Trip Report Lofoten in autumn
Blaze of colours & northern lights
Autumn is the best kept secret in Lofoten. The summer tourists are gone, and the northern light hunters are not yet there. For a few weeks the landscape glows in golden tones. The stormy autumn weather leads to rapidly changing light and weather moods. Fantastic colours and rainbows are no rarity.
On our Lofoten photo tour in October 2018 our expectations regarding photo opportunities were more than fulfilled. We experienced a great week with 7 nice and enthusiastic guests.
Jennifer Brühlmann
Amazing Views Photo & Adventure Tours
Stormy kick-off in the west
On the first morning the day greeted us with a sunrise like it is written in the picture books. The sky glowed pink and the mountain tops were covered with a fine powdered sugar layer of the first snow. Soon the weather changed. It changed hourly from pouring rain to hurricane gusts to sunshine and rainbow splendour. The weather forecasts also announced changeable weather for the coming days. Cody, our local photo guide, said at the beginning of the week that the changeable weather would bring many great photo opportunities. He should be right.
Å i Lofoten
Nikon D750, 70 – 200mm f/4, 1/125s, f/5.6, ISO 800
In Å, at the western end of the Lofoten, we had to fight with the strong wind. But we were rewarded with great pictures of the breaking waves. For a short moment the sky was shining in the most beautiful pink. After dinner the sky cleared up even more, and we could observe the first northern lights right in the beginning of the tour. What a start!
On the small island Sakrisøy
Nikon D850, 24 – 70mm f/2.8, 1/60s, f/7.1, ISO 800
Lille Toppøya
Nikon D850, 24 – 70mm f/2.8, 1/100s, f/8, ISO 400
We explored the villages in the area and could take pictures of the typical Rorbuer cottages in the beautiful landscapes. In the afternoon we made a trip to Skjelfiord and were again rewarded with fantastic light.
In Rainbow Wonderland
The sunrise today looked promising. But short rain showers followed the other. Cody motivated us to walk up a small hill and keep the equipment ready. We should get ready for a rainbow show. And how we were rewarded! First the sun broke through the clouds and bathed everything in a beautiful golden light. Not long before the first rainbows appeared in the sky. A fantastic spectacle!
Beautiful rainbow over Reine
Nikon D750, 70 – 200mm f/4, 1/100s, f/8, ISO 100
Later we hiked to another hill and from there we had a wonderful view of Reine. The wind had now fallen down, and we were spoiled with beautiful reflections.
Reine with Olstind in the background
Nikon D850, 24 – 70 mm f/2.8, 1/160s, f/8, ISO 100
View above Reine
Nikon D850, 24 – 70 mm f/2.8, 1/80s, f/8, ISO 100
Off to East
After three eventful days our journey continued to the east part of the Lofoten. Our base for the next 3 days was the small village Ballstad. From here we wanted to explore the lonely beaches in the area.
Pure autumn weather by the Skjelfjord
Nikon D850, 24 – 70 mm f/2.8, 1/100s, f/8, ISO 400
Northern Light Spectacle
Today the weather really challenged us. It rained the whole day heavily. The weather forecast promised clear skies from eight in the evening. But there was nothing to see at this time. We decided to sleep few hours and set the alarm clock to shortly after midnight. Cody and I took turns checking the weather and Aurora activity every hour. At half past twelve we were ready. We woke everybody up and were ready to go in just 10 minutes.
On the beach of Vik we were completely alone, without other tourists, and could admire and photograph the fantastic northern lights. As a bonus the milky way was visible. All guests were incredibly happy. We photographed until the early morning hours.
Northern lights and milky way at Vik beach
Nikon D850, Sigma 14 mm f/1.8, 15s, f/1.8, ISO 3200
The next day we were spoiled with splendid autumn weather. We made a little tour to catch the beautiful autumn colours. In the evening we enjoyed a wonderful sunset in Gimsøy.
Sunset on Gimsøy
Nikon D850, Sigma 14 mm f/1.8, 0.5s, f/16, ISO 100, Grauverlaufsfilter 0.9 soft
Autumn landscape near Valberg
Nikon D850, 24 – 70 mm f/2.8, 1/125s, f/8, ISO 200
On the way back from Gimsøy we wanted to go for a delicious pizza. But we decided to take the pizzas instead with us. We went directly for a beautiful beach. The northern lights became again active, already early in the evening.
At this beach we were again completely alone thanks to Cody’s insider knowledge and could catch beautiful reflections with northern lights. What a spectacle. from Gimsøy we wanted to go for a delicious pizza. But then we decided to take the pizzas with us. We went directly for a beautiful beach. The northern lights became already in the early evening again active.
At this beach we were again completely alone thanks to Cody’s insider knowledge and could catch beautiful reflections with northern lights. What a spectacle.
Sky fire on a lonely beach
Nikon D850, Sigma 14 mm f/1.8, 6s, f/1.8, ISO 4000
A brilliant last day of the tour
In the morning we drove to the famous beaches Uttakleiv and Unstad. The sky was cloudy and ideal for making great long-time exposures of the sea surf.
The dragon eye on the beach of Uttakleiv
Nikon D850, Sigma 14 mm f/1.8, 6s, f/16, ISO 100
Unstad beach
Nikon D850, 24 – 70 mm f/2.8, 0.5s, f/16, ISO 64
In the afternoon we chased waves again, this time in Vikten. Suddenly the sky opened up, in time for sunset and we quickly changed our location. In Vareid we had a genuinely nice atmosphere, with a sky as if bathed in candyfloss.
Wild surf in Vikten
Nikon D850, Sigma 14 mm f/1.8, 0.4s, f/10, ISO 100, grey filter 1.8
Sunset like from a picture book at Vareid
Nikon D850, 24 – 70 mm f/2.8, 20s, f/11, ISO 100, grey filter 1.8 & history filter 0.9 soft
Super happy about all the impressions and what we had experienced, we made ourselves afterwards on the way home. After dusk we stopped once more in the middle of the drive. Once again, an unbelievable sky fire appeared above our heads. We could hardly believe our luck, as we had seen the northern lights four times during the week.
A fantastic week came to an end. The autumn on the Lofoten offered us an unbelievable colour rush. Our satisfied guests returned home with an extremely varied and bright portfolio of pictures.
Join us on a fantastic Lofoten photo tour in autumn
Photograph the beautiful islands of Lofoten in all their autumnal splendour. On clear nights you also have a good chance of capturing the northern lights with your camera. You benefit from local know-how through our professional photographer on site and from small group sizes. Our guides are there for you and help you to take your photography to the next level.
TO THE PHOTO TRIP LOFOTEN AUTUMN COLOURS
