker man giant with of fireworks. By far the coolest celebration I’ve yet to see on Halloween. My pictures don’t do much justice to the coolness of the night…
Utakleiv, Lofoten islands, Norway.
Hay-on-Wye is on the northeast border of the Brecon Beacons national park here in Wales. Though slightly confusingly, the Brecon Beacon mountains are further west, with the Black mountains being the range here in the east. Welsh mountain ponies roam the wild grassy hillsides and mountains and can be quite friendly as they try to discover whether your clothing or camera is edible. My camera lens was completely fogged by horse breath on numerous occasions as I was trying to photograph them.
Gamla Stan (old town), Stockholm. Cobble stone streets, narrow winding alleyways, brightly colored buildings, tourists, and street cafes; the old town of Stockholm fits the ideal of a classic European city and is a wonderful place to wander around, day or night.
last light at Unstad, Lofoten islands, Norway.
