Lofoten Islands Impressions · Robert Reiser Photography

Pictures of a trip to the Lofoten Islands in Norway, with stunning landscapes and the Northern Lights. Definitely a place I would like to return to.

Last updated: June 2021 Reading time: 1 minute Category: Galleries

Volcano Eruption
This Aurora looked like an eruption of a volcano on the horizon.

Hummingbird Northern Light
Taken with a fisheye lens, this image shows approximately a 160° view. The light formation reminded me of a hummingbird.

Moving Curtain
While not visible in the picture, the aurora was slowly moving, like a curtain in the wind.

Dancing Couple
This Aurora was moving like a dancing couple, viewed from above. The bottom one demonstrated beautiful red and purple colors.

From February 16 to 22, 2014 my partner Andrea and I were able to visit one of the most interesting places in Norway – the Lofoten Islands. The primary reason was to see the Aurora Borealis -the Northern Lights. Neither of us had seen any Northern Light in the past.

Brattholmen Island
After a severe snowstorm, the sky cleared up and presented this peaceful scenery.

Coastline Still Life
In front of a very busy coastline, the small boat is a very peaceful center of attention.

Layer Cake
After a recent snowfall, the rock formations looked like pre-cut pieces of cake.

Sunset Glow
I liked the contract between the blue, snowy foreground and the glowing rock in the background, hit by the last rays of the setting sun.

Distant Rain Shower
On a boat trip, you could see the heavy rainfall in the distance, with the layered mountains in the background.

Under the professional guidance of the Naturfotowerkstatt team, we had the opportunity to visit exciting places. I heard about how beautiful the place was supposed to be, but I did only fully realize it after I could see it in reality. The landscape is certainly different, with the long coastline and the steep mountains.

Misty Pebble Beach
An overcast sky allowed a four minute exposure of these stones, using a strong ND filter - the result is glowing mist.

Covered Stone
This scene was insteresting becaus of the monochromatic mood and the contrast between the rough algae structure and the soft waves.

Crushed Ice
This ice structure was formed when the water level lowered and the rocks below broke through the surface.

From a weather perspective, we experienced a lot of variety. From sunshine with blue skies to snow storms with extremely low visibility, we had it all. The most surprising experience was the temperature, it was a lot warmer than we had anticipated. When viewing the Northern Lights long after midnight, the temperature still did not drop below the freezing point. I guess this is caused by the nearby gulf stream.

On The Hunt
In front of a beautiful scenery right after a snowstorm, this eagle was watching out for prey.

Eagle in Snowfall
On a boat sailing through Trollfjord, this eagle did get really close to the boat and was waiting for some fish from the boat crew.

It was fun to watch the eagles – they know the tourist boats and they know they will be fed with fish. Since eagles cannot dive, the tour guides use syringes to inject air into dead fish, so it does not sink when thrown in the water. This makes for nice pictures of eagles catching fish, but makes it a bit too easy for the eagles…

Olenilsoya Island
Located on the East coast of Lofoten islands, you can see Reine Kirke in the background, on the right.

Lofoten Islands Summary

In hindsight, we were extremely lucky with the Northern Lights. We had three cloudless nights in a row, with a lot of Aurora activities. While the experience was exhausting because of the long time you stay out at night, it was more than worth it. I really hope to be able in the future to experience this phenomenon again.

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Robert is an enthusiast amateur photographer from Austria with a preference for black & white and infrared photography. He is an active member of the Austrian Association of Wildlife and Nature Photography (VTNÖ). In his spare time, he likes to take pictures and write about various photographic topics. More about Robert.

Lofoten Islands Summary

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